Alfred Wegener 1912 Proposed idea (hypothesis) of “CONTINENTAL DRIFT” Evidence for Wegener’s Idea Continents fit together like puzzle pieces Evidence for Wegener’s Idea Continents fit together like puzzle pieces Fossils found on different continents were identical…separated by thousands of miles…how’dey do dat? This is a freshwater reptile called a Mesosaurus. Look at the distribution of fossils….hmmmm Wegener compiled information about fossil discoveries from around the world. He felt this evidence was compelling. Assorted Fossil Evidence Evidence for Wegener’s Idea Continents fit together like puzzle pieces Fossils found on different continents were identical…separated by thousands of miles…how’dey do dat? Dey ustabe neighbors Evidence for Wegener’s Idea Continents fit together like puzzle pieces Fossils found on different continents were identical…separated by thousands of miles Evidence from Glaciers: Marks in bedrock left behind by glaciers located on AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA, INDIA, and AUSTRAILIA indicate that portions of these continents must have been CONNECTED in polar regions far from their present positions. Marks from ice movement striations Evidence for Wegener’s Idea Rock types on the east coast of North America MATCH EXACTLY the rocks in the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Africa Continental Drift Hypothesis The continents were all connected at one time Supercontinent was called Pangaea Pangaea broke apart up into two continents call Laurasia and Gondwanaland Continents are still moving today No one believed Wegener….. …because he could not explain what hidden mechanism might be responsible for the movement of an entire continent!!! 1930 Wegener leaves for Greenland to seek more evidence to test his hypothesis. He is never seen again. Some speculate that he ate his own dogs before he froze to death. The last photo him… Yummy His hypothesis is “hotly” debated for the next 30 years Cut and Paste Playtime Plate Tectonics A.K.A. “What Wegener Wished He Knew” (animations from USGS) Current Scientific Theory “Plate Tectonics” 1. The Earth’s crust is composed of about 22 plates 2. The plates are rigid and may contain CONTINENTAL or OCEANIC crust, or BOTH 3. CONTINENTAL CRUST is mostly Granite 4. OCEANIC CRUST is mostly Basalt What Makes the Plates Move? This question drove Wegener mad! 1. The plates move due to the transfer of HEAT energy from the Earth’s core 2. Heat leftover from Earth’s formation and produced by radioactive decay creates DENSITY differences in the mantle 3. This causes the “plastic” mantle to flow. 4. The flow of mantle material pulls on the lithosphere above it…like a leaf on a stream How do density differences cause fluids to move? Watch THIS! Complete the Demo Analysis Sheet The THEORY of Plate Tectonics Evidence: Convection currents in the mantle move the plates around…and have been doing so for more than 4 billion years (1:10) Convection cell movement causes plates to collide, rip apart, and plunge back into the mantle This current model (A) predicts that convection cells are limited to the outermost plastic mantle. This current model (B) predicts that convection cells extend through the mantle toward the Lehmann discontinuity. We’re not sure Don’t you just LOVE which model is the uncertainty of Science? correct. Work hard like INGE, and maybe, someday, you’ll be the first to figure it out…and have a convection cell named after YOU…that is, if they truly exist! Which model has the New York State Ed Dept selected for you? Evidence for Plate Tectonics 1. Location of earthquakes and volcanoes Map of earthquake foci for the last 30 days Pacific Ocean Floor: Evidence for plate tectonics 1. Location of earthquakes and volcanoes So, how would you characterize the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world? Random? Patterned? Isolated? Evidence for plate tectonics 1. Location of earthquakes and volcanoes The distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes is not random. They occur TOGETHER in narrow bands under the oceans and along the edges of some continents. Evidence for plate tectonics …turns out…these locations are the edges of plates called “Plate Boundaries” The Plates…IN COLOR Evidence cont’d 2. Age of seafloor Oceanic igneous rock is much younger than continental igrox Oceanic rock gets younger as you approach the mid-ocean ridge (mountain range which runs through all world’s oceans) Map showing Ages of oceanic crust Reading Passage Please open your review book to page 80 and read the passage titled “Evidence from the Oceans” Magnetic pattern in rocks – Earth’s magnetic pole reverses – Magnetic crystals line up with earth’s poles when the magma hardens – Patterns in ocean rocks show parallel strips on either side of the ridge that match in width, age, distance from the ridge, and magnetic polarity What pulls the lithosphere apart? Types of Plate Boundaries Divergent / Rift Convergent/ Subduction Transform Divergent/ Rift Plates move apart from one another New basaltic crust is formed Mid-ocean ridge: volcanic mountain range which circles the earth beneath the oceans Mid-ocean ridge Volcanic eruption in Iceland. March 21, 2010 Rift valley Black Smoker, East Pacific Rise Marie Tharp & Bruce Heezen used echo soundings to build up a picture of the ocean floor Continent Mid-ocean ridge Continent Sea mount Central rift zone trench Mid-ocean ridge seamounts Convergent Boundary Plates collide Continental/ oceanic crust Oceanic/ oceanic crust Continental/ continental crust Mountains grow: Volcanoes, or continental ranges Ocean- Continent collision with subduction Ocean- Continent collision with subduction Andes Mountains Ocean-ocean collision with subduction Ocean-ocean collision with subduction Hugo Benioff suggested that this Earthquake pattern shows a plate subducting (sinking) into the mantle (1940s discovery) Continent-continent collision (Subduction has ended) Continent-continent collision (Subduction has ended) 1963 Tuzo Wilson Developed the hypothesis of hot spots to explain islands like Hawaii & a third kind of plate boundary called a transform plate boundary Transform Boundary Plates slide past one another –Ex. San Andreas fault Crust is neither created nor destroyed Hot Spots Places where magma reaches earth’s surface Typically not associated with plate boundary As plate moves over hot spot, island chains form Example: Hawaii So by the mid-60’s all the evidence came together to form the Theory of Plate tectonics This theory states that the Earth crust is broken into a series of plates which are constantly on the move. Convection computer model. The most current understanding.