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The document summarizes theories of plate tectonics and continental drift. It describes how (1) Holmes introduced mantle convection to explain continental drift in 1929, (2) Hess published the seafloor spreading theory in 1962 stating new seafloor was created at mid-ocean ridges and pushed plates apart, and (3) Wegener proposed continental drift in the early 1900s providing evidence that continents were once joined together before drifting to their current positions.

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Marinelle Joy PALADA
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59 views4 pages

Science Reviewer

The document summarizes theories of plate tectonics and continental drift. It describes how (1) Holmes introduced mantle convection to explain continental drift in 1929, (2) Hess published the seafloor spreading theory in 1962 stating new seafloor was created at mid-ocean ridges and pushed plates apart, and (3) Wegener proposed continental drift in the early 1900s providing evidence that continents were once joined together before drifting to their current positions.

Uploaded by

Marinelle Joy PALADA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SEAFLOOR SPREADING AND PLATE TECTONICS THEORY

• In 1929, Arthur Holmes modified Alfred Wegener’s Continental drift theory.


• He introduced mantle convection, a mechanism that could drive the movement of the continents.
• And in 1962, Harry Hammond Hess published the Seafloor Spreading Theory based on Holmes mantle
convection current.
What is seafloor spreading?
It states that the seafloor grew from mid ocean ridges. Molten basaltic material rose from Earth’s mantle and
created a new seafloor. It pushed the older seafloor sideways away from the ridge and carried the continents
along. Harry Hammond also stated that ocean trenches were the location where seafloor was destroyed and
recycled. It is usually parallel to a plate boundary
What is Plate Tectonic Theory?
-Plate tectonic expresses the idea that “Earth’s surface is built”
-This theory states that Earth’s outermost layer is divided into dozens of large and small plates that are moving
relatively. They drifted because they are riding on plates that move over the mantle.
-This movement causes seismic activities and volcanism.
Primary and Secondary Tectonic Plates
Pacific
North America
Eurasia
Africa
Indo-Australian
Antarctica
South America

Earthquake
-An earthquake (also known as a quake or tremor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden
release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to
propel objects and people into the air, and wreak destruction across entire cities.
An earthquake is an intense shaking of Earth’s surface. The shaking is caused by movements in Earth’s
outermost layer.

What causes earthquake to happen?


-Tectonic plates are constantly shifting as they drift around on the viscous, or slowly flowing, mantle layer
below. This non-stop movement causes stress on Earth’s crust. When the stresses get too large, it leads to
cracks called faults. When tectonic plates move, it also causes movements at the faults.
An earthquake is the sudden movement of Earth’s crust at a fault line. The location where an earthquake
begins is called the epicenter. An earthquake’s most intense shaking is often felt near the epicenter. However,
the vibrations from an earthquake can still be felt and detected hundreds, or even thousands of miles away
from the epicenter.

-The focus is the point at which the rock moves.


-Seismic waves start at the focus.
-The epicentre is directly above the focus on the earth’s surface.

SE Asian Tsunami 2004


The tsunami in SE Asia occurred on the 26th December 2004. The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter
Scale and occurred off the northern tip of Sumatra. The tsunami spread across the Indian Ocean and hit
coastal areas of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia. The death toll is believed to
be 290,000.

How can we measure earthquakes?


-The Richter Scale
This measures the magnitude of a tremor (how powerful it is) using an instrument called a seismograph.
On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. Although the Richter
Scale has no upper limit, the largest earthquake ever recorded was in 1960 in Chile. It measured 9.5 on the
Richter Scale.
It is a logarithmic scale which means that a size ‘6’ on the Richter Scale is 10 times larger than a size ‘5’ and
100 times larger than a size ‘4’.

The Japanese earthquake in Kobe (September 1995) measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale.
-The Greek earthquake (June 1995) measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale.
-How many times greater was the Japanese earthquake?
-The Japanese earthquake was 10 times more powerful than the Greek earthquake

PLATE BOUNDARY
Mechanism of Plate Movements
-Did you know that the plates on the Earth’s crust continually move? They move at a speed of about 2.5 cm per year –
which is small.
-This movement of plates is influences by two types of forces:
Driving forces and Resisting forces.

Driving forces either push tectonic plates toward one another or pull them apart.
Mantle convection – causes the plate to move.
Slab pull – sinking of a subducting slab into the mantle due to difference in temperature.
Slab suction – occurs between two colliding plates.
Ridge push – making of a new crust

Resisting forces act against the driving forces of plate tectonics.


Slab resistance – this force resists all forces associated with plate movement in subduction zones.
Collisional resistance – this force opposes the slab pull.
Transform fault resistance – it is a frictional force due to the opposing movements of plates moving past one another
between two spreading centers.
Drag force – resists movement of lithospheric plates.

What are plate boundaries?


-regions between plates
-edges where two plates meet
-geologic activities, including volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain formation and trenches, take place at plate
boundaries
THREE TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
-two plates move apart
-magma rises up to fill the gap -- this causes volcanoes
-however, since the magma can escape easily at the surface the volcano does not erupt with much force where
Earthquakes are also found
-an example of a constructive boundary is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
found where two plate meets or slide toward each other forms either:
► SUBDUCTION ZONE (if one plate moves underneath the other)
► OROGENIC BELT (if the two plates simply collide and compress)

Three Kinds of Convergence


Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence
-two oceanic plates collide, a subduction zone is formed

Oceanic-Continental Convergence
-The oceanic plate descends under the continental plate because it is denser. As the plate descends it starts to melt due
to the friction caused by the movement between the plates. This melted plate is now hot, liquid rock (magma). The
magma rises through the gaps in the continental plate. If it reaches the surface, the liquid rock forms a volcano.

Continental-Continental Convergence
-occur when two plates of similar densities move together (i.e. a continental plate and a continental plate). This causes
the material between them to buckle and rise up, forming fold mountains.
-the Himalayas are an example of a chain of fold mountains. They have been formed by the African plate colliding into
the Eurasian plate.

TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY


-exists where two plates do not directly collide but slide past each other along a fault (weakness)
-no volcanoes are found along these plate boundaries, but earthquakes do occur
-an example of such a boundary is the San Andreas Fault in California
Faults
-cracks or fractures on Earth’s crust
Types of Fault
• Dip-slip (Normal Fault) – hanging wall slips downward with respect to the foot wall
• Dip-slip (Reverse Fault) – hanging wall is pushed upward with respect to the foot wall
• Strike-slip Fault – fault planes or surfaces slide in parallel but opposite directions
• Oblique-slip Fault – combination of a strike slip and dip-slip
THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Pangea- 200 million years ago. means all of earth or all lands
Panthalassa- means all seas

ALFRED WEGENER
THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT
-Found evidence for PANGAEA and proposed the theory of continental drift

Continental Drift
-Theory that continents were once part of a single landmass that broke apart and have moved to their present locations.
-can drift apart from one another and have done so in the past

WEGENER’S EVIDENCE

-Continents “fit together” like puzzle pieces

Fossil Evidence
-fossils are remains of living things that lived long ago.
-similar fossils have been discovered in matching coastlines on different continents.

-Mountains
Some mountain ranges on different continents seem to match.
Ex: ranges in Canada match Norway and Sweden
Ex: Appalachian Mtn. match UK mtn

-Climatic evidence such as glaciers in areas that are now close to the Equator
Evidence of Continental Drift
-Satellites used to measure the movement of continents
-Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS)

The Plates Move…


So what now?
-50 million years

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