The Structure And Motion Of The Earth 's Lithosphere

The theory of plate tectonics was first developed by Alfred Wegener. He concluded that the continents seem to have a similar shape and could potentially fit together. This suggested that they were at one time joined together as part of 2 super continents called Gondwanaland and Laurasia was in the north. This theory was said to be proven by the discovery of fossilised remains of a mesosaurus that were found on the coasts of Brazil and Gabon. Sea floor spreading is another theory that supports the idea of plate tectonics; this theory discovered that rock is being formed under the ocean as a new sea floor. Sea floor spreading was shown in the Atlantic, where it is believed the Eurasian and North American plates are moving apart on a

In junior high school, I have learned the Continental Drift Theory, and my geography teacher told me there was a new theory based on the Continental Theory, i.e. Plate Tectonics. I accessed to the Internet to find the information about Plate Tectonics.

To support the theory of continental drift is through topography, surveying the floors of oceans, charts of rock magnetism, and statistics on rock ages (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). At one time scientist believed that the deep ocean floors were flat; accumulating the sediment that progressively wore away from the prehistoric landmasses (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). However, they discovered steep-walled valleys and elevated highlands. This was evidences that just as the continents are transformed and are active, so to is the seafloor (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). The Mid- Atlantic Ridge, positioned in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, is recorded to be the longest mountain range on this planet. Volcanoes, lava flow, and earthquakes are a source of

Continental drift was a theory offered by Alfred Wegener in 1912 that hypothesized that all the continents at one time fit together as one land mass. Wegener, explained that the ends of each continent could fit together like a puzzle and that over time the continents drifted apart. "The model explained why the same types of fossils occur in sedimentary rock on both sides of the vast Atlantic Ocean" (Star, 2008, pg. 250), in other words allopatric speciation. Wegener's theory did not have a supporting geological mechanism. Many years later and advances in technology brought about the plate tectonics theory. Essentially it says:

Refer to the images above. Discuss in detail the two pieces of additional evidence that supported Wegener’s theory, now known as the theory of plate tectonics.

For instance, in the stations A-H we found out that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has moved the Earth’s crust apart which eventually created an ocean, the lead to the tectonic plates moving. Another piece of evidence, is the science notebook on pg 35 (Scientific Revolution), the patterns in the rocks, when the divergent plate boundary came through it pulled the rock's father away, and the farther away they were the older the rocks became. Lastly, we found out about earthquakes from the data also in stations A-H. Earthquakes could have caused the plates to split apart because in

Plate tectonics is a theory that the earths outer rigid layer, the lithosphere, is divided into plates that are constantly moving across the earths surface, much like ice does on the surface of a lake. When the plates pull away from each other, it creates what is known as a divergent boundary. When the plates crash into each other, it creates what is known as a convergent boundary. Finally, When the tectonic plates have hot spot, or holes that allow hot magma to rise through the crust to the surface of the earth it is called a hot spot.

Firstly, plate tectonics was not formed exclusively from induction which differentiates “real science … from unscientific superstitions by its reliance on observations, generalization, and repeated confirmation”, however it was crucial in forming the basis of this theory (400). Continental Drift was the precursor to plate tectonics in a sense as it used sensory observations including the examination of how continents appeared to fit together like puzzle pieces and how many plant and animal fossils as well as rock formations were shared among continents that currently have no physical connection. These observations led Alfred Wegner, the man who introduced continental drift, to make a general statement that all of the continents must have been together at one time and have progressively shifted because of some force (Ammon). Although this evidence was circumstantial and did not undeniably prove his theory, more proof was repeatedly found with additional fossils and rock formations that were discovered to be shared between continents. Conversely, flat earth theory uses a single experiment known as the Bedford Level Experiment which incorrectly stated the earth was flat (Cox). This experiment does use sensory observations and a generalization regarding said observations which is part of induction, but leaves out the necessary component of repetition that completes it. In

2. Hypothesis of continental drift and Pangaea: Alfred Wegener created the hypothesis of continental drift, stating about 220 million years ago all the land masses were combined to create Pangaea. The southern portion of the supercontinent was Gondwana, which Africa was the core of. Then as years passed the continents began to split apart and spread across the globe. As the tectonic plates move, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains ranges, and other landforms were created. Because Africa was centralized in Pangaea, it gives ideas to the reason for the rift valleys, and lack of mountain ranges.

Plate tectonics occur not only just on Earth, but on other planets in the galaxy as well, such as Venus, Mars, and ancient Mercury. Since there are several planets in the Milky Way that have plate tectonics, it is questionable about if size is a key factor in the likelihood of tectonics on foreign planets. Vol-canoes, mountains, ocean ridges, earthquakes, and tsunamis all would not be possible without the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates. Dependent upon heat for movement, tectonic plates are one of the victims of Earth’s active life. Since the Earth is not static in movement, landforms are moved and shifted slowly but surely each day. It is questionable if hydration and planet size are significant factors in the likelihood of plate tectonics on super-Earths.

Alfred Wegener’s theory about the continents moving was continental drift. He based his argument over the observation the many of the coastlines on opposite sides of the ocean fit together. This observation and the idea that continents had once been joined, had been made previously. Abraham Ortelius a Flemish mapmaker from and geographer in the 1500s Pointed out that the coasts of the Americas and Europe and Africa matched and this suggested they had been torn apart from each other. Alfred also noticed that fossils similar to each other were being found oceans apart. He tried to explain this by hypothesizing that a very long time ago all of Earth’s continents were joined and made one giant supercontinent named Pangaea. His theory was that at

With the work of other scientists who had theorized about horizontal movement of the continents over the earth’s surface during different periods of geologic time, and based on his own observations from different fields of science, Wegener deduced that about 200 million years ago the supercontinent that he called “Pangaea,” (means “all lands” in Greek) began to break up.

Continental drift all started with a theory that all the continents were connected called Pangaea, becoming a super-continent this was discovered by Alfred Wegener a polar researcher, Geophysicist, and a meteorologist. It was first proposed in 1912, and Alfred says this occurred around 299 million to 273 million years ago but the super-continent started to break apart 200 million years ago. The most popular and major evidence for Pangaea was that some of the continents fit perfectly together. The most noticeable continents were North Western coast of Africa and the Eastern coast of South America, theses two looked like they could been once connected. Another piece of evidence is the distribution of fossils, archaeologists have been discovering

The theory of plate tectonics has been explored throughout history because of similarities in coastal boundaries and other evidence found such as fossil records, geometric fit, mountain episodes, the paleoclimate observed, information about the ocean floor, ancient magnetism, distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes and heat flow from the earths core. There were early theories from Wegner’s continental drift which lacked an explanation for the mechanism that drove the continents apart, to Wilson’s more complete theory of the cyclical opening and closing of the ocean basins due to movement of the earth’s plates. The theory explains how today 's continents were once a large supercontinent that slowly drifted to their present positions and will again form one giant continent via collision.

Wegener’s theory of continental drift was based upon the knowledge that similar animal and plant fossils were found on completely different continents, similar geologic features and the fit of the continents. The problem with Wegener’s theory, was that he had no convincing evidence on how the continents moved. He proposed that the continents were moving through Earth’s crust, like “ice breakers plowing through ice sheets,” and that the force of the ocean was responsible for how the continents were moving apart. At one