Plate Tectonics

Oceanic crust
Continental crust
Lithosphere Lithospheric mantle

Asthenosphere

Crust
Lithospheric mantle
Asthenosphere

Mesosphere

Outer core

Inner core
Learning Goals
• State the initial evidence for the theory of
continental drift and its shortcomings
• Understand the modern evidence and techniques
employed to support the theory of plate tectonics
• Know the three types of plate boundaries, their
associated features, and be able to give examples
of each tectonic setting
• Use evidence provided by volcanoes, earthquakes,
and topography to infer the location and type of
plate boundary
• Explain hot spots and be able to provide examples
Continental Drift
• In 1912 geologist Alfred Wegner suggested that the continents were
once together as a supercontinent and drifted apart.

• This theory was known as continental drift and paved the way for the
modern theory of plate tectonics today.
• He named the grouping of the continents Pangea – “all Earth” in Greek

• sss
Plate Movement Over Time
• Model of plate motion and reconstruction

~ 280 Ma to present
 Early Evidence

2) Fossil evidence
1) Complimentary coastlines

4) Mountain belts
3) Glaciation / Paleoclimates
 1) World map (complimentary
Coastlines)
Seems like these puzzle pieces should fit together!
 2) Fossil Evidence
Same fossil species of
Mesozoic age found on
continents oceans apart.

From today’s
observations animals on
different continents are
distinctly different.

Solution: Theory that

continents were once
together.
 • Species like Mesosaurus were believed to be semi-
aquatic which could explain getting across large
oceans
• Many species however, like Cynognathus were
restricted to land

Cynognathus
Mesosaurus
 3) Glaciation
Evidence of glaciation in the Permian (~300 Ma) across multiple
continents
• Glacial deposits confined to the Permian found in
South America, Africa, India, Australia
• All places which feature Permian glacial deposits
are at very different latitudes
• Climate is largely controlled by latitude
The places where
glaciation has been
mapped are at very
different latitudes!

Latitude controls climate

Solution: Continents
must have been together
to share latitude
4) Mountains / Geology
• The same mountain chains found on edges of
continents
The Appalachian mountain range of the
eastern US and Canada is very similar
(composition and structure) to mountain
ranges in Greenland, Ireland, Great
Britain, and Norway.

These mountains are now separated by

an ocean…
 Wegener’s Evidence:
Adds up to this!

Proterozoic
mountain belts
Archean crust
Figure 19.11
Putting it together
• Strong evidence
• geology
• fossils
• continent edges
• rock/mountains
distribution
• glaciation

= Continents shift
over time.
• Wegener’s
Hypothesis called:
Continental Drift
Reaction of the Scientific Community…….

“Utter Damned Rot!”

“Anyone who values his reputation for scientific sanity

would never dare support such a theory.”

“If we are to believe [this] hypothesis we must forget

everything we learned in the last 70 years and start all
over again.”
Problems with Continental Drift
• The main problem was that the theory of continental drift
does not explain the driving mechanism for movement of
continents.

• Wegner's Hypothesis was that continents plowed through

ocean crust.
• He proposed that Earth’s rotation and lunar forces could
propel the continents. These forces are far too weak!

WRONG!
Mapping the Ocean Floor
• After World War II, in the 1960s the oceans floor was
mapped using acoustic depth sounders
• What they found was a ridge formed by an area of
tension
• This suggested that the oceanic crust was divergent
or being pulled apart
found divergent boundaries
(plates pull apart)
Modern Day Evidence
• 1) High Resolution Global Topography
• 2) Magnetism
• 3) Age of Sea Floor
• 4) Plate Velocity and Vector Data
1) Global Topography Maps
2a) Paleomagnetism

Some rocks lock the orientation and polarity of the Earth’s magnetic
field at the time that they form.
Can help you find their latitude (not longitude)

Many rocks have changed latitude (a lot)!

Apparent Polar wander

• Looking at layers of rock at

one location, one will see
that the magnetic
inclination of magnetic
minerals changes

• This makes it appear that

magnetic north is moving
significantly over time which
is termed apparent polar
wandering
2b) Magnetic Striping
Whether the magnetic dipole points
north or south is termed polarity The ocean floor is made
of basalt which contains
The ocean floor records polarity and ~1-2% magnetite
appears striped due to changes in
polarity over time
 iClicker Q: What is true about the
mid Atlantic ridge?
A) Rocks get older as we
move away from the ridge

B) Rocks get younger as

we move away from the
ridge

C) Rocks are the same age

in the ocean
3) Age of Sea Floor
• The sea floor is youngest at the spreading center where lava
forms rock and then spreads away from the ridge
4) Plate Velocities & Vectors
• We now have very accurate GPS readings which show that
plate movement on the scale of a few centimeters to 10s of
centimeters per year (roughly same order as fingernail
growth)
Plate Movement Over Time
• A few cm per year is not significant over the course
of a century, but it adds up over the timespan of
millions of years…

~ 280 Ma to present
5) Earthquake/volcano distribution
• Earthquakes and volcanoes are mostly concentrated at
margins where tectonic stresses are highest
Modern theory of Plate Tectonics
The Earth is made of plates

• These plates are

in constant
motion!
• The plates consists of the lithosphere (crust/ upper mantle)
which “float” on the asthenosphere.
• This is due to density differences and that the
asthenosphere has fluid-like properties
The principle of Isostacy
• If something is less dense, it floats due to the buoyant force
• If something heavy is placed on the floating object it will sink
• The balance between the buoyant force and gravity is known
as isostacy
Isostatic rebound
• If something is less dense, it floats due to the buoyant force
• If something heavy is placed on the floating object it will
sink
• The balance between the buoyant force and gravity is
known as isostacy
Interaction at plate boundaries

Transform

Divergent

Convergent
1) Divergent Boundaries
• Two plates move apart, resulting in upwelling of mantle
material and magma.
• Most divergent boundaries are at ocean ridges
Rift Valleys
Rift valleys form when hot spots
exist under continents and cause
tension

The continent continues to

thin until magma can erupt
and oceanic crust is created

As it widens an ocean
begins to form
Creating Ocean Basins

Divergent boundaries can

begin within a continent

This is called continental

rifting which eventually
forms an ocean basin
Creating Ocean Basins
Iceland’s fate on a divergent boundary
• The mid Atlantic ridge runs through Iceland
• Iceland is slowly being pulled apart at a rate of ~2.5
cm/yr
East African Rift Valley
• The great rift valley
in Eastern Africa is a
system of rift valleys
formed by pulling
apart of plates at a
divergent boundary
Divergent Summary Features
• Most are under the ocean
• Lots of minor earthquakes
• Volcanic activity
• Small scale topography at the ridges
2) Convergent Boundaries

Two plates move towards

each other.
Oceanic-Continental
subduction
Oceanic-Oceanic
subduction

Continental-Continental
Oceanic Plate – Continental Plate

Mountain Building

Small – Large
Earthquakes

Explosive
volcanoes

Trench at
boundary
The Andes
• The Andes
mountain belt is
formed from
convergence of
Nazca plate and
the South
American plate
• A deep trench along the boundary of the plates are
seen along with a mountain belt running parallel to
the margin
• Numerous volcanoes exist within the belt
 Our Local Tectonic Setting
• We are on a convergent oceanic-continental margin where the
Juan de Fuca Plate is subducting under the North American
Plate
 Oceanic Plate – Oceanic Plate

Small – Large
Earthquakes

Volcanic Island arc

Trench at
boundary
 Aleutian Islands

• The Aleutian Islands are a result of

convergence between two oceanic
plates
 Japanese Island Arcs

• The Japanese
Island Arc is
a system of
oceanic-
oceanic plate
convergence
 Earthquakes at subduction Zones

• As the lithospheric plate undergoes

intense stress as it sinks into the mantle
Continental – Continental

• Subducting oceanic crust is depleted

• Continental crust is too light to be subducted
• Large scale deformation and mountain building
• Accompanied by large earthquakes
Mount Everest
Formation

Mount Everest is formed by a

continental-continental collision
between the Indian plate and the
Eurasian Plate
• Continent-Continent margins
involve two continental plates
colliding
• Mountain building (orogeny)
results from the high stresses
due to the collision
• Continent-continent margins
often result from a previous
oceanic-continental system
which ends up depleting all
the oceanic crust
Convergent Summary Features
• Lots of earthquakes ranging from small to large,
shallow to deep
• If subduction occurs (oceanic-continental, oceanic-
oceanic), then large destructive volcanoes
• If no subduction, no volcanoes
• Mountain building events, especially at continental-
continental convergent zones
3) Transform Plate Boundaries
• Also called transform faults
• Plate slide past one another
• Plate s are not destroyed or consumed
 Mostly small
• Most transform faults occur magnitude
at mid ocean ridges Earthquakes
• Results in a zig-zag pattern
No significant
topography
change
San Andreas Fault
• The San Andreas Fault is a transform boundary which
runs through California and is responsible for many of
the Earthquakes received there
…
Plate Tectonics: Margins and Mechanisms
Hot Spots

• Hot spots are volcanic regions

which occur within a tectonic
plate, not a boundary
• The plate moves but the
hotspot is stationary
• This results in an island chain
Hawaii
• The Hawaiian island chain is a result of the pacific
plate moving over a hotpot
Summary
Plate Margins: Active vs Passive
Where lithospheric plates move
- Active Margin

Continent connected to Ocean and No

movement- Passive Margin

Passive Margins have thick layers of sediment

on the ocean side
Passive Plate Boundaries
• Passive margins occur when continents meet ocean
but there is no subduction
Passive Margins
• Passive margins have a shallow continental shelf
extending into the ocean
• Continental shelf is filled with thick sediments

Thick sediment
accumulation
Crust
Continental
Shelf Lithospheric mantle

Asthenosphere
Driving Forces? Heat and density
Ocean basins Continents

Seismic imaging shows old “slabs” of lithosphere

Convection within the mantle leads to hot regions. These feed volcanic
activity at
1) divergent margins and 2) hotspots
Driving forces 1) Mantle convection
Driving Forces cont.

2) Ridge Push: Ridges are higher, plates slide

down

3) Slab Pull: Dense, subducting lithosphere

“pulls” the plate along with it.