Chapter 2

Plate Tectonics:
A Scientific
Revolution Unfolds
Chapter 2 Opening Figure
Figure 2.1
Continental drift: An idea
before its time
n Alfred Wegener
• First proposed his continental drift
hypothesis in 1915
• Published The Origin of Continents and
Oceans
n Continental drift hypothesis
• Supercontinent called Pangaea began
breaking apart about 200 million years ago
Figure 2.B
 Pangaea approximately
200 million years ago

Figure 2.2
Continental drift: An idea
before its time

n Continental drift hypothesis

• Continents "drifted" to present positions
n Evidence used in support of continental
drift hypothesis
• Fit of the continents
• Fossil evidence
• Rock type and structural similarities
• Paleoclimatic evidence
Figure 2.3
Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5
Matching
mountain
ranges
Figure 2.6
Paleoclimatic
evidence
Figure 2.7
 The great debate

n Objections to the continental drift

hypothesis
• Lack of a mechanism for moving continents
• Wegener incorrectly suggested that
continents broke through the ocean crust,
much like ice breakers cut through ice
• Strong opposition to the hypothesis from all
areas of the scientific community
 The great debate

n Continental drift and the scientific method

• Wegener’s hypothesis was correct in
principle, but contained incorrect details
• A few scientists considered Wegener’s ideas
plausible and continued the search
 Continental drift and
paleomagnetism

n Renewed interest in continental drift

initially came from rock magnetism
n Magnetized minerals in rocks
• Show the direction to Earth’s magnetic poles
• Provide a means of determining their latitude
of origin
Figure 2.8
Figure 2.9
Figure 2.10
 Continental drift and
paleomagnetism
n Polar wandering
• The apparent movement of the magnetic
poles illustrated in magnetized rocks
indicates that the continents have moved
• Indicates Europe was much closer to the
equator when coal-producing swamps
existed
 Continental drift and
paleomagnetism

n Polar wandering
• Curves for North America and Europe have
similar paths but are separated by about 24°
of longitude
• Differences between the paths can be reconciled
if the continents are placed next to one another
Polar-wandering paths for
Eurasia and North America

Figure 2.11
Figure 2.A
Figure 2.A
A scientific revolution begins

n During the 1950s and 1960s technological

strides permitted extensive mapping of the
ocean floor
n Seafloor spreading hypothesis was
proposed by Harry Hess in the early 1960s
 Figure 2.12
Hess’ Sea Floor Spreading Theory
A scientific revolution begins

n Geomagnetic reversals
• Earth's magnetic field periodically reverses
polarity – the north magnetic pole becomes
the south magnetic pole, and vice versa
• Dates when the polarity of Earth’s
magnetism changed were determined from
lava flows
Figure 2.13
Figure 2.14
A scientific revolution begins

n Geomagnetic reversals
• Geomagnetic reversals are recorded in the
ocean crust
• In 1963 Vine and Matthews tied the
discovery of magnetic stripes in the ocean
crust near ridges to Hess’s concept of
seafloor spreading
Figure 2.16
Paleomagnetic reversals
recorded in oceanic crust

Figure 2.16
Figure 2.15
A scientific revolution begins

n Geomagnetic reversal
• Paleomagnetism was the most convincing
evidence set forth to support the concepts of
continental drift and seafloor spreading
 Plate tectonics: The
new paradigm
n Earth’s major plates
• Associated with Earth's strong, rigid outer
layer
• Known as the lithosphere
• Consists of uppermost mantle and overlying
crust
• Overlies a weaker region in the mantle called
the asthenosphere
 Plate tectonics: The
new paradigm
n Earth’s major plates
• Seven major lithospheric plates
• Plates are in motion and continually
changing in shape and size
• Largest plate is the Pacific plate
• Several plates include an entire continent
plus a large area of seafloor
Figure 2.19
Earth’s
plates
Figure 2.19
(left side)
Earth’s
plates
Figure 2.19
(right side)
Global Earthquake Belts
Figure 11.13
Figure 11.27
Global Volcano Belts
 Plate tectonics: The
new paradigm
n Earth’s major plates
• Plates move relative to each other at a very
slow but continuous rate
• About 5 centimeters (2 inches) per year
• Cooler, denser slabs of oceanic lithosphere
descend into the mantle
 Plate tectonics: The
new paradigm
n Plate boundaries
• Interactions among individual plates
occur along their boundaries
• Types of plate boundaries
• Divergent plate boundaries (constructive
margins)
• Convergent plate boundaries (destructive
margins)
• Transform fault boundaries (conservative
margins)
 Plate tectonics: The
new paradigm
n Plate boundaries
• Each plate is bounded by a combination of
the three types of boundaries
• New plate boundaries can be created in
response to changing forces
Divergent plate boundaries

n Most are located along the crests of oceanic

ridges
n Oceanic ridges and seafloor spreading
• Along well-developed divergent plate
boundaries, the seafloor is elevated forming
oceanic ridges
Divergent plate boundaries

n Oceanic ridges and seafloor spreading

• Seafloor spreading occurs along the oceanic
ridge system
n Spreading rates and ridge topography
• Ridge systems exhibit topographic
differences
• These differences are controlled by
spreading rates
Divergent plate boundary

Figure 2.20
Divergent plate boundaries

n Continental rifting
• Splits landmasses into two or more
smaller segments along a continental rift
• Examples include the East African rift
valleys and the Rhine Valley in northern
Europe
• Produced by extensional forces acting on
lithospheric plates
Continental
rifting
Figure 2.21
Convergent plate boundaries

n Older portions of oceanic plates are returned

to the mantle in these destructive plate
margins
• Surface expression of the descending plate is
an ocean trench
• Also called subduction zones
• Average angle of subduction = 45°
Convergent plate boundaries

n Types of convergent boundaries

• Oceanic-continental convergence
• Denser oceanic slab sinks into the asthenosphere
• Along the descending plate partial melting of
mantle rock generates magma
• Resulting volcanic mountain chain is called a
continental volcanic arc (Andes and Cascades)
 Oceanic-continental
convergence

Figure 2.22 A
Plate Tectonics Drives the Rock
Cycle
n Convergent Margins
Subduction creates magma,
produces volcanoes and igneous
rocks.
Uplift creates mountains and
exposes rocks to weathering and
erosion that create sediments.
Subduction creates trenches and
basins where sediments are
deposited and buried to form
sedimentary rocks.
Subduction, crustal thickening
and magma production subject
the rocks to heat and pressure
and creates metamorphic rocks
Convergent plate boundaries

n Types of convergent boundaries

• Oceanic-oceanic convergence
• When two oceanic slabs converge, one descends
beneath the other
• Often forms volcanoes on the ocean floor
• If the volcanoes emerge as islands, a volcanic
island arc is formed (Japan, Aleutian islands,
Tonga islands)
 Oceanic-oceanic
convergence

Figure 2.22 B
Convergent plate boundaries

n Types of convergent boundaries

• Continental-continental convergence
• Continued subduction can bring two continents
together
• Less dense, buoyant continental lithosphere does
not subduct
• Resulting collision between two continental
blocks produces mountains (Himalayas, Alps,
Appalachians)
Continental-continental
convergence

Figure 2.22 B
Figure 2.23BC
 Continental Convergence

Continetal Divergence
Plate Tectonics Drives the Rock
Cycle
n Convergent Margins
Subduction creates magma,
produces volcanoes and igneous
rocks.
Uplift creates mountains and
exposes rocks to weathering and
erosion that create sediments.
Subduction creates trenches and
basins where sediments are
deposited and buried to form
sedimentary rocks.
Subduction, crustal thickening
and magma production subject
the rocks to heat and pressure
and creates metamorphic rocks
Transform fault boundaries

n Plates slide past one another and no new

lithosphere is created or destroyed
n Transform faults
• Most join two segments of a mid-ocean ridge
along breaks in the oceanic crust known as
fracture zones
• A few (the San Andreas fault and the Alpine
fault of New Zealand) cut through
continental crust
Transform
faults
Figure 2.24
Figure 2.25
 Testing the plate
tectonics model
n Evidence from ocean drilling
• Some of the most convincing evidence
confirming seafloor spreading has come
from drilling directly into ocean-floor
sediment
• Age of deepest sediments
• Thickness of ocean-floor sediments verifies
seafloor spreading
Figure 2.27
Figure 2.C
 Testing the plate
tectonics model
n Hot spots and mantle plumes
• Caused by rising plumes of mantle material
• Volcanoes can form over them (Hawaiian
Island chain)
• Mantle plumes
• Long-lived structures
• Some originate at great depth, perhaps at the
mantle-core boundary
The Hawaiian Islands

Figure 2.27
 Measuring plate motion

n Paleomagnetism and plate motions

• Paleomagnetism stored in rocks on the
ocean floor provides a method for
determining plate motions
• Both the direction and rate of seafloor
spreading can be established
 Measuring plate motion

n Measuring plate velocities from space

• Accomplished by establishing exact
locations on opposite sides of a plate
boundary and measuring relative motions
• Two methods are used
• Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
Plate motions

Figure 2.29
Vector Model of Lithosperic
Plate Motion
What drives plate motions

n Researchers agree that convective flow in

the mantle is the basic driving force of
plate tectonics
n Forces that drive plate motion
• Slab-pull
• Ridge-push
• Slab suction
Figure 2.31
What drives plate motions

n Models of plate-mantle convection

• Any model must be consistent with
observed physical and chemical properties
of the mantle
• Models
• Layering at 660 kilometers
• Whole-mantle convection
• Deep-layer model
Figure 2.32
Figure 2.32A
Figure 2.32B
Figure 2.32C
 Importance of
plate tectonics
n The theory provides explanations for
• Earth’s major surface processes
• The geologic distribution of earthquakes,
volcanoes, and mountains
• The distribution of ancient organisms and
mineral deposits
End of Chapter 2
 North American Plate

Septentrional Fault

h Transform Puerto Rico Trench

n Tr ou g
a
Caym

su
bd
uc
Enriquillo
MuertosTrough

tio
Plantain Garden

n
Fault
Caribbean Plate
su
bd
uc
tio
Cocos n
Transform
Plate
 Cayman
Trough

Transform faulting and sea floor spreading

Convergence and Collision

Muertos Trough
Extensional
Rift Basins
Oblique underthrusting

Extensional
Rift Basins
Oblique convergence-subduction
and left lateral strike slip faulting

Active Arc Volcanism 2 cm/yr

Direct Convergence-Subduction
 Oceanic-oceanic
convergence

Figure 2.22 B