PLATE TECTONICS THEORY

PLATE TECTONICS THEORY

• In 1953 Carey introduced theory of Plate

Tectonics, based on the following grounds:
• Isostatic equilibrium was absent.
• There was the problem of why some parts of the
Earth's surface (crust) should have solidified
nature while other parts were still fluid.
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY

Plate tectonics (from Greek tektōn "builder") is a theory of

geology that has been developed to explain the observed

evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere.

The outermost part of the Earth's interior is made up of two

layers:
• Lithosphere, the crust and the rigid uppermost part of
mantle.
• Asthenosphere.
Tectonic Plates
The lithosphere is divided into a number of
large and small plates and the plates are
floating on the mantle.
Tectonic Plates

1. The lithosphere is broken up into fragments are

called tectonic plates.
2. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at
speeds of 0.66 to 8.50 centimeters per year.
3. This movement is caused by convection current in
the mantle.
Tectonic plates

Present condition of the World

Plate Tectonics Theory

◆ According to the plate tectonics theory,

the uppermost mantle, along with the
overlying crust, behaves as a strong, rigid
layer. This layer is known as the
lithosphere.
• A plate is one of numerous rigid sections of the
lithosphere that move as a unit over the material
of the asthenosphere.
Plate Tectonics

Types of Plate
Boundaries
◆ Divergent boundaries (also called spreading
centers) are the place where two plates move
apart.

◆ Convergent boundaries form where two plates

move together/collide.
◆ Transform fault boundaries are margins where
two plates grind past each other without the
production or destruction of the lithosphere.
Three Types of Plate Boundaries
Events at Plate Boundaries

Divergent
Boundaries
◆ Oceanic Ridges and Seafloor Spreading
• Oceanic ridges are continuous elevated zones
on the floor of all major ocean basins. The rifts at
the crest of ridges represent divergent plate
boundaries.
• Rift valleys are deep faulted structures found
along the axes of divergent plate boundaries.
They can develop on the seafloor or on land.
• Seafloor spreading produces new oceanic
lithosphere.
Spreading Center
Continental Rifts

• When spreading centers develop within a

continent, the landmass may split into two
or more smaller segments, forming a rift.
• Fissure volcanoes
East African Rift Valley
Convergent Boundaries

◆ A subduction zone occurs when one oceanic plate

is forced down into the mantle beneath a second
plate.

◆ Oceanic-Continental
• Denser oceanic slab sinks into the asthenosphere.
• Pockets of magma develop and rise.
• Continental volcanic arcs form in part by volcanic
activity caused by the subduction of oceanic
lithosphere beneath a continent.
• Examples include the Andes, Cascades, and
the Sierra Nevadas.
Oceanic-Continental Convergent Boundary
Convergent Boundaries

◆ Oceanic-Oceanic Convergent Boundary

• Two oceanic slabs converge and one descends
beneath the other.
• This kind of boundary often forms volcanoes on
the ocean floor.
• Volcanic island arcs form as volcanoes emerge
from the sea.
• Examples include the Aleutian, Mariana, and
Tonga islands.
Oceanic-Oceanic Convergent Boundary
Convergent Boundaries

◆ Continental-Continental
• When subducting plates contain continental
material, two continents collide.
Continental-Continental Convergent Boundary
Collision of India and Asia
Transform Fault Boundaries

◆ At a transform fault boundary, plates grind past

each other without destroying the lithosphere.

◆ Transform faults
• Most join two segments of a mid-ocean ridge.
• At the time of formation, they roughly parallel the
direction of plate movement.
• They aid the movement of oceanic crustal
material.
Transverse Boundary

Transverse boundaries occur where the plates slide laterally

past one another.

The San Andreas Fault in California is one example in north

American and pacific plate.

Other examples of transform faults include the Alpine Fault in

New Zealand and the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey.

Volcanoes are rare but earthquakes are common.

Tectonics Plates (Seven major plates)

❖Pacific plate
❖The North American plate
❖Eurasian plate
❖African plate
❖Antarctic plate
❖Indo-Australian plate
❖South American plate
Tectonics Plates

e
Pacific Plate

• Largest plate.
• Oceanic plate.
• Size 105 m square meter.
• The southern side is a divergent boundary with
the Antarctic Plate.
• In the south-west, the Pacific Plate has a complex but
generally convergent boundary with the Indo-Australian
Plate.
• The northern side is a convergent boundary subducting
under the North American Plate.
North American Plate

• Second largest plate

• Size 75.88 million square kilometers.
• The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust
• The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most
of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of
Siberia, Japan and Iceland.

Boundaries
The easterly side of the North American Plate is a divergent
boundary with the Eurasian Plate to the north and the
African Plate to the south forming the northern part of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
 Eurasian Plate

• Third largest plate.

• Size 6.7 M square kilometer.
• Include both oceanic and continental crust.
• Includes most of the continent of Eurasia (Europe 
and Asia), the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the
Chersky Range in East Siberia. It also includes oceanic
crust extending westward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 
Boundaries
The eastern side is a boundary with the North American Plate
and the southern side is a boundary with the African plate.
African Plate

• Area 66 M square kilometer.

• Includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust
which lies between the continent and various surrounding
ocean ridges.

Boundaries
The western side is a divergent boundary with the North
American Plate. The African plate is bounded on the northeast
by the Arabian Plate, the southeast by the Indo-Australian Plate.
Antarctic Plate

• The Antarctic plate is roughly 60.9 M square kilometers.

• It is the fifth biggest plate in the world.
• The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate covering
the continent of Antarctica and extending outward under the
surrounding oceans.

Boundaries
 Divergent boundary with the Pacific Plate forming the Pacific-
Antarctic Ridge.
Indo-Australian Plate

• Area covered 47 M square km.

• Australian Plate is a six largest tectonic plate.
• Includes the continent of Australia and surrounding ocean, and
extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and adjacent
waters.
• Recent studies show suggest that the Indo-Australian Plate may
be in the process of breaking up into two separate plates due
primarily to stresses induced by the collision of the Indo-
Australian Plate with Eurasia along the Himalaya.
South American Plate

• Size 43.6 M square kilometer.

• Seventh largest plate.
• The South American Plate is a continental tectonic plate.
• Includes the continent of South America and also a sizeable region of the
Atlantic Ocean extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Boundaries
The eastern side is a divergent boundary with the African Plate forming the
southern part of the Atlantic Ridge.
The southern side is a complex boundary with the Antarctic Plate and the
Scotia Plate.
The western side is a convergent boundary with the subducting Nazca Plate.
The northern side is a boundary with the Caribbean Plate.
Mechanism of Plate Movement

Causes of Plate
Motion
◆ Scientists generally agree that convection occurring
in the mantle is the basic driving force for plate
movement.

• Convective flow is the motion of matter resulting

from changes in temperature.
Causes of Plate
Motion
Convection Currents
• Hot magma in the Earth moves toward the
surface, cools, then sinks again.

• It creates convection currents beneath the plates

that cause the plates to move.
Causes of Plate Motion

◆ Slab-Pull and Ridge-Push

• Slab-pull is a mechanism that contributes to plate
motion in which cool, dense oceanic crust sinks into
the mantle and “pulls” the trailing lithosphere along.
It is thought to be the primary downward arm of
convective flow in the mantle.
Causes of Plate
Motion
◆ Slab-Pull and Ridge-Push
• Ridge-push causes oceanic lithosphere to slide
down the sides of the oceanic ridge under the
pull of gravity. It may contribute to plate motion.
Causes of Plate Motion

◆ Mantle Convection
• Mantle plumes are masses of hotter-than-
normal mantle material that ascend toward the
surface, where they may lead to igneous activity.

• The unequal distribution of heat within Earth

causes the thermal convection in the mantle that
ultimately drives plate motion.
Evidence for Plate Tectonics

◆ Earthquake Patterns
• Scientists found a close link between deep-focus
earthquakes and ocean trenches.

• The absence of deep-focus earthquakes along

the oceanic ridge system was shown to be
consistent with the new theory.
Mantle Convection Models
Evidence for Plate Tectonics

◆ Ocean Drilling
• The data on the ages of seafloor sediment
confirmed what the seafloor spreading
hypothesis predicted.
• The youngest oceanic crust is at the ridge crest,
and the oldest oceanic crust is at the continental
margins.
Evidence for Plate Tectonics

◆ Hot Spots
• A hot spot is a concentration of heat in the
mantle capable of producing magma, which rises
to Earth’s surface; The Pacific plate moves over
a hot spot, producing the Hawaiian Islands.
• Hot spot evidence supports that the plates move
over the Earth’s surface.
Hot Spot