Plate Tectonics.
By: Leah Miller.
Who originated the theory of
Pangaea?
Alfred Wegener invented the theory of Pangaea.
Alfred proposed that the continents were
once compressed into one proto continent,
which he then called Pangaea.
A Pangaea is the name of a single landmass that
broke apart 200 million years ago and gave
rise to today’s continents.
Was the theory of a ‘super continent’
originally accepted by scientists?
Alfred believed that Pangaea was completed in
late Carboniferous period. This was from 345280 millions of years ago. It began to break
and drift apart.
What did Pangaea mean? In what Earth
period did Pangaea occur?
Pangaea means “all lands.” The theory of
Pangaea was in 1912. Alfred's hypothesis was
a geological mechanism to explain how the
continents could drift across the earths
surface.
What theory of continental placement was
being discussed during the time Wegener
introduced his Pangaea theory?
People were talking about the “contraction
theory”. This was when the earth practically
melts and while in the process of cooling, the
surface cracked and folded by itself.
Alfred Wegener was a German geologist, but he was also
accomplished in what other science? How do you think this
relates to his discoveries?
Wegener accomplished in “pole-fleeing force”.
This was the rotation of the earth and created
a centrifugal force towards the equator. I think
this relates to his other discoveries because
his other theories are relating to the earth and
so is his “pole-fleeing force”.
Whose ideas later assisted in the recognition of
Wegener’s theory? How did these people’s ideas relate
to Wegener’s original findings?
• Arthur Holmes (1929), Harry Hess (1962), and
R Deitz (1961). These 3 people’s ideas relate
with Alfred’s original findings because now
there is more information so people can
understand and believe Wegener’s theory.
URL website for section 1: History of
Pangaea.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/techist.
html
My definition of Convergent Boundary
A plate boundary when 2 plates move toward
each other.
A Boundary is a line determining the limits of an
area.
Which of these hazards are characteristics
of a Convergent Boundary?
Earthquakes? Volcanoes? Mountains? Trenches?
Mud/Landslides? Other?
I think that Volcanoes, Mountains, Trenches, and
Mud/Landslides.
Vocabulary words
Earthquake: The shaking that results from the movement of rock
beneath Earth’s surface.
Volcano: A weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the
surface.
Mountain: a land mass that is higher up well above its
surroundings.
Trench: a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor.
Landslide: A natural disaster that involves the breakup and
downhill flow of rock, mud, water and anything caught in the
path.
Mudslide: A geological disaster in which a large amount of mud
gathers and moves rapidly down a hill or slope.
An example of a Convergent Boundary and
the continental plates in the boundary
An example is Mountains. The continental plates
involved are Continental Crust, Lithosphere,
Asthenosphere colliding with the Continental
Crust, Lithosphere, and Ancient Oceanic Crust.
A Plate is a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is
believed to drift slowly.
URL website for section 2: Convergent
Boundaries
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectoni
cs/description_plate_tectonics.html
My definition of Divergent Boundary
A plate boundary when 2 plates move away
from each other.
Which of these hazards are characteristics
of a Divergent Boundary
Earthquakes? Volcanoes? Mountains? Trenches?
Mud/Landslides? Other?
I think that Trenches, and Mud/Landslides are a
Divergent Boundary.
An example of a Divergent Boundary and
the continental plates in the boundary
An example is Trenches. The continental plates
in the boundary are Ocean, Crust, and Mantle.
URL websites for section 3: Divergent
Boundaries
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectoni
cs/description_plate_tectonics.html
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm
My definition of Transform Boundary
A plate boundary when 2 plates move past each
other in opposite directions.
Which of these hazards are characteristics
of a Transform Boundary
Earthquakes? Volcanoes? Mountains? Trenches?
Mud/Landslides? Other?
I think that Earthquakes are an example of a
Transform Boundary.
An example of an example of a Transform Boundary
and the continental plates in the boundary
Earthquakes are an example. The continental
plates are the Oceanic Crust, Lithosphere,
Asthenosphere, colliding with Continental
Crust.
URL websites for section 4: Transform
Boundaries
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate3.htm
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectoni
cs/description_plate_tectonics.html