Journal Review Of: Continental Drift, Sea-Floor Spreading and Plate/ Tectonics

Journal Review of
Continental Drift, Sea-Floor Spreading

and Plate/ Tectonics
Seiya Uyeda
International Frontier Research Group of Earthquake, Riken, Japan
Presented by: Prabin Prajapati

ME07608
Introduction:
Study of earth began with land geology at time of the
industrial revolution developing concepts like
orogenesis, geosynclines.
From around 1900 onward, geophysical research such
as geodesy, seismology, and view on the Earth's Major
internal layered structures were established.
Different theories like, Continental drift,
Paleomagnetic research, Sea floor spreading,
Transform faults, Orogenic phenomenon and Plate
Tectonics were develop afterward.
Continental Drift
Proposed by Alfred Wegner (1880-1930)
He was the first one to notice that continental outlines
fit together like piece of puzzle.
But it was he who broke down the wall between
geophysics and geology.
Theory: "Continents used to be one giant continent
called Pangaea together and gradually moves apart
over millions of years."
Continental Drift cont.
Evidences to his theory
1. Fitting of Piece of jigsaw puzzle (i.e. Africa and
South American Continental)
2. Fossil of animals that could not have crossed the vast
sea.
Continental Drift cont...
Hypothesis and controversy:
1. " Continents now separated by oceans had been once
connected by large bridge."
2. "Folded structure seen in great mountain were due to
Earth contraction as it cooled."
 Wegener rejected all this view because it could not
be quantitatively justified.
 He could not explain the main cause of continental
drift, so his theory goes on decline after his death.
 What is the force that cause of continental drift?
Paleomagnetism and the Revival of
Continental Drift Theory:
Geomagnetic field can be approximate by a geocentric
magnetic dipole and several higher harmonics.
Caused by electric currents within the Earth's fluid outer
core and exhibit secular variations
"Paleomagnetism is the study of magnetic rocks and
sediments record the history of magnetic field."
It attempts to reconstruct the geomagnetic fields of past
by studying the natural remanent magnetism (NRM) of
rocks.
NRM can preserve a record of the geomagnetic vector
present at the time when the rocks formed.
Paleomagnetism Cont..
 NRM of some Cenozoic igneous rock is oriented opposite to
present geomagnetic field.
 There were as many as four reversal during the last 5 My
(Cox, 1973).
 Position of past geomagnetic field can be obtain by direction
of NRM.
 Thus obtain position is called as Virtual geomagnetic pole
(VGP).
 On averaging the fluctuation due to secular variation is called
paleomagnetic pole.
 Locus of paleomagnetic pole is known as apparent polar
wander (APW) path.
Fig 2a show the APW paths for European and North
American continents with the assumption that
continents did not move.
If the continents had not drifted, the two APW path
should coincide
Fig (b) show the APW path overlap for a long period.
This agree with the assumption of the continental drift.
Sea-Floor Spreading Hypothesis and its
Verification
Based on marine surveys Ewing and Heezen (1956)
introduced the idea of world encircling rift system.
Hess (1962) proposed his facts about mid oceanic's
ridges such as the high heat flow, the median rift
valley, the shallow earthquake activity and the
presence of anomalously low seismic wave velocity in
the upper mantle.
When mantle convection rises under a continent, the
continent will split and drift passively.
Sea Floor Spreading Cont..
New sea floor is formed in the wake of continental
fragment leading movement of ocean floor,
Ocean-Continent collision form trenches
Continent-Continent collision form mountain
Also Explain why rock older than Cretaceous had not
been discovered on the sea floor.
Supporting Evidence
The seismic activity directly below oceanic ridge axis
is limited to small magnitude (M<6) shallow
(d<10km) earthquakes, caused by sea floor spreading.
Earthquake at trench area includes shallow long angle
thrust type (including the M>8) and deep focus
earthquakes caused by sub-duction of sea floor.
Heat flow which is anomalously high over the mid
oceanic ridges, and low in the trench area is also
supportive of the hypothesis.
Supporting Evidence Cont....
By development of electronic devices during 1950s made
to make continuous and accurate measurement of the total
geomagnetic force at sea.
There are striking zebra striped pattern of geomagnetic
anomalies with widths of 20-30km and lengths of several
hundreds km in north eastern Pacific off the coast of North
America.
There are also topographic discontinuities called fracture
zones, the stripe showed displacement as many kilometers.
If the sea floor spreads the new produced sea floor would
be magnetized parallel to the geomagnetic field of the
time.
In 1965, Pitman obtained a
high-quality magnetic profile,
the famous Eltanin-19 profile
over the East Pacific Rise south
of Easter Island.
These geomagnetic anomalies
on either side of Rise agreed
perfectly with the model based
on the geomagnetic reversal
history.
Each stripe represent sea floor
produced at the same time
known as isochrones or chorn.
Advent of Plate Tectonics:
1. Transform Fault
Geomagnetic stripes are displaced many tens of kilometers
at many places across fractures zones.
Fig b. This kind of fault is often seen on mid-oceanic
ridges.
Transform Fault Cont..
Shows San Andreas Fault
in California.
Active zone of the
Circum- Pacific Belt.
There is a spreading ridge
at the north western end of
San Andreas Fault
governing this transform
fault.
2. Rigid Body Rotation
ARB= rotation of Plate A
relative to Plate B
APB =Euler's Pole
AvB and AωB = relative velocity
and relative angular velocity
Plate tectonics theory predicts:
1. Direction of Transform fault
should be parallel to its Pole.
2. Magnitude of relative velocity
should be in proportion to
sin(q).
where q is angular distance from
APB
3. Triple Junction
A point where three plate meet is called triple junction.
Some triple junctions maintain the configuration for
indefinitely while others can exist for an instant in time.
Called stable and unstable triple junction.
4. Relative and Absolute Plate Movement
Space geodesy, Notably the GPS has proven that plates are
moving almost exactly as plate tectonics postulates.
GPS is extremely accurate, simple and inexpensive as laymen
can easily realize through automobile navigation systems.
Hot spots like Hawaii and Iceland can be monitored and plate
displacement can be monitor.
Hot spot is a place where volcanic activity has been active.
South and North American Plates and Eurasian Plate absolute
velocity of movement is small.
Australian – Indian Plate with Sunda subduction boundary is
moving with considerable speed. ie 40mm/yr.
What is Lithosphere?
A plate is the part of the Earth's surficial layer that
moves the same way as continent and sea floor.
The plate is like a piece of ice sheet floating on water.
Depth = 75km approx.
Also consist of Low Velocity Zone.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries:
1. Divergent Boundaries
2. Convergent Boundaries
3. Transform Boundaries
Orogensis
Study of Formation of Mountains in Earth
Plume Tectonics

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Journal Review of

Continental Drift, Sea-Floor Spreading

Presented by: Prabin Prajapati

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