International Boundaries on a Dynamic Planet: Issues relating to plate tectonics and reference frame changes

In this paper, we explore issues relating to the impact of plate tectonics on international boundaries that have been defined in terms of a geodetic reference frame. While these issues are usually insignificant in the short term (a few years) there are a number of issues that can potentially cause ambiguity and conflict in the long term if not well managed at the time of negotiation. Whether or not these issues and ambiguities will become serious over time depends on a number of factors such as the hierarchy of definitive evidence of boundary location; the nature of tectonic motion in the vicinity of the boundary and the form of geodetic reference frame used to gather information and document the boundary location.