PLATE TECTONICS Plate Tectonics Without question, the theory of “plate tectonics” is the most important advancement in earth sciences in the 20" century. It provides the framework for earth processes that previously were known te exist, but it was unknown why these activities occurred. Because the portions of the earth's interior and differences between continental and oceanic crust are an essential part of plate tectonics, it is worth our while to review these concepts briefly Earth's crust (lithosphere) is composed of several elements crucial to our existence. In order of their abundance, these cight (8) elements are: Oxygen Silicon Aluminum Tron Calcium Sodium Potassium Magnesium tory of Event he Formul: of Plat *Note that plate tectonics is a theory, Iris not something that we can directly sample or touch, or for that matter prove. That is why we will refer to it as a theory. “In 1915, a Bavarian scientist named Alfred Wegener (later referred to as the "Father of Plate Tectonics") noticed, while working near the North Pole, that his compass needle did nor point to where north “should” have been. In other words, true north and magnetic north were in two separate localities. Wegener theorized that the poles (both North and South) were "wandering" with time. He called this "Polar Wandering", *Subsequent to his theory, he began to also notice how continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle...most notably the western coast of Africa and the eastern coast of South America. In addition, rocks from these localities were the same rock type, same age, and contained the same age and type of fossils. His revised theory became known as "Continental Drift", because he realized that it poles that shifted, but the continents themselves. is not the Wegener died of a heart attack on a voyage studying glaciers near the North Pole in early 1930 and his work was virtually forgotten for several decades.Correlation of Africa and South America by Wegener ‘dence used by Wegener: © Shape of continents fit like a jigsaw puzzle © Similar fossils on both continents Mountain belts line up © Mineral belts line up ® Further evidence used by Wegener to support continental drift hypothesis: Mountains line up in Northern Hemisphere © Nozth America, Europe, South America, and Africa all it together.¢ Explanation by Wegener that present-day Africa, South America, India, and Australia once glaciated. *Tt was not until the advent of World War II that a technology (Echo Sounding) developed to a degree that a stunning discovery was made by a geologist and sea boat commander, Harry Hess. He noticed that rocks on cither side of a prominent geologic feature in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (called the mid-oceanic rift zone) were a perfect mirror image of each other on either side of the rift zone. He theorized that the rift zone was oozing out magma material from submarine volcanoes and that the material spread laterally across either sides of the rift. As time progressed, Hess took more and more samples to back up his findings, as part of a series of drill voyages aboard the research vessel, Glomar Challenger *Later in the 1960's, Frederick Vine and Drummond Matthews, a Cambridge University professot/student team, discovered the principles of magnetic patterns on the ocean floor and went on the road to present their discoveries. They published first in a rather obscure journal and then on the lecture circuit at Sctipps Oceanographic Institute. Further findings revealed that not only did the stripes have the same age of rocks, but a magnetic polarity image resulted as well, showing that during earth history there have been several "magnetic nversali" (A time when the compass needle would have pointed south instead of north). *In the late 1960's and carly 1970's, two scientists, revisited Wegener's findings and combined them with Hess’ discoveries to formulate a new package called "Plate Tectonics". Robert Palmer and Donald Mackenzie are credited with naming and synthesizing the theory of “plate tectonics”Echo Sounding Device Used By Hess Oungoing signa + Retiected signal PNET aS What are tectonic plates made of? Plates are made of rigid lithosphere. ‘The lithosphere is made up of the crust and the upper part of the mantle. 100 km thick Less dense than the material below it so ir “floats” Most plates support both continent and ocean JLithosphere and the solid earth: h h : the solid carth lies beneath the atmosphere and the oceans and composes 29% of the earth's surface. It is divided into several distinct units or layers: a. Lithesphe gust: two (2) types of crust: oceanic and continental with basic differences * Ocranre crust is thinner and denser and usually darker in color * Continental ceust is lighter in weight, less dense, light in color, and tends to float over oceanic crust b. Mantle: beneath the crust; houses molten rock material called magaa c. Outer core: composed of liquid iron and nick ‘ery dense material d. Inner core: composed of solid iron and nickel; extremely dense material “The upper mantle and lower crust (lithosphere) are referred to as the astbenosphere. “There is a distinct seismic discontinuity where composition of molten rock. This is located in the asthenosphere and is referred to as the Mahar Discontinvity, after the Russian scientist who discovered it. We refer to it as the "Moho" mic wav Jow down considerably due to the What lies beneath the tectonic plates? + Below the lithosphere (which makes up the tectonic plates) is the asthenosphere Asthenosphere: + Is the hotter upper mantle below the lithospheric plate; + Can flow like silly putty; and . Isa viscoelastic solid, NOT liquidl! . ‘The lithosphere floats on astenosphere. The asthonosphore, beneath the lithosphere, is part of the upper mantle and is so hhot thae itis 1 — liquid (Le. 95 ~ 99% solid). This liquid, usually a the junctions of the crystals, allow it to flow ~ which is why ‘astheno’ means weak.’ Beneath the asthenosphere is the rest of the mantle, which is complerely solid — but can also flow (on geological time scales) because of the intense temperarures and pressur involved. «The base of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary corresponds approximately ro the depth of the melting temperature in the mantle,interaction, Plate Tectonics; . ‘The Earth’s crust is divided into 7 major plates (primary plates),comprise the bulk of 7 continents & Pacific ocean. These plates are moving in vatious directions. This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or scrape against each other. ‘The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of the crust as a consequence of plate Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of Earth structures or “tectonic” features. /> + The theory of plate tectonics is that ri earth, ‘There ate approximately other. Some pull apart, some pu: igid lithospheric plates move across the surface of the 12 major and 8 minor plates that move in concert with cach sh together and some move horizontally against each other. ‘The plate motion is driven by one or mote of the following mechanisms Convection ~ heat transferred by movement of a fluid (magma) Conduction -- heat transfer by touching plates + Push-Pull Slab heswry the surface (upwelling) *There are several geological margins): + Volcanoes tend to erupt at plate margins as a result of a process called subduction * Earthquakes occur where plates grind against or over one other + Mountain bi occurs as one plate is pushed over another * Seafloor spreading occurs where two oceanic plates pull apart ‘There are three (3) major types of plate boundaties (margins) Convergent - plates move towards each other (compression) + Divergent - plates move away from each other (tension) * Transform -- plates horizontally grind against one another (stzike-slip motion) Processes that occur where plates meet (called plule boundaries or slabs pull plates downward and magma forced upward pushes plates to Why do the plates move? 1. Due to tremendous heat, rock in the asthenosphere is like hot taffy. 2. This allows plates to ride on top of hot, flowing rock. 3. Plates move because heat is being released from deep inside the eatth. 4. Convection currents causes hot material to rise and expand (plates diverge) and cooler material to sink and contract (plates converge).How and Why do tectonic Plates move around? ‘The question of how tectonic plates are moved around the globe is answered by understanding mantle convection cells. (ee Inthe mantle hot material rises towards the | M7 * “7 lithosphere (like hot air rising out of an SOT ‘open oven - ever opened an oven door and Outer core felt the blast of hot air coming past your face?). The hot material reaches the base of the lithosphere where it cools and sinks back down through the mantle. The cool Mantle Convection material is replaced by more hot material, and so on forming a large “convection cell” (as pictured in the diagram). * This slow but incessant movement in the mantle causes the rigid tectonic plates to move (float) around the earth surface (at an equally slow rate), How fast are the plates moving? Plates move 1-10 centimeters per year (~ rate of fingernail growth). pa* The Nazea (beneath S.American plate) and Pacific Plates are the fastest. Rate of plate motions are typically an inch ot two per yeat (the sate of fingernail growth.) Althoug) this seems slow on the human time scale, the movement over 100s of millions of years builds and destroys land masses. Dr. John Lahr, seismologist, graphed his fingernail growth relative to the plates: hutp://jelaht.com/science/earth_science/thumbnail /index.html Types of Plate Boundaries: In 1965, the Canadian Geologist, J. Tuzo Wilson, proposes that tectonic plates interact in three different ways along their boundaries, 1. Divergent plate boundary 2. Convergent plate boundary 3. Transform plate boundary Firstly, there are three types of plate boundary, each related to the movement seen along the boundary. + Divergent boundaries are where plates move away from each other * Convergent boundaries are where the plates move towards each other * Transform boundaries are where the plates slide past each other.“Plate boundaries can occur on landmas: 88 (c in marine settings (oceans) or : ontinents) or in ma or bot c : ' ( ) ine settings (oceans) or both Convergent plate movement is associated with the following: a. Compression b. Reverse faulting Creation of a subduction zone d. Mountain building processes ©. Collisions of plates: 1. Continent vs. continent 2. Continent vs. oceanic 3. Oceanic vs. oceanic Divergent plate boundaries are associated with the following: a. Tension or extension (pulling apart) b. Normal faulting c. _ Rifting (as in the mid-oceanic rift zone) d. Creation of magma material inside the rift zone ‘Transform boundaries are associated with the following: a. Horizontal grinding motion b. Strike-slip faulting c. Lateral offset of rock units 1 Divergent Plate Boundary Y Plates diverge and move in opposite directions VY —_Asplates diverge, rising magma fills the gap VY Lithosphere is created v Hence known as Constructive plate boundary.Y plates are being pulled apart Y sea floor spreading at Mid-Atlantic Ridge : . oe ue [Eurasia and North America are separating at a rate of about 5 cm per ye ~ East African Rift Valley Oceanic spreading center with convection of magma Convection Cell Development in Mande occurring in the mantle. A. Volcanic Arc B. Oceanic Rift Zone C. Transform Fault Zone 2.Convergent Plate Boundary + Plates converge; old, cold, dense lithosphere sinks into mantle and is destroyed/recycled + There are three styles of convergent plate boundaries * Continent-continent collision + Continent-oceanic crust collision * Ocean-ocean collision cen rch + ovo plates are coming together a \ + 3 associated surface feature deep ocean trench and chain of volcanic x islands + folded mountains * ocean plate subduction beneath continentContinent vs. Oceanic Oceanic vs. Oceanic curtemeine Continental vs. Continental 1 Continent-Continent Collision ‘The less dense continental crust moves up during collision forming mountain ranges. Evropean Alps, Himalayas Grcagaacoa oeI. Oceanic -Continent Collision \ ch adds to the size of the i Magma wells up along the subduction zone,creating volcanoes, W mountains and creates a continental volcanic arc. # Oceanic crust lithosphere oe VY 100 km Asthenosphere = ? Melting 200 km Ss Subduction ¥ Oceanic lithosphere subducts underneath the continental lithosphere Y Oceanic lithosphere heats and dehydrates as it subsides ¥ ‘The melt rises forming volcanism E.g. The Andes ab dehydraes inducing pata ring he oveying manele, Themanie wedge ets mag lobe conn sforing kanes,Oceanic-Oceanic Collision + When two oceanic plates collide, one runs over the other which causes it to sink into the mantle forming a subduction zone. + The subducting plate is bent downward to form avery deep de called a trench. + The world’s deepest parts of the ocean are found along trenches. E. 11 km deep! pression in the ocean floor ig. The Mariana Trench is Japanese Islands Gsland arc) + Japan Trench a a Tea 3.Transform Plate Boundary Boundary between two plates slide past each other: + Earthuake occours along the fault. + one plate scrapes past the other + San Andreas fault in California + No mountain building or volcanism is associated with transform boundaries. Primary as well as some secondary plates: Ridge ars Franstomn ‘Subduction zone divergent boundary Convergent boundary Earth Plate