To obtain the software, please visit the creators web site. The basic idea behind plate tectonics is that there are eight major plates on the surface of the earth. Turn your folded paper so that the open end of the fold is facing you. Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. The growth, destruction and movement of these lithospheric plates are the major topics of this course.
B estimating the volume of mantle frozen as oceanic lithosphere. A unified quantitative description of plate tectonics, combining geological and. Plate tectonics and how the earth works free trial. Name class period plate tectonics project 110eptsj objective. Google earth plate tectonics and continental drift. The center of this mountain range is a low lying area or rift, called the atlantic rift zone. I also organized a few teacher notes on plate tectonics to help guide class discussions today. Received 27 september 2012 received in revised form 30. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. The theory has caused a revolution in the way we think about the earth.
Plasienka geological institute, slovak academy of sciences, slovakia keywords. Plate tectonics in this crosssection through the earths crust, tectonic plates are shown pushing together, sliding past one another, sliding one underneath the other or moving apart. Panalesis plate tectonic model and global palaeogeography. Global tectonics based on a model of the earth characterized by a small number 1025 of semirigid plates which float on some viscous underlayer in the mantle. Together these concepts would become the theory of plate tectonics. Tuzo wilson offered a fundamental reinterpretation of wegeners continental drift theory and became the first person to use the term plates to describe the division and pattern of relative movement. The theory of plate tectonics provides an example of the evolution of scientific thought. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earths surface is divided into rigid plates of continental and oceanic lithosphere that, through time, move relative to each other, and which increase or decrease in area. As plates move, the new crust gradually moves away from the ridge.
Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. Plate boundary referenced from bird, peter 2003 an updated digital model of plate boundaries. A plate tectonic model for the paleozoic and mesozoic. Plate tectonics the web site cannot be found eth zurich. Some of the most dramatic changes in earths crust, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, happen along plate bounda ries. Types of plate boundaries convergent plate boundaries divergent plate boundaries.
Plate tectonics, our major paradigm for how the earth works, was established in the 1960ies following decades of observational research that culminated in key discoveries such as geomagnetic. Plate tectonics geology of val dherens valais switzerland. Earths crust and upper mantle are divided into plates. Geological understanding of plate tectonics 25 that plate tectonics cools the mantle whereas mantle plumes cool the earths core. The chapter opens with a discussion of alfred wegner s hypothesis of continental drift, its supporting evidence, and its.
Plate tectonics plate tectonics is the unifying theory of geology and revolutionized geology cornerstone of earthsystem approach. The earths crust is divided into plates which are moved in various directions. This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or scrape against each other. The yellow arrows show which way the plates are moving. Most geophysicists opposed the hypothesis of plate tectonics in the early 1900s, even as late as the 1960s. Information from its description page there is shown below. Notes plate tectonics continental drift alfred wegener came up with the theory of continental drift idea that all of the continents were once joined together in a single landmass called pangaea and have since moved to their current positions. Earth science plate tectonics earth science 4 read and complete the passage with the reference to the appropriate picture. If nothing else you could use it as a sketching tool for a 3d view of a world and ignore the plate drift parts oh, and load the sample data and watch the last 140ma of earth tectonics. The structure of the earth, plate tectonics and landforms.
The shape of this plate boundary mimics the shapes of the. When we say constantly moving, were talking centimeters each year. Plate tectonics article about plate tectonics by the free. What evidence did scientists find in the himalayas that support the theory of plate tectonics. Scientists found evidence from molten material, magnetic stripes, and drilling samples to back up wegeners theory. Plate tectonics the tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. Gottesman hall of planet earth and use what they have learned to complete a ccssaligned writing task, creating an illustrated text about how plate tectonics plays a role in specific earth formations. Plate tectonics qfiles the online library of knowledge. Plate tectonics, our major paradigm for how the earth works, was established in the 1960ies following decades of observational research that culminated in key. Quantitative plate tectonics physics of the earth plate kinematics. Go home and measure one feature of your house, apartment complex, or neighborhood eg.
Since the development of the theory, geologists have had to reexamine almost every aspect of. Plate tectonics article about plate tectonics by the. Convergence data are shown by arrows describing direction and speed, relative to the plate across the boundary. Students will read contentrich texts, visit the david s. Plates are composed of the crust and a part of the upper mantle, these two parts together are called the lithosphere.
Plate tectonics plates and plate boundaries the earths outer shell, or lithosphere, is composed of. Gathering an understanding of the information provided in this site will provide a better idea of how the earth underwent through many geological processes that still taking action. I prepared for todays lesson by projecting and tracing the following document plate tectonics template on a large bulletin board paper. Plate convergence vectors referenced from united states geological survey. A scientific revolution unfolds 2 introduction plate tectonics. Explore the puzzle of plate tectonics an interactive world map presents the. It includes ideas for teaching as well as offers a collection of about 30 data sheets a data sheet concisely describes a particular scientific data set in a way that is useful to educators interested in teaching with the data set and a section on tools useful for simulations, several of which involve plate tectonics. Plate boundaries may be in the middle of an ocean basin, around the edges of continents, or even within continents. Tectonic plates are in motion even though, in most cases, it takes millions of years for results to become apparent. The layer below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere. Tectonic plates california institute of technology. The northern and southern boundaries are not as well. Seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries which subsequently create midocean ridges.
Plate tectonics and how the earth works free trial download. To explain the theory of plate tectonics and present the information in a creative format. In the 1960, new technologies such as sonar provided new data that supported wegeners theory of moving plates. Plate tectonics is an earth sciences topic that attracts a good deal of interest, given that it a topic very often featured in popular science programmes. This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 2. There were 5 pieces of evidence that lead to this modern theory of plate tectonics. Piper geomagnetism laboratory, geology and geophysics, school of environmental sciences, university of liverpool, liverpool l69 7ze, uk.
The first two sections of the chapter reveal the basic observations that were used to make predictions on the geologic processes that shaped the face of earth. The caribbean plate is bounded in the west by the middle american subduction zone and in the east by the lesser antilles subduction zone. Piper geomagnetism laboratory, geology and geophysics, school of environmental sciences, university of liverpool, liverpool l69 7ze, uk article info abstract article history. Plate tectonics are important to understand the way in which our planet evolve. If you just load the sample data file menu you can find the folder of. The lithosphere lithosphere is comprised of the upper mantle and the crust, the outer shell of the earth. Indeed, the notion that the entire earths surface is continually shifting has profoundly changed the way we view our world. A large number of new figures have been added, and new sections included on meteorites, seismic tomography, mantle convection, accretionary terranes, mantle sources and evolution, continental growth, secular changes in earth history, also a new. Plate tectonics is an earth sciences topic that attracts a good deal of interest, given that it a topic very often featured in popular science programmes on tv and radio. Google earth plate tectonics and continental drift investigation. The region is bounded to the northwest by the eurasian plate, to the west and south by the indianaustralian plate which is moving northward, and to the east by the pacific and phillipine sea plates, which are moving westnorthwestward fig. Crust is continuously being regenerated and removed.
Plate movement is driven by convection in earths mantle. Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of earth structures or tectonic features. Digital files of the presentday plate boundaries are available below. They are responsible for many of the structures and features that exists in our planet. New oceanic crust is formed through magma rising through the gap and cooling. Plate tectonics, the study of such relative motions. Notes on plate tectonics plate tectonics states that the earths crust and upper mantle are broken into sections, called plates. This new method represents a distinct departure from classical continental drift reconstructions, which are not constrained, due to the lack of plate boundaries. Plate tectonics the earths crust is divided into 12 major plates which are moved in various directions. Plate tectonics, the study of such relative motions and their consequences, allows relating surface, geological and geophysical. Purchase of an open document does not constitute license for republication in any form, nor does it allow web posting without prior written permission. Continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed. Bring the bottom of your paper up so that it almost meets the top of your page about 1 to 2 cm away from the top.
The caribbean plate and the question of its formation 5 mexican volcanic belt tmvb, figure 3 and the motaguapolochic fault system mp, figure 2. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia plate tectonics from greek, tekton builder or mason describes the large scale motions of earths lithosphere. Plate pacific fiji plate plate e a s t p a c i f i r i d g e antarctic plate arabian plate eurasian plate eurasian plate iceland hot spot e a s t a f r i c a n r i f t mi di n d i n r i d g e s o ut h e a st i n di n ridge southwest indian ridge scotia plate sandwich plate m i da t l a nt i c r i g e easter island hot spot st. In other words, cooling of the mantle leads to plate tectonics while cooling of the core is responsible for mantle plumes. The alps are the result of a collision between the european and african plates provoked by the disappearance of the alpine ocean under the african plate. Well, i wanted a world that would be possible so i figured out what i needed and built the plate tectonics around that. Takehome messages earths geology is dominated by the processes of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics download pdfversion this dynamic earth about plate. Plate tectonic simulator with earth data as sample draw your worlds plates and more. Frank taylor first proposed this idea in 1910, alexander du toit later in 1937, harry hess explored the geomorphology of the seafloor by ship in 1960s.
The plate tectonics theory and mantle plume concept thus complement each other to ex. Gather, analyze, and communicate data that explains earths plates, plate motions, and the results of plate motions dok 12 d. This is the actual plate boundary, and is where most of the earthquakes and volcanoes take place. Plate tectonics, the study of such relative motions and their consequences, allows relating surface, geological and geophysical structures with quantified movements attributed to deep processes of the earths heat engine. The earth is composed of layers of different composition and physical properties, principally the solid central core, the fluid peripheral core, the viscous mantle, and the solid. Nearly a century ago, in 1912, the german geologist alfred wegener first proposed his theory of continental drift, which states that parts of the earths crust slowly drift atop a liquid core. Create a piece of art model, sculpture, painting, drawing on plate tectonics and include a 5 paragraph explanation of your art. Plate tectonic simulator with earth data as sample reddit.
Use webbased or other technology tools to show connections and patterns in data about tectonic plate boundaries and earthquakes. Aug 22, 20 plate tectonics in this crosssection through the earths crust, tectonic plates are shown pushing together, sliding past one another, sliding one underneath the other or moving apart. Mountains, volcanoes, new crust material, and earthquakes are some of the geologic events that occur on and change earths surface as a result of plate movement. By linking these observations to hesss seafloor spreading model, they lay the foundation for modern plate tectonics. Since the theory of plate tectonics was first introduced, how far has the tectonic plate were standing on moved.
Authors personal copy a planetary perspective on earth evolution. Frisch and meschede and blakey answer all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geodynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have led to the concept of plate tectonics. Since the advent of plate tectonics half a century ago, a large number of global reconstructions of the history of the earth have been proposed see verard. Continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics plate tectonics is a theory developed in the late 1960s, to explain how the outer layers of the earth move and deform.
The global mosaic of plates periodically reorganizes itself and new plate boundaries form while others close up. The diverging plate boundary occurs at an underwater mountain range called the midatlantic ridge. Institute for geophysics university of texas at austin. Plate boundary movements and their results foldable.
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