LAKSMITA ROSYIDAH D. N.

03411942000007

PLATE TECTONICS

Plate tectonics is one of the most important concepts in all of geology to

understand. Plate tectonics was first proposed by a German scientist named Alfred

Wegener in 1912. He did not call it plate tectonic. He actually did not know that there

were plates, but he did recognize this relationship amongst the continents and he believed

the continents are moving around. And he called it “Continental Drift”.

Figure 1 Continental Drift

Today, plate tectonics is the unifying fundamental theory of geology. Alfred Wegener

was a polar explorer, meteorologist, geophysicist. He proposed very controversial idea.

Begin by laying out the evidence for continental drift. Wegener said that the entire world

had come together, he proposed that it was a single large continent at one point and it

called Pangea, and that continent existed about 200 million years ago.

Tethys Sea

Panthalassic

Ocean

Figure 2 Pangea Maps

He also believed that there was something called the Panthalassic Ocean that is basically

one single, large, world-connected ocean that went all the way around that large super-

continent. The reason because he noted right away, the puzzle like fit modern of

continents, specifically the most obvious one. Inside the Panthalassic Ocean, there is a
thing called the Tethys Sea between Africa and Eurasia. And now, it is a part of

Mediterranean Ocean. Fitting Wegener saw, new data had come out the 1960’s that

corroborated what it was that he had actually seen. And that was the fact that a lot of

people noticed that the outline to the continents didn’t match exactly with each other.

However, Sir Edward Bullard used a computer model combined with what we now know

to be the edge of the continent margin. There are some matching sequences of rocks and

mountain chains. But they have some other features that are poor, they are similar rock

types, the rocks are the same ages, and, the structures on different continents corley

crossed. In addition to the mountain ranges turns out there’s additional evidence from

glaciers. There is evidence of glaciation in now tropical regions. But now, there are some

places in the tropics that were covered in snow. Direction of glacial flow and rock

scouring. In plant and animal fossils indicate do different climate and today there’s lots

of evidence that indicates that not only was tropical regions that we now have family and

glaciers again the animal distribution. Soon kind will soon move them tropics now were

in very different places back them.

 In addition, we find some really interesting distribution organisms, for example is

fossil in South America that dates back to the masses exists it time as the dinosaurs. It is

in the western half of the Atlantic Ocean. And in the west and Southwest Africa and South

Africa we find similar fossil, almost identical fossils.

Figure 3 South America and Africa Fossil Evidence

Today, same fossils found on continents that today are widely separated. Modern

organisms with similar ancestries. Common biological ancestries in areas that are so far

apart that they would never have form that way on had to be together at the time separated

later on by Massey the Commons.

 Objections to early continental drift model start from 1915. 1915, Wegener

published The Origin of Continents and Ocean and he suggested the continents plow

through ocean basins via tidal forces. And that is of course was met with hostile criticism

and open ridicule. And the reason is the proposed mechanism defies the laws of physics.

So, as a consequence, the idea laid aside until 1960’s, and the new evidence from World

War II and also new technology anable study Earth’s magnetic field.

Sea Floor Spreading, the structure of the sea floor it base upon some stuff that

Captain Heska reported was that essentially there was a convection cell existed in the

mantles as a mental strain to the rules hot material up to the top, it in order to cool itself

that we set up a convection cell underneath that seafloor and it form. Basically the hot

molten rock that it was crystallize and form new seafloor straight out to the sides and

essentially convection cell by way up traction and friction on the bottom of was basically

a plate that crossed and exist on the surface of the earth with separate away from some

central point that it called spreading center. And this spreading centers would basically

be characterized by a nice mid rift in the middle and then when it spread out to the side

form trenches right along where dive back into the earth. An the reason is because if we
stretching it on there, we can get the earth larger and it has to go some where, so it would

dive right back down do something cause subduction. It is made a couple interesting

prediction . first of its adjusted at the center of the oceans were no longer the deepest part

to serve always been believed that we want to go to the deepest part of the ocean.

Figure 4 Sea Floor Spreading

Age of Ocean Floor, in the late of 1960’s there was a deep interest in the age of

the ocean floor. A lot of this was upon how all these magnetic stripes were really wanted

to know when that things happen. So, they can correlate rocks for example pacific with

some already planted just using the magnetic signature. So, they went out and they started
drooling all over the world. And what they noted was that in fact they found mid-ocean

ridges.

Figure 5 Age of Ocean Floor

Eartgquakes as evidence, the whole things in Pasific Ocean earthquakes are

happened and against that East Pasific Rise where the rocks are really on presumably are

being created. But now the settle into Asia and Japan , we see a big zone red. Most large

earthquakes occur at subduction zones. Earthquake activity mirrors tectonic plate

boundaries.
Figure 6 Earthquake as Evidence

Figure 7 World Tectonic Plates

Type of Crust on Earth, there is a continental crust and oceanic crust.

Continental crust :

• Made up of less dense minerals. Predominately granite.

• Tends to “float” on well on the Earth mantle

• Home to the tallest mountain on Earth

• Example : most of the North American Plate.

Oceanic crust :

• Made up of denser, iron and calcium-bearing minerals. Mainly basalt.

• Sits lower on the Earth’s surface, usually covered by oceans

• Tends to sink back into the Earth when it grows old/cold

• Example : Pasific plate

Figure 8 Oceanic and Continent Crust

Types of Plate Boundaries
The relationship between bomb kills and coral reefs, there are three kind of reefs :

1. Fringing reefs : develop along margin of landmass

2. Barrier reefs : separated from landmass by lagoon

3. Atolls : reefs continue to grow after volcanoes are submerged

Figure 9 Volcanoes and Coral Reef Development

Future Prediction, assume same direction and rate of plate motions as now :

- Atlantic will enlarge, Pasific will shrink

- New sea from East Africa rift valleys

- Further Himalaya uplift

- Separation of North and South America

- Part of California is Alaska

Figure 10 World Map in the Future