Evidences supporting Continental Drift Theory

Continental Drift
1. The fit of the continents
List of Supercontinents 2. Rocks have similarity in geological units and
structure
3. Fossil match across continents
4. Glacial and paleoclimate evidence

1. Fit of the continents. Edges of the continents fits

just like a jigsaw puzzle.

2. Good correlation of the Appalachian Mountain rocks

and structures with mountains of the same age and
structure.

Overview on the Continental Drift Theory

-around since the 1600s - idea that continents fit 3. Fossils

together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (although little
significance was given to it).

1912 - continental drift hypothesis was first articulated

by Alfred Wegener (a German meteorologist)

1960s, the post-war boom in oceanography generated

new ideas about the ocean floor, and heat flow
measurements

- this led to the emergence of the Seafloor

Spreading Hypothesis which revived interest in Alfred
Wegener’s idea of drifting continents.
Continental Drift Theory – proposed that the
supercontinent (a huge landmass),Pangaea, began to
break apart and drifted 200 million years ago and form
the present landmasses.
Alfred Lothar Wegener – a German geologist who
proposed the Continental Drift hypothesis
✦ Glossopteris flora – ‘seed fern’ that grew only in a
subpolar regions, fossils of which were widely
distributed over Australia, Africa, India, and South
America (later on discovered in Antarctica).
✦ Mesosaurus - a freshwater reptile whose fossils were
found only in black shales about 260 million years of age
(Permian) in South Africa and Brazil.
✦ Lystrosaurus and Cynognathus - land reptiles whose
fossils were found across South America, Africa, India,
and Antarctica with their inability to swim
4. Glacial tills and striations of ancient times and found
out that glaciers of the same period (late Paleozoic
age, around 300 million years ago) are located in
Australia, South America, Africa, India, and
Antarctica. Except for Antarctica, these countries did
not have subpolar climate that allowed glaciation.
Reason why the Continental Drift Theory was not
accepted is due to its inability to explain the
mechanism why the continents move.
Other Evidences supporting Continental Drift Theory
Paleomagnetism - the residual magnetism in ancient
rocks showing direction and intensity of Earth’s
magnetic field at the time of the rock’s formation.
Polar wandering - pertains to the slow movement of
the Earth’s magnetic poles relative to the geographic
poles.
Plate Tectonics
Ocean Basin - are the regions that are below sea level.
These areas hold the majority of the planet's water
- can be either
A. Active characterized by a lot of new structures
being created and shaped. Active ocean basins
undergo change mainly due to plate tectonics.
B. Inactive the surface is slow to change and
does little more than collect sediment.
5 Ocean Basins are: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and
the Southern Ocean which is off the coast of Antarctica.
Ocean floor
Seafloor Bathymetry
• Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of
lake or ocean floors.
Various methods of measuring ocean depths
A. Sounding line – weighted rope lowered
overboard until it touched the ocean bottom; this
old method is time-consuming and inaccurate
B. Echo sounding– type of sonar which measures
depth by emitting a burst of high frequency
sound and listening for the echo from the
seafloor. Sound is emitted from a source on the
ship and the returning echo is detected by a
receiver on the ship. Deeper water means longer
time for the echo to return to the receiver.
C. Satellite altimetry – profiles the shape of the
sea surface by measuring the travel time of a
radar pulse from the satellite to the ocean
surface and back to the satellite receiver.

Different features of the Ocean floor
1. Continental margin – submerged outer edge of the
continent where continental crust transits into oceanic
crust. Can either be:
• Passive or Atlantic type – features a wide,
gently sloping continental shelf (50-200m depth), a
steeper continental slope (3000-4000m depth), and a
flatter continental rise.
• Active or Pacific type – characterized by a
narrow shelf and slope that descends into a trench or
trough
Parts of the Continental margin
a. Continental shelf – a relatively shallow gently sloping
part of the continental crust that borders the continent.
b. Continental slope – next to the continental shelf
and leads to deep water, quite deep.
- represents the true edge of the continent and
extends downward to a depth of about 4 km.
c. Continental break – boundary between the slope
and the shelf.
- its significant feature is the presence of
submarine canyons.
d. Continental rise – more gradual incline area after
the slope.
- links the deep ocean basin floor to the
continental slope.
Ocean floor – formed at the base of the Continental
rise.t is about 4 000 to 6 000 m deep. Accounts for
nearly 30% of the Earth’s surface. Consists of the
relatively thin basaltic rock and many volcanoes are
found here
2. Abyssal plains and abyssal hills
• Abyssal plain - an extremely flat and covered
with sediment which stretches on the ocean
floor, interrupted by occasional volcanoes, mostly
extinct, called seamounts.
• Abyssal hills are elongate hills, typically 50-300m
high and common on the slopes of mid oceanic
ridge.
3. Mid-ocean ridges - are submarine mountain chain
that winds for more than 65,000 km around the globe.
- It has a central rift valley and rugged
topography on its flanks.
4. Deep-ocean trenches - narrow, elongated
depressions on the seafloor many of which are adjacent
to arcs of island with active volcanoes; deepest features
of the seafloor.
5. Seamounts and volcanic islands – submerged
volcanoes are called seamounts while those that rise
above the ocean surface are called volcanic islands.
Seafloor Spreading
Seafloor spreading theory
• Proposes that the seafloor separates at mid-
ocean ridges where new crust forms by upwelling
magma. This newly formed oceanic crust moves
laterally away from the ridge with the motion like
that of a conveyor belt. The old oceanic crusts are
dragged down at the trenches and re-
incorporated back into the mantle.
Different observations/evidences that led to the
proposal of the Seafloor Spreading
A. Distribution of seafloor topographic features –
distribution of mid-ocean ridges and depth of the
seafloor
B. Sediment thickness – fine layer of sediment
covering much of the seafloor becomes
progressively thicker away from mid-ocean ridge
axis; seafloor sediment not as thick as previously
thought
C. Composition of oceanic crust – consists
primarily of basalt
Different observations/evidences that led to the
proposal of the Seafloor Spreading
D. High heat flow along mid-ocean ridge axes – led
scientists to speculate that magma is rising into the
crust just below the mid-ocean ridge axis
E. Distribution of submarine earthquakes –
earthquakes do not occur randomly but define
distinct belts (earthquake belts follow trenches,
mid-oceanic ridges, transform faults)
Proofs for Seafloor spreading
1. Magnetic stripes on the seafloor:
A detailed mapping of magnetism recorded in
rocks of the seafloor shows that these rocks recorded
reversals in direction and strength of the Earth’s
magnetic field. Alternating high and low magnetic
anomalies run parallel to mid ocean ridges.
Magnetic anomaly - the change in magnitude of the
earth's magnetic field with respect to the expected
value for that location. Large volumes of magnetic
materials will change the intensity of the earth's field.
2. Deep sea drilling results
- Age of seafloor forms a symmetric pattern
across the mid-oceanic ridges, age increases with
distance from the oceanic ridge; no seafloor older than
200 million years could be found, indicating that
seafloor is constantly being created and destroyed.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonic Theory
Proposes that the lithosphere is made up of
seven large plates and numerous smaller segments.
These plates rest upon the soft layer of asthenosphere.
They move relative to each number.
Tectonic Plates
Main principles of Plate Tectonics
A. The Earth’s outermost rigid layer (lithosphere)is
broken into discrete plates each moving more or
less as a unit.
B. Driven by mantle convection, the lithospheric
plates ride over the soft, ductile asthenosphere.
C. Different types of relative motion and different
types of lithosphere at plate boundaries create a
distinctive set of geologic features.
Concepts on Lithospheric Plates
A. The lithosphere consists of the crust and the
uppermost mantle.
- Average thickness of continental lithosphere :150km
- Average thickness of old oceanic lithosphere: 100km
B. Composition of both continental and oceanic crusts
affect their respective densities.
C. The lithosphere floats on a soft, plastic layer called
asthenosphere.
D. Most plates contain both oceanic and continental
crust; a few contain only oceanic crust.
E. A plate is not the same as a continent.
Types of Plate Boundaries
Geologic features formed due to plate interactions
1. Convergent plate boundary
A. continental-continental interaction –
mountains and mountain ranges
B. continental-oceanic interaction – volcanic arc,
trench
C. oceanic-oceanic interaction – island arc, trench
2. Divergent plate boundary
A. Continental- continental – rift valley
B. Oceanic-oceanic – volcano, ridges (underwater
mountain range)
3. Transform plate boundary
Evidences on the Plate Tectonic Theory
1. Paleomagnetism
- A study of magnetism on rocks showing the
Earth’s magnetic field reverses polarity,
periodically (Magnetic reversal)
 - can be used to determine the location of the
magnetic poles at the time the rock became
magnetized.
• Normal polarity—when rocks show the same
magnetism as the present magnetism field
• Reverse polarity—when rocks show the
opposite magnetism as the present magnetism
field
Polar wandering - pertains to the slow movement of
the Earth’s magnetic poles relative to the geographic
poles.
2. Distribution of earthquakes
Scientists found a close link between deep-
focus earthquakes and ocean trenches. • The
absence of deep-focus earthquakes along the
oceanic ridge system was shown to be
consistent with the new theory.
3. Hotspots
- a concentration of heat in the mantle
capable of producing magma, which rises
to Earth’s surface;
- this evidence supports that the plates
move over the Earth’s surface.
4. Seafloor spreading
The youngest oceanic crust is at the ridge crest,
and the oldest oceanic crust is at the
continental margins.
Tectonic Forces and Processes
Volcanism (vulcanism) any of various processes and
phenomena associated with the surficial discharge of
molten rock, pyroclastic fragments, or hot water and
steam, including volcanoes, geysers and fumaroles.
Volcano – a landform that resembles a mountain but
has an opening or vent where magma, lava, ash, gases
and other materials are being released.
Pacific Ring of Fire – an area in the Circum-Pacific where
most of the world’s active volcanoes are found.
Materials released during eruptions
1. Gases – aside from water vapor and carbon
dioxide, toxic gases like carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid
are emitted.
2. Liquids - like lava
3. Solids – known as pyroclastics (fire-broken
fragments)
a. Volcanic blocks – greater then 32 mm
b. Cinders or lapilli – between 4 to 32 mm
c. Volcanic ash – less than 2 mm in diameter
d. Volcanic dust – less than 0.25 mm in
diameter
Wilson Cycle
• Plate tectonics is cyclic.
• In 1966, J. Tuzo Wilson proposed a cycle that
includes continental break-up, drifting, collision
and re-assembly of the continent.
Main phases of the Wilson Cycle
• Rifting within the supercontinent leads to the opening
of new ocean basin and formation of oceanic crust.
• Passive margin cools and sinks, and sediment
accumulates along the edge.
• Convergence begins, initiating subduction and
eventual ocean closure.
• Continent-continent collision forms the next
supercontinent. -

Driving forces for plate motion

A. Convection in the mantle (the sinking of
denser material and rising of hot, less dense material)
appears to drive plate motion.
B. Gravity-driven mechanisms such as slab-pull
and ridge-push are thought to be important in driving
plate motion. Slab-pull develops when cold, dense
subducting slab of lithosphere pulls along the rest of the
plate behind it. Ridge-push develops as gravity pushes
the lithosphere off the mid-ocean ridges and toward the
subduction trenches.

-END-