A nuber of metods have been employed to establish the direction and rate of plate motion. The volcanic chian that runs in hawaiian is rougthly 3000 kilometers long and has formed over the past 65 million years. The paleommagnetism stored in rocks on the floor of the ocaen also provides method for measuring rates of the plate motion.It is currently possible with the use of space age technology to directly measure the relative motion between plates. Two of the methods used for this calculation are very long baseline interfermetry and a satellite positioning technique that empolys the global positioning system. The plate tectonics theory describes motion and the role that this motion plats in generating and or modifing the major features of the earth's crust .
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