REVIEW AND

RECALL
DESCRIBE AND
EXPLAIN
Continental Drift states that the
continent are slowly drifting around the
earth and once a large landmass called
Pangaea.
Alfred Lothar
Wegener
The originator of the
Continental Drift
Theory identified
several evidence to
support his claim
that continents are
drifting.
Evidence
for
Continental

Drift
Theory
Evidence for Continental Drift Theory
Shapes or matching edges
of continents/ rocks
Fossil evidence

Coal deposits in
Antarctica

Ancient climate

Glacier craving
What other evidence
that can be used to
support the idea that
continents are
drifting?
Seafloor
Spreading
Sonar is helpful for exploring
and mapping the ocean with
the use of sound waves.
One of the
scientist to use
SONAR to study
ocean floor during
World War II was
Harry Hammond
Hess (1906-1969),
a professor of
geology at
Princeton
University (USA).
Evidence of Seafloor Spreading

• Youngest rocks are found near the ridge.

• Oldest rocks are found far the ridge.
Evidence of Seafloor Spreading
■ Seafloor spreading and new
crust is being created at the
ridge.
■ Sediments near the ridge are
thinner and progressively as
you move away.
Did you know!
■Seafloor Spreading and
Subduction keeps the
shape of the Earth.
■Seafloor Spreading
creates new crust while
Subduction destroys old
crust.
SUMMARY
■ Seafloor Spreading is a geologic process in which
tectonic plate split apart from each other.
■ Seafloor Spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries.

Evidence of Seafloor Spreading

■ Youngest rocks are found near the ridge.
■ Oldest rocks are found far from the ridge.
■ Sediments are thinner near the ridge and progressively
thickens as you move away.
■ The density of materials increases as you go far from the
ridge.
SUMMARY
■Seafloor Spreading creates
new crust while Subduction
destroys old crust.
■The two forces roughly
balance each other, so the
shape and diameter of the
Earth remain constant.
Application
 
How are you going to relate
the importance of this
discovery to nowadays
conditions?
Abundant evidence supports the major
contentions of the seafloor-spreading theory.
First, samples of the deep ocean floor show that
basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment
become progressively younger as the mid-ocean
ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is
thinner near the ridge. Second, the rock making
up the ocean floor is considerably younger than
the continents, with no samples found over 200
million years old, as contrasted with maximum
ages of over 3 billion years for the continental
rocks. This confirms that older ocean crust has
been reabsorbed in ocean trench systems.
 Which of the following is an
example of evidence of Seafloor
Spreading?
A.Rock ages, molten materials and
magnetic stripes
B.Rock ages and Ancient climate
C.Rock ages and magma
D.Magnetic stripes and fossil
evidence
REFLECTION
I learned… I
felt… I realized
THANK
YOU!