“Discuss the Extent to which volcanic and seismic activity are evidence for plate tectonic theory” (40)
“Discuss the Extent to which volcanic and seismic activity are evidence for plate tectonic theory” (40)
Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the structure and motion of the Earth’s lithosphere. The theory states that the Earth’s crust is split into large sections called tectonic plates, and these move relative to one another creating boundaries at which plates converge, diverge and move past each other. Alfred Wegener pioneered the theory of continental drift in the early 1900s which he supported with multiple pieces of evidence but his theory was never proven due to his lack of a mechanism on how they moved. He said that the pull of the moon (Lunar forces) could move the continents but physicist quickly proved that those forces were not strong enough to move the tectonic plates. Perhaps the earliest indicator of the theory was the apparent fit of some of the Earth’s continents; analysis of these coastlines, notably the eastern edge of South America and the western edge of Africa, first noticed by Sir Francis Bacon in 1620 when the first accurate maps of South America and Africa we being drawn. This suggested that at some point in the Earth’s history the landmasses were joined together. Another indicator that the continents were once distributed differently was geological evidence of glaciation in India – it is unlikely that glaciers could ever reach such low latitudes, but this can easily be explained by continental drift. Fossil distribution also provided some of the earliest evidence for plate tectonics. Glossopteris is a species of fern that can be found in Australia and Antarctica which is another solid piece of evidence that the continents are moving!
Harry Hess was the first person to create a detailed map of the ocean floor using sonar waves from a submarine. He and his staff sent out sonar waves along the Atlantic Ocean and recoded the time it took for the waves to bounce back off the sea bed. While doing this the discovered that some of the sea
Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the structure and motion of the Earth’s lithosphere. The theory states that the Earth’s crust is split into large sections called tectonic plates, and these move relative to one another creating boundaries at which plates converge, diverge and move past each other. Alfred Wegener pioneered the theory of continental drift in the early 1900s which he supported with multiple pieces of evidence but his theory was never proven due to his lack of a mechanism on how they moved. He said that the pull of the moon (Lunar forces) could move the continents but physicist quickly proved that those forces were not strong enough to move the tectonic plates. Perhaps the earliest indicator of the theory was the apparent fit of some of the Earth’s continents; analysis of these coastlines, notably the eastern edge of South America and the western edge of Africa, first noticed by Sir Francis Bacon in 1620 when the first accurate maps of South America and Africa we being drawn. This suggested that at some point in the Earth’s history the landmasses were joined together. Another indicator that the continents were once distributed differently was geological evidence of glaciation in India – it is unlikely that glaciers could ever reach such low latitudes, but this can easily be explained by continental drift. Fossil distribution also provided some of the earliest evidence for plate tectonics. Glossopteris is a species of fern that can be found in Australia and Antarctica which is another solid piece of evidence that the continents are moving!
Harry Hess was the first person to create a detailed map of the ocean floor using sonar waves from a submarine. He and his staff sent out sonar waves along the Atlantic Ocean and recoded the time it took for the waves to bounce back off the sea bed. While doing this the discovered that some of the sea