Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics (from t he Lat e Lat in: tectonicus , from t he Ancient Greek: τεκτονικός,
lit . 'pert aining t o building')[1] is t he generally accept ed scient ific t heory t hat considers t he Eart h's
lit hosphere t o comprise a number of large tectonic plates which have been slowly moving since
about 3.4 billion years ago.[2] The model builds on t he concept of continental drift, an idea
developed during t he first decades of t he 20t h cent ury. Plat e t ect onics came t o be generally
accept ed by geoscient ist s aft er seafloor spreading was validat ed in t he mid t o lat e 1960s.

S implified map of Earth's principal tectonic plates, which were mapped in the second half of the 20th century (red arrows
indicate direction of movement at plate boundaries)
Diagram of the internal layering of Earth showing the lithosphere above the asthenosphere (not to scale)

Eart h's lit hosphere, which is t he rigid out ermost shell of t he planet (t he crust and upper mant le),
is broken int o seven or eight major plat es (depending on how t hey are defined) and many minor
plat es or "plat elet s". Where t he plat es meet , t heir relat ive mot ion det ermines t he t ype of plate
boundary: convergent, divergent, or transform. Eart hquakes, volcanic act ivit y, mount ain-building,
and oceanic t rench format ion occur along t hese plat e boundaries (or fault s). The relat ive
movement of t he plat es t ypically ranges from zero t o 10 cm annually.[3]

Tect onic plat es are composed of t he oceanic lit hosphere and t he t hicker cont inent al
lit hosphere, each t opped by it s own kind of crust . Along convergent boundaries, t he process of
subduct ion, or one plat e moving under anot her, carries t he edge of t he lower one down int o t he
mant le; t he area of mat erial lost is balanced by t he format ion of new (oceanic) crust along
divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In t his way, t he t ot al geoid surface area of t he
lit hosphere remains const ant . This predict ion of plat e t ect onics is also referred t o as t he
conveyor belt principle. Earlier t heories, since disproven, proposed gradual shrinking (cont ract ion)
or gradual expansion of t he globe.[4]

Tect onic plat es are able t o move because Eart h's lit hosphere has great er mechanical st rengt h
t han t he underlying ast henosphere. Lat eral densit y variat ions in t he mant le result in convect ion;
t hat is, t he slow creeping mot ion of Eart h's solid mant le. Plat e movement is t hought t o be driven
by a combinat ion of t he mot ion of t he seafloor away from spreading ridges due t o variat ions in
t opography (t he ridge is a t opographic high) and densit y changes in t he crust (densit y increases
as newly-formed crust cools and moves away from t he ridge). At subduct ion zones t he relat ively
cold, dense oceanic crust sinks down int o t he mant le over t he downward convect ing limb of a
mant le cell.[5] The relat ive import ance of each of t hese fact ors and t heir relat ionship t o each
ot her is unclear, and st ill t he subject of much debat e.

Key principles

Types of plate boundaries

Driving forces of plate motion

History of the theory

Implications for biogeography

Plate reconstruction

Current plates

Other celestial bodies (planets, moons)

See also

References

External links
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Last edited 11 days ago by FAdesdae378