CONTINENTAL DRIFT,

SEAFLOOR SPREADING,
AND PLATE TECTONICS:

Essential
information
 CONTINENTAL DRIFT
• 1912- Alfred Wegener (meteorologist)

• THEORY: modern continents were

once all together – PANGAEA (1
ocean – Panthalassa)

• Over time, Pangaea broke apart, and

its pieces “drifted”, or slid across
the ocean floor into their present
positions
 EVIDENCE OF C. DRIFT:
1. “JIGSAW” SHAPE OF CONTINENTS

- MATCHING EVIDENCE ON DIFFERENT

CONTINENTS:
2. SAME ROCK TYPES – DIFF. CONTINENTS
3. MATCHING MOUNTAIN CHAINS – DIFF. CONT.S
4. SAME FOSSILS – DIFF. CONTINENTS
5. PLANT FOSSILS IN POLAR REGIONS

“MISPLACED” FOSSILS:
6. PLANT FOSSILS IN POLAR REGIONS
7. COAL DEPOSITS IN POLAR REGIONS
SAME FOSSILS ON “MATCHING”
CONTINENTS
ROCK OF SAME TYPE AND AGE
ON “MATCHING” CONTINENTS
MATCHING GLACIAL DEPOSITS
ON “MATCHING” CONTINENTS
 Somewhat right, somewhat
wrong:
Correct: the continents were once in
different locations, and do “drift” over
time (inches / year)

Incorrect: Wegener stated that the

continents were “blocks” of rock that
“slid” across the ocean floor
WHAT WE KNOW TODAY: THE
STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH
CONTINENTS & OCEAN FLOOR
ARE PART OF THE SAME LAYER
OF THE EARTH
 HOW DID WE COME TO
KNOW THIS?
SONAR TECHNOLOGY:

DISCOVERED THE MID-ATLANTIC

RIDGE
( FAILED TO FIND ANY BOUNDARY OF
MOVEMENT BETWEEN CONTINENTS &
THE SEAFLOOR)
THE MID ATLANTIC RIDGE
 How “they” found it:
IMAGES OF THE OCEAN FLOOR

• SONAR IMAGES OF OCEAN • MAGNETIC SURVEY OF THE

FLOOR ( WW II ) OCEAN FLOOR REVEALS
• REVEALS RIDGE / RIFT SYSTEM REPEATING ROCK PATTERNS
(click for animation)
 Magnetic data revealed that new rock
was pushing old rock away from the rift –
the process of SEAFLOOR SPREADING:
click diagram for seafloor spreading animation (middle of page)
 CONTINENTS & THE OCEAN FLOOR ARE PART OF
LITHOSPHERIC PLATES, AND MOVE TOGETHER ON
TOP OF THE ASTHENOSPHERE
PLATE MOTION PLATE MOTION

CONT. CRUST CONT. CRUST

OCEAN OCEAN
CRUST CRUST
LITHO-
SPHERIC
PLATE
UPPER MANTLE UPPER MANTLE

CONVECTION CURRENTS CONVECTION CURRENTS

ASTHENOSPHERE ( MAGMA )
 THE LITHOSPHERE
• IS THE MOVING OUTER “SHELL” OF
THE EARTH
• CONSISTS OF THE CRUST AND UPPER
MANTLE (solid, held together by
pressure/friction)

• THE EARTH’S SURFACE CONSISTS OF

12+ LITHOSPHERIC PLATES
• PLATES MOVE INDEPENTDENTLY OF
EACH OTHER ( only inches / year )
 HOW DO PLATES MOVE?
• THEY’RE LESS DENSE THAN THE
ASTHENOSPHERE, SO THEY FLOAT ON TOP OF IT

• ASTHENOSPHERE IS FLUID – ALLOWS

LITHOSPHERE. TO “SLIDE” OVER IT

• THE FORCE OF CONVECTION CURRENTS

(flowing rivers of hotter magma) STRIKING THE
BOTTOM OF PLATES PUSHES THEM ALONG

• RADIOACTIVE DECAY OF ELEMENTS PROVIDES

HEAT THAT “FUELS” CONVECTION CURRENTS
THE MAJOR PLATES

Arrows show direction of plate motion

 SO, CONTINENTS “DRIFTED” APART
BECAUSE THE PLATES THAT THEY
WERE A PART OF MOVED OVER TIME –
WEGENER WAS (mostly) RIGHT
MAJOR EARTHQUAKE AND VOLCANO
ZONES EXPLAINED- They occur along
PLATE BOUNDARIES!

THE RING OF FIRE MID ATLANTIC RIDGE