Report for the British Geological Survey on the Theory of Plate Tectonics (successor to the

Theory of Continental Drift) and physical processes within the Geosphere

In geology, the theory of tectonics (the word ‘tectonics’ is derived from the Greek Word
‘tektonikos’, meaning ‘pertaining to construction’) refers to the structure and formation of the
Earth’s crust, and the interaction/movement of the plates that make up the crust. The concept
of the Earth’s continents once being connected (in a super-continent called Pangaea; Greek
for ‘all land’, which began to break up between 200 million and 225 million years ago) was
originally proposed by a Dutch map-maker named Abraham Ortelius in 1596. One of his
motives for this seemingly absurd proposal was the presence of similar fossils distributed in
different continents which provided evidence for the individual continents once being whole.
Discoveries of coal deposits (fossilised plants) in Antarctica later reinforced his findings –
this led to the conclusion that this frozen land previously must have been situated closer to the
equator, in a more temperate climate where lush, swampy vegetation could grow. Other
mismatches of geology and climate included distinctive fossil ferns discovered in modern-day
Polar Regions, and the occurrence of glacial deposits in present-day arid Africa, such as the
Vaal River valley of South Africa (usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/historical.html).

Ortelius documented his findings in his book, aptly named ‘Thesaurus Geographicus’; in
this book, he states that the Americas were “torn away from Europe and Africa by
earthquakes and floods” (Ortelius, accessed at Wikipedia). While his actual work was
based on the continents of the Americas, Eurasia and Africa, there is more recent evidence
(from around 1950) to support this theory, as the continental shelves (the ‘edge of a
continent that lies under the ocean’ – National Geographic, 1996-2013) of those continents
fit together remarkably closely (like that of a jigsaw puzzle).

Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) developed the Theory of Continental Drift (the

movement of the Earth’s continents) in 1915. Like Ortelius, he felt that the presence
of similar geology (plant and animal fossils) on the east coast of present-day South
America and the west coast of Africa (e.g. Mesosaurus) was a result of the continents
once being connected as Pangaea (Wegener, 1915). He believed that the separation
distance (now the vast Atlantic Ocean) was impossible for any species to traverse or
be transported, therefore concluding the action of continental drift to be the cause. He
also realised that Africa and South America fitted together like a jigsaw. Further
evidence which supports his theory was the discovery of matching rock strata and
primitive glacial deposits scattered throughout India, Southern Africa, South America
and Australia, which were once part of a huge polar ice cap which covered the Evidence from Geology
southern tip of the supercontinent Pangaea.
Evidence from Glaciation Evidence from Fossil distribution

Although Wegener
developed the
theory, he
suggested that the
continents ploughed
through the Earth’s ocean floor via the action of centrifugal force and lunar and solar tides.
However, when Wegener presented his ideas to the scientific community in 1912 for peer
review, many scientists were sceptical of his ideas, especially as his background was one of
an astronomer and meteorologist, not a geologist. One scientist calculated that a tidal force
strong enough to move continents would cause the earth to cease rotating in less than a year,
completely invalidating Wegener’s idea (www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html).
Others favoured the idea of the continents being static, and that past ‘land bridges’ were the
cause for fossilised remains shared by Africa and South America, believing that the
continents would have been distorted beyond recognition had they ploughed through the
Earth’s crust. Another problem was that flaws in Wegener's original data caused him to make
some incorrect and outlandish predictions: he suggested that North America and Europe were
moving apart at over 250 cm per year (about ten times the fastest rates seen today, and about a
hundred times faster than the measured rate for North America and Europe). Wegener died in
1930; although some believed him - like the South African geologist Alexander du Toit who
felt that this was the only explanation for the similarity of fossils and rock strata between
Africa and South America (www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html) - his theory was
not fully accepted.

The Theory of Continental Drift was not revised until around 1950, and not accepted in the
form of the Theory of Plate Tectonics until the late 1960s. While Wegener was wrong about
the mechanism of continental movement, he was correct that the continents were once one
supercontinent, and the evidence he discovered supported the framework of his theory. The
later mapping of the Earth’s ocean floors, and extensive data on seismic activity (earthquake
patterns in particular) and the Earth’s magnetic field prompted a new theory building on the
old one – the Theory of Plate Tectonics. This theory states that the continents move on large
parts of the Earth’s crust called tectonic plates (hence why the older term of continental drift
is not accurate, as both the continents and oceanic crust move with the plates). These plates
are part of the lithosphere - the outermost rigid rock layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust
and the uppermost mantle (Dunn, 2009). The mantle is a layer of semi-molten, underlying
rock that is subject to tremendous heat and pressure, which
makes gives it great viscosity. The upper mantle is known as the
aesthenosphere – due to its partially molten quality, convection
currents occur within the mantle. When molten rocks near the
Earth’s core are heated they become less dense than the rock in
the upper mantle, hence they rise upwards while the cooler rocks
sink. This creates slow upward currents, which in turn create
pockets of circulation called convection cells – the circulation of
the molten rock via convection currents is now believed to be the
driving force behind the movements of plates
(www.platetectonics.com/book/page_4.asp).

When the new theory was introduced, there was also evidence to support it. Paleomagnetism
is one explanation. The Earth has invisible lines of magnetic force extending from each pole
to the other – the magnetic poles are aligned closely with the geographical poles in the present
day. Magnetic fields from past time periods can be identified using certain rocks and crystals
– the magnetism these minerals possess point to the North Pole both at the time they
solidified and still today. Hence they ‘memorise’ the location of the magnetic poles at the
time of their formation. A study of lava flows in the 1950s showed that the magnetic
alignment of these flows varied, largely dependent on their age. This was clear evidence that
the continents had drifted, through the processes within the Earth’s interior.
(elearning.stkc.go.th/lms/html/earth_science/LOcanada4/401/html/4_3en.htm). When
scientists discovered that the Earth’s magnetic field periodically reverses its polarity (i.e. the
North magnetic pole becomes the south and vice versa), further evidence for the theory was
obtained from lava & sediment from around the world (the magnetism of the rock and other
geological compounds pointed to the magnetic pole at the time, reinforcing the fact that the
continents had drifted apart). Perhaps the most persuasive evidence to support the Theory of
Plate Tectonics is the strong correlation between the global distribution of earthquakes and
the location of plate margins (and the types of boundary that generate the tectonic activity).

PERMIAN

JURASSIC

CRETACEOUS

By Matthew Hampson 13Ma