Chapter five

Plate tectonics theory

 Introduction
 Geologists believe that Earth lithosphere is broken in
to about dozen plates.

 These plates are

Slide to each other

Collide with each other
Separate from each other

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Main continental Plates

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Plates and their movement

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 The theory of plate tectonics describes or explains

The movement of plates and the force acting

between them.

The distribution of many large scale geologic

features like mountain chains, structures in the sea
floor, volcanism and Earth quake

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Plate tectonics and planetary history

 Continental drift (deals with continents) Plus sea

floor spreading (deals with oceans)= plate
tectonics theory

Continental drift hypothesis

 Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's
continents relative to each other by appearing to
drift across the ocean bed

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 Alfred Wegner postulated a supper continent
called Pangea (means all lands

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 Pangea break up some 200 million years ago in to
continents as we know them today with oceans
widening gaps between them

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 200 million years ago
 Break up of Pangea results in Laurasia and
Gondwana land separation.

Laurasia plates (North America, Europe, Asia and

Green land)

Gondwana Land (Africa, South America,

Antarctica, Australia and India)

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 180 million years ago
 Gondwana break up in to (South America, Africa)
and (Antarctica, India, Australia).
180-135 million years ago
 Africa started separation from America
 Atlantic ocean opened between Africa and S.
America
135-65 million years ago
Australia separated from Antarctica
Madagascar separated from Africa
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 65 million years ago to
present
 India attached to Eurasian plate
 Present day configuration of the continents was
formed after continuous change

In the future (50 million from now)

Mediterranean sea will be closed
Australia will be attached with Africa
East Africa will be separated from the main Africa
Atlantic ocean increases and will be changed to
the new Panthalasa
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Plate tectonics

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 Some of the evidences

1. Continental fit
 Resemblance between the cost lines of South
America and Africa

2. Similarities of rock strata

 Similar rock stratigraphy with similar age are
observed at Eastern part of Southern America
and Western Africa.
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 3. Paleo climate
(a)Glacial evidence - distribution of ancient
glacial deposits called tillites in southern
America, Africa, Australia which is difficult to
explain in terms of separated glaciers (some
close to the equator)

(b) Evaporites - like gypsum and halite are

formed possibly in hot (arid) areas but they are
present in other cold places like Northern
America. (their age is about 245 million years)
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 4. Paleontological evidence
(fossils)
 The presence of similar fossils of land animals in
different continents (the same animal fossils of
late Paleozoic)

 Eg. Mesosaurs are found in south America and

Africa and no where else in the world.

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 5. Other evidences (Paleo-
magnetism)

 Direction of magnetic field change

 The problem of continental drift hypothesis is it

couldn’t explain properly how the continental crust
is moving over the oceanic crust.

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 Sea floor spreading

 Is the view of oceanic crust.

 the continents does not move over the oceanic crust
but rather the continental and oceanic crust move
together and both are parts of large plate. (Hess,
1962).
 According to Hess oceanic crust separates at oceanic
ridges where new crust is formed by up welling of
magma. compiled by Samuel Abraham 24
 As the magma cools, the newly formed oceanic
crust moved laterally away from the ridge.

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 There is formation of new oceanic crust by up
welling of magma
 When we go away from the magma source, there
will be old rock (uniform and symmetry)

Plates and their movement

Plates can be……
only from oceanic crust,
only from continental crust, or
both from continental and oceanic
crust
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Why plates move?

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 In the astenosphere, due to pressure contrast
convectional currents, there are hot plumes which
are always under continuous floating, due
pressure.

 Convectional current: melted material is less

denser and goes up ward and solid (denser) inter
to the high temperature zone

 They create the easiest direction to move out to

the surface resulting in fracturing of the
lithosphere.
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 Plate boundaries
(I) Divergent plate boundaries
 When two plates move away from each other
 Constructive because a new crust is formed

 E.g. Mid Oceanic Ridge

 Continental rift valley

 E.g. Afar Rift Valley (triple junction) which is

600km rift valley in east Africa

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Divergent plate boundary

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(II) Convergent plate boundaries
 When two plates move to wards each other
(collide)
 Destructive boundaries because there is
subduction (minimizing) of the crust

2.1 Oceanic-Oceanic interaction

 When oceanic crust collide oceanic crust
 Subduction zone happen at higher depth, the
subducted plate melted and the melted plate
particle rises up E.g. Pacific Ocean
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Oceanic-Oceanic Interaction

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2.2 Continental-Oceanic Interaction
 Oceanic crust subducted because of its high
density
E.g. Western South America

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 2.3 continental-continental interaction
 When continental crust collide with continental crust
 E.g. Himalaya mountain chain, interaction of Indian
plate with Asia at 18cm/y (very fast), there is also
Earth quake zone because the plates are in
continuous motion
 Everest is still increasing because still there is
collusion

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(III) Transform Plate boundary
 Where two plates are slide to each other
 Conservative (neither destructive nor
constructive)

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 land forms of continents
(1) Cratons (Extensive flat and stable
regions)
 Shield -A regional surface of low relief with an
elevation of few 100 meters
 Stable plate forms- large part of the craton, not
elevated or submerged to a greater distance
(2) Folded mountains
 E.g. Alps in Europe
 Himalaya in Asia
 Andes in south America
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 Major features of Oceanic basin
(i) Oceanic Ridge:- fracture in oceanic crust
(ii) Abyssal floor:- relatively smooth and plain oceanic
floor between the ocean margin and continental margin
(iii) Sea mountains:- isolated peaks of submarine
volcanoes (some can rise above sea level called Islands)
(iv)Trenches:- lowest areas on the Earth surface, which
is found in subduction zones
(v)Continental margins:- transition zone between
continental and ocean, submerged part of a continent
(continental shelf)

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