Chapter 3

Plate Tectonics

Current Plate Boundaries and Relative

Motion

The Early Case for

Continental Drift
Skepticism about Continental Drift

Paleomagnetism and the

Revival of Continental
Drift
Recent Evidence for Continental
Drift
History of Continental Positions

Plate
Reconstructions

Fossil Evidence for Gondwana

Early Triassic

Permian
Permian-Pennsylvanian

Distribution of Paleozoic
Glaciers and Glacial
Striations

Evidence

Hypothesis

Polar Wander Hypothesis

Wegeners Reconstruction of Apparent South Polar

Wander Path

NB : that Wegener believed that the continents moved, not the pole !

Polar Wander Hypothesis

From paleoclimatic evidence, Wegener
found that the apparent position of the
poles (and therefore equator) had
moved through geological time.
Possible interpretations:
Continents were motionless and poles
actually moved
Poles were motionless and continents
moved
Both occurred - most likely scenario

Wegeners Concept of Continental Drift and Orogenesis

Most geologists and geophysicists rejected Wegeners ideas

because they violated what was known about the strength of rocks.
Also, centrifugal force (from Earths rotation) along with tidal forces
were deemed to be too small to move the continents!

Paleomagnetism - Revival of Continental Drift

Apparent Geomagnetic Pole

Magnetic Polar Wander Paths

Best interpretation is that there was a single magnetic pole and

North America and Europe separated in the Late Triassic forming
the Atlantic Ocean basin

Goodness of Fit of the 100 m depth contour

Lithological
and age
correlation
for rock
units

Glacial
striae
Continental Shelves

Sea-Floor Spreading
Hesss Driving Force
Explanations

Plates and Plate Motion

Hess Heat Engine

Lithosphere vs. Asthenosphere

Passive Upwelling

How Do We Know that Plates

Move?
Marine Magnetic Anomalies
Magnetic Stripe Map

Another Test: Fracture Zones and Transform Faults

Euler Poles of Rotation

Measuring Plate Motion Directly

Space Geodesy
VLBI
GPS
DORIS

Marine Magnetic Anomalies

Magnetic Time Scale

Magnetic Stripe Formation at Ridge Crest

Age vs. Magnetic Polarization

Sea Floor Age Map

GPS Global Velocity Field

Typical GPS Time Series and SCIGN Mount

CGPS Site SCMS

JPL Time Series for Yellowknife, CA

Photo credit: http://www.scign.org/

Plates Move, it show a few plate

boundary ?
Convergence Boundary
Between oceanic crust vs continental crust

Divergent Boundary
Mid-oceanic Ridge

Transform Fault Boundary

Off-set between Mid-oceanic Ridge

Ocean - Continent Convergence

Divergent Boundary Earthquakes

Transform Boundary Earthquakes

Transforms vs. Fracture Zones

Convergent Margin Environment

TheAttractivenessof
PlateTectonics
What Causes Plate Motions?
Mantle Plumes and Hot Spots
Ridge Push
Slab Pull

The Relationship Between Plate

Tectonics and Ore Deposits

Ridge Push

Slab Pull

Trench Suction

Global Distribution of Putative Mantle Plumes or Hot Spots

Hawaiian Volcanics Age Progression

Hydrothermal Orogenesis and Divergent Plate Motion

Island Arc Orogenesis of Bedded Ore Deposits

Possible Relationship of Western US Ore Belts to Subduction

Geometry