General Geology - 2

Elementary Knowledge on Continental Drift And Plate Tectonics:

The positions of the continents and the ocean bodies, as we see them in the map,
have not been the same in the past. Moreover, it is now a well-accepted fact that
oceans and continents will not continue to enjoy their present positions in times to
come.
If this is so, the question arises what were their positions in the past? Why and
how do they change their positions? Even if it is true that the continents and
oceans have changed and are changing their positions, you may wonder as to how
scientists know this. How have they determined their earlier positions?
Elementary Knowledge on Continental Drift And Plate Tectonics:
Continental Drift:
In 1915, an eccentric German geologist, Alfred
Wegener, proposed the hypothesis of continental
drift
Continental Drift – hypothesis that proposed that the
continents had all been joined together to form one
“supercontinent”, the supercontinent broke into
pieces and drifted apart forming the modern
continents
Pangaea – the supercontinent from continental drift,
means “all land”
Continental Drift:
Wegener searched and found three main pieces of evidence:
1. Geologic - evidence in the layers of rocks across continents
2. Fossil - evidence in the places certain fossils are found
3. Climate - evidence in the changing climates during the past
Continental Drift:
Geologic Evidence

Fit of Continents Across the

Atlantic

Mountain ranges in South

America line up exactly with
those in Africa! Africa

South America
Continental Drift:
Fossil evidence

Notice how fossils lined up across continents!

Continental Drift:
Climate Change
Amazing Facts: Did you know...
...that India was once in the
Southern Hemisphere
connected to Antarctica?
...that North America was once
surrounded by warm, tropical
seas?
...that Africa was once covered
by glaciers, which were
kilometers in thickness?
...that the Sahara desert was
once a tropical rain forest?
Continental Drift:
Climatic Evidence - such as glaciers in
areas that are now close to the
Equator
Continental Drift:
Lack of mechanism to explain continental movement.
• Evidence implied that the continents were at one time assembled
• Wegener’s idea was not accepted by the scientific community because
he could not explain how the continents moved
• With advances in technology, new information was gathered in
association with WWII
Post Drift Studies:
Convectional Current Theory
Arthur Holmes (14 January 1890 – 20
September 1965) was a British geologist who
made two major contributions to the
understanding of geology. He pioneered the
use of radiometric dating of minerals and was
the first earth scientist to grasp the mechanical
and thermal implications of mantle
convection, which led eventually to the
acceptance of plate tectonics.
Post Drift Studies:
Convectional Current Theory
Arthur Holmes in 1930s discussed the possibility of convection currents
operating in the mantle portion. These currents are generated due to radioactive
elements causing thermal differences in the mantle portion. Holmes argued that
there exists a system of such currents in the entire mantle portion. This was an
attempt to provide an explanation to the issue of force, on the basis of which
contemporary scientists discarded the continental drift theory.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What are Plates?
The Earth’s crust and upper mantle (Lithosphere) are broken into sections called
plates. Plates move around on top of the mantle like rafts. A section of the
lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of
continental and oceanic crust.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
The theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by
convection currents in the mantle.
Plates move slowly in
different directions. Cause
different geologic events
(like earthquake, volcano,
etc.)
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What makes the plates move?
In the earth’s mantle, the magma is heated by the core. This makes the magma
rise but when it gets to the crust it cools and then sinks back to the core to be
heated again.
Convection Currents in
the mantle move the
plates as the core
heats the slowly-
flowing asthenosphere
(the elastic/plastic-like
part of the mantle).
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Plate Boundaries
The edges of Earth’s plates meet at plate boundaries. Extended deep into the
lithosphere.
FAULT – Breaks in Earth’s crust where
rocks have slipped past each other.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What are the three types of boundaries?
1) Divergent Boundaries
2) Convergent Boundaries
3) Transform Boundaries
A different type of plate movement occurs along each type of boundary.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Divergent Boundaries
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.

RIFTING causes SEAFLOOR

SPREADING
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
How is the rock pulled at Divergent Boundaries?
Rock gets THIN in the middle as it is pulled apart.

This STRESS is called

The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What happens when the rock SNAPS from the Stress of Tension?
A Normal Fault (fault is a break in Earth’s crust) Rock drops down as it breaks
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What happens next at Divergent Boundaries?
A geologic feature or event…

May form RIFT VALLEYS on

continents

SEA-FLOOR SPREADING in the

ocean
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Features of Divergent Boundaries
• Mid-ocean ridges
• Rift valleys
• Fissure volcanoes
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
How is the rock pushed at convergent boundaries?
A plate boundary where two plates move towards each other.

Boundaries between two plates that are

colliding

→ 

This stress is called COMPRESSION

The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Convergent Boundaries
Places where plates crash (or crunch) together or subduct (one sinks under)
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
There are 3 types of Convergent Boundaries…
Type 1 - Ocean plate colliding with a less dense continental plate.
Subduction Zone: The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean
trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.
VOLCANOES occur at
subduction zones
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Andes Mountains, South America
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
There are 3 types of Convergent Boundaries…
Type 2 - Ocean plate colliding with another ocean plate.
The less dense plate slides under the more dense plate creating a subduction zone
called a TRENCH
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Mariana Trench
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
There are 3 types of Convergent Boundaries…
Type 3 - A continental plate colliding with another continental plate
Have Collision Zones: A place where folded and thrust faulted mountains form.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
There are 3 types of Convergent Boundaries…
Type 3 - A continental plate colliding with another continental plate
May form Mountain Ranges. These are Folded Mountains, like the Himalayas or
the Rockies.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What happens when the rock is squeezed from the Stress of Compression?
• A REVERSE FAULT
• Rock is forced upward as it is squeezed.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
Transform Boundaries
A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite direction.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
How is the rock broken at Transform Boundaries?
Rock is pushed in two opposite directions (or sideways, but no rock is lost)

This stress is called SHEARING

The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What happens next at Transform Boundaries?
May cause Earthquakes when the rock snaps from the pressure.

A famous fault @ a Transform

Boundary is the San Andreas
Fault in California.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
San Andreas Fault, CA
The Theory of Plate Tectonics - Boundaries, stresses, and Faults:
What happens when the rock is sheared (or “cut”) from the Stress of Shearing?

• A STRIKE-SLIP FAULT
• Rocks on each side of the
fault slip past each other as
they break.
• Shearing means cutting
(“Shears” are like scissors)
• Transform boundaries run
like trains going past each
other in different directions
& they shake the ground!