Plate Tectonics

EDUC-582 Final Project

Gregory J. Conrad

The Theory of Plate Tectonics

Proposed in 1912 by the German scientist Alfred Wegener.
Wegeners theory was based upon the following information:
Puzzle like fit of the continents (Pangaea)
Rock formations (mountain ranges)
Climate similarities
Fossil evidence (plant and animal)

Continental Drift
Wegener proposed the idea of a supercontinent - Pangaea (all Earth).
Wegeners also proposed the continents were drifting from their original starting
position. However, his theory lacked evidence.
In 1929, Arthur Holmess research on convection currents in the upper mantle
indirectly supported Wegeners continental drift theory.
Finally, in the early 1960s, Harry Hess research and evidence of sea-floor spreading
supported Wegeners theory of continental drift.

The Basis for Wegeners Claims:

Continental Drift / Plate Tectonics
The continents appear to fit together as if they were a puzzle.
Ex: The eastern tip of South America fits into the indent of western Africa.

Similar mountain ranges have been found on different continents.

Ex: Appalachian Mountains (North America) & Caledonian Mountains (Europe)

Similarities in climate/fossils: present and previous locations.

chemical composition of rocks/ice depicting a different climate at one point.
fossils of climate specific animals/plants found across large bodies of water.

Polarity of newly created rocks at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The Driving Force: Convection Currents

Holmes research reported the outer cores 5000 F to 9000 F temperature heated the
mantle to a plasma like state.
The outer cores release of heat, travels toward the Earths surface causing the Earths
crust (lithosphere) to float like slabs of ice on the malleable upper mantle
(asthenosphere).

The movement of the crust via convection currents gave Wegeners theory of plate
tectonics/continental drift validity.

Types of Crust: Continental & Oceanic

Continental crust is primarily made
up of granitic rock.
30 50 KM in thickness.
Rarely subducted less dense than
oceanic crust.
Largely responsible for mountain
ranges convergent (collision)
boundaries.

Oceanic crust is primarily made up of

gabbro and basalt.
5 7 KM in thickness.
Always subducted more dense than
continental crust.
Responsible for: trenches convergent (subduction) & midocean ridges divergent.

Types of Crust: Continental & Ocean cont.

Plate Boundaries: Convergent (Collision)

When two continental plates
move toward each other and
collide.
Most often these plates
converge and pile up forming
mountain ranges.
Ex: Himalayan Mountains
Collision Zone (click for
animation)

Plate Boundaries: Convergent (Subduction)

When oceanic/oceanic,
continental/continental, or
oceanic/continental plates
converge and one subducts under
the other.
The denser of the two plates
subducts under the less dense
plate.
Ex. Marianas Trench
Subduction Zone (click for
animation)

Plate Boundaries: Divergent

Divergent boundaries are when
two plates spread in opposite
directions
An example is sea-floor
spreading - Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Due to sea floor spreading, the
Atlantic Ocean is widening 3
cm every year.
Divergent (click for animation)

Plate Boundaries: Transform

Transform boundaries are
boundaries that slip/slide past
each other.
Movement at transform
boundaries usually equates to
earthquakes.
Ex. San Andreas Fault
(California)
San Andreas (click for animation)

Hot Spots
An area where a magma
chamber continually resides,
regardless of plate movement.
Examples: Hawaiian Islands
and Yellowstone.