Post on 12-Jan-2016
Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading
Marine Science
Chapter 11
Continental Drift: What is it? Idea that all the continents were once
joined together. Who came up with the idea?
Alfred Wegener
Was he the 1st to think of this? No
Why did they come up with this idea?
Pangaea Theory of Continental Drift Maps- “puzzle pieces” could make
Super-continent Wegener called it Pangaea Ocean called Panthalassa He thought it might have taken 200 million years
for the continents to split and drift apart to today’s position
Is there Evidence? Maps available in 1600’s pretty accurate 1855 Edward Suess of Germany found
fossils of Glossopteris (ancient fern) South America Africa Australia India Antarctica
How did they get there? Too heavy to travel w/wind, Too fragile to survive sea voyage
Is there more? Critters too !!! Animal fossils found on opposite continents
Ocean too far for ocean travel
Today we also look to Biogeography Like species living on separate continents, but
adaptations have changed do to environmental conditions
Still more? Coal 1908, Ernest Shackleton discovered coal in
Antarctica. How is coal formed? Antarctica MUST have moved
Coal formed from vegetation being buried in warm, swampy climates faster than it could decompose
What is the temperature like in Antarctica today?
Evidences: 3 Jigsaw puzzle Fossil remains (both plant and animal) Coal found in Antarctica
Wegener’s Flaw No mechanism for the drift
Wegener’s theory did not include a strong enough account for how the continents could move
He suggested Earth’s rotation & tides moved them Calculations would prove otherwise
No credibility He was a meteorologist, not a geologist
Jigsaw puzzle theory had gaps He died B-4 theory was accepted
Disappeared in 1930 in Greenland
Lab “Dance of the Continents”
Read as a class Work in pairs Turn in when complete
Theory of Seafloor Spreading
Chapter 11
Meteor- German expedition Mid-Ocean Ridges
Mountain ridges on bottom of ocean
Rift Valleys Deep valleys running through mid-ocean ridges
Trenches Ravines in seafloor
Patterns were revealed……….
Hess and Deitz- 1960 SFS Seafloor is constant state of creation and
destruction New crust emerges at the mid-ocean ridges
Magma pushes up through rift and solidifies into new crust
New sea floor forms at the ridges, and is then subducted at the trenches (goes back into the rock cycle)
What are the evidences? If this is true, where would you find older
rock; trenches or ridges? Radiometric dating Older is farther away from ridges- trenches
If this is true, where is the more dense rock? Newer rock will have less deposits on it- more
dense, more layers, older rock is at the trenches
If this is true, magnetism should be symmetrical Huh?
Plate Tectonics combines Continental Drift and Seafloor Spreading P.T. state that Earth has over 12 plates that float
on top of the Asthenosphere 2 different types of plates
Oceanic; more dense Continental; less dense
These plates interact in 3 different ways: Divergent Boundaries- Convergent Boundaries- Transform Faults-
So what happens? Divergent boundaries- Plates move away
from one another- Constructive Boundaries Ridges, valleys, new seafloor; much activity here
Mtns can form higher than sea level Iceland
Transform (fault) boundaries- Plates slide past each other- Earthquakes prevalent San Andreas Fault in Ca; Pacific/N. American
Plates
Divergent Boundary- Constructive
Transform Fault/Boundary
Cntd Convergent Boundary Convergent boundary- 2 plates meet; collisions-
Destructive Boundaries 2 ocean plates; 1 subducts under the other
Island arcs result Japan, Aleutian Islands
Ocean and continental: more dense oceanic subducts under less dense continental
Subduction occurs in trenches Range of vocanic mtns: Benioff’s Ring of Fire, Andes Mtns,
Cascades (Mt St Helens) 2 continental plates: equal densities push mass together
and up Himalayans
2 Oceanic Plates
Oceanic meets Continental
Continental meets Continental
Plate Movement What is the mechanism behind continental drift? Convection!-
Warm air rises, then falls as it cools, rises at it warms, etc. etc.
Convection currents exist w/in mantle; moves plates away from each other at divergent boundaries, towards each other at convergent boundaries, past each other at transform boundaries
Second mechanism is seafloor spreading- plates slide away from ridges
Lab: “Dance of the Plates” Read as a Class Work in Pairs Turn in When Complete
Hot Spots? Activity: Grab a Text; w/partner (no more than 2)
How did volcanoes arise away from plate boundaries?
Diagram the creation of the Hawaiian Islands Explain how it works
Why is it not one large continent but many islands Look at Earth at the following: 225 MYA, 135
MYA, 100 MYA, 65 MYA, and today. Compare them, and be able to recognize each for test purposes
Activity: Using ONLY your notes, complete the W/S
in class. Due before class is over
Wrap it Up!!Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics Video
Study Guide Tomorrow
Video Clip
Activity: Go over W/S Create a brochure explaining the way in
which plates move (divergent, convergent, transform). Be sure to include: Mid ocean ridge, trench, continental plate, oceanic plate, rift valley, mid ocean ridge mountain range.
Exam Tuesday!!! Use W/S as Study Guide
Ring of Fire Class Discussions Research Time Be sure to complete W/S today
I will check it off today, we will discuss tomorrow