GPlates

GPlates is a plate tectonics program. Manipulate reconstructions of geological and paleogeographic features through geological time. Interactively visualize vector, raster and volume data. PyGPlates is the GPlates Python library. Get fine-grained access to GPlates functionality in your Python scripts.

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What is GPlates?

GPlates is desktop software for the interactive visualisation of plate tectonics.

GPlates offers a novel combination of interactive plate tectonic reconstructions, geographic information system (GIS) functionality and raster data visualisation. GPlates enables both the visualisation and the manipulation of plate tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time. GPlates runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. GPlates has an online user manual.

GPlates and pyGPlates are both free software (also known as open-source software), licensed for distribution under the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2.

GPlately is a Python package which enables the reconstruction of data through deep geological time (points, lines, polygons, and rasters), the interrogation of plate kinematic information (plate velocities, rates of subduction and seafloor spreading), the rapid comparison between multiple plate motion models, and the plotting of reconstructed output data on maps.


GPlates Screenshot

Why GPlates?

Open source and free

Easy to use

Fast and reliable

Extensive open-access data and models

Wide-ranging interoperability with other software

Used by educators, researchers, and industries

Professional software development team

GPlates Citation:

Müller, R. D., Cannon, J., Qin, X., Watson, R. J., Gurnis, M., Williams, S., Pfaffelmoser, T., Seton, M., Russell, S. H. J. ,Zahirovic S. (2018). GPlates: Building a virtual Earth through deep time. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19, 2243-2261. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GC007584

PyGPlates, PlateTectonicTools, GPlately Citation:

Mather, B. R., Müller, R. D., Zahirovic, S., Cannon, J., Chin, M., Ilano, L., Wright, N. M., Alfonso, C., Williams, S., Tetley, M., Merdith, A. (2023) Deep time spatio-temporal data analysis using pyGPlates with PlateTectonicTools and GPlately. Geoscience Data Journal, 00, 1-8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.185

GPlates Software Suite

pyGPlates Screenshot
The GPlates Python library (pyGPlates) enables access to GPlates functionality via the Python programming language.

PyGPlates

GPlately Screenshot
GPlately is a Python package to interrogate tectonic plate reconstructions.

GPlately

GPlates Web Service Screenshot
The GPlates Web Service interface allows users to access plate tectonics reconstruction services via Internet.

GPlates Web Service

GPlates Portal Screenshot
The GPlates Web Portal is a gateway to a series of web pages for the interactive visualisation of cutting-edge geoscience datasets.

GPlates Web Portal

Who are we?

EarthByte People

Funded by AuScope

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Latest News


GPlates 2.4 released

December 08, 2023

GPlates 2.4 released

A note about GPlates 2.4:-

This release contains mostly bug fixes (compared to GPlates 2.3). We've also added some Scientific Colour Maps by Fabio Crameri to our builtin colour palettes.

However, most new functionality is still in development and will go into the GPlates 3.0 release (late 2024). This is because it depends on the graphics engine upgrade currently in progress (that enables the use of relatively modern hardware in last ten years on all desktop platforms with the replacement of OpenGL with Vulkan). Dependent functionality includes generalized symbology

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Eureka Prize finalist announcement and new home for source code


Adds tectonic subsidence.


Adds tectonic subsidence.


We are very excited to announce the launch of the new GPlates website.