Continental Drift Hypothesis Reviewer

Continental Drift Hypothesis
Alfred Wegener- Proposed the hypothesis of continental drift in 1911.

Evidence:
1. Fit of the continent
2. Fossil evidence
3. Ancient mountain ranges
4. Past climate evidence
Continental Drift Hypothesis
The continent was assembled to form the super continent PANGEA where it moved over time.
FIT OF CONTINENT
- Antonio Snider-Pelligrini (1858), a geographer cut out a map of Africa and South America
suggesting they were connected to one another.
- Other physical evidence Based on observation was used by Wegener.
Evidence for continental Drift: Puzzle
FOSSIL EVIDENCE
- Similar terrestrial species were found on many continents now separated by oceans.
- Information collected by paleontologist.
Glossopteris: An ancient seed fern (200 Ma) Distributed in India and Australia
Mesosaurus: couldn’t swim in open ocean, Distributed in South America and
Africa
EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT GLACIERS
- Glaciers carve the rock as they move.
- Scientists can determine the direction of movement.
- As South America sits today, the pattern would not make sense.
Lack of mechanism to explain continental movement.
Wegener’s idea was not accepted by the scientific community because he could not explain how the
continent moved.
With Advances in technology, new information was gathered in association with WWII.
Exploration of the ocean Basins
- Seafloor features
- Composition of seafloor
- Age of the seafloor
- Hot spots
- Seismicity
Seafloor Features were discovered using SONAR.
Sonar- echo sounding was used to map the seafloor.
Seafloor Spreading- Harry Hess in 1963, developed the idea of seafloor spreading to explain the seafloor’s
formation. The continental movement is the result of ocean floor spreading.
Seafloor Spreading: Moving at Ridges

The axis of the ocean ridges is offsets by transform (strike-slip) Faults which produce lateral displacement.
Ridges and rifts indicate movement.
- Mafic lava is extruded along the mid-oceanic ridges to produce ocean floor.
- New material is added, the cooler material is split and is pushed away from the ridges.
Information to understand.
 The evidence used by Wegener to describe the continental drift hypothesis.

 The evidence associated with technology that was used to collect information about ocean basins.
 The hypothesis of seafloor spreading
 The accepted tectonic plate driving mechanism.
J. Tuzo Wilson
I. Hotspots hypothesis- linear volcanic island/ seamount chain
II. Transform faults- Earthquake activity on oceanic fracture system.
III. Wilson cycle- Geology of mountain belts
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES

Divergent- moving away.
Convergent- moving toward another.
Transform- mowing different directions.
Why isn’t the Earth Expanding? Because of subduction Zone

What else happens at Convergent Boundaries? Volcanoes occur at subduction zones.
Earth’s geomagnetic field is recorded as new crust cools- new crust Parallel band of crust with the same
magnetism form along the ridge.
Types of plate boundaries

- Transform: plate movement
i) Mantle Convection
ii) Slab Pull
iii) Ridges Push
Type of plate boundaries
- Continental
- Oceanic
How do plates change with time? The heat from radioactive processes within the planet's interior causes the
plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other.
The Wilson Cycle

1) Continent Rifting- Continents split Due to rifting.
2) Oceanic Basin and Crust Development-New Ocean basin and new oceanic crust are created
3) Passive Margin Cooling and sedimentation- As the spreading continues passive margin cooling occurs and
sediments accumulate.
4) Volcano Mountain Belt Formation – Oceanic crust subducts beneath a continental crust, creating a volcanic
mountain belt at the active margin.
5) Subduction Welding Fragments carried by the subducting plate accretes and welds material to the continent.
6) Continental collision- As the continental plate proceeds to collide, crustal pools are formed and build
mountains.
7) Orogenesis- Exogenic and endogenic processes weather down.
Wilson Cycle Theory
(i) Earth surface is
(ii) divided into rigid lithospheric plates.
(iii) A new oceanic lithosphere is created at mid-ocean ridges.
(iv)Oceanic lithosphere is destroyed at deep-sea trenches.
(v) This process largely explains the global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes.
(vi)Fragments carried by the subducting plates accretes and welds materials to the continent.
(vii) As continental plates proceed to collied, crustal roots are formed and build
mountains.
(viii) Exogenic and endogenic processes weather down mountains which allows the
crust to restart the entire cycle.
Factors of how rocks respond to stress.
- Nature of rocks
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Time

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Continental Drift Hypothesis

Alfred Wegener- Proposed the hypothesis of continental drift in 1911.

Seafloor Spreading: Moving at Ridges

 The evidence used by Wegener to describe the continental drift hypothesis.

TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES

Why isn’t the Earth Expanding? Because of subduction Zone

Types of plate boundaries

The Wilson Cycle

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