David;

> Did you look at the recent NASA article on tides I posted? It shows the tides flowing in a Northwesterly direction toward the Aleutian Islands during the middle of the day.

yes I did. Did you see my comment on the difference between a thin film of water and 1800 miles of rock?

>> Convection cells have no problem with it and the history of Hawaii as it drifted across a hot spot confirms it.

> What do you mean Hawaii drifted over a hot spot? Hawaii is the end crustal failure that started at Kamchatka, Russia and migrated south. It's known as the Emperor Seamount Chain.

The islands of the Hawaiian chain formed as the plate drifted over a plume of magma. That's why the ages are different, with the oldest to the northwest end and the youngest (and still active)at the southeast.

> While we're at it, notice that the Clarion Fracture Zone and Mendocino Fracture Zone are connected on the east by the San Andreas Fault. Out west, Hawaii is right between the endpoints of the two fracture zones. My view is that a big chunk of the Pacific Plate is buckling and may produce a new land mass in the next 5 million years or so in this area.

Unlikely but not inconcievable I guess.

> My question to you is how can convection cells in the mantle cause the shear cliffs near the plate boundaries and how can they cause features such as the Mendocino and Clarion Fracture Zones?

Fracture zones are found between two cells which are causing spreading in opposite directions. It causes a tensional fracture. I'm not sure what you mean by shear cliffs. Do you mean sheer? or really "shear"?

> Do you know of a convection model for Hawaii I can look at? I hear generalizations about convection cells and see general diagrams, but has anybody produced an actual model for the known topographical structures in the Pacific?

No doubt someone has. I suggest you do a web search on "plate tectonics" and see what turns up. You'll get several hundred, most likely.

Roger