Plate Tectonics Theories Analysis Since the beginning of human kind there has been a cloud of wonder regarding the natural processes and patterns of our planet. Scientist interested in this field through out the years, have developed many different theories to how our planet geological features have come about. The most widely accepted theory in this field is that of plate tectonics. For those who do not know much about the theory of plate tectonics; it states that there are twenty plates that cover most of the Earth's surface area. These giant slabs of rock are what is known as our lithosphere. These plates are said to slide on top of the asthenosphere (an inner layer of molten lava). A theory that can be explained by plate tectonics is a theory called continental drift. According to the theory of continental drift, the world was made up of a single continent through most of geologic time. That continent eventually separated and drifted apart, forming into the seven continents we have today. The first comprehensive theory of continental drift was suggested by the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912. The hypothesis asserts that the continents consist of lighter rocks that rest on heavier crustal material, similar to the manner in which icebergs float on water. Wegener contended that the relative positions of the continents are not rigidly fixed but are slowly moving at a rate of about one yard per century. However, one of the strongest objections to Wegener's theory was that it did not describe how the plates moved. According to the generally acc... ... middle of paper ... ...of theorists generally accept the theory of plate tectonics. The emergence of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. Since then, scientists have verified and refined this theory, and now have a much better understanding of how our planet has been shaped by plate-tectonic processes. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. Indeed, the notion that the entire Earth's surface is continually shifting has profoundly changed the way we view our world. Bibliography ============ 1. www. agiweb.org 2. Handout 8.1 from class 3. Handout the wrong answer to the right question 4. Canadian Encyclopedia 1999 5. http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/developing
Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
Our understanding of the Earth’s interior has been a focus for scientific study for multiple decades, recognised in the early 1900’s. Throughout the years, scientists have debated and quarreled over their findings, observations and theories for the most correct model of the composition and internal structure of the Earth.
Hess, D., McKnight, T. L., & Tasa, D. (2011). McKnight's physical geography (Custom ed. for California State University, Northridge ; 2nd Calif. ed.). New York: Learning Solutions.
The earth is split into four layers, inner and outer core, the mantle and crust. The top of the mantle and crust make up what is like the skin of our earth (see source 2). The skin is split up like a puzzle and we call these puzzle pieces’ tectonic plates (see source 1). These plates are constantly moving and the plate boundaries (edges of the plates) move and slide past one another. Sometimes as the plates move the plate boundaries become stuck. Pressure builds up in the stuck area over time and eventually breaks. This is why earthquakes occur due to the sudden movement of the plate sliding and breaking creating a fault line to go off. The fault line is the line on which the
Nielsen-Gammon, John W. “An Inconvenient Truth: The Scientific Argument.” GeoJournal 70.1 (2007): 1-12. Springer Link. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
The traditional theory about the Earth’s core suggest that the core of the Earth is a solid nickel and iron sphere surrounded by a fluid metallic magma. The rotation of the Earth is believed to create massive columns of magma to swirl in the core. These columns are believed to produce the Earth’s magnetic field. This theory is based on the assumption that the Earth’s core is cooling and will eventually cool completely and cease to produce energy and a magnetic field. However, this theory does not answer many ongoing mysteries about the Earth, such as why the Earth’s magnetic field periodically shuts down, and questions about the energy production of the Earth. It was apparent that a new theory was needed to explain the mystery of the Earth’s core.
Tectonic plate theory is a relatively new theory that has evolved over the last century. The history of the theory can date back all the way to the twentieth century. Before the 1960s a majority of geologists believed that ocean basins and continents had a fixed position and
First you might need to know definition of tectonics. It is a theory in geology. The lithosphere of the Earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the Earth’s seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates. That is the official definition of Plate tectonics. secondly, this plate covers many parts of continents. plate boundaries don’t go according to Continents boundaries, they make their own boundaries. The North American plat...
They are the earth’s crust; they move very slowly every year. As the tectonic plates slide over each other they cause earthquakes. Earthquakes produce various damaging effects this includes damage to structures of buildings, bridges and other standing formations which then...
Earth was formed 4.8 billion years ago (3) . It became the home for hazelnuts because it had an atmosphere and environment which allowed for life to prosper in later years. Earth’s surface was once composed of a single landmass, known as Pangaea (1).Over time it was broken up into seven different plates which were free to move as a result of movements in the hot, semi-liquid magma beneath the...
Thomas Kuhn, one of the most widely recognized contributors to the discipline of the philosophy of science, raises the argument within The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that advancement within the field of science occurs in a revolutionary manner as opposed to one more progressive or cumulative. Kuhn makes the observation that scientific research is conducted cumulatively where every piece of evidence contributes towards gradually understanding a specific scientific phenomenon (Kuhn, 96). However, lasting scientific advancement only transpires when previously accepted scientific theories are overturned with entirely different, more suitable theories. Kuhn makes reference to the Copernican Heliocentric model as an instance to validate his assertion (Forster). Applying Kuhn’s argument to this revolutionary theory will provide clarity and further understanding necessary to demonstrate how this philosophical approach can be applicable towards relatively modern scientific theories such as plate tectonics.
At the very dawning of the science of historical geology, James Hutton developed views on the earth’s geologic processes and ow they affect the planet unlike any other scientist before him. His idea that the planet’s processes revolved in a cyclic fashion were the cornerstone of uniformitarianism. Although he did not coin the phrase himself, an honor bestowed upon William Whewell, he did form the basic idea that the history of the earth can be explained by what is happening now.
Diastrophism is deformation of earth’s crust, caused by folding and faulting. Convergent plate boundaries are formed through diastrophism. A convergent boundary (or a destructive plate boundary) is formed when two or more tectonic, lithospheric plates collide. There are two types of plates: oceanic (more dense) and continental (less dense). If two oceanic plates collide, subduction will occur. Subduction refers to the movement of one plate, sliding underneath another plate. The plate that is pushed down is consumed by the magma in the internal structure of the earth. When this happens, there will be a large, deep underwater trench where the subduction occurred (Mariana’s trench is an example of this). The plate that is consumed by magma causes
Convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries and convection currents all examples of physical evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics. Continental drift is the theory contrived by Alfred Wegener in 1912 that states that Earth’s tectonic plates are in slow constant movement. At the time he didn’t know how the continents moved. The theory was soon modernized in the 50’s and the theory of plate tectonics became was born. Plate tectonics is the theory that tectonic plates are in slow constant movement due to convection currents in the mantle. Now we know for sure, thanks to scientific studies of convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and convection currents in the Earth’s mantle, that the continental drift and plate tectonics theories are not
Due to the fact that rocks are composed of high intensity of elastic and brittle material, they therefore store considerable amount of strain energy that results from elasticity, during the action of plate tectonic. The brittleness leads to development of concurrent cracks on the rocks as a result of plate’s action.