Plate Tectonic Super Cycle Essay

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s lithosphere (top layer of the Earth’s crust) is split up into rigid sections called plates that are moving relative to one another as they move on top of the underlying semi-molten mantle. These plates are either continental, The North American Plate, or oceanic, The Nazca Plate.

There are three distinct types of plate boundaries existing, which are supported by geological observation, geophysical data, and theoretical considerations. Their names and categories are based on if adjacent plates move apart from each other (divergent plate margins), toward one another (convergent plate margins), or slip past one another in a direction parallel to their common boundary (transform plate margins) (Pitman, W.C., 2007).

According to the theory of “Pangaea,” the world was once a single mega-continent that contained all the dry land about 225 million years ago. North America was shaped by the majestic Canadian Shield about 10 million years ago.

• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.

Who proposed that all of the present continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea?

About 225 million years, all of the world’s land was contained in one supercontinent, named Pangea. This supercontinent would eventually separate itself into the continents that are known today, due to continuous movement of the earth’s tectonic plates, which led to major shifting and folding of the earth’s crust. This shifting formed many of the mountain ranges that exist today, such as the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains. However, the time of Pangea’s separation into multiple continents and the time of the formation of the mountain ranges aren’t synonymous; for instance, the Appalachians were most likely formed before Pangea’s separation. About some 2 million years ago, a Great Ice Age befell the earth, which caused a

Shifting from the end of the Permian period 250 million years ago into the next era, the Triassic period occurred between 250 and 199 million years ago and was know for further diversifying life on land. After the Permian period, the Triassic period was largely successful in adapting and evolving, as the world was going through many changes. The land mass known as Pangea began its separation, which would be completed in the Jurassic period. The climate was relatively more severe during this time, with hotter summers and colder winters, but because of the warmer atmosphere, there were no polar ice caps at this time. Towards the center of Pangea, it was mostly a dry desert climate. As for life on earth, most of the marine life had been wiped

Rodinia broke apart forming smaller continents. Gondwana was pushed farther south. The continent of Laurasia formed. It was made up of present day Siberia, Europe, and North America.Finally all of the continents joined together to create Pangea.

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the Earth's lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today” (Briney). Geology defines “plate” as a large slab of solid rock, and “tectonics” is part of the Greek root word for “to build.” Together the words define how the Earth’s surface is built up of moving plates. The theory of plate tectonics dictates that individual plates, broken down into large and small sections of rock, form Earth’s lithosphere. These fragmented bodies of rock move along each other atop the Earth’s liquid lower mantle to create the plate boundaries that have shaped Earth’s landscape. Plate tectonics originated from meteorologist Alfred Wegener’s theory, developed in the early 20th century. In 1912, he realized that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa appeared to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. He further examined the globe and deduced that all of Earth’s continents could somehow be assembled together and proposed the idea that the continents had once been linked in a single supercontinent called Pangaea. To explain today’s position of the continents, Wegener theorized that they began to drift apart approximately 300 million years ago. This theory

If a modern Pangea were to happen, the world would be different and it would affect many interactions. Objects in the world would be displaced. Other factors that might change may be the government, economies, societies and immigration. The relations between countries and continents would change as well. If all the continents were to collide into one supercontinent, things would have to change. These changes would be both positive and negative. Modern Pangea would be a very different place than it is today due to animals, transportation, and daily life.

Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains and the Earth’s crust are unique yet have one common denominator; the amazing topic of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics has a place or specifically places a role in each of these natural wonders of the world. In the following, Team C will discuss the theory of plate tectonics and how the theory shaped the form and composition of the movement within the Midwest region of the United States. A discussion of various geological events and the types of rocks that formed because of these events will also be covered including the importance of the economic value of these rocks to the Midwest region

The three major types of tectonic plates are divergent, subduction and transform. Divergent plates tend to move apart from each other. Subduction plates are when oceanic plate moves under a continental plate. This can cause volcanos to erupt and large sized earthquakes. Transform plates slide back and forth against one another. The Lithosphere consists of the Earths crust and uppermost mantle. The North American plate and the South American plate are the major plates of the lithosphere. The lithosphere also consists of the Pacific plate, the African plate and the Eurasian plate. The Pacific plate is the only major plate that is mainly underwater and is also the largest plate in the lithosphere. The Earth was once one large continental body called Pangea, before the plates started

In the early Devonian period, also known as the Lochkovian, Pragian and Emsian epoch, due to substantial tectonic activity, resulted in the convergence of numerous continental land masses, forming into two supercontinents known as Euramerica and Gondwana. Both these supercontinents assembled comparatively close to each other in a single hemisphere near the equator and were surrounded by massive oceans which resulted in the formation of subduction zones. (Sites with a high rates of earthquakes, volcanism and

The theory of continental drift was first put forward by Alfred Wegener, a meteorologist and geologist in Germany. The theory stated that the land on Earth’s crust slowly drifted apart. Alfred Wegener formulated the hypothesis that the modern day continents were once combined about 200 million years ago. He called this supercontinent Pangaea meaning “ all-land”. Then, he claimed that Pangaea began to break up into the continents Gondwanaland and Laurasia due to the parts of Pangaea slowly drifting apart. Millions of years later, the modern day 7 continents were formed. There are 4 main pieces of evidence to support Pangaea’s existence. One piece of evidence would be that the modern continents have a puzzle-like fit. If the continents can fit together, it

Heat emission from subduction zones can take many forms, such as volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. When lateral plate movement induced gaps occur between plates, collisions occur between other plates. This results in partial plate destruction. This causes mass amounts of heat to be produced due to frictional forces and the rise of magma from the mantle through propagating lithosphere fractures and thermal plumes sometimes resulting in volcanism. During plate movement, continental plates are constantly being consumed and produced changing plate boundaries.