Plate Tectonics

Introduction
What is Lithosphere?
Introduction
What is Lithosphere?
The rigid, outermost shell of rocks around Earth
13 major lithospheric tectonic plates on Earth’s surface

+ a few smaller plates

Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading

The theory of plate tectonics was preceded by other hypotheses ..

1. Continental Drift:
North
America Europe
Alfred Wegener
(German Meteorologist)

Africa
South
America

Couldn’t answer everything . .

Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading

Wegener & others came up with strong evidences

Let us see what evidences they came up with . . .

The continental jigsaw

puzzle
Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading

Wegener & others came up with strong evidences

Let us see what evidences they came up with . . .

Fossils matching across

the seas
Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading

Wegener & others came up with strong evidences

Let us see what evidences they came up with . . .

Rock type & geological

features
Continental Drift & Seafloor Spreading

The theory of plate tectonics was preceded by other hypotheses ..

1. Continental Drift:

2. Seafloor Spreading
2nd world war marine
explorations

Discovery of deep crack

valley on sea floor
Final synthesis of the theory

By 1970s, plate tectonic theory was prevalent .. Textbooks changed

The plates and their boundaries

How many types of plate

boundaries?

Divergent plate boundary

Three types of
Transform plate boundary
plate boundaries
Convergent plate boundary
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Divergent plateTransform
boundary
Boundary Boundary Boundary
• Two plates move apart

• This creates space, so the hot

mantle material upwells and
partial melting of mantle
occurs

• New sea floor is created

The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Could be on sea floor
Boundary Could be on continent
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Could be on sea floor
Boundary Could be on continent
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Could be on sea floor
Boundary Could be on continent
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Convergent plate Transform
boundary
Boundary Boundary Boundary
• One plate move towards other

• Since oceanic plate is denser, it

subducts beneath the continental
plate
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Could be convergence between two oceanic plates
Boundary Boundary Boundary
Could be convergence between oceanic and continental plates
Could be convergence between two continental plates
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Could be convergence between two oceanic plates
Boundary Boundary Boundary
Could be convergence between oceanic and continental plates
Could be convergence between two continental plates
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Could be convergence between two oceanic plates
Boundary Boundary Boundary
Could be convergence between oceanic and continental plates
Could be convergence between two continental plates
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Could be convergence between two oceanic plates
Boundary Boundary Boundary
Could be convergence between oceanic and continental plates
Could be convergence between two continental plates
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent ConvergentCould be on Continent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary
Could be on Sea floor
The plates and their boundaries
Could be on Continent Transform
Boundary
Could be on Sea floor
The plates and their boundaries
Could be on Continent Transform
Boundary
Could be on Sea floor
The plates and their boundaries
Divergent Convergent Transform
Boundary Boundary Boundary

Transform plate boundary

• Plates slide past each other

horizontally
Who is driving the lithospheric plates?

Mantle Convection is the

driving force behind plate
movement
Rates and history of plate movements

Use of extremely sensitive magnetometers

during WWII
Rates and history of plate movements

Geologists measured local magnetic fields

created by seafloor rocks
Rates and history of plate movements

Regular patterns were observed – high and

low intensity magnetic fields alternatively
… referred to as ‘magnetic anomalies’ symmetrical to crest of mid-oceanic ridges
Rates and history of plate movements

What magnetic anomalies suggest?

The fact that Earth’s magnetic field Flipping of Earth’s magnetic poles
had not been constant in the past
Rates and history of plate movements
When lavas cool, they become slightly
permanently magnetized in the direction of
Earth’s magnetic field – “Thermoremanent
Magnetization”
Positive & negative magnetic anomaly
w.r.t. present-day magnetic direction
(normal)
Rates and history of plate movements
Also took measurement on land . . Both sea floor & volcanic flows on land
are excellent
Volcanic lava flows . . Magnetic tape recorders
In 1960s, scientists also discovered a precise
record of magnetic anomalies in volcanic lava
flows
Magnetic chrons

Each of ~half million years

Rates and history of plate movements

Rate of sea floor movement:

Velocity = Distance / Time