Earth ~200 million years ago

The Geologic Time Scale

Based on

*Fossils *Correlation
Later

*Calibrated with radiometric dating

The Continental Drift Hypothesis

Proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1915. Supercontinent Pangaea started to break up about 200 million years ago. Continents "drifted" to their present positions.

Continents "plowed" through the ocean crust.

Continental Drift: Evidence

Geographic fit of South America and Africa Fossils match across oceans

Rock types and structures match across oceans Ancient glacial features

Continenta l Drift: Evidence

Tight fit of the continents, especially using continental shelves.

Continental Drift: Evidence

Fossil critters and plants

Continental Drift: Evidence

Correlation of mountains with nearly identical rocks and structures

Continenta l Drift: Evidence

Glacial features of the same age restore to a tight polar distribution.

Continental Drift: Reactions Received well in Europe and southern

hemisphere.

Rejected in U.S., where scientists staunchly preferred induction (incremental progress built on observation) over what they perceived as speculative deduction.
Lack of a suitable mechanism crippled continental drifts widespread acceptance. Conflict remained unresolved because seafloors were almost completely unexplored.

The Rise of Plate Tectonics WW II and the Cold War: Military Spending
U.S. Navy mapped seafloor with echo sounding (sonar) to find and hide submarines. Generalized maps showed: oceanic ridgessubmerged mountain ranges

fracture zonescracks perpendicular to ridges

trenchesnarrow, deep gashes abyssal plainsvast flat areas seamountsdrowned undersea islands Dredged rocks of the seafloor included only basalt, gabbro, and serpentiniteno continental materials.

The Rise of Plate Tectonics

Marine geologists found that seafloor magnetism has a striped pattern completely unlike patterns on land. Mason & Raff,
1961

Black: normal polarity White: reversed polarity Both: very magnetic

The Rise of Plate Tectonics Hypothesis: Stripes indicate periodic

reversal of the direction of Earths magnetic field. To test this hypothesis, scientists determined the eruptive ages AND the polarity of young basalts using the newly developed technique of K-Ar radiometric dating.
The study validated the reversal hypothesis...

The Rise of Plate Tectonics

And then (1962-1963) geologists realized that the patterns are SYMMETRICAL across oceanic ridges. The K-Ar dates show the youngest rocks at the ridge.

Meanwhile, U.S. military developed new, advanced seismometers to monitor Soviet nuclear tests. By the late 1950s, seismometers had been deployed in over 40 allied countries and was recording 24 hrs/day, 365 days/year.

The Rise of Plate Tectonics

Besides the occasional nuclear test, it recorded every moderate to large earthquake on the planet. With these high-precision data, seismologists found that activity happens in narrow bands.

Bands of seismicitychiefly at trenches and oceanic ridges

The Theory of Plate group Tectonics authorship in 1965-1970

Earths outer shell is broken into thin, curved plates that move laterally atop a weaker underlying layer. Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen at plate boundaries. Three types of relative motions between plates: divergent convergent transform

Tectonic Plates on Modern Earth

Divergent boundaries: Chiefly at oceanic ridges (aka spreading centers)

How magnetic reversals form at a spreading center

Divergent boundaries also can rip apart (rift) continents

continent could lead to formation of oceanic lithosphere.

e.g., East Africa Rift

e.g., Red Sea

e.g., Atlantic Ocean

Presumably, Pangea was ripped apart by such continental rifting & drifting.

Subduction zones form at convergent boundaries if at least one side has oceanic (denser) material.
Major features: trench, biggest EQs, explosive volcanoes

Modern examples: Andes, Cascades

Another subduction zonethis one with oceanic material on both sides.

Modern example: Japan

Earthquake depth indicates subduction zones

Collison zones form where both sides of a convergent boundary consist of continental (buoyant) material.
Modern example: Himalayas

This probably used to be a subduction zone, but all the oceanic material was subducted.

Most transform boundaries are in the oceans. Some, like the one in California, cut continents.

The PAC-NA plate boundary is MUCH more complex than this diagram shows.

Hotspots, such as the one under Hawaii, have validated plate tectonic theory.

Why do the plates Two related ideas are widely accepted: move?
Slab pull: Denser, colder plate sinks at subduction zone, pulls rest of plate behind it. Mantle convection: Hotter mantle material rises beneath divergent boundaries, cooler material sinks at subduction zones.

So: moving plates, EQs, & volcanic eruptions are due to Earths loss of

How does convection work? No one knowsbut they arent afraid to propose models!
Whole-mantle convection

Two mantle convection cells Complex convection

Field Trip Briefing

The California subduction zone (9 seismic line) Subduction to transform (Atwater animation) Faults of the Bay Area (SF-SJ maps)

Rock types well encounter

Landslide north of Mussel Rock

Occurred between 2 am and 8 am, 2/21/05