Earth Processes

UNIT 2 PLATE TECTONICS

Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Formation of Continents and Ocean Basins
2.2.1 Introduction
2.2.2 Continents
2.2.3 Oceans

2.3 Sea Floor Spreading

2.3.1 Introduction
2.3.2 Evidences and Mechanism

2.4 Plate Tectonics

2.4.1 Introduction
2.4.2 Major Plates
2.4.3 Movement of Lithospheric Plates
2.4.4 Mantle Convection and Plate Tectonics
2.4.5 Plate Boundaries and Hot Spots

2.5 Let Us Sum Up

2.6 Keywords
2.7 References and Suggested Further Readings
2.8 Answers to Check Your Progress

2.0 INTRODUCTION
The surface of earth that we see today is divided into regions submerged under water
and elevated above the mean sea level. We call these vast tracts of earth as oceans
and continents. A curious intellect is eager to know about their origin, antiquity,
permanence and evolution. Historians, geographers, philosophers, and geologists have
divided the earth into differently named units. The ideas about origin of earth and its
supposed early history and evolution are still evolving as new information received
from experimental petrology, geochronology, geochemistry, and space probes pour
in. The mechanism through which the earth’s surface evolves is being closely monitored.
The theory of continental drift advocated by Alfred Wegner suggested that the surface
of earth is dynamic. Sea floor spreading theory gave an evidence of the mechanism
which causes the surface of the earth to move. The more expressive surface
phenomenon like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes are best understood by learning
the present-day theory of plate tectonics. The quest for comprehending the forces
governing the distributions of continents, oceans, mountains, plateaus, earth resources,
volcanoes, earthquakes, river shifting, natural hazards are best understood by analyzing
the processes of plate tectonics.
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 Plate Tectonics
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• Describe the mechanism of formation of continents and oceans;
• Explain the theory of sea floor spreading;
• Enumerate the major plates;
• Explain the different types of plate boundaries;
• Describe mantle convection in relation to plate tectonics; and
• Explain hotspots.

2.2 FORMATION OF CONTINENTS AND OCEANS

BASINS
2.2.1 Introduction
The appearance of our race on this planet is a very recent phenomenon in the 4.5
billion years old history of earth. We are eager like kindergarten students to understand
the processes which shaped our present-day landscape as also the permanence of
these geographic entities which we term as continents and oceans. As a layman, we all
understand that the portions of earth that are above sea water level are termed as
continents and those which are submerged under sea water are termed as sea or
oceans. In this unit we will try to understand the geological characteristics and the
endogenetic processes of earth that created these two ever evolving dynamic landforms.

2.2.2 Continents
Majority of us believe that continents comprise a fundamental, permanent and rather
characteristic feature of Earth. Satellite images of earth vividly depict it as a blue planet.
The pictures tell us that majority of the earth’s surface is covered with water and a few
patches of land pop up. Approximately 71% of the earth surface is covered with
water and the remaining 29% is land. Thus, continents are scattered masses on a
planet, that is largely covered by water. Interestingly, these isolated masses, which
comprise a small fraction of the total earth, are the places which support terrestrial life,
including the human population.
Our general understanding is that continents are the large, discreet, and rather continuous
masses of land jetting above the sea water. In geology, continents include the submerged
continental shelf as also the islands on the shelf which have a similar crustal makeup. If
we view continents as a cultural identity, then perhaps the nearby islands, which do not
share the same geological features are also grouped together, like Greenland with
Europe or Madagascar with Africa. There are three broad continental grouping models,
the four-continent model, six continent model and the seven continent model. The
modern day seven continent model recognises North America, South America, Europe,
Africa, Asia, Australia and Antarctica as the seven distinct continents.
The questions that have always generated curiosity and discussion amongst scientists
and public for a long time are ‘Have the continents been there since the earth originated,
are these the result of some chance factor or natural luck which favoured human
evolution? Which forces sculptured the crust with its immense variations? Do the 29
Earth Processes other planets in our solar system also have a similar distribution of land and sea, as also
similar crustal structure? Our present day understanding of the earth processes and
knowledge gathered through satellites and space probes reveals that perhaps our
planet is unique.
To comprehend the earth history, planetary scientists focussed on planets similar to
earth in terms of size and their distance from sun. In this context, they narrowed down
on Earth and Venus, which have approximately the same size and distance from the
sun and could be termed as twin planets. The radar beams of the Magellan space
probe orbiting Venus gave stunning pictures of its surface in the 1990’s. These revealed
that the surface of Venus is covered with dark fine-grained rocks of basaltic composition,
like the ones that cover the ocean basins on earth. The light coloured continental
granitic crust was rarely observed. Miniscule amount of lava is erupting on Venus.
These suggest that plate tectonics (crust recycling) does not operate on Venus. This
and data from other planetary and extraterrestrial material suggest that there are three
fundamental types of crust, the primary crust, the secondary crust and the tertiary
crust. The primary crust emerged during the earliest phases in planetary formation
when huge fragments of primordial material crashed into a newly formed planet triggering
large scale melting. Secondary crusts form from basaltic lavas which generate due to
mantle melting caused by heat generated from the decay of radioactive elements within
a planetary body. The surfaces of Mars, Venus and Earth’s ocean floors are covered
by secondary crusts created in this way. The tertiary crust form when surface layers
are returned into the mantle of a geologically active planet like Earth. The process of
crust formation is quite slow and proceeds at different rates. Moon generated its white
feldspar rich primary crust (9 % of lunar volume) in a few million years while its
secondary basalt maria crust (1 % of lunar volume) formed in billions of years. Similarly,
the secondary crust of basaltic ocean floors of earth (one tenth of 1 % of earth mass)
was created in about 200 million years. The tertiary crust, of which the continents
(one half of one per cent mass of earth) are made up of, take several billion years to
form.
The comprehension of the overall elemental composition of crust is a necessary starting
point for any investigation about its origin and evolution. Since analysing crustal rock
types at all locations and depths is too time consuming and financially prohibitive, the
eroded material of these rocks, in terms of sediments, gives a good approximation of
the average composition of continental crustal rocks. The soluble minerals, namely
sodium and calcium, are leached away but the fourteen rare earth elements, which are
concentrated in late forming granitic products, are useful in deciphering the crustal
composition. The investigations reveal that the REE patterns found in a variety of
sediments are similar. The REE pattern reveal that the composition of the upper part
of the continental crust is similar to that of granodiorite (low density quartz and feldspar
with miniscule dark colored mafic minerals). At a depth of about 10-14 km dense
basaltic rocks are more probable.
The low density of continental rocks is the primary reason for their elevation above the
sea level. The continents, which dominantly comprise the continental crust, on an average
rise about 125 meters above mean sea level. Further, approximately 15 percent of the
continental area rises over two kilometers the sea level. The highest point of continental
crust, the Mt. Everest, rises 8,848 m. These significant heights contrast markedly with
the depths of ocean floors, which average about four kilometers below sea level—a
direct consequence of their being lined by dense oceanic crust, composed mostly of
30 basalt and a thin veneer of sediment.
The formation of continental crust has been a continuous process throughout the Earth Plate Tectonics
history. At the Archean and Proterozoic boundary, around 2.5 billion years ago, a
distinct change in the rock record occurs. The composition of the upper crust before
this break comprises a mixture of basalt and sodium-rich granites. These rocks comprise
the tonalite-trondjemite-granodiorite, or TTG, suite. This composition strikingly differs
from the present-day upper crust, which is dominated by K rich granites.
This profound change in crustal composition appears to be linked to changes in the
Earth’s tectonic regime. Probably, before 2.5 billion years, higher levels of radioactive
decay produced more heat in the oceanic crust and it was hotter, thicker and more
buoyant and could not subduct. As a result, denser crust melted and resulted in the
production of the sodium-rich igneous rocks of the TTG suite. Plate tectonics, as we
comprehend today, began operating after the late Archean, when the oceanic crust
became cooler, lost its buoyancy and could thus sink back into the mantle. From this
time, the relative height of ocean basins and continental platforms has remained relatively
static. At the beginning of the Proterozoic eon about 2.5 billion years ago, the crust
had already gained much of its present setup.
At a convergent boundary, the oceanic lithosphere sinks back into the mantle. The
descending oceanic lithosphere carries with it wet marine sediments. At a depth of
about 80 kilometers along the benioff zone, the heat drives water, and other volatile
components from the subducted sediments into the overlying mantle. These substances
then act as a flux and start melting of the surrounding material. The magma fractionates
(change in composition), to produce andesite, the bulk material of continents. The
magma generated eventually reaches the surface in the form of arc volcanism. This
process, on an average, adds about two cubic km. of lava and ash to the continents
every year.
The process of addition of continental crust has been continuous, but some spurts in
this activity have been recorded. Significant additions to the continental crust occurred
between 2.0 to 1.7, from 1.3 to 1.1 and from 0.5 to 0.3 billion years ago. The reasons
for this are better understood in the plate tectonic theory. During the Permian period
(250 million years ago), the major continents of Earth came together to create one
enormous landmass called Pangaea. This arrangement was not unique. In the earth’s
history, the formation of such “supercontinents” appears to recur at an interval of
about 600 million years. Major tectonic cycles driving the continents apart and together
have been documented as far back as the Early Proterozoic. It is believed that the first
supercontinent might have formed during the Archean itself. These tectonic cycles
help us to model the rate of crustal growth. When a supercontinent breaks itself apart,
the oceanic crust is at its oldest and hence most likely to form new continental crust
after it subducts. As the individual continents re-converge, volcanic arcs collide with
continental platforms and new crust is added to the margins of the continents. Taylor
and McLennan (2005) suggest that our planet has been fortuitous to maintain the plate
tectonic activity which helped in generation of `sizable patches of stable continental
crust that we find so convenient to live on’.

2.2.3 Oceans
Earth is a blue planet. In fact, it is the only known planet with seas of liquid water on its
surface. The total amount of water on earth has been estimated to be around 1,335
million cubic kilometres. Out of this water, oceans contain about 97.2 percent, ice
31
Earth Processes caps keep 2.15 percent while 0.65 percent is the available fresh water. Oceans and
seas cover over 70 percent of the earth surface.
There are two aspects of origin of oceans, first the origin of ocean floor and second
the origin of ocean water. The oceanic crust is dominantly different from the continental
crust.
The process of formation of ocean floors occurs at mid-ocean ridges. Throughout the
center of major oceans, runs an interconnected ridge system which has been termed
as the mid-oceanic ridge. A crack like valley runs along the crest of this ridge system.
Seismic investigations along the ridge axis suggest that the two sides of the ridge are
moving away from each other. As the crack widens, hot molten rock material from
below pours out and solidifies in the crack. This molten rock material is dominantly
basaltic in composition and contains iron bearing magnetic minerals like magnetite.
These minerals orient themselves along the prevailing magnetic field of the earth. Thus,
the new oceanic lithosphere is magnetised in the direction of the ambient magnetic field
of earth. We know that the magnetic field of earth has been changing throughout its
4.5 billion years of history. For the past 700,000 years, the North magnetic pole has
been close to its present position. As fracturing and consequent filling up of the crack
continues, a strip of magnetised rock is produced. During earth history as and when
the magnetic poles change their location or flip, the lava is magnetised in the changed
direction and a strip of reversed magnetization is preserved between the two split
halves of the earlier strip. The magnetic poles may change after 50,000 years, a
million years or might not change even for 20 million years, as happened during the
Permian period. Along the oceanic ridges, we find younger rocks near to the spreading
zone while the older ones are found farther away from the ridge axis.
The speed of spreading on either side of the MOR (mid-oceanic ridge) varies from
less than a cm. per year to about 8 cm. per year. The East Pacific Rise records the
fastest spreading rate while the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Carlsberg Ridge of the
Indian Ocean are the slowest. The rate of production of new ocean floor at a ridge
axis is the sum of rates of spreading on its two flanks. Thus 8 cm. per year would
translate into 16 cm per year spreading and this rate the entire floor of Pacific Ocean
(15,000 km) could be produced in about 100 million annum. The rates of sea floor
spreading or ocean floor generation can be obtained from the magnetic patterns and
the dates of the reversals.
At convergent plate boundaries, the oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath the continental
plate. Such regions mark the zones of consumption of the oceanic crust. This destruction
of oceanic lithosphere explains the absence of sediments over 150 million years old on
the ocean floor. The general phrase used in this context is ‘The tea (ocean water) in
the cup (ocean) is older than the cup itself’. This can be explained because the older
sediments accumulated on the ocean floor have been carried away with the plates and
are chaotically piled up at the edge of a continent or are carried down along with the
subducting oceanic plate and consumed in the manle.
The second aspect of the formation of oceans relates to the origin of ocean water. The
origin of the oceans has to be traced since the time of the earth’s formation 4. 5 billion
years ago, when the process of earth accretion through planetesimals started. There
could be three likely sources for the water. It could have either separated out from the
rocks that make up the bulk of the earth; or it could have arrived as part of a late-
32 accreting veneer of water- rich meteorites, similar to the carbonaceous chondrites that
we observe today; or it could have been added as part of a late-accreting veneer of Plate Tectonics
icy planetesimals or comets. The composition of the ocean offers some clues as to its
origin. Space scientists have studied the isotopic composition of frozen water in Comets
Halley and Hyakutake. They suggest that if all the comets contain the same water ice,
then comets cannot have delivered all the water in the earth’s oceans as the isotopic
composition of both is different. Further, the meteorites could not be considered as
the source of the entire water on land, as it would have resulted in a high concentration
of xenon in earth atmosphere, a parameter, which is not observed in earth atmosphere.
The possibility of the earth water being a mixture of meteoritic water and comet derived
water does not hold true since this combination would contain a higher concentration
of deuterium than is found in the oceans.
The search for a source of water in oceans is an active area of research. They require
more studies about comets and other planets. Current state of knowledge suggests
that the most acceptable hypothesis for the source of the ocean water is a combination
of water derived from comets and water that was caught up in the rocky body of the
earth as it formed. This mixture satisfactorily explains the low xenon concentration and
the deuterium concentration.

2.3 SEA FLOOR SPREADING

2.3.1 Introduction
Alfred Wegner in 1912 proposed the theory of Continental Drift based on the zig-saw
fit of continents and many other evidences. He said that the continents were constantly
moving, and these ploughed through the oceans, a theory that was taken with scepticism
in his own country. The principal reason for doubt was the absence of a plausible
mechanism through which the phenomenon occurred. Harry Hess, a geologist and
naval submarine commander during World War II, was examining the deepest parts of
the ocean floor. In 1946, he observed that the floor of the Pacific ocean was dotted
with hundreds of flat-topped mountains. In 1962, Hess proposed the hypothesis of
sea-floor spreading, which stated that basaltic magma from the mantle rises to create
new ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges.
Definition: Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at sub-marine spreading mid-
oceanic ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity. The
newly created oceanic crust gradually moves away on either side of the ridge axis as
the process continues and fresh oceanic crust is added.

2.3.2 Evidences and Mechanism

Seafloor spreading occurs at the mid-oceanic ridges, which, topographically, are long
mountain ranges extending through the middle of every ocean floor. A ridge forms
along a crack in the oceanic crust. At a mid-ocean ridge, because of extension of the
crust, the oceanic crust thins out and develops cracks and fractures through which
molten material rises from the mantle and erupts. This molten rock material then spreads
out, pushing older rock to both sides of the ridge. This process, called seafloor
spreading, continually adds fresh material to the ocean floor.
Using submarines during world war created an interest in exploring the ocean floor.
Scientists started using magnetometers to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in
the 1950s. The pattern of magnetism in basaltic rocks observed on both sides of the 33
Earth Processes mid-oceanic ridges helped them identify the process of seafloor spreading. Basalt is a
basic magmatic rock which contains magnetite, besides other ferro-magnesian minerals.
Basaltic lava pours out of the mid-oceanic ridge and solidifies to turn into basalt. The
magnetic minerals present in basaltic lava orient themselves along the ambient magnetic
field direction of the earth (thermal remnant magnetism) prevailing. The scientists found
that the magnetism of the ocean floor around mid-ocean ridges was divided into matching
“stripes” on either side of the ridge. As larger tracts of the seafloor were mapped, the
magnetic variations turned out not to be random or isolated occurrences, but revealed
significant recognizable patterns. When these magnetic patterns were plotted, the ocean
floor showed a zebra-like pattern with one stripe with normal polarity (normal magnetic
field) and the adjoining stripe with reversed polarity (reverse magnetic field). This
pattern of alternating bands of normal and reversely polarized rock, was termed as
magnetic striping. Further, the perfectly symmetrical pattern of stripes on both sides of
a mid-oceanic ridge suggested that the continuous process of lava eruption and
subsequent seafloor spreading separated the stripes in an orderly manner. The process
of seafloor spreading is not the same at all mid-ocean ridges. Slowly spreading ridges
are the sites of tall, narrow underwater cliffs and mountains. Rapidly spreading ridges
have a much gentler slope. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for example, is a slowly spreading
centre ridge. It spreads at a rate of 2 to 5 centimetres every year and forms an ocean
trench approximating the size of the Grand Canyon, USA. The East Pacific Rise is a
fast spreading centre ridge. It spreads at a speed of about 6 to 16 centimetres per
year. The rapid rate of floor spreading does not permit the development of trenches.
The differences in spreading rate affect not only the geometries of the ridges but also
the geochemistry of the basalts that are produced. The geochronology of the ocean
floor reveals that the newest, thinnest crust on Earth is near the axis of the spreading
centre ridge—the actual site of seafloor spreading. The age, density, and thickness of
the oceanic crust increases with distance from either side of the mid-ocean ridge axis.
Besides the central portion of ocean basins, the process of generation of oceanic crust
might also start in a continent. Usually, sea floor spreading starts as a rift in a continental
land mass, for example, the Red Sea-East Africa Rift System. The process begins
with heating of the continental crust at its base, which makes it more plastic and less
dense. Gradually the area being heated becomes a broad dome. As the crust domes
upward, fractures appear that expand into rifts. A typical rift system comprises three
rift arms at an angle of approximately 120 degrees. These areas are named as triple
junctions. If the spreading process continues, two of the rift arms open while the third
arm stops opening and becomes a ‘failed rift’. As the two active rifts continue to
develop, the continental crust thins out as it stretches. At this juncture, rifting results in
the generation of basaltic oceanic crust between the separating continental fragments.
When one rift opens into the existing ocean, the rift system is flooded with seawater
and becomes an incipient sea. The Red Sea is an example of a new arm of the sea.
The process of sea floor spreading may stop in-between, but if it continues to where
the continent is completely severed, then a new ocean basin is created. The Niger
River has formed in the failed rift arm of the triple junction.
The driving force for continental drift and sea floor spreading was initially explained
based on the convection current hypothesis. The interior of earth is hot owing to the
primordial heat related to the genesis of earth as also because of radioactive minerals
and immense pressure of overlying rocks. It has been postulated that heat transfer
from the interior of the earth to the surface results in the formation of huge convection
34
current cells in the mantle which fuel the crustal movements. The region where two Plate Tectonics
upwelling adjacent hot convection current cells come near the surface is the site of
formation of new oceanic crust. Subsequently, as scientific understanding advanced,
the theory of plate tectonics developed.

2.4 PLATE TECTONICS

2.4.1 Introduction
Plate tectonics is a theoretical scientific model which tries to explain the large-scale
motion of seven large plates and many small plates of the Earth’s lithosphere, over the
past hundreds of millions of years. The theory builds on the concept of continental
drift, an idea proposed by Wegner in 1912. The plate-tectonic theory was largely
accepted in the 1970s after the validation of seafloor spreading theory and inputs by
many workers as detailed below in section on Brief history.
Definition: The theory of plate tectonics states that the surface of earth comprises
rigid plates which behave as brittle solids and travel on a visco-elastic or plastic layer
termed as asthenosphere which deforms readily by creep.
Brief History: After the gradual acceptance of the fact that the surface of earth was
not static but dynamic, scientists were constantly working on some plausible mechanism
to explain the results of the underwater sea bed magnetic exploration findings. Gradually
a theory explaining global movement of earth’s surface took shape. This theory appealed
to the scientists, but it had many shortcomings which the contemporary geoscientists
tried to explain. This initial theory, termed as ‘New Global Tectonics’, was later
termed as ‘Plate Tectonics’ after suitable inputs by many workers which increased its
acceptance by the scientific community. Tuzo Wilson, in 1965, added a new type of
plate boundary termed as transform fault to the plate tectonic concept to make the
global mobility of plates a reality. Edward Bullard and his co-workers (1965) showed
with a computer calculation how the continents along both sides of the Atlantic Ocean
would best fit to close the ocean which is popularly known as the “Bullard’s Fit”. In
1966, Wilson introduced the concept of the “Wilson Cycle”. In 1967, Morgan
proposed that the Earth’s surface comprises 12 rigid plates that move relative to each
other. Two months later, Pichon gave a complete model of 6 major plates with their
relative motions, which marked the absolute acceptance of the plate tectonic theory
by the scientific community. In the same year, McKenzie and Parker independently
presented a model similar to Morgan’s using translations and rotations on a sphere to
define the plate motions.
The approximate age of the Earth is 4.54 +_ 0.05 billion years. This figure has been
obtained by radiometric dating of calcium and aluminium rich inclusions in meteorites
formed within the solar system and the earliest recorded dates of terrestrial and lunar
rock material. The initial molten earth slowly cooled for a considerable time, and the
oldest fragments of continental crust found in Acasta Gneiss in Canada and ancient
rock formations in western Greenland date about 3.8 billion years. The gap in geological
record of about 500 million years is thought to reflect the time taken by the earliest
crust to solidify from a molten mass as also the probable consequence of re-melting
triggered after meteoritic effects on early forming earth.
Based on geochronological studies of ancient magmas, comparison of earth crust with
that of Venus, inclusions in diamonds, age of zircons and geochemical studies, the 35
Earth Processes majority of geoscientists think that modern plate tectonics began around 2.5 billion
years ago, but in a markedly different manner and rate. The age of the oldest seafloor
is about 200 million years. The oldest ocean rocks are found in the north-western
Pacific Ocean and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
As the continents move around the Earth, they occasionally come together. Pangaea
was a super continent that formed about 335 million years ago during late Paleozoic
and began breaking up apart around 175 million years ago. The supercontinent was
surrounded by a super ocean termed Panthalassa. The Pangaea comprised South
America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia. This super landmass had a
characteristic pattern of vegetation, animals, and rocks. Today, these continents are
spaced widely apart and are in different climatic zones. The tell-tale puzzle pieces left
behind by Pangaea, from fossils to the matching shorelines along the Atlantic Ocean,
provided the irrefutable idea that the continents move.

2.4.2 Major Plates

Our planet earth has a three-layered structure. Crust is the outermost layer which is
followed by mantle and then the innermost layer is termed as core. The lithosphere,
which is the outer rigid layer (comprising the crust and the upper mantle), is made up
of numerous rigid brittle fragments termed as tectonic plates. These tectonic plates
move like a ship on the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is highly viscous, mechanically
weak, and plastically deforming region in the upper mantle. It lies below the lithosphere,
at a depth of approximately 80 km to 200 km below the surface of earth. This zone is
characterised by a sudden drop in seismic wave velocities and is termed as the low
velocity zone (LVZ).
The lithospheric plates are made up of dominantly continental crustal material or the
denser oceanic crustal material. At a plate boundary, the interaction between two
plates is interplay of their densities. The denser oceanic plate usually subducts beneath
the lighter continental plate at a continental plate – oceanic plate collision boundary.
The lithospheric fragments which are larger than 20 million sq. km. are termed as
major plates and those between 20 million sq.km and one million sq. km are termed as
minor plates.
Table 2.1: Tectonic plates and their size
S. No. Name of the Plate Area
Major Plates
1 Pacific Plate 103,300,000 km2
2 North American Plate 75,900,000 km2
3 Eurasian Plate 67,800,000 km2
4 African Plate 61,300,000 km2
5 Antarctic Plate 60,900,000 km2
6 Indo-Australian Plate 58,900,000 km2
7 South American Plate 43,600,000 km2

Minor Plates
1 Somali Plate 16,700,000 km2
2 Nazca Plate 15,600,000 km2
3 Philippine Sea Plate 5,500,000 km2
36
 4 Arabian Plate 5,000,000 km2 Plate Tectonics
5 Caribbean Plate 3,300,000 km2
6 Cocos Plate 2,900,000 km2
7 Caroline Plate 1,700,000 km2
8 Scotia Plate 1,600,000 km2
9 Burma Plate 1,100,000 km2
10 New Hebrides Plate 1,100,000 km2
Plates smaller than 1 million sq. Km. are termed as micro plates and are often
grouped with the major plates.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the unit.
1. Describe the mechanism of formation of continents and oceans.
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2. Explain the theory of sea floor spreading.
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3. What are the criteria of plate grouping? Enumerate the major and minor plates.
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2.4.3 Movement of Lithospheric Plates

The movement of lithospheric plates creates three types of plate boundaries. There
are:
• Convergent Plate Boundaries
• Divergent Plate Boundaries
• Transform Plate Boundaries
1. Convergent plate boundaries or Destructive boundaries or Active margins occur
where two lithospheric plates move towards each other to form either a subduction
zone or a continental collision zone (Fig. 2.1).
a) At zones of ocean-to-continent subduction (e.g. the Andes mountain range in
South America, and the Cascade Mountains in Western United States), the
dense oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath the less dense continental plate. 37
Earth Processes Swarm type earthquake activity traces the path of the downward-moving
plate as it descends into asthenosphere. The collision creates a trench where
the thin veneers of oceanic sediments accumulate as the oceanic plate descends
into the mantle. The subducted plate is heated during its downward journey
and it releases volatiles, mostly water from hydrous minerals, into the
surrounding mantle. This addition of water lowers the melting point of the
mantle material above the subducting slab, causing it to melt. The magma that
results typically leads to arc volcanism on the surface.
b) Along zones of ocean-to-ocean subduction (e.g. Aleutian Islands and the
Japanese island arc), older, cooler, denser crust subducts beneath the less
dense crust. This causes earthquakes and a deep trench to form in an arcuate
shape. The subducted plate heats, loses its volatiles, which act as flux for
magma generation at low temperatures, and the molten material rises to form
curving chains of volcanic islands. Deep marine trenches are typically
associated with subduction zones.
c) During collision of two continental plates (e.g., Himalaya) underplating results
in compression, folding and upheaval of continental sediments and the
consequent basin that develops along the active boundary is called as the
foreland basin (e.g. Siwalik Basin).
2. Divergent boundaries or Constructive boundaries occur where two plates move
apart from each other (Fig. 2.2).
a) Along the centre of the major ocean basins runs the mid-oceanic ridge, which
is a worldwide interconnected chain where rifting of the ocean basin occurs.
Divergent boundaries form by the process of seafloor spreading. These are
the sites for the formation of the new ocean basin floor. As the oceanic plate
splits, cracks, and fractures form in the thin oceanic crust. Hot molten rock
material from mantle outpours into these cracks and fractures. As rifting
continues, new oceanic lithosphere is added as the two sides of the ridge
move away from each other. The lava pours out through many vents and the
movement of magma creates rumbling in the substratum. Many small volcanoes
and shallow earthquakes occur along this zone.

Fig. 2.1: Sketch showing a Convergent Plate Boundary

(Source: commons.wikimedia.org)

b) Within a continent, rifting occurs. These rift zones result in the formation of a
new ocean basin as the continent splits. Gradually the rift widens out, spreads,
and the central rift collapses. The water from the adjacent sea or ocean fills
the newly created basin.
Active zones of Mid-Ocean Ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise),
and continent-to-continent rifting (such as Africa’s East African Rift Valley, Red Sea)
38
are examples of divergent boundaries.
 Plate Tectonics

Fig. 2.2: Sketch showing a Divergent Plate Boundary

3. Transform boundaries or Conservative plate boundaries occur where two

lithospheric plates slide past each other along transform faults. In this tectonic
boundary, plates are neither created nor destroyed. The relative motion of the two
plates is sinistral (left side toward the observer) or dextral (right side toward the
observer). Transform faults occur across a spreading centre. The San Andreas
Fault in California is an example of a 1,300 km long continental transform boundary
between Pacific plate and the North American Plate. The fault exhibits dextral
motion (Fig. 2.3).

Fig. 2.3: Sketch showing a Transform Plate Boundary

(Source: commons.wikimedia.org)

2.4.4 Mantle Convection and Plate Tectonics

Mantle convection is the slow creeping motion of the solid silicate mantle of earth.
The interior of earth is hot and is continuously losing heat by mechanisms of convection
and conduction. The convection currents in mantle transfer heat from the interior of the
Earth to the surface (Fig. 2.4). Evidence from seismic tomography, numerical simulations
of mantle convection and gravitational field of earth suggest the existence of whole
mantle convection. Evidence reveal that convection speed is variable but typical mantle
convection speed is around 20 mm/yr near the crust. Further, the small-scale convection
in the upper mantle is much faster than the convection near the core. A single shallow
convection cycle completes in about 50 million years while the deeper convection
takes around 200 million years.
Plate tectonic model tries to explain the tectonics of earth based on plate movements.
The theory assumes that plates are the rigid brittle parts of lithosphere which travel as
ships on a weak layer, the asthenosphere. Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic
lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its characteristic type
of crust. Divergent plate boundaries are the mid-oceanic ridges and continental rifts
where new lithosphere is being created. Convergent plate boundaries are the zones
where the denser plate is being consumed. The material lost is roughly balanced by 39
Earth Processes the formation of new oceanic crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. Sea
floor spreading gave the scientific evidence of sea floor movement based on magnetic
stripes on the ocean floor which are symmetrically placed across the MOR. At
transform boundaries, the two plates slide past each other with no destruction or
addition of the plates. In this way, the total surface of the lithosphere remains in
perpetual motion. This prediction of plate tectonics is referred to as the conveyor belt
principle. Tectonic plates can move because the Earth’s lithosphere has
greater mechanical strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations
in the mantle result in convection. The variations in topography and density of the
crust result in differences in gravitational forces. This along with drag results in the
motion of the seafloor away from the spreading centre ridge. A downward suction
force acts along the subduction zones.
Plate movement is also believed to be a consequence of the forces generated by tidal
pull of the Sun and Moon. The relative importance of each of these factors and their
relationship to each other is still not clearly known.

Fig. 2.4: Sketch showing convection currents in the mantle in relation to plate boundaries

2.4.5 Plate Boundaries and Hot Spots

Hot spots are volcanic regions which are thought to be fed by an underlying mantle
that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle. They may be on, near
to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. The concept of hotspots was given by J.
Tuzo Wilson in 1963. He postulated that the Hawaiian Islands result from the slow
movement of a tectonic plate across a hot region beneath the surface. It was later
postulated that hotspots are fed by narrow streams of hot mantle rising from the Earth’s
core–mantle boundary in a structure called a mantle plume. The entire concept has not
been scientifically accepted so far and is the subject of a major controversy in Earth
science. The volcanic regions of Hawaii, Yellowstone and Iceland are thought to be
linked to hotspots. The lava erupting from the majority of the hotspots in oceanic
regions is basaltic in character while that in continental setup is rhyolitic in nature. The
hotspot hypothesis is intricately linked to the mantle plume hypothesis.
There are two views regarding their origin. One suggests that hotspots are because of
mantle plumes that rise as thermal diapirs from the core–mantle interface. The other
theory suggests that lithospheric extension permits the passive rising of melt from shallow
depths and that the mantle source is not anomalously hot.
The mechanism of plate motion has been explained in the convection current hypothesis.
This model suggests that the cold, subducting oceanic lithospheric plate descends
40
along the Benioff zone from the surface to the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and hot Plate Tectonics
plumes rise from the CMB all the way to the surface. The model shows that slab and
plume-like anomalies cross the mantle transition zone. Scientists are trying to find
whether the intra-plate volcanism is caused by shallow, upper-mantle processes or by
plumes from the lower mantle. Many geochemical studies have found that the intra-
plate lavas have different He-3/He-4 ratios as compared to mid-ocean ridge basalts
(MORB). The elevated He-3/He-4 ratio of Ocean Island Basalts (OIBs) suggest that
they might have been sourced from a part of the earth that has not previously been
melted and reprocessed in the same way as MORB source has been. This has been
interpreted as their originating from a different, less well-mixed region, probably the
lower mantle as also the result of inclusion of a minor component of near-surface
material from the lithosphere.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the unit.
4. Explain the unique types of plate boundaries. Illustrate your answer with suitable
sketches.
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5. Describe the process of mantle convection in relation to plate tectonics.
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6. Write brief notes on hotspots and mantle plumes.
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2.5 LET US SUM UP

The earth is a blue planet. It is the only planet in our solar system which supports life.
Through a long eventful history of 4.5 billion years, the various endogenetic forces
operating on this planet created the continents and the oceans. These geographical
entities are ever developing and dynamic. The continents, as we know today, had an
entirely different location about 335 million years ago. These have been converging
and diverging during the different time spans in the history of earth. The theory of
Continental drift, sea floor spreading, and the plate tectonics have tried to scientifically
explain the processes and probable mechanisms of the movement of continents and
opening and closing of ocean basins. The role of mantle convection and hot spots in
fuelling the global movement of lithospheric plates and volcanism is interesting. 41
Earth Processes
2.6 KEYWORDS
Tectonic plates : The lithosphere, which is the outer rigid layer
(comprising the crust and the upper mantle), is
made up of numerous rigid brittle fragments
termed as tectonic plates. These tectonic plates
move like a ship on the asthenosphere.
Seafloor spreading : It is a process that occurs at sub-marine
spreading mid-oceanic ridges, where new
oceanic crust is formed through volcanic
activity.
Plate tectonics : A theoretical scientific model which tries to
explain the large-scale motion of seven large
plates and many small plates of
the Earth’s lithosphere, over the past hundreds
of millions of years.
MORB : Mid-ocean ridge basalts.
CMB : Core-mantle boundary.

2.7 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER

READINGS
Taylor, S.R and McLennan, S.M., 2005, “The Evolution of Continental Crust” in
Scientific American Special Editions 15, 2s, 44-49 (July 2005) doi:10.1038/
scientificamerican0705-44sp
Kelermen, P.B., 2009, The origin of the ocean floor, Scientific American, 300(2), 52-
57.
Plate Tectonics: Continental Drift and Mountain Building by Wolfgang Frisch , Martin
Meschede, et al. ,2010, Springer.
Plate Tectonics & Crustal Evolution by Kent C. Condie, 2013, Pergamon Press.
Plate Tectonics by Arthur N. Strahler, 1998, Geo Books Pub.
Tectonics by Eldridge M. Moores and Robert J. Twiss, 1995, W.H. Freeman.
Plate Tectonics: How It Works by Allan Cox and R. B. Hart, 1986, Wiley-Blackwell.

2.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answers to Check Your Progress 1
Your answers should include the following points:
1. Continental Crust Formation, Plate Tectonics – Subduction, ARC volcanism,
Continental crustal growth. Convergent Plates boundary, Mid-Oceanic ridges,
Ocean floor generation, source of water.

42 2. Harry Hess, mid-oceanic ridges, magnetic stripes and polarity.

3. Crustal boundary type – Continental or Oceanic, density variation, large and small Plate Tectonics
plates.
Answers to Check Your Progress 2
Your answers should include the following points:
4. Convergent, divergent and transform plate boundaries with examples and sketches.
5. Heat flow, crustal density, plate tectonic model, conveyor belt, lateral density
variations.
6. Mantle plumes, thermal diapirs, ocean island basalts.

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