PLATE TECTONICS

INSIDE THE EARTH

 We can look at the interior of the Earth based
on the composition of the rocks or based on the
movement
 LAYERS OF THE EARTH

• Crust – solid, relatively low density silicate rock

• Mantle – Semi fluid, denser, mafic (iron and magnesium
bearing) rocks
• Core – Liquid then solid iron and nickel with traces of
heavier elements
• It turns out that the upper section of the
mantle is adhered (stuck) to the underside
of the crust to form what we call tectonic
plates
 TECTONIC PLATES
• Pieces of the lithosphere that move
around on top of the asthenosphere.
• They float on top similar to ice cubes in a
bowl of punch.
• Thick plates (continental crust) displace
more asthenosphere than thin ones do
(oceanic crust)
TECTONIC PLATES
 MAPPING THE EARTH’S
INTERIOR
How do scientists know about the deepest
part of the Earth?

Answers come from earthquakes.

• Seismic waves are produced
• Travels through earth at different speeds.
– Depends on density and thickness of material
it passes through
– Will move faster through solid than a liquid
 RESTLESS CONTINENTS
CONTINENTAL DRIFT- is the hypothesis
that states that the continents once formed a
single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their
present locations

•Continental drift also explained why fossils

of the same plant and animal species are
found on continents that are on different sides
of the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these ancient
species could not have crossed the Atlantic
Ocean. In addition to fossils, similar types of
rock and evidence of the same ancient
climatic conditions were found on several
continents.
EVIDENCE

MESOSAURUS

GLOSSOPTERIS
 PANGEA
245 million years ago

GREEK- “all earth”

 SEA-FLOOR SPREADING
• Process by which new oceanic
lithosphere forms as magma rises
toward the surface and solidifies.
 EVIDENCE OF SEA-FLOOR
SPREADING: MAGNETIC
REVERSAL

• The North and south magnetic poles have

changed places many times.
• When they change, the polarity of the
earth’s magnetic poles change
• The iron in the molten rock acts like a
compass and will match the new direction
of the earth’s magnetic field
 PLATE TECTONICS
IS THE THEORY THAT EXPLAINS HOW LARGE PIECES OF
LITHOSPHERE CALLED PLATES MOVE AND CHANGE SHAPE
SLOWLY ACROSS THE ASTHENOSPHERE
 PLATE TYPES

-CONVERGENT

-DIVERGENT

-TRANSFORM
 CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES

Convergent –
plates move toward
one another (collide)
3 TYPES:
Continental - Continental
Continental - Oceanic
Oceanic - Oceanic
Continental – Continental
 DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES
Divergent – plates move away from
each other
• New Sea Floor
• Mid-ocean ridges
TRANSFORM
• When two tectonic
plates slide past each
other horizontally
Example:
San Andreas Fault
This fault marks the place where
the Pacific and North American
plates are sliding past each
other.
WHY DO PLATES MOVE??
No single idea explains everything but we can identify several
forces that contribute to the movement of the plates.

Slab pull
– The sinking of the cooled dense oceanic plates pulls on the rest
of the plate

Ridge rises
– The material deposited on the top of the ridge slides downs from
the rise pushing on the plate

Convection
Movement within the mantle could be part of the driving force
behind the motion of the plates.
WHY DO PLATES MOVE?
WHERE ARE WE GOING?

We appear to be headed for

another super continent as
North America, South
America, Asia and Australia
converge in the ever
shrinking Pacific Ocean