The GPlates project was started by Professor Dietmar Müller in 2006. By the end of 2010, the GPlates 1.0.0 was released.
The latest release was GPlates 2.0 in November 2016. A user manual and tutorials are available online.
Below is a list of major releases of GPlates.
2008-05-23: GPlates 0.9.22009-06-17: GPlates 0.9.52010-12-20: GPlates 1.0.02011-05-21: GPlates 1.12012-01-30: GPlates 1.22013-05-29: GPlates 1.32014-04-18: GPlates 1.42015-02-14: GPlates 1.52016-02-04: pyGPlates beta revision 12 released2016-11-18: GPlates 2.0.0GPlates enables both the visualization and the manipulation of plate-tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time:
Load and save geological, geographic and tectonic feature data.Assign feature data to tectonic plates.Reconstruct feature data to past geological times.Query and edit feature properties and geometries.Modify reconstructions graphically.Visualize vector and raster data on the globe or in one of the map projections.Visualize sub-surface 3D scalar fields as isosurfaces or 2D cross-sections.Export reconstructed data as a time-sequence of exported files.Use plate polygons (with dynamic boundaries and deformation) to calculate velocity fields.GPlates is developed by an international team of scientists and professional software developers at:
the EarthByte group in the school of Geosciences at the University of Sydneythe Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS) at Caltechthe Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norwaythe Geodynamics Team at the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU)GPlates is used by geophysicists, students and researchers in academic institutions, government departments and industry.
GPlates runs on Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu. GPlates is written in C++ and uses OpenGL to render its 3D globe and 2D map views. It uses Qt as a GUI framework. The Boost C++ library has also been widely used. Other libraries include GDAL, CGAL, proj, qwt and GLEW.
GPGIM and GPML
GPlates uses the GPlates Geological Information Model (GPGIM) to represent geological data in a Plate tectonics context. The GPlates Markup Language (GPML) is an XML implementation of the GPGIM derived from the Geography Markup Language (GML).
The GPlates Python library (pyGPlates) enables access to GPlates functionality via the Python programming language. It allows users to use GPlates in a programmatic way and hence provides much more flexibility than the GPlates desktop interface can offer. The first beta release of pyGPlates is available for download. Reference documentation and tutorials are also available for download.
John Cannon (active) EarthByte group, The University of SydneyJohn is the lead developer of GPlates.
Michael Chin(Xiaodong Qin) (active) EarthByte group, The University of SydneyMichael is the Systems Architect of GPlates Portal.
Robin Watson (active) Geodynamics team, Geological Survey of NorwayMark Turner (inactive)Enoch Lau (inactive)James Clark (inactive)James Boyden (inactive)James Boyden is one of the pioneers of GPlates project.
Professor Dietmar MüllerDietmar is the founder and current lead of the GPlates project.
Professor Mike GurnisAlso a founder of the GPlates project.
Dr. Maria SetonDr. Simon WilliamsGPlates is released under GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPLv2) and the source code can be found on SourceForge
The GPlates Web Portal is a gateway to a series of GPlates-based web applications. The portal was launched in 2014. Michael Chin is the architect and chief programmer. Initially the portal was hosted on nectar cloud. Later on, it was migrated to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. Below is a list of applications in GPlates Web Portal.
Vertical Gravity Gradient3D visualization of the Vertical Gravity Gradient Grid.
Raster ReconstructionReconstruct raster images through time.
Paleomap MakerData reconstruction and visualization service.
Dynamic TopographyIPython SandboxDemonstrate how to use pyGPlates in IPython Notebook.
Magnetic PicksSRTM15_PLUS TopographySeafloor LithologyThe Cesium Javascript library is used to render the 3D globe in a web browser.
Daily Mail (What the Earth would look like stripped of oceans: First ever digital map of the sea floor reveals our planet's 'alien' landscape)The Guardian (The most detailed map of the ocean floor ever seen)wired.com (Super-Detailed Interactive 3-D Seafloor Map)Industry Advocate (Seafloor Mapping first)Orma (Earth Without Oceans- Stunning New Interactive Map of the Earth’s Seafloor)See the continents form and explore the Earth as never before: Incredible interactive globes show our planet's geology evolvingBelow is a list of select publications of GPlates.
Plate tectonic raster reconstruction in GPlatesNext-generation plate-tectonic reconstructions using GPlatesThe GPlates Geological Information Model and Markup LanguageAn open-source software environment for visualizing and refining plate tectonic reconstructions using high-resolution geological and geophysical data setsPlate Reconstructions with Continuously Closing PlatesVisualizing 3D mantle structure from seismic tomography and geodynamic model predictions of the India-Eurasia and East Asia convergence zoneApplication of open-source software and high-resolution geophysical images to explore the plate tectonic evolution of AustraliaA Custom Implementation for Visualizing Sub-surface 3D Scalar Fields in GPlatesThe GPlates Portal: Cloud-based interactive 3D visualization of global geophysical and geological data in a web browserIssue 3 -- March 2015Issue 2 -- April 2014Issue 1 -- October 2013Australian Laureate FellowshipAuScopeScience and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF)
