(Early1900s)ContinentalDriftthehistoricalprecursortoPlateTectonics

(1960s)PlateTectonicsAScientificRevolutionintheEarthSciences;
TheEarthsoutermostrockylayerisdividedintoasmallnumberofirregularlyshaped
Plates,whichmoveasiftheyareinternallyrigid,henceallofthemotionattheEarthsSurface
occursatPlateBoundaries:
3types:Divergent(midoceanridgespreadingcenters)
Transform
Convergent(subductionzones)
MostearthquakesoccuratPlateBoundaries.Weuseearthquakestofindanddetermine
thePlateBoundariesandthusthemajorTectonicPlates.
Volcano:Mt.Ranier&Tacoma,WA
Mt.FujiincentralHonshu,Japan
ManyoftheworldsvolcanosarelocatedinbeltsthatparallelmanyPlateBoundaries.
Mountains:manyvolcanosaremountains,buttherearealsoothertypes:
Tetons(Wyoming)
Himalayas
Alps
Seismologythestudyofearthquakes,seismicwaves,andrelatedphenomena
Modernseismologystartedinthe1880s
Seismicwavesradiatefromthefocusofanearthquake
Goodqualityseismographswereinventedanddeployedfrom1889topresent
Earthsstructure:Crust,mantle,liquidoutercore,solidinnercore
Crust:composedofContinental(Granitic,officiallyAndesite),35kmdeepandOceanic
(Basalt)
Mantle:mantlerocks,officiallyPeridotite
(Intheearly1900s,manypeoplethoughttheoceanicbasaltlayercontinuedbeneaththe
continentalcrust)
Mostfamousearlyseismologistswhodeterminedcompetingwholeearthseismologicalmodels:
SirHaroldJeffreysCambridge,England
BenoGutenberg
Arockisanaturallyoccurringaggregateofmineralsandothersolidmaterial.
Usually,thereareseveralmineralsintheaggregate,thoughsomerocksmayonlyhave
one.
Theothermaterialsmayinclude:naturalglasses,organicmaterial(lignite,coalor
petroleum),orfossils.

Amineralisanaturallyoccurringinorganicsolid,withadefinitechemicalcompositionandan
orderedatomicarrangement.(ex:quartzSiO2,potassiumfeldspar,etc.)
IgneousRockscrystallizefrommagma.
FormedbyMelting
SedimentaryRocksaremostlymadeatEarthssurface
FormedbyWeatheringandErosion
Ex:CoastalMudFlat,Limestone
MetamorphicRocksareformedwhennewmineralsgrow
FormedbyHeatandPressure
Ex:Marble
GeologicTimeScale:
Hadean(Oldest)
Archean
Proterozoic
Paleozoic
Mesozoic

GondwanaLandBridgeswerepaleontologistsfirstexplanationforthegeographicdispersion
ofspeciesacrossregionsthatarenowdeepoceans.
ProposedinWegenerstime.
AlfredWegenerproposedContinentalDrift.
(Early1900s)
OneofthemostimportantPhilosophicallawsintheUniverseisOccamsRazor(Simplestis
Best).
Somerockfeaturesofaglacier:
Lateralmoraines,medialmoraines,endmoraines,terminus,recessionalmoraine,
groundmoraine,terminalmoraine,outwash
Geologistsabletomaptheedgesoftheicesheetasafunctionoftime
Ourcurrenticeage:1.8millionyearsagotopresent(Cenozoic)
Previousiceage:300millionyearsago(Paleozoic)
Isostasy:theequilibriumthatexistsbetweentheearthscrustandunderlyingmantle

Willriseifmaterial(suchasanicecap)isremovedandsinkifmaterialisdeposited
TheEarthsmantlecanflowtoaccommodatecrustalloads.
Maxverticalvelocityisfasterthan1cm/year
Allgeologistsandgeophysicistsacceptedisostasyandglacialloading&unloading
Mantleconvectionrequiresbothverticalandhorizontalvelocities.
3modesofenergytransfer:
Convectionwarmwaterrises,coolerwaterdescends
Radiation
Conduction
ArthurHolmes(1944)arguedforContinentalDrift.
Offersamechanism
Paleomagnetism:Oneofthekeyearlydiscoverieswasthattheapparentlatitude(asmeasured
byPaleomagneticdipangle)changedthroughgeologictimeataparticularsite
Ifyoumeasurethepaleomagneticvectorinrocksoldenough(olderthan700,000years),the
magneticfieldisreversed.
Matayuma:Inthe1920sand1930sprovedtheoriginalconcept
Cox&Dalrymple:Inthe1950sand1960sassignedabsoluteGeologicagestothe
patternofmagneticreversals.
KeithRuncorn,1950s:TheApparentPolarWanderCurvesforEurope&N.Americaare
different.
ArguedthatContinentalDriftwasnowprovenquantitatively
HarryHessdiscoveredmanyseamountsduringWWII.
Oceanographersweremakingmagneticfieldmeasurements,andtheydiscoveredtheseafloor
magneticstrips.
Interpretedashavingbeenproducedbybeltsofbasalt(1950s)
StripesacrosstheMidAtlanticRidge
Vine&Matthews
1963Hypothesis:Radicalnewideathatthebasalticmagmacomesupatjustoneplace.
ViewedasthefirstdiscoveryideaofPlateTectonics(seafloorspreading)

Oceanographerswereeventuallyabletodetermineseaflooragefrommagneticmeasurements
J.T.Wilson,early1960s:RealizedthatseafloorspreadingattheRidgeCrestsonlyrequires
thattheportionofthefracturezonebetweentheridgesisactive
Isacks,Sykes&Oliver,1968:discoveredsubductionzones,arguablythemostcomplexPlate
boundary.
RadiusoftheEarth:3,959mi