PLATE TECTONICS

PLATE TECTONICS
• Theory that proposes
Earth’s outer shell,
consists of individual
plates which interact in
various ways and thereby
produce earthquakes,
mountains and crust
itself.

TECTONICS- The study of large

scale deformations of the
earths lithosphere that
results in major features such
as ocean basins and mountains
 What did the modern plate tectonics theory supersede?

• Diastrophism: early term for all movement of the Earth’s crust. Thought to result
in the formation of mountains, ocean basins, etc.

1. Contracting Earth Theory

•Theory that the Earth contracted or shrank over geologic time.
•First proposed by Giordano Bruno (16th C) who compared the process to the drying of
an apple.

2. Geosyncline Theory
• Theory explaining orogenic belts that are highly deformed regions of the Earth’s
curst that appeared to have been sites of great amounts sedimentary deposition
before being pushed upward, shortened and commonly experienced metamorphism and
melting
•first conceived by the American geologists James Hall and James Dwight Dana in the
mid-19th century, during the classic studies of the Appalachian Mountains.

Assignment recap: What is paradigm shift?

ASSIGNMENT:

1. As compared to the explanation offered by the modern plate tectonics, what

are some of the observations which both contracting earth and geosyncline
theories cannot explain. Give contrast.
2. A. What are the 7 major plates?
B. What are the Minor Plates?
C. What are microplates, terranes?
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
⚫ Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift (1915):
− Published in 1915 “Die Entstehung der Kontinente und
Ozean”[On the Origins of Continents and Oceans]
− became the “father of continental drift” by amassing
considerable supporting evidence that the continents
moved over time.
− [1 November 1880 – November 1930] was a German
climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist,
and polar researcher.

− His theory was an important basis for plate tectonics

− Solid evidence support the theory, but mechanism cannot
be explained at that time

Plate tectonics may be credited to several scientists,

Wegener provided some of the first solid evidence for the
theory
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
⚫ Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift (1915):
− A supercontinent called PANGAEA began breaking apart
into smaller continents about 200 million years ago
and further “drifted” to their present positions.

ASSIGNMENT: Are there other supercontinents before

Pangaea? List them and their ages of formation and breakup
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: EVIDENCES
The jigsaw fit of the outline of the continental margins.

This “jigsaw” fit of continental

margins is best when the outline is
the edges of the continental
shelves.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: EVIDENCES
The presence of fossils only over small areas of now separate continents

1.Glossopteris
2.Lystrosaurus
3.Mesosaurus
4.Cynognathus
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: EVIDENCES
Ancient “cratons” within continents match up when they are brought
together like a jigsaw puzzle.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: EVIDENCES
Paleoclimatological Evidences

Glacial deposits, including Wegener suggested that the

structures that indicate ice flow, pattern formed with continents
direction are located in ancient together at the south pole.
rocks as shown on the left.
Wegener’s Conclusions:
1. That the continents were once joined. Therefore, they must have
moved apart over time.

2. Contracting Earth theory was not consistent with the facts.

Wegener proposed a mechanism for continental drift:

pushing of the continents by gravitational forces
that derived from the sun and the moon (similar to
tides).
Wegener’s ideas were strongly challenged by the scientific
community.
They suggested alternative interpretations of his
paleontological data:

Paleoclimate evidence was explained movement of the

poles rather than the continents.
Other evidence was refuted as being “coincidence” or just being
incorrect.
Errors in Wegener’s data led to easy arguments against some
conclusions.
He had predicted the North America and Europe were moving away from
each other at the rate of 250 cm/year……an impossible rate.

(we now know that they are moving apart at a rate up to 3 cm per
year)
The second Biggest problem: the mechanism that Wegener proposed was
impossible and easily demonstrated to be so.
The biggest problem was that Wegener’s ideas were contrary to the
dogma of the day.

By 1930 there were few geologists who believed Wegener’s

hypothesis.
He died while on an expedition to Greenland, two days after his 50th
birthday.
Over the next 20 years any suggestion of moving continents was
received with strong opposition.

In the 1950s evidence from the geological record of the Earth’s

magnetic field began to strongly suggest exactly such movement.
PLATE TECTONICS: SEAFLOOR SPREADING
Was proposed to explain linear
magnetic anomalies on the
seafloor
⚫ Robert Dietz (1961) –
suggested the name seafloor
spreading
⚫ Harry Hess (1962) –
proposed the theory of
seafloor spreading
⚫ Vine and Mathews (1963) –
proposed that these
anomalies result from a
combination of seafloor
spreading and magnetic
reversals HOW AND WHY?
PALEOMAGNETISM, POLAR WANDERING & CURIE
TEMPERATURE

• CURIE TEMPERATURE- temperature

above which certain materials lose
their permanent magnetic
properties, which can (in most
cases) be replaced by induced
magnetism, hence, magnetic
Magnetite in rocks
minerals take on a magnetic
orientation parallel to external
magnetic field present at the time
of cooling
PALEOMAGNETISM, POLAR WANDERING & CURIE
TEMPERATURE
Heat transfer from the
inner core to the outer
core
Liquid,
Ni, Fe…
Latent heat of
crystallization
Solid,
crystallized,
crystallizing

http://www.columbia.edu/~vjd1/earth_int.htm

Dynamo Effect
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-detect-signs-of-
hidden-structure-inside-earths-core
PALEOMAGNETISM, POLAR WANDERING & CURIE
TEMPERATURE
⚫ Earth's magnetic field (Geomagnetic reversal)

WHY?
PALEOMAGNETISM, POLAR WANDERING & CURIE
TEMPERATURE

POLAR WANDERING- the migration of the

magnetic poles over Earth’s surface
through geologic time.

MAGNETIC DECLINATION- The deviation of

the compass from true north is an angle
called "declination"

MAGNETIC INCLINATION- the angle made with

the horizontal by the Earth's magnetic
field lines. This angle varies at
different points on the Earth's surface.
 PLATES

• a large, mobile slab of rock

that is part of the earth’s
surface. It may be made up
entirely of sea floor (e.g.,
Nazca plate) or both
continental and seafloor
(e.g., North American plate).
CONTINENTAL PLATE
• These are plates composed of less dense, felsic rocks of average
granitic/ granodioritic in composition
MAJOR FEATURES
1. Most continents are roughly triangular in shape.
2. They are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere.
3. Although each may seem unique, all continents have three basic
components: (a) a shield, (b) a stable platform, and (c) folded mountain
belts. Geologic differences between continents are mostly in size, shape,
and proportions of these components.
4. Continents consist of rock that is less dense than the rock in
the ocean basins.
5. old, some as old as 3.8 billion years.
6. The climatic zone occupied by a continent usually determines
the style and variety of landforms developed on it.
SHIELD

A large, relatively flat

expanse of ancient
metamorphic rock within the
stable continental interior
STABLE PLATFORM

• These large parts of the cratons

that are covered with a veneer
of sedimentary rocks. These
areas have been relatively
stable throughout the last 600
million or 700 million years;
i.e., they have not been
uplifted a great distance above
sea level or submerged far below
it

• TOGETHER WITH SHIELD THEY

COMPOSE THE CRATON
CRATONS

• The extensive flat, stable regions of the

continents in which complex crystalline
rocks are exposed or buried beneath a
relatively thin sedimentary cover.

• These regions have been relatively

undisturbed for over a half billion years
except for broad, gentle warping.
OROGENIC BELT
• It is one of the most
significant features of the
continents that typically
occur along their margins.

WHAT IS OROGENY?
OCEANIC CRUST
1. The oceanic crust is mostly basalt, a dense volcanic rock, and its major topographic
features are somehow related to volcanic activity The oceanic crust, therefore, is
entirely different from the continental crust.

2. The rocks of the ocean floor are young in a geologic time frame. Most are less than
150 million years old, whereas the ancient rocks of the shields are more than 700
million years old. [In books, 180 million years is the oldest. Newer papers say it is
340 Ma, the Herodutus Basin between Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt]

3. The rocks of the ocean floor have not been deformed by compression. Their undeformed
structure is in marked contrast to the complex deformation of rocks in the folded
mountains and basement complex of the continents.
4. The major provinces of the ocean floor are
a. The oceanic ridge
b. The abyssal floor
c. Seamounts
d. Trenches
e. Continental margins
The Oceanic Ridge
It is perhaps the most striking and important feature on the ocean floor; extends
continuously from the Arctic basin down the center of the Atlantic Ocean, into the
Indian Ocean, and across the South Pacific. The oceanic ridge is essentially a broad,
fractured swell generally more than 1400 km wide. Its higher peaks rise as much as
3000 m above the ocean floor. A huge, cracklike valley, called the rift valley, runs
along the axis of the ridge throughout most of its length. In addition, great fracture
systems, some as long as 4000 km, trend across the ridge.

The Abyssal Floor

On both sides of the ridge are vast areas of broad, relatively smooth, deep-ocean
basins known as the abyssal floor. This surface extends from the flanks of the oceanic
ridge to the continental margins and generally lies at depths of about 4000 m. The
abyssal floor can be subdivided into two sections:
a) abyssal hills - relatively small hills, rising as much as 900 m above the
surrounding ocean floor; they cover from 80 to 85% of the Pacific sea floor, and thus
they are the most widespread landforms on Earth.
b) abyssal plain – forms near the continental margins where land-derived sediment
completely covers the abyssal hills.
Seamounts
These are isolated peaks of submarine volcanoes. Some seamounts rise above sea level and
form islands, but most are completely submerged and are known only from oceanographic
soundings. Although many seem to occur at random, others, such as the Hawaiian Islands,
form chains along well-defined lines.

Trenches
These are the lowest areas on Earth’s surface. The Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean, is
the deepest part of the world’s oceans —11,000 m below sea level —and many other trenches
are more than 8000 m deep. The trenches are invariably adjacent to island arcs or coastal
mountain ranges of the continents.

Continental Margins
This is the zone of transition between a continental mass and an ocean basin. The submerged
part of a continent is referred to as a continental shelf. Geologically, it is part of the
continent, not part of the ocean basin. The continental shelves at present constitute 11%
of the continental surface. The sea floor descends in a long, continuous slope from the
outer edge of the continental shelf to the deep-ocean basin, forming the continental slope,
which marks the edge of the continental rock mass. In many areas, the continental slopes
are cut by deep submarine canyons, which are remarkably similar to canyons cut by rivers
into continental mountains and plateaus.
Different Types of Boundaries
Different Types of Boundaries
• Convergent boundaries come together
+ Places where crust is destroyed as one plate dives
under another [Destructive Margin]

• 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 [Constructive Margin}

• Transform boundaries slide against each

other
+ Places where crust is neither produced nor destroyed
as the plates slide horizontally past each other
[Conservative Margin]
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.
Oceanic – Continental Convergence

RESULT: CONTINENTAL ARC

OCEAN-CONTINENT CONVERGENCE
 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 Oceanic – Oceanic Convergence
the arcuate chains of islands in the
Philippines, Japan, and the Aleutian Islands.

RESULT: ISLAND ARC

Converging plate boundaries - where two plates
move toward each other
OCEAN-OCEAN CONVERGENCE

WADATI-BENIOFF ZONE
Continental-Continental Convergence

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. The collision between the
Indian and Eurasian plates
has pushed up the Himalayas
RESULT: OROGENIC BELT, SUTURE ZONE and the Tibetan Plateau.
Continental-Continental Convergence
• 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 form the highest

continental mountains in the world.
CONTINENT-CONTINENT CONVERGENCE

1. Ocean-continent
convergence

2. Ocean closing

3. Continent-continent
collision
 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.
•Rift Valley is a divergent bouundary
Divergence
• 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. [What is
Aulacogen?]
Diverging plate boundaries
-where plates move away from each other, either within the
ocean or continent.

1. Continental
extension

2. Continental rifting

3. Ocean spreading
 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.

QUESTION: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

TRANSCURRENT AND TRANSFORM FAULT?
 Transform
• 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 other.

DEXTRAL VS SINISTRAL
Transform boundaries – where one plate slides horizontally past another
plate along a fault or a group of parallel faults.
- the displacement along the fault abruptly ends or transforms into another kind
of displacement
- marked by shallow earthquakes
- most common type is that which connects two diverging plate boundaries at the
crest of MOR.

MOR-MOR

MOR-Trench Trench-trench
HOTSPOTS
• volcanic locales
thought to be fed
by underlying
mantle that is
anomalously hot
compared with the
surrounding
mantle.
MECHANISMS FOR PLATE MOTION

⚫ Convection

Figure 1.14. Schematic diagram

of a 2-layer dynamic mantle
model in which the 660 km
transition is a sufficient density
barrier to separate lower mantle
convection (arrows represent
flow patterns) from upper
mantle flow, largely a response
to plate separation. The only
significant things that can
penetrate this barrier are
vigorous rising hotspot plumes
and subducted lithosphere
(which sink to become
incorporated in the D" layer
where they may be heated by the
core and return as plumes). After
Silver et al. (1988).
MECHANISMS FOR PLATE MOTION
ISOSTASY
Note that isostasy
can be between the
crust and the rigid
the rising or settling of a portion of the Earth's lithosphere that upper mantle or
occurs when weight is removed or added in order to maintain between the
equilibrium between buoyancy forces that push the lithosphere upward lithosphere and the
and gravity forces that pull the lithosphere downward. asthenosphere

− Pratt's hypothesis (1854) by John Pratt,

Archdeacon of Culcutta
− Proposed that topography is produced by
crustal blocks of varying density, that
terminate
Assume: at a uniform depth
c = 2800 kg/m3 or 2.8 g/cm3

m = 3100 kg/m3 or 3.1 g/cm3

Gives:

1 = 2400 kg/m3 or 2.4 g/cm3

ISOSTASY
⚫ Isostasy

− Airy's hypothesis (1855) by George Airy, Astronomer Royal

− “It appears to me that the state of the earth's crust lying
upon lava may be compared with perfect correctness to the
state of a raft of timber floating upon water...”

Assume:

c = 2800 kg/m3 or 2.8 g/cm3

m = 3100 kg/m3 or 3.1 g/cm3

h = 5 km (Tibetan Plateau)

Gives:

r = 42 km; r+h+t = 82 km
https://sites.ualberta.ca/~unsworth/UA-classes/210/notes210/B/210B6-2008.pdf
Who is correct, Pratt or Airy?
• Mountains do have roots based on seismic imaging

• As shown in the previous slide, there is a difference in density

between basaltic crust (oceanic) and andesitic-dacitic crust
(continental)