Greetings Arzateja:
- Hello Leonard!, I am new on this. I just logged in Wikipedia Talk facility to ask you if there is published material about the way velocities of North American plate relative to Africa were calculated.
It is my understanding that the modern method is to use GPS (satellite) readings, which for static locations can be enhanced in accuracy, but please not that I have no expert knowledge in such matters. Prior to GPS, accurate geolocations could be determined by the lunar occultation of distant stars, a method employed during the Cold War to enable ICBM targeting via inertial guidance. Of course, the selection of Africa as a reference point is arbitrary, and Africa itself is moving. The projections are that the next supercontinent will assemble near the north pole in the distant future. Supercontinent formation and scattering is a periodic event, driven by the subcrustal flows of the plastic magma, that in turn driven by convection currents. The primary heat source is from radioactive element decay, with contributions from friction from tidal forces.
Best wishes, - Leonard G. (talk) 00:29, 24 November 2012 (UTC)