Evaluate How Plate Tectonics Theory Helps Our Understanding of the Distribution of Seismic and Volcanic Events
The plate tectonic theory is the theory that describes large amounts of movements in the Earths lithosphere, whereby Continental and Oceanic crust is moved, destroyed and made from this. The idea of plate tectonics builds on other concepts such as continental drift, where continental plates over millions of years move, however the concept of continental drift was not accepted for some time, and there were many other theories to suggest that something else took place, as the idea of the earth moving was not accepted until it was clear from things such as maps and satellites which clearly show how continents such as south America and Africa used to fit together.
Pangaea was a supercontinent that formed around 300 million years ago and began to break apart around 200 million years ago, during the times of the Pangaea of the land was on one continent and all of the sea was one giant ocean. This theory was coined during a 1927 symposium discussing Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, he posed the idea that prior to the breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all of the continents had at one time been a single supercontinent as seen pictured on the right. The breaking and forming of the supercontinents appears to have been cyclical through the Earth’s history. Alfred Wegeners theory talked about how icebergs may behave the same as moving continents, and how therefore plate tectonics caused the movement of continental crust.
Holmes on the other hand had a theory that heat was trapped in the Earths convection currents, he used seismic profiling which is throwing explosives in to the sea and seeing how they would react to see the shape of the sea bed, as this would show the shape of the oceanic plates, however Holmes was wrong with his theory as he did not understand that the solids within the Earths mantle could flow, this causes convection currents and therefore allows the plates to move.
In 1962 Harry Hess who is considered as one of the
Pangaea was a supercontinent that formed around 300 million years ago and began to break apart around 200 million years ago, during the times of the Pangaea of the land was on one continent and all of the sea was one giant ocean. This theory was coined during a 1927 symposium discussing Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, he posed the idea that prior to the breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all of the continents had at one time been a single supercontinent as seen pictured on the right. The breaking and forming of the supercontinents appears to have been cyclical through the Earth’s history. Alfred Wegeners theory talked about how icebergs may behave the same as moving continents, and how therefore plate tectonics caused the movement of continental crust.
Holmes on the other hand had a theory that heat was trapped in the Earths convection currents, he used seismic profiling which is throwing explosives in to the sea and seeing how they would react to see the shape of the sea bed, as this would show the shape of the oceanic plates, however Holmes was wrong with his theory as he did not understand that the solids within the Earths mantle could flow, this causes convection currents and therefore allows the plates to move.
In 1962 Harry Hess who is considered as one of the