Spaceship Earth: Our oasis in the emptiness of space: The dynamic

planet
 Only a hundred years ago, scientists

? ?
thought that they understood the history of
the Earth and how it got to be the way it is.

But they still had a few questions

?
? ?
 Why are most of the
continents above the equator?

?
?
Why is the Pacific
Ocean so large?
Why are mountains
in long ranges?
and why are there long
chains of volcanoes?
• Some questions we will answer today:

– How is the earth always changing?

– What forces inside the earth create and change
landforms on the surface?
– What is the theory of plate tectonics and how does it
work?
– What two theories help make up the theory of plate
tectonics?
– What is continental drift and sea floor spreading?
– What happens when the plates crash together, pull
apart, and slide against each other?
 The Earth’s Layers
• The Earth is made of many different and distinct layers. The
deeper layers are composed of heavier materials; they are
hotter, denser and under much greater pressure than the
outer layers.

• Natural forces interact with and affect the earth’s crust,

creating the landforms, or natural features, found on the
surface of the earth.
Before we start to look at the forces that contribute
to landforms,lets look at the different layers of
the earth that play a vital role in the formation of
our continents, mountains, volcanoes, etc.
Earth Structure
• Radius 6300-6400km
• Thin crust
• Mantle extends
almost halfway to the
centre
• The core makes up
the rest
 Composition
• Low density solid crust
floating on an almost
solid mantle
• But overall the Earth is
dense
• The core must be very
dense
• Probably made of dense
metals nickel and iron
• Hot liquid outer core and
solid inner core
 Rock Cycle

• Weathering breaks down the rocks

• Erosion wears them into smaller pieces as they are
transported towards the sea
 Crust

Mantle
Outer Core

Inner Core

crust - the rigid, rocky outer surface of the Earth, composed mostly of basalt
and granite. The crust is thinner under the oceans.
mantle - a rocky layer located under the crust - it is composed of silicon,
oxygen, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and calcium. Convection (heat) currents
carry heat from the hot inner mantle to the cooler outer mantle.
outer core - the molten iron-nickel layer that surrounds the inner core.
inner core - the solid iron-nickel center of the Earth that is very hot and under
great pressure.
Unstable Earth
• The Earths crust is
subjected to huge
forces
• Very large forces can
fracture the rock
• This can be seen as
fault lines in the rock
layers
 Tilted and Folded

• Sedimentary rocks
are often found tilted
• They can also be
folded by the huge
forces
• This has happened at
Lulworth cove
• Sometimes the rock
layers can even be
turned upside down
Continental Drift
Theory and the Plate
Tectonic Theory

An explanation to the
„dynamic nature‟ within
earth‟s interior
 Alfred Wegener
proposed an idea
in the early 1900’s

He said that all the

continents used to be
together in one big chunk!
Alfred Wegener
 Alfred Wegener
• Some people thought the
Earth was shrinking and
cracking
• Wegener thought whole
sections of the crust
moved (plate tectonics)
• Some people did not
understand and thought
the continents floated
around in the oceans
(continental drift)
• He died before people
accepted his ideas
 Alfred Wegener (1903)
suggested and presented
evidence that the continents
were once a single
supercontinent, called Pangea,
which divided ~ 200 Million
years ago into Laurasia and
Gondwanaland and later into
the continents we see today
(“continental drift”)
Fossils of the land-bound lizard Lystrosaurus were found in Africa,
Antarctica and India, suggesting that these continents were one
landmass during the life-time of this critter
Fossil Evidence
Evidence
• Same fossils and
rocks found in
different parts of the
world
• Africa and South
America look like
pieces of a jigsaw
Geologic evidence for “continental drift”

Rocks of same age cross continents

Distribution of warm-water fossils

Earthquakes
• Plates moving in any
direction causes
earthquakes
• The worst are caused
by plates rubbing past
each other as in C
• This happens along
the Californian coast
 Topography of Earth
Huge mountain ranges (ridges, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) circle the globe on the
ocean floors
The crust of Earth consists of 11 major tectonic plates
The directions of movement of the major plates of Earth
Fire fountaining at Pu’u O’o, Hawaii, which has been erupting since 1983
Sea floor spreading
• Large continents
begin to crack and
split apart
• The gaps fill with
water
• Small seas become
oceans
• The mid ocean ridge
continues to produce
new crust
Pahoehoe lava flows at Pu’u O’o, Hawaii.
 Why spread?
• Why is the Atlantic still
getting wider
• The plates are pulled
apart by convection
currents in the mantle
below
• Caused by heat released
from natural radioactive
processes
• At the mid Atlantic ridge
molten rock from below
rises up to fill the gap with
new basaltic rock
 More evidence
• More evidence has
been found for
Wegeners theory
• The Earths North and
South pole have
flipped many times
• These leaves
magnetic ‘stripes’ in
rock containing iron
minerals
Lava from Pu’u O’o, Hawaii, enters the ocean.
Olympus Mons on Mars, compared to the Hawaiian island chain
640 km
Right: Eruption of
the volcano Pele on
Jupiter’s moon Io.

Below: Top view of

volcano Pele

The volcanic plume (above) is 1,300

km wide and 600 km high.
 So the Earth must be growing?
• Dense heavy oceanic
crust can be subducted
below less denser
continental crust.
• The friction melts rock
• This magma rises
through the crust to form
new volcanoes
• This is happening in
South America (The
Andes)
Continents Collide
• Eventually when plates
move together the
continental crust collides
• The heat and pressure
make metamorphic rock
• It also pushes and folds
the rocks into high
mountains
• The Himalayas rise to
8848m and are still
growing today
Epicenters of major earthquakes tend to occur along ocean ridges
and plate boundaries
Here, the San
Andreas Fault lies on
the boundary
between two tectonic
plates, the north
American Plate and
the Pacific Plate. The
two plates are sliding
past each other at a
rate of 5 to 6
centimeters each
year. This fault
frequently plagues
California wit
hearthquakes.
Schematic diagram of an ocean spreading center:

Symmetry in magnetic reversals indicates sea-floor spreading.

The Hawaiian island chain is a wonderful example of plate tectonics
in the middle of a plate. It is fed by a stationary mantle plume under
Loihi, and the Pacific Plate glides over it at a speed of ~ 5 cm/year,
carrying the islands with it in a northwesterly direction.
Ages of the Hawaiian islands: An example of plate tectonics
associated with a mantle plume
Where were Earth’s continents in the geologic past?
The continental Drift hypothesis
Plates
a. Slabs of Earth’s lithosphere (crust and
upper mantle)
b. Average thickness is 100 km (62 miles)
c. Most plates support both continent and
ocean

B. Continental Drift – states that the

continents have drifted and still are drifting
apart.
The Plates
Mid Ocean Ridges:
 plate tectonics
remember: relative motions yield 3 different boundaries

divergent
transform convergent

from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text
 They’re Pulling Apart!
• When plates pull away from
one another they form a
diverging plate boundary, or
spreading zone.

Thingvellir, the spreading zone in Iceland between the North American (left
side) and Eurasian (right side) tectonic plates. January 2003.
plate tectonics: divergent boundary
• mid-ocean ridge
• sea floor spreading
• generation of new (basaltic) oceanic crust
plate tectonics: divergent boundary
how do divergent boundaries form?
breaking up and rifting of continents
• continental crust stretches and thins
• grabens form due to extension in rift zones
• volcanism begins as magma rises through thin crust
• uplift occurs from thermal expansion of crust
plate tectonics: divergent boundary
passive upwelling

think of continent
as wood blocks

as pieces of wood
move apart,
water rises
to fill gap
plate tectonics: divergent boundary
continental rifting leading to sea floor spreading

rifting and extension

grabens, normal faults

sea floor spreading

mid-ocean ridge

continued spreading
passive margins
 Divergent Plate Boundary
Usually start within continents—
grows to become ocean basin
Divergent - where the plates are moving apart.
Examples: mid-ocean ridges such as the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge (the site of sea-floor spreading),
and continental rifts such as the east African
Rift system.
As the two sides of the mountain move away from each other, magma
wells up from the Earth's interior. It then solidifies into rock as it is
cooled by the sea, creating new ocean floor.

The speed at which new ocean floor is created varies from one
location on the ocean ridge to another. Between North America and
Europe, the rate is about 2.2 inches (3.6 cm) per year. At the East
Pacific rise, which is pushing a plate into the west coast of South
America, the rate is 12.6 inches (32.2 cm) per year.
Plate divergent boundary

PLATE
DIVERGENCE
Basaltic extrusives
Mid-ocean ridge
Basaltic intrusives

Partial melting
Of upper mantle

Rising magma
plate tectonics: divergent boundary
East African rift system
Africa/Arabia splitting apart
Red Sea rift
Gulf of Aden rift
East African rift

Arabia

Africa
 The Crash!
• when plates crash into each
other depends on the types of
plates involved.
– Because continental crust is
lighter than oceanic crust,
continental plates ”float” higher.
– Therefore, when an oceanic
plate meets a continetnal plate, it
slides under the lighter plate and
down into the mantle. The slab
of oceanic rock melts when the
endges get to a depth which is
hot enough. A temperature hot
enough to melt si about a
thousand degrees!) This
process is called subduction.
Molten material produced in a
subduction zone can rise to the
earth’s surface and cause
volcanic building, mountains,
and islands.
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
plates move toward one another: subduction

subduction: one plate descends below another;

oceanic crust is consumed

understanding of subduction process completed

formation of theory of plate tectonics

provided mechanism for removing oceanic crust

generated at mid-ocean ridges
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
how was subduction “discovered”?
Wadati-Benioff zones: zones of dipping earthquakes to
100’s kms depth (max: ~670 km)

deep shallow
intermediate

from: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~crlb/COURSES/270
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
Wadati-Benioff zone hypocenters

northern Japan

epicenters

red dots are deepest earthquakes so they

plot on map as farthest from trench

from: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~crlb/COURSES/270
plate tectonics: convergent boundary
“imaging” the subducting plate with seismic velocities
--subducting plate is cooler than surrounding mantle--

fast: cooler (denser material)

slow: hotter (less dense material)

fast slow
Convergent - where the plates are moving toward
one another. Examples: subduction zones which
occur at deep sea trenches such as the
Marianas Trench, and sites of continental
collision forming mountain belts, such as the
Himalaya Mountains, the Ural Mountains, the
Appalachian Mountains, and the Alps.
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary

oceanic lithosphere density > continental lithosphere

3 types of convergence

• ocean-ocean convergence
• ocean-continent convergence
• continent-continent convergence (collision)
plate tectonics: convergent boundary
ocean-ocean convergence
• one oceanic plate subducts below another
• earthquakes occur along interface between two plates
• trench, accretionary wedge, forearc basin, volcanic arc
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
ocean-ocean convergence
• trench: deep, narrow valley where oceanic plate subducts
• accretionary wedge: sediments that accumulated on subducting
plate as it traveled from ridge are scraped
off and accreted (added) to overriding plate
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
ocean-continent convergence
• oceanic plate subducts below less dense continental crust
• features same as with ocean-ocean convergence except that
volcanoes are built on continental crust and in some cases
a backarc thrust belt may form
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
ocean-continent convergence
• volcanoes (magmatic arc): more silicic from addition of
Continental material; batholiths form at depth
• backarc thrust belt: thrust faults form behind arc in response
to convergence; “stickiness” between plates

Andes; Cascades
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
continent-continent
neither plate wants to subduct
(both are buoyant)
result is
continental collision

• mountain belts
• thrust faults
• “detached” subducting plate
• suture zone--plate boundary
 plate tectonics: convergent boundary
continent-continent
model for India and Asia collision

from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text from: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~crlb/COURSES/270

plate tectonics: Himalayas (continent collision)

EURASIAN
PLATE Himalayas
are apart of
long
mountain belt
that extends
to Alps

INDIAN
PLATE

AFRICAN
PLATE
plate tectonics: continent-continent collision
deformation from collision extends far into Tibet/Asia
Three Types of Faults

Strike-Slip

Thrust

Normal
Geologic evidence

What happens when plates are locked in such a tectonic

setting?

When plates lock during subduction they buckle: the

region near the trench rises (uplifts) and the region inland
sinks (subsides).
Transform - where the plates are sliding past one
another, such as one sliding to the north and
the adjacent plate sliding to the south.
Examples: transform faults (easily seen
where they cut at right angles to the mid-
ocean ridges); includes the San Andreas fault.
plate tectonics: transform boundary

plates slide horizontally

past each other
marked by transform faults
San Andreas
3 types: is transform
• offset two ridges that offsets
• offset ridge and trench two ridges
• offset two trenches
plate tectonics: transform boundary
migration of transform boundary causes pieces
at edge of one plate to transfer to another
San Andreas jumped east
(blue line to red)

piece between lines

transferred from
North American plate
to Pacific plate

one idea has San Andreas

jumping farther east to
Walker Lane/Owens Valley
--recent earthquakes--
plate tectonics: transform boundary
transform faults and ridges

oceanic plates

continental plates
plate tectonics: what causes plates to move?
another idea…
slab pull: weight of subducting slab

subducting slab sinks into mantle

from its own weight, pulling the
rest of the plate with it

as subducting slab descends

into mantle, the higher
pressures cause minerals to
transform to denser forms
(crystal structures compact)
plate tectonics: what causes plates to move?
slab sinking causes roll back and trench suction

slab pull is more important than ridge push

how do we know this?
plates that have the greatest length of subduction boundary
have the fastest velocities
 plate tectonics: what is driving mechanism?
must explain: sea floor spreading and subduction;
heat flow, warm and elevated ridges;
cold and deep trenches
mantle convection is likely candidate
but is mantle the cause or an effect
of ridge push and slab pull?
plate tectonics: how do continents rift apart?
one idea: mantle plumes of hot material
hot plume material ponds at base of continental “lid”
eventually, enough heat is produced
to stretch and thin continent
--hot spot and flood basalts--
 Elongated
convection cells in
the plastic
asthenosphere
drive the
overlying rigid
lithospheric
plates.
 Where Do Earthquakes Occur and How Often?
~80% of all earthquakes occur in the circum-Pacific belt
– most of these result from convergent margin activity
– ~15% occur in the Mediterranean-Asiatic belt
– remaining 5% occur in the interiors of plates and on
spreading ridge centers
– more than 150,000 quakes strong enough to be felt are
recorded each year
 Burma
Indian Plate Microplate

Tsunamis are usually caused by underwater earthquakes. These often

occurs offshore at seduction zones (Places where a tectonic plate that
carries an ocean is gradually slipping under a continental plate)
 1000km

Light Oceanic
Indian Plate Continental
Burma Micro-
plate

Fault
Displacement
of 15-20 m
 Fig. 7.5

Early conception of continental drift (Arthur Holmes, 1910) showing

formation of Cenozoic mountains.