Under
standing of Pacific plate tectonic
s and geodynamic
s i
s aided by refinement of the plate'
s apparent polar
wander path (APWP). We improved the Late Cretaceou
s and early Cenozoic APWP by analyzing a large, diver
se paleomagnetic data
set that combine
s core
sample,
seamount magnetic anomaly model, and marine magnetic anomaly
skewne
ss data. Our preferred APWP ha
s five mean paleomagnetic pole
s repre
senting the Oligocene (30 Ma), Late (39 Ma) and Early (49 Ma) Eocene, and Paleocene (61 Ma) epoch
s and the Maa
strichtian (68 Ma)
stage. Along with a publi
shed 80 Ma pole, the APWP
show
s a
still
stand from
![]()
src=""http://www.
sciencedirect.com/
scidirimg/entitie
s/223c.gif"" alt=""not, vert,
similar"" border=0> 80 to
![]()
src=""http://www.
sciencedirect.com/
scidirimg/entitie
s/223c.gif"" alt=""not, vert,
similar"" border=0> 49 Ma punctuating the large overall northward drift of the plate. The two younge
st pole
s imply re
sumption of northward motion during mid-Eocene time with another change of polar motion after
![]()
src=""http://www.
sciencedirect.com/
scidirimg/entitie
s/223c.gif"" alt=""not, vert,
similar"" border=0> 30 Ma. If unaffected by other phenomena (e.g., true polar
wander or change in time-averaged magnetic field geometry), the
still
stand implie
s negligible northward plate motion during the period of Emperor Seamount
s formation, contrary to mo
st accepted plate motion model
s. The
still
stand i
s con
si
stent with paleomagnetic data from the Emperor Seamount
s, which imply
southward motion of the Hawaiian melting anomaly. It al
so implie
s significant we
stward drift of the hot
spot if the Pacific plate wa
s moving we
st at rate
s similar to the later Cenozoic. In addition, change
s in polar
wander after
![]()
src=""http://www.
sciencedirect.com/
scidirimg/entitie
s/223c.gif"" alt=""not, vert,
similar"" border=0> 49 Ma are con
si
stent with change
s of north Pacific plate boundarie
s.