PLATE TECTONICS

Trujillo and Thurman 10^th, Chapter 2; omit section 2.5 (looking to the future) and research methods “boxes” 2.1 and 2.2

Objectives: Students should be able to

1. discuss evidences supporting continental drift

2. discuss evidences supporting seafloor spreading

3. describe the basic principles of plate tectonic theory

4. describe characteristics of plate boundaries, especially those related to the seafloor

5. discuss evidences used to confirm that the seafloor is moving

CONTINENTAL DRIFT:

Evidences describe by Alfred Wegener

Objections from others

Information from rock magnetism

SEAFLOOR SPREADING

Ideas of Harry Hess

Ideas of Vine and Matthews

Other evidences

PLATE TECTONICS

Lithosphere broken into pieces called plates

Plates move over asthenosphere

Plates interact at their edges (called boundaries)

DIVERGENT

CONVERGENT

TRANSFORM FAULTS

CONFIRMATION FROM SEAFLOOR

age of seafloor

age of certain island chains – hotspots/mantle plumes

coral reef development

satellites now detect motion