PLATE

TECTONICS
THEORY
ALFRED WEGENER
 As a German polar
researcher, geophysicist and
meteorologist.
 During his lifetime he was
primarily known for his
achievements in meteorology
and as a pioneer of polar
research, but today he is most
remembered as the originator
of the theory of continental
drift by hypothesizing in 1912
that the continents are slowly
drifting around the Earth
WHAT IS THE PLATE
TECTONICS THEORY?
Plate tectonics is
a scientific theory describing
the large-scale motion of
seven large plates and the
movements of a larger
number of smaller plates of
the Earth's lithosphere.
PLATES
 The seven major plates include the African,
Antarctic, Eurasian, North American, South
American, India-Australian, and the
Pacific plates. Some of the minor plates include
the Arabian, Caribbean, Nazca, and
Scotia plates.
TYPES OF PLATE
TECTONICS
 Convergent

 Divergent

 Transform
CONVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 Where two plates are colliding.
 Subduction zones occur when one or
both of the tectonic plates are
composed of oceanic crust. The
denser plate is subducted
underneath the less dense plate.
The plate being forced under is
eventually melted and destroyed.
 There are three types of convergent
boundaries.
OCEANIC TO OCEANIC
CONVERGE
 Where oceanic crust meets ocean crust
Island arcs and oceanic trenches occur when both
of the plates are made of oceanic crust. Zones of
active seafloor spreading can also occur behind
the island arc, known as back-arc basins. These
are often associated with submarine volcanoes.
OCEANIC TO CONTINENTAL
CONVERGE
 Where oceanic crust meets continental crust
The denser oceanic plate is subducted, often
forming a mountain range on the continent. The
Andes is an example of this type of collision.
CONTINENTAL TO
CONTINENTAL CONVERGE
 Where continental crust meets continental crust
Both continental crusts are too light to subduct
so a continent-continent collision occurs, creating
especially large mountain ranges. The most
spectacular example of this is the Himalayas.
DIVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 Where two plates are moving apart.
 The space created can also fill with new crustal
material sourced from molten magma that forms
below. Divergent boundaries can form within
continents but will eventually open up and
become ocean basins.
 There are two types of divergent boundaries.
ON LAND
 Divergent boundaries within continents initially
produce rifts, which produce rift valleys.
UNDER THE SEA
 The most active divergent plate boundaries are
between oceanic plates and are often called mid-
oceanic ridges.
TRANSFORM PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 Where plates slide passed each other.
 The relative motion of the plates is horizontal.
They can occur underwater or on land, and crust
is neither destroyed nor created.
 Because of friction, the plates cannot simply glide
past each other. Rather, stress builds up in both
plates and when it exceeds the threshold of the
rocks, the energy is released – causing
earthquakes.
THE EARTH’S LAYER
THE CRUST
 Earth's crust is Earth's hard outer layer. It is less
than 1% of Earth's volume. The crust is made up of
different types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic,
and sedimentary rocks.The lithosphere is broken up
into tectonic plates that can move.
 The continental crust is thicker, and the oceanic crust
is thinner. The thickness of the crust varies from 5 to
80 kilometres.
 The temperature of the crust increases with depth
because of geothermal energy. Where the crust meets
the mantle the temperatures can be between 200 °C
(392 °F) to 400 °C (752 °F).[1] The crust is the coldest
layer because it is exposed to the atmosphere.
THE MANTLE
 The Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate
rock between the crust and the outer core. Its
mass of 4.01 × 1024 kg is 67% the mass of the
Earth.[1] It has a thickness of 2,900 kilometres
(1,800 mi)[1] making up about 84% of Earth's
volume. It is predominantly solid but
in geological time it behaves as a viscous fluid.
Partial melting of the mantle at mid-ocean
ridgesproduces oceanic crust, and partial
melting of the mantle at subduction
zones produces continental crust.[2]
THE MANTLES LAYER
 The upper mantle (starting at the Moho, or base
of the crust around 7 to 35 km (4.3 to 21.7 mi)
downward to 410 km (250 mi))[4]
 The transition zone (approximately 410–660 km
or 250–410 mi), in which wadsleyite (≈ 410–
520 km or 250–320 mi) and ringwoodite (≈ 525–
660 km or 326–410 mi) are stable
 The lower mantle (approximately 660–2,891 km
or 410–1,796 mi), in which bridgmanite (≈ 660–
2,685 km or 410–1,668 mi) and post-perovskite (≈
2,685–2,891 km or 1,668–1,796 mi) are stable
THE CORE
 The Earth's core is the part of Earth in the
middle of our planet. It has a solid inner core and
a liquid outer core.
OUTER CORE
 The outer core of the Earth is a liquid layer
about 2,260 kilometers thick. It is made
of iron and nickel. This is above the Earth's
solid inner core and below the mantle. Its outer
boundary is 2,890 km (1,800 mi) beneath the
Earth's surface. The transition between the inner
core and outer core is approximately 5,000 km
(3,100 mi) beneath the Earth's surface.
INNER CORE
 The inner core of the Earth, as detected
by seismology, is a solid sphere about 1,216 km
(760 mi) in radius, or about 70% that of
the Moon. It is believed to be an iron–nickel alloy,
and may have a temperature similar to the Sun's
surface, about 5778 K (5505 °C).