A test of alternative Caribbean Plate relative motion models.

Two contrasting models have been proposed to describe the present-day motions between the Caribbean Plate and neighboring plates. One model assumes that North America-Caribbean motion is reflected by the spreading rate (approximately 2 cm/yr) infered from magnetic anomalies at the Cayman Spreading Center and the azimuths of nearby transforms. The other model uses rates and azimuths inferred from the geometry of the Lesser Antilles Wadati-Benioff zone. Uses the NUVEL-1 global relative motion data set, which incorporates recent data not used in earlier studies, to discriminate between the alternative models. Finds that the first model provides a better fit to the direction of North America-Caribbean motion. Moreover, finds that models based on this geometry better fit the direction of Cocos-Caribbean motion observed in earthquake slip vectors along the Middle America Trench.-from Authors