Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Plate Tectonics
THE NEW GLOBAL TECTONIC
PLATE TECTONICS
Continental drift
The theory that the continents have moved in
relation to one another
Plate tectonics
The theory of global dynamics in which the
lithosphere is believed to be broken into
individual plates that move in response to
convection in the (upper) mantle. The margins of
the plates are sites of considerable geologic
activity.
Crust Mantle Core (CMC)-sphere
Crust Mantle Core (CMC)-sphere
Crust Mantle Core (CMC)-sphere
Liquid
Fe, Ni
45000 C
solid
Plate Tectonic Theory
Note:
Most geologists and geophysicists rejected Wegener’s ideas
because they violated what was known about the STRENGTH
OF ROCKS.
Also, centrifugal force (from Earth’s rotation) along with tidal
forces were deemed to be TOO SMALL to move the continents!
Evidence on Continent
Continents Fit
Together
Mauritanides
Appalachians
Evidence on Continent Direction of ice flow
Glacial Features
Evidence on Continent
Fossils
Early Triassic
Lystrosaurus
Cynognathus
Glossopteris
Permian-Pennsylvanian
Permian
Mesosaurus
Evidence on Continent
Paleoclimate
of Pangea
Evidence on Seafloor
Seafloor
Morphology
Evidence on Seafloor
Paleomagnetism and
seafloor spreading
Arabian
Cocos Philippine
South African
Nazca American
Indo
Australian
Pacific
Antarctic Scotian
Antarctic
PLATE TECTONIC
Plate tectonics (from the Greek word for
"one who constructs and destroys",
τεκτων, tekton) is a theory of geology
developed to explain the phenomenon of
continental drift and is currently the
theory accepted by the vast majority of
scientists working in this area. In the
theory of plate tectonics the outermost
part of the Earth's interior is made up of
two layers: the outer lithosphere and the
inner asthenosphere.
PLATE TECTONIC
Earthquakes
volcanic activity,
mountain-building, and
oceanic trench formation occur along
plate boundaries
(most notably around the Pacific Ring of
Fire).
PLATE TECTONIC
PLATE TECTONIC
The lithosphere essentially "floats" on the
asthenosphere and is broken-up into ten
major plates: African, Antarctic, Australian,
Eurasian, North American, South American,
Pacific, Cocos, Nazca, and the Indian plates.
These plates (and the more numerous minor
plates) move in relation to one another at
one of three types of plate boundaries:
convergent (or destructive, two plates push
against one another), divergent (or
constructive, two plates move away from
each other), and transform (two plates slide
past one another).
PLATE TECTONIC
The division of the Earth's interior into
lithospheric and asthenospheric components is
based on their mechanical differences. The
lithosphere is cooler and more rigid, whilst the
asthenosphere is hotter and mechanically
weaker. This division should not be confused
with the chemical subdivision of the Earth into
(from innermost to outermost) core, mantle,
and crust. The key principle of plate tectonics
is that the lithosphere exists as separate and
distinct tectonic plates, which "float" on the
fluid-like asthenosphere. The relative fluidity of
the asthenosphere allows the tectonic plates to
undergo motion in different directions.
Plate Tectonics
Directions of Motion and Plate Velocities Determined by
Mantle Plume Hot Spot Tracks and Age-Dating of Rocks
Plate Tectonics
Directions of Motion and Plate Velocities Determined
by GPS (Global Positioning System) Satellites
Directions of Motion and Plate Velocities Determined by GPS
(Global Positioning System) Satellites
Plate Tectonics
What drives
Plate Tectonics?
What drives plate motions
• Forces that drive plate
motion
– Slab-pull
• Cold, dense slabs of
subducted oceanic
lithosphere pull the plate
towards the subduction zone
– Ridge-push
• The higher elevation of
spreading centers result in
oceanic lithosphere wanting
to move “downhill”, away
from the ridge
• Far less important than
slab-pull
– Mantle drag and plate
resistance
• Can act to increase or
decrease plate motion
Mantle convection provides
the primary drive for
plate tectonics
What drives plate motions
• Models of plate-mantle
convection
• Any model must be consistent
with observed physical and
chemical properties of the
mantle
• Horizontal movement of
plates causes mantle
upwelling
• Models
– Layering at 660 km
– Explains why basalts
erupted at mid-ocean
ridges are different (more
evolved, relatively shallow
source) compared to those
erupted at hot-spots (more
primitive, deeper source).
– We know that subducting
slabs descend beneath 660
km
What drives plate motions
• Whole-mantle convection
– Would mix the entire
mantle in the space of a
few hundred million
years, removing
heterogeneities
What drives plate motions
• Deep-layer model
– “Lava lamp model”
– Two layers swell and
shrink in a complex
fashion in response to
heat from the Earth’s
interior
Plate Tectonics
Internal Heat
Arc-Trench systems 40
Trench roll-back
Arc-Trench systems 41
Types of arc-trench system
Arc-Trench systems 42
Plate Tectonics
Divergent Boundary
Melting
Produces
More
Felsic
Magma