plate tectonics. what did the earth look like in the past?
TRANSCRIPT
Plate Tectonics
What Did The Earth Look Like
In The Past?
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
• Alfred Wegener - 1912 - developed theory of a large land mass called Pangaea (means all land). The ocean was called Panthalassa. He thought Pangaea broke apart and floated on the ocean floor due to earth’s rotation.
• Evidence of proof: fossils of plants & animals, rocks, glacial clues, matching climate and continents fitting together like a puzzle.
• Theory was ignored because there was no explanation of how, when, or why these changes took place.
Evidence of Continental Drift
MESOSAURUS - M Freshwater/Land reptile
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G
GLOSSOPTERIS - GFossil plant /Similar climate
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MM
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CLIMATE - CWarm weather plants
GLACIERS - GLGlacial deposits &Rock surfaces scoured& polished by glaciers
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C/W
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GL
GL
ROCK CLUE - RRock structures aresimilar types & ages
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LYSTROSAURUS - LA small reptile
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Principle of Uniformitariantism - states that the processes we see changing Earth’s surface today are the same as those that changed it in the past.
Principle of Superposition - states that layers of sedimentary rock near the surface are younger than layers of rock deeper down, unless somethingHas disturbed the layers.
Unconformity - is a place where rock layers are missing.
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PLATE TECTONICS
In 1968, scientists aboard the research ship Glomar Challenger drilled into the seafloor for rock samples. They discovered that the youngest rocks were located on the mid-ocean ridge in the Atlantic Ocean. The rocks became older as they moved farther away from the ridge.
This gave evidence to the theory of seafloor spreading that was suggested by a Princeton University scientist, Harry Hess. Hess was on a Navy vessel in WW II,mapping the ocean floor with a fathometer - a type of sonar that used echo sounding to help ships know where the bottom of the ocean floor was. He proposed that hot, less dense material below the crust rises toward the surface at the mid ocean ridges, flowing sideways, carrying the seafloor away from the ridge in both directions.
Divergent plates spread apart from each other, creating newcrust. Hot, molten magma rises to the surface of the oceanfloor, pushing the floor outward. On the Mid- Atlantic Ridge, the North American plate is movingaway from the Eurasian and the African Plates. This process is making the Atlantic Ocean larger.
The Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa is becoming a divergentplate boundary. Iceland is also.
When new seafloor is created by this plate movement, the magma cools quickly, forming a crust made of basalt rock. This creates a very heavy, dense crust, even though it is only 3 miles thick.
SEAFLOORSPREADING
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Names of Plates
The Earth’s crust appears to be broken into pieces like a puzzle, which are called plates. These rigid plates are being moved by the convection currentsin the hot, molten mantle. The plates spread apart, collide or slide past each other, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains and ridges. The plates can move 2 to 15 centimeters each year.
Plates Move Away From Each OtherThis is called Divergence – these are constructive
boundaries since they produce new land
Africa and ArabiaNorth America
and Eurasia
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Rift Valley – if the land is above water
Sea Floor Spreading – when the land is below water
Divergence – Moving Apart
Plates Move Toward Each OtherThis is called Convergence – these are destructive
boundaries since they deform the plates
Continent/ContinentOcean/Continent
Ocean/Ocean
Subduction
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13. Convergent
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Subduction15.
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18. Andes Mountains
Convergent19.
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Folded Mountains21.
Convergence – Moving TogetherTrenches
Mountains
Structural Mountains
Volcanic Mountains
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A convergent boundary is created when two plates collide into each other. When this occurs, mountains and/or volcanoes are created and earthquakes can happen. When the heavier oceanic floor collides into the lighter continental crust, the continental crust is pushed over the oceanic crust. The oceanic crust “dives” under the continental crust creating a subduction zone. Land is lostin this area. The Pacific Ocean isgetting smaller because of this process.
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Rock parts pulled
Apart from faults
Sierra &Teton Range
Rock layers folded
Orcompressed
Appalachians
Plates sink andMelting occursLava piles upFrom magma
HawaiianIslands
Forces in EarthPush on crust
Rocky &
Adirondack
Active Movements - Faults
One day – Los Angeles and San Francisco will be next to each other
TRANSFORM FAULT
This type of boundary occurs where two plates slide past one another. They move in opposite directions or in the same direction at different rates. When one plate slips past another suddenly, earthquakes occur.
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24. Shearing
Transform
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Foot Wall Hanging Wall
FAULTS are fractures or break in earth’s crust - movement has taken place - rock strata layers do not match - create mountains- Niagara Falls.
Blocks are pulled apartoverlying block movesdown the fault plane.A spreading zone.Sierra Nevada's
Squeezing or compressing Blocks are pushed togetherMoves up the fault plane.Himalayas Mts. - India
Transform - strike -slip fault - a lateral faultSlide past each other.San Andreas, CA.
Foot Wall Hanging Wall
DIVERGENT
CONVERGENTCONVERGENT
OCEAN
LAND
Earthquakes, Volcanoes & Mountains
Earthquakes
Earthquakes & Volcanoes
Divergent
Convergent
Convergent
Convergent
Transform
Sea floor spreading
Mid ocean ridge
Rift Valley Iceland
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Collision ofOcean-ocean
Subduction Trench
Island arc ConvergentOcean-ocean
subductionVolcanicmountains
Collision ofContinental/
oceanicTrench
AndesMountains
Shearing
Collision ofContinental/continental
Foldedmountains
HimalayaMountains
Transformfault
San Andreasfault
Types of Boundary – convergent, divergent, transformChoices of Motion at Boundary – collision of continental/continentalCollision of oceanic/oceanicCollision of continental/oceanicOcean floor spreadingShearingSubductionLand Features Formed -Island arcFolded mountainsMid-ocean ridgeRift valleyTransform faultTrenchVolcanic MountainsActual Examples –Andes MountainsAleutian IslandsHimalaya MountainsIcelandMid-Atlantic RidgeSan Andreas