Plate tectonic theory has developed slowly and progressively since it was developed in the 1960s. Old oceanic crust is consumed subducted at convergent plate boundaries. Plate tectonics it was from the continental drift theory, convection current theory and the theory of seafloor spreading, the theory of plate tectonics was formulated. Jan 23, 2020 plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the earths lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today. Tectonics is a part of the greek root for to build and together the terms define. 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 lead to the concept of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics fill in the blank flashcards quizlet. Ret 2006, rev 2 7 introduction to plate tectonic theory, geodesy, and vlbi the plate tectonic theory is a relatively new, accepted only around 50 years ago. There are three principal types of plate boundary divergent, convergent, and transform. Chapter 1 focuses on plate tectonics, looking at the earths layers, earths evolution, and plate movement. See plate tectonic photos from national geographic. 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.
Earths crust and part of the upper mantle are broken into plates, or sections, that move around on a plasticlike layer of the mantle. There are a few handfuls of major plates and dozens. Which is the evidence supporting the theory of plate tectonics. The earth is approximately 7,900 miles in diameter, and is comprised of three major layers. It is made up of thick, interconnecting pieces called tectonic plates that fit together like a puzzle. Here is your paragraph on the theory of plate tectonics and origin of continents and oceans. Plate tectonics is the most recent and widely acclaimed theory which gives most satisfactory answers to intricate and puzzling questions regarding origin of continents and oceans, formation of mountains, occurrence of earthquakes and eruption of volcanoes. Jul 06, 2018 an internet search of the exact same question will bring up a host of correct answers and links to further reading. Surface observations and seismic waves showed that the earths interior was solid. Plate tectonics continental drift and mountain building.
That said, here are some of the namesterms of the key pieces of evidence without great explanation, so people can go and research. Subduction zones, island arcs and active continental maragins, 8. Notes on plate tectonics plate tectonics states that the earths crust and upper mantle are broken into sections, called plates. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia plate tectonics from greek, tekton builder or mason describes the large scale motions of earths lithosphere. Introduction to plate tectonic theory, geodesy, and vlbi. The lithosphere lithosphere is comprised of the upper mantle and the crust, the outer shell of the earth. Continental drift and mountain building, authorwolfgang frisch and ronald c. How would solid material accomodate movement in this solid body. The following website contains a more detailed and lesson plans on plate tectonics, geodesy, and vlbi. I also organized a few teacher notes on plate tectonics to help guide class discussions today.
Earths outer, rigid layer lithosphere is broken into discrete plates. The theory of plate tectonics provides geology with a comprehensive theory that explains how the earth works. Tectonic overview of the caribbean plate meschede and frisch, 1998 the caribbean plate and the question of its formation 6 boundary of the southern mexican xolapa complex figure 3 is marked by mylonitic. During world war i, however, ships equipped with sonar began to produce data about the topography of the seafloor. Scott marshall is most interested in better understanding the physics that governs how faults work.
Continental drift and mountain building is a terrific summary of stateoftheart plate tectonics science at 2011. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earths crust and upper mantle are. The rigid lithosphere is split into 15 major plates that slowly move on. The layer below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere. Plasienka geological institute, slovak academy of sciences, slovakia keywords. Three types of boundaries between lithospheric plates sciencing. Wolfgang frisch is the author of plate tectonics 4. Plate tectonicscontinental drift and mountain building.
The earths plates jostle about in fits and starts that are punctuated with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Theory of plate tectonics there appear to be major plates that cover the globe. Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries such as the oceanic. Questions form both sheets given on 32111 learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Those after 2009 represent ongoing research as professor emeritus. This acclaimed textbook on plate tectonics presents many examples, and. As a principle supplementing kuhns theory, we proposed the anna karenina principle. The fundamental units of plate tectonics are large pieces of earths lithosphere, the outermost rocky layer of the planet that is composed of the earths crust and the upper 50 to 80 miles of the. Though alfred wegener was the first to suggest the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics in 1915, it wasnt widely accepted until the 1960s and 1970s as new information was obtained about the nature of the ocean floor, earths magnetism, the distribution of. Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of earth structures or tectonic features. 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. Paragraph on the theory of plate tectonics and origin of. Richard abbott emeritus does work reconstructing the tectonic and metamorphic history of ultra high pressure uhp metamorphic rocks in the dominican republic, and blueschistgreenschist facies rocks in jamaica dr. Kuhn, scientific advancement takes place via paradigm shift.
Contractional theory, continental drift and plate tectonics, 2 plate movements and their geometric relationships, 3. Plates are composed of the crust and a part of the upper mantle, these two parts together are called the lithosphere. Apr 18, 2016 the special challenge here is that we do not have a successful physicsbased paradigm of global geodynamics and lithosphere tectonics for the early earth comparable to modern plate tectonics, which we can validate and elaborate using continually expanding set of observational and analytical data benn et al, 2006. Initiation and evolution of plate tectonics on earth. Developed from the 1950s through the 1970s, plate tectonics is the modern version of continental drift, a theory first proposed by scientist alfred wegener in 1912. Earths crust and part of the upper mantle are broken into plates, or sections, that.
However, this plate tectonic framework cannot be reduced to a microplate scale to explain cenozoic. Unfortunately, this book cant be printed from the openbook. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a pdf. The structure of the earth, plate tectonics and landforms. To identify and describe the three types of plate boundaries and their individual effects on the earth prelab questions. These sonar maps showed the seafloor to be anything but featureless instead, the ocean floor hosted valleys deeper than the grand canyon, mountain. The fundamental units of plate tectonics are large pieces of earths lithosphere, the outermost rocky layer of the planet that is composed of the earths crust and the upper 50 to. Frisch, meschede, and blakeyanswer all these questions and more through the. Objectives after this lesson, students will be able to 4. Pdf indicates that a pdf is available for this paper. Chapter 1 plate tectonics volcano world oregon state. Taras gerya, institute of geophysics, ethzurich, switzerland busy persons summary. 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.
Name date class period snack tectonics lab exercise. Pdf tectonics of the western tauern window wolfgang. New oceanic crust is created at the midocean ridge divergent boundary. It is a theory that truly has the entire world as its experiment. An internet search of the exact same question will bring up a host of correct answers and links to further reading. The main idea theory was proposed by alfred wegener in 1912. Plate tectonics, our major paradigm for how the earth works, was established in the 1960ies following decades of observational research that culminated in key.
The plates can contain oceanic, or continental crust or both. Movement is caused by convection currents in the mantle. The crust and the uppermost, solid part of the mantle combine to form a rigid layer of rock called the. Plate tectonics 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. Plate tectonics is the theory that the outer rigid layer of the earth the lithosphere is divided into a couple of dozen plates that move around across the earths surface relative to each other, like slabs of ice on a lake. Plate tectonics is the theory used to explain the structure of the earths crust and many of the associated phenomenon. Plate tectonics information and facts national geographic. A plate tectonic puzzle american museum of natural history. Modern plate tectonic earth is like the chicken, whereas preplate tectonic earth is.
The emergence of plate tectonics and the kuhnian model of. Though alfred wegener was the first to suggest the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics in 1915, it wasnt widely accepted until the 1960s and 1970s as new information was obtained about the nature of the ocean floor, earths magnetism, the distribution of volcanoes and. Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the earths lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today. In this lab, students will test plate tectonics against two other hypotheses. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earths lithosphere is broken into distinct plates which are. Looking at the world map, what dolooking at the world map, what do you notice about the shape of theyou notice about the shape of the continents. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. In the 1960s, scientists developed a new theory that combined continental drift and seafloor spreading.
Plate tectonicscontinental drift and mountain building article pdf available in bulletin of volcanology 741. Theory of plate tectonics explains why the plates of the earth are moving. How scientific progress functions in detail and what the specific prerequisites for scientific breakthroughs in a given research area are, is still unclear today. Plate tectonics the tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. From the early history of the geological revolution to the latest in explanations of the rocky mountains, firsch et al. A global flood model of earth history 3 preflood geology any. I prepared for todays lesson by projecting and tracing the following document plate tectonics template on a large bulletin board paper. Contact department of geological and environmental sciences appalachian state university 033 rankin science west asu box 32067 boone, nc 286082067. The drawing above is a cross section of the earth showing the components that lie within plate tectonic theory. Three types of boundaries between lithospheric plates. By definition, the word plate in geologic terms means a large slab of solid rock. Nonplate tectonic styles were probably dominated by single lid tectonics and this evolved as earth cooled and its lithosphere thickened. The theory of plate tectonics is our current best explanation and working model. The cross section should really be curved to correspond.
Apr, 2012 how scientific progress functions in detail and what the specific prerequisites for scientific breakthroughs in a given research area are, is still unclear today. Of the three layers, the crust is the thinnest, with an average thickness of 15 to 18 miles. This motion is accommodated by motion of earths mantle 3. By linking these observations to hesss seafloor spreading model, they lay the foundation for modern plate tectonics. I know i said this in the title, but this is fill in the blank. Therefore, even if we look at the chicken from different perspectives it will not help us to understand what the egg looked like. In 1967, mckenzie and parker suggested the theory of plate tectonics. Before the 1920s, the crust below the seas was thought to be flat and featureless.
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