The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, Stresses, and Faults

What are Plates?

The Earth’s crust and upper mantle (Lithosphere) are broken into sections called plates.
Plates move around on top of the mantle like rafts. A section of the lithosphere that
slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust.

What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?

● The theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by
convection currents in the mantle.Plates move slowly in Different directions.
● Cause different geologic events (like earthquake, volcano, etc.)

What makes the plates move?

Convection Currents in the mantle move the plates as the core heats the slowly-flowing
asthenosphere (the elastic/plastic-like part of the mantle).

Plate Boundaries?
● The edges of Earth’s plates meet at plate boundaries.
● Extended deep into the lithosphere

FAULT – Breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other.

Three Types of Plate Boundaries:

● Divergent Boundaries - A plate boundary where two plates move away from
each other. RIFTING causes SEAFLOOR SPREADING. How is the rock pulled
at Divergent Boundaries? Rock gets THIN in the middle as it is pulled apart.
The stress is called TENSION. What happens when the rock SNAPS from the
Stress of Tension? A Normal Fault (fault is a break in Earth’s crust) Rock
drops down as it breaks. What happens next at Divergent Boundaries? A
geologic feature or event… May form RIFT VALLEYS on continents. Divergent is
like “dissecting” or “dividing”. If you pull warm bubble gum or silly putty, it will thin
in the middle until it is stressed so much that it breaks. Happens on land & under
H2O. Features of Divergent Boundaries: Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, and
fissure volcanoes.

● Convergent Boundaries - A plate boundary where two plates move towards

each other. Boundaries between two plates that are colliding. This stress is called
COMPRESSION. Places where plates crash (or crunch) together or subduct
(one sinks under). There are 3 types of Convergent Boundaries: TYPE 1-
Ocean plate colliding with a less dense continental plate; Subduction Zone: The
 process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into
the mantle at a convergent plate boundary. VOLCANOES occur at subduction
zones. TYPE 2- Ocean plate colliding with another ocean plate. The less dense
plate slides under the more dense plate creating a subduction zone called a
TRENCH. TYPE 3- A continental plate colliding with another continental plate.
Have Collision Zones: A place where folded and thrust faulted mountains form.
May form Mountain Ranges. These are Folded Mountains, like the Himalayas or
the Rockies. What happens when the rock is squeezed from the Stress of
Compression? A REVERSE FAULT, Rock is forced upward as it is squeezed.
Convergent = “Connecting” boundaries. May work like a trash compactor
smashing rock. – Rock goes crunches up to make folded mountains. – Rock
goes down “under” @ subduction zone.

● Transform Boundaries - A plate boundary where two plates move past each
other in opposite directions. How is the rock broken at Transform
Boundaries? Rock is pushed in two opposite directions (or sideways, but no
rock is lost) This stress is called SHEARING. What happens next at Transform
Boundaries? May cause Earthquakes when the rock snaps from the pressure. A
famous fault @ a Transform Boundary is the San Andreas Fault in California.
What happens when the rock is sheared (or “cut”) from the Stress of
Shearing? A STRIKE-SLIP FAULT. Rocks on each side of the fault slip past
each other as they break. Shearing means cutting (“Shears” are like scissors)
Transform boundaries run like trains going past each other in different directions
& they shake the ground!

Plate Tectonics
The theory that the Earth’s outermost layer is fragmented into a dozen or more large
and small plates that move relative to one another as they ride on top of hotter, more
mobile material.

What Are Tectonic Plates?

● A plate is a large, rigid slab of solid rock.
● Plates are formed from the lithosphere: the crust and the upper part of the
mantle.
● The plates “float” on the slowly flowing asthenosphere: the lower part of the
mantle.
● The plates include both the land and ocean floor.
● The Mohoriovicic discontinuity or Moho is the boundary between the crust
and the mantle.
What Drives Plate Tectonics?
● The slow movement of hot, softened mantle lies below rigid plates.
● The hot, softened rock in the mantle moves in a circular manner in a convection
flow – the heated, molten rock rises to the surface, spreads, and begins to cool,
and then sinks back down to be reheated and rises again.

Earth's Plate

Different Types of Boundaries:

Convergent boundaries come together
- Places where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.
Divergent boundaries spread apart
- Places where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other
- New crust is created from magma pushing up from the mantle
Transform boundaries slide against each other.
- Places where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide
horizontally past each other.
Oceanic-Continental Convergence
● The oceanic plate subducts under the continental plate because it has lower
density.
● The oceanic Nazca Plate is being subducted under the continental part of the
South American Plate.
● The South American Plate is being lifted up, creating the Andes mountains.
● Strong, destructive earthquakes and rapid uplift of mountain ranges are common
in this region.
● These earthquakes are often accompanied by uplift of the land by as much as a
few meters.
● Mount Saint Helens is along the subduction zone of the Juan de Fuca plate (an
oceanic plate) and the North American plate (a continental plate).

Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence
● When two oceanic plates converge, one is usually subducted under the other.
● An older oceanic plate is colder, therefore more dense and less buoyant, and will
subduct under a younger, hotter, less dense, and more buoyant oceanic plate.
● In the process, a trench is formed.
● The deepest trenches in the oceans are along oceanic-oceanic subduction zones
(i.e., the Marianas Trench in the Pacific, which is deeper than Mt. Everest is
high).
● Subduction in oceanic-oceanic plate convergence can result in the formation of
volcanoes.
● Examples of oceanic-oceanic convergence are the arcuate chains of islands in
the southwest Pacific, Japan, and the Aleutian Islands.

Continental-Continental Convergence
● When two continents meet head-on, neither is subducted because the
continental rocks are relatively light and, like two colliding icebergs, resist
downward motion.
● Instead, the crust tends to buckle and be pushed upward or sideways.
● 50 million years ago, the Indian Plate collided into the Eurasian Plate.
● After the collision, the slow continuous convergence of the two plates over
millions of years pushed up the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau to their
present heights.
● The Himalaya forms the highest continental mountains in the world.
Divergence
● Divergent boundaries occur along spreading centers where plates are moving
apart and new crust is created by magma pushing up from the mantle.
● The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent boundary.
● Sea-floor spreading over the past 100 to 200 million years has caused the
Atlantic Ocean to grow from a tiny inlet of water between the continents of
Europe, Africa, and the Americas into the ocean that exists today.
● Iceland is splitting along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the North American and
Eurasian Plates, as North America moves westward relative to Eurasia.
● In East Africa, spreading processes have already torn Saudi Arabia away from
the rest of the African continent, forming the Red Sea.
● The actively splitting African Plate and the Arabian Plate meet in what geologists
call a triple junction, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden.

Transform
● The zone between two plates that slide past one another is called a
transform-fault boundary, or transform boundary.
● These large faults connect two spreading centers or connect trenches.
● Most transform faults are found on the ocean floor.
● The San Andreas Fault is one of the few transform faults exposed on land.
- It connects the East Pacific Rise, a divergent boundary to the south, with
the Juan de Fuca Ridge, a divergent boundary to the north.
- Most earthquakes in California are caused by the accumulation and
release of strain as the two plates slide past each.

Consequences of Plate Tectonics

● Earthquakes and volcanic activity are linked to plate tectonic processes.
● The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.

Oceanic Crust - the thin part of the Earth’s crust located under the ocean.
Plate Tectonics Model - the entire lithosphere of the Earth is broken into numerous
segments called PLATES.
● Each plate is slowly but continuously moving
● As a result of the motion of the plates, three types of plate boundaries were
formed;
- Divergent - formed when plates move apart, creating a zone of tension
- Convergent - when two plates collide, compressing one another
- Transform Fault - characterized by plates that are sliding past each
other.
 Plate tectonics give rise to several geologic features and events.

Continental Volcanic Arc - mountains formed in part by igneous activity associated

with subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath a continent
Convergent Boundary - a boundary in which two plates move toward each other,
causing one of the slabs of the lithosphere to subduct beneath overriding
Crust - the outer portion of the Earth
Continental Crust - the thick part of the Earth’s crust
Divergent Boundary - a region where crustal plates are moving apart
Transform Fault Boundary - a boundary produced when two plate slide past each
other
Geology - a science that studies the Earth
Earthquake - a vibration of Earth due to the rapid release of energy
Fault - a break in a rock along which movement has occurred
Hot Spot - a concentration of heat in the mantle capable of creating magma
Mid Ocean Ridge - a continuous mass of land with long width and height on the ocean
floor
Trench - a depression in the seafloor produced by subduction process
Plates - a rigid sections of the lithosphere that move as a unit
Volcanic Island Arc - a chain of volcanoes that develop parallel to a trench
Plate Tectonics - a theory which suggests that Earth’s crust is made up of plates that
interact in various ways, thus producing earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes, and other
geologic.
Primary Wave (P) - the first type of seismic wave to be recorded at seismic station
Secondary Wave (S) -second type of Earthquake wave to be recorded in a seismic
station
The Earth's Mechanism
The Continental Drift
Have you had the chance to go to a mountain, stand on its peak and look at the beauty that
it offers? Do you think it looks exactly the same as before? Perhaps you would think that it
might be different - all plain, no plateaus, no mountains. If it wasn't the same 10 years ago,
how much different is it 10 million years ago, 100 million years ago? In 1912, Alfred
Wegener (pronounced as vey-guh-nuh r), a German meteorologist, proposed a theory that
about 200 million years ago, the continents were once one large landmass. He called this
landmass Pangaea, a Greek word which means "All Earth." Pangaea evolved into how the
continents look today. This Pangaea started to break into two smaller supercontinent called
Laurasia and Gondwanaland during the Jurassic Period. These smaller supercontinents
broke into the continents and these continents separated and drifted apart since then. Is this
idea somehow true? If you lived during Wegener's time, will you believe him?

Wegener searched for evidence to support his claim. He noticed the fit of the edges of the
continents on the opposite sides of the South Atlantic. His evidence to the Continental Drift
Theory includes the distribution of fossils in different continents, rock features, and ancient
climates. Let us have further study on these evidence.

The Continental Jigsaw Puzzle

Did it really start as one big landmass? It seems very impossible that the seven continents,
which are currently thousands of miles away from each other, were actually connected
pieces of a supercontinent. The most visible and fascinating evidence that these continents
were once one is their shapes. The edge of one continent surprisingly matches the edge of
another: South America and Africa fit together; India, Antarctica, and Australia match one
another; Eurasia and North America complete the whole continental puzzle in the north.

Evidence from Fossils

Fossils are preserved remains or traces of organisms (plants and animals) from the remote
past. Fossilized leaves of an extinct plant Glossopteris were found in 250 million years old
rocks. These fossils were located in the continents of Southern Africa, Australia, India, and
Antarctica, which are now separated from each other by wide oceans. The large seeds of
this plant could not possibly travel a long journey by the wind or survive a rough ride
through ocean waves.

Mesosaurus and Lystosaurus are freshwater reptiles. Fossils of these animals were
discovered in different continents, such as South America and Africa.It is impossible for
these reptiles to swim over the vast oceans and move from one continent to another.
Fossils were also found in Antarctica. Could it be possible that they existed in this region
where temperature was very low? Or could it be possible that, long before, Antarctica was
not in its current position?
Evidence from Rocks
Fossils found in rocks support the Continental Drift Theory. The rocks themselves also
provide evidence that continents drifted apart from each other. nFrom the previous activity,
you have learned that Africa fits South America. Rock formations in Africa line up with that
in South America as if it was a long mountain range.

How come these rock layers in different continents line up together with
layers that exactly matched?

The folded cape mountains of South America and Africa line up perfectly as if they were
once a long mountain range.

Coal Deposits
Coal beds were formed from the compaction and decomposition of swamp plants that lived
millions of years ago. These were discovered in South America, Africa, Indian subcontinent,
Southeast Asia, and even in Antarctica. How is a coal bed formation possible in Antarctica?

The current location of Antarctica could not sustain a substantial amount of life. If there is a
substantial quantity of coal in it, thus, it only means that Antarctica must have been
positioned in a part of the Earth where it once supported large quantities of life. This leads
to the idea that Antarctica once experienced a tropical climate, thus, it might have been
closer before to the equator.

The Seafloor Spreading

The question as to how the drifting took place left the Continental Drift Theory blurry.
Despite the evidence presented by Wegener, his idea that the continents were once joined
together was not accepted by the scientific society until the 1960s. He wasn't able to explain
how this drifting took place. This made scientists conduct further studies in search for the
answer.

During the 1950s and 1960s, new techniques and modern gadgets enabled scientists to
make better observations and gather new information about the ocean floor. With the use of
sonars and submersibles, scientists had a clearer view of the ocean floors. They have
discovered underwater features deep within the ocean.

Scientists found a system of ridges or mountains in the seafloor similar to those found in the
continents. These are called mid-ocean ridges. One of these is the famous Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, an undersea mountain chain in the Atlantic Ocean. It has a gigantic cleft about 32-48
km long and 1.6 km deep. The ridge is offset by fracture zones or rift valleys.

In the early 1960's, scientist Harry Hess, together with Robert Dietz, suggested an
explanation to the continental drift. This is the Seafloor Spreading Theory. According to this
theory, hot, less dense material from below the earth's crust rises towards the surface at the
mid-ocean ridge. This material flows sideways carrying the seafloor away from the ridge,
and creates a crack in the crust. The magma flows out of the crack, cools down and
becomes the new seafloor.

Overtime, the new oceanic crust pushed the old oceanic crust far from the ridge. The
process of seafloor spreading allowed the creation of new bodies of water. For example, the
Red Sea was created as the African plate and the Arabian plate moved away from each
other. Seafloor spreading is also pulling the continents of Australia, South America, and
Antarctica away from each other in the East Pacific Rise. The East Pacific Rise is one of the
most active sites of seafloor spreading, with more than 14 centimeters every year.

In the place where two oceanic plates collide or where an oceanic plate and a continental
plate collide, a subduction zone occurs. As the new seafloor is formed at the mid-ocean
ridge, the old seafloor farthest from the ridge is destroyed at the subduction zone.

The rate of formation of a new seafloor is not always as fast as the destruction of the old
seafloor at the subduction zone. This explains why the Pacific Ocean is getting smaller and
why the Atlantic Ocean is getting wider. If subduction is faster than seafloor spreading, the
ocean shrinks. When the seafloor spreading is greater than the subduction, then the ocean
gets wider.

Findings that support Seafloor Spreading Theory:

1. Rocks are younger at the mid-ocean ridge.
2. Rocks far from the mid-ocean ridge are older.
3. Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
4. Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than those at the continents.

The Seafloor Spreading Theory contradicts a part of the Continental Drift Theory. According
to this theory, continents moved through unmoving oceans and that larger, sturdier
continents broke through the oceanic crust. Whereas, the seafloor spreading shows that the
ocean is the actual site of tectonic activity.

Magnetic Reversal
Seafloor spreading was strengthened with the discovery that the magnetic rocks near the
ridge follow a pattern aside from the fact that rocks near the ridge are remarkably younger
than those farther from the ridge.

A magnetic compass tells us directions on Earth. It also proves that the Earth has a
magnetic field. The needle of a magnetic compass usually points to the North Pole of the
Earth which is actually the South Magnetic Pole at present.
The Earth's magnetic field is generated in the very hot molten outer core and has already
existed since the birth of our planet. The Earth's magnetic field is a dipole, one that has a
North Pole and a South Pole.

What is magnetic reversal? How does magnetic reversal happen and how does it prove
seafloor spreading? Magnetic reversal is also called magnetic
"flip' of the Earth. It happens when the North Pole is transformed into a South Pole and the
South Pole becomes the North Pole. This is due to the change in the direction of flow in the
outer core.

Magnetic reversals happened many times in the past. The occurrence of magnetic reversals
can be explained through the magnetic patterns in magnetic rocks, especially those found in
the ocean floor. When lava solidifies, iron bearing minerals crystallize. As these crystallize,
the minerals behave like tiny compasses and align with the Earth's magnetic field. So when
magnetic reversal occurs, there is also a change in the polarity of the rocks. This allowed
scientists to visualize the magnetic stripes in the ocean floor similar to Figure 14, and to
construct a magnetic polarity time scale similar to Figure 15.

Over the last 10 million years, there has been an average of 4 to 5 reversals per million
years. New rocks are added to the ocean floor at the ridge with approximately equal
amounts on both sides of the oceanic ridge. The stripes on both sides are of equal size and
polarity which seemed to be mirror images across the ocean ridge. What does this indicate?
It indicates that indeed, the seafloor is spreading.

Plate Tectonic Theory

What causes tectonic plates to move? This is one of the main questions that has remained
unanswered since Alfred Wegener proposed the Continental Drift Theory. The Plate
Tectonic Theory provided an explanation about the movement of the lithospheric plates.
This theory evolved from the two former theories and was developed during the first
decades of the 20th century. The Earth's lithosphere is divided into several plates. As you
have already learned, these plates ride over the weak asthenosphere.

Convection Current
As a substance like water is heated, the less dense particles rise while denser particles
sink. Once the hot less dense particles cool down, they sink, and the other less dense
particles rise. This continuous process is called convection current. This is exactly what
happens in the Earth's mantle. The hot, less dense rising material spreads out as it reaches
the upper mantle causing upward and sideward forces. These forces lift and split the
lithosphere at divergent plate boundaries. The hot magma flows out of the mantle and cools
down to form the new ocean crust. The downward movement of the convection current
occurs along a convergent boundary where the sinking force pulls the tectonic plate
downward.
The convection currents rotate very slowly, as they move and drag the plates along.
Because of convection current, the tectonic plates are able to move slowly along the
tectonic boundaries, pushing each other, sliding past each other and drifting away from
each other. This process is further illustrated in Figure 16 below.
—
As an oceanic crust moves away from a divergent boundary, it becomes denser than the
newer oceanic crust. As the older seafloor sinks, the weight of the uplifted ridge pushes the
oceanic crust toward the trench at the subduction zone. This process is called ridge push.

Slab pull is the other possible process involved in the tectonic plate movement. The weight
of the subducting plate pulls the trailing slab into the subduction zone just like a tablecloth
slipping off the table and pulling items with it.

Now that you understand what happens inside the Earth and its effects on the Earth's
surface, you should be able to realize that the tectonic activities at the surface just like
volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are inevitable. You should view the Earth as a dynamic
planet and still the most fascinating planet for it offers you a home that no other planet can.
Since you can't prevent these tectonic activities from happening, the following performance
task will enable you to contribute meaningfully in minimizing the damage that these
phenomena can bring.
—
Summary/Synthesis/Feedback
• The Earth is composed of three major layers: the crust, mantle, and core which is
subdivided into outer and inner core.
• The crust is the outermost and thinnest layer of the Earth.
• The mantle is the middle layer of the Earth, It makes most of the Earth's volume and
mass.
• The crust and a part of the upper mantle make up the lithosphere. The lithosphere is
subdivided into portions called lithospheric plates.
• The asthenosphere is the weak layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.
• The outer core is made up of molten material and accounts for the Earth's magnetic field.
The inner core is the deepest layer of the Earth. It is made up of solid nickel and iron. The
temperature in the inner core reaches as high as 5000°C.
• The speed, reflection and refraction properties of seismic waves are used by scientists to
study the structure and composition of the Earth's interior.
• The Continental Drift Theory of Alfred Wegener states that the continents were once part
of a large landmass called Pangaea which drifted away from each other. The continents
moved away from each other towards their current positions.
• Alfred Wegener based his theory on evidence from fossils embedded in rocks and rock
formations.
• Seafloor spreading is believed to occur as hot magma rises at the rift in the mid-ocean
ridge. This magma cools down and becomes the new seafloor as it pushes the former.
• The old seafloor is destroyed at the subduction zone and melts inside the mantle.
• The age of rocks and the magnetic stripes in the ocean floor support the Seafloor
Spreading Theory.
• The Theory of Plate Tectonics helps explain the formation and destruction of the Earth's
crust and its movement over time.
• Scientists believe that the plates' movement is due to convection currents in the mantle.
—
Asthenosphere
- soft, weak upper portion of the mantle where the lithospheric plates float and move
around
Continental Drift Theory
- states that all the continents were once one large landmass that broke apart, and
where the pieces moved slowly to their current locations
Convection current
- current in the mantle because of the heat from the inner layers of the Earth, and is
the force that drives the plates to move around
Lithosphere
- the topmost, solid part of the Earth that is composed of several plates
Lithospheric Plates
- the moving, irregularly-shaped slabs that fit together to form the surface of the Earth
Mid-ocean ridge
- area in the middle of the ocean where a new ocean floor is formed when lava erupts
through the cracks in the Earth's crust
Mohorovicic Discontinuity (Moho)
- the boundary that separates the crust and the mantle
Plasticity
- the ability of solid to flow
Seafloor spreading
- process by which new ocean floor is formed near the mid-ocean ridge and moves
outward
Subduction
- the process in which the crust plunges back into the earth
Tectonics
- branch of geology that deals with the movements that shape the Earth's crust