Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 37 views

    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Rayniel Hernandez
    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Rayniel Hernandez
    37 views50 pages
    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    37 views50 pages

    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Rayniel Hernandez
    Pangaea Plate Tectonics

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 50

    PANGAEA AND

    PLATE TECTONICS
    OBJECTIVES
    • To know the concept of Pangaea and Plate
    Tectonics
    • To comprehend why the crust is continuously
    moving
    • To appreciate the sculptures on the earth’s
    crust due to continental movements
    • To perform an experiment in Pangaea and
    Plate Tectonics
    WHAT IS THIS?
    THIS IS NOT HOW EARTH LOOKS TODAY
    Earth ~200 million years ago
    Assembly of Pangaea
    Rodinia
    What is Pangaea?
    •Pangaea is a
    super continent
    that is said to
    have existed
    from the
    Permian through
    the Jurassic
    period in our
    earth’s history.
    The Earth’s crust is always moving!

    Pangaea

    Pangaea = Supercontinent (millions of years ago)


    Define Pangaea…
    • The word Pangaea comes from Greek words
    “pan” and “gaia”
    “pan” meaning “entire”
    “gaia” meaning “earth”

    • Therefore Pangaea literally means “Entire


    Earth.” Which seems fitting because it was
    composed of every land mass on the entire Earth!
    Since all the continents were joined in one land
    mass (Pangaea), the remaining area of our
    earth was covered in ocean!
    This ocean is referred to as, Panthalassa.
    Continental Drift: The gradual movement of
    the continents across the earth.

    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy


    The Continental Drift Hypothesis

    Proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1915.

    Supercontinent Pangaea started to break up about


    200 million years ago.

    Continents "drifted" to their present positions.

    Continents "plowed" through the ocean crust.


    Plate Tectonics
    • Sir Francis Bacon 1620:
    “It appears that South America and Africa fit
    together”
    • Antonio Snyder published a sketch in 1655
    showing S.A. and Africa together
    • Benjamin Franklin in 1782 said
    • “The crust of the Earth must be a shell floating on a fluid interior. Thus,
    the surface of the globe would be capable of being broken and disordered
    by the violent movements of the fluids on which it rested.”
    Plate Tectonics
    The theory of plate tectonics was first proposed
    by Alfred Wegener in 1910. Wegener noticed
    that the shorelines of the continents seemed to
    ‘fit together’
    like the pieces of a giant jig saw puzzle.
    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy
    • In 1915, The German geologist Alfred Wegener
    (1880-1930) proposed continental drift. Not
    accepted until the 1950’s!

    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy


    The shapes match.

    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy


    Wegener’s theory stated:

    1)The continents were once all together in one


    place forming a supercontinent, Pangaea.
    2)The continents broke apart and drifted to
    their present locations.
    FOSSILS!

    • The remains or impression of a prehistoric


    organism (living thing: plant, animal,
    footprint)
    Same fossils found on different
    continents

    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy


    • The Same rock structures on different
    continents

    Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy


    Today plate tectonics and continental drift are accepted as
    facts.
    Why? Let’s see the evidence!
    Continental Drift: Evidence

    Geographic fit of South America and Africa

    Fossils match across oceans

    Rock types and structures match across oceans

    Ancient glacial features


    Continental
    Drift:
    Evidence

    Tight fit of
    the continents,
    especially using
    continental
    shelves.
    Continental Drift: Fossil critters and
    Evidence plants
    Continental
    Drift:
    Evidence

    Correlation of
    mountains with
    nearly
    identical rocks
    and structures
    Continental
    Drift:
    Evidence

    Glacial features
    of the same age
    restore to a
    tight polar
    distribution.
    Continental Drift:
    Reactions
    Received well in Europe and southern
    hemisphere.

    Rejected in U.S., where scientists staunchly


    preferred induction (incremental progress built
    on observation) over what they perceived as
    speculative deduction.
    Continental Drift:
    Reactions

    •Lack of a suitable mechanism crippled continental drift’s


    widespread acceptance.

    •Conflict remained unresolved because seafloors were almost


    completely unexplored.
    The Rise of Plate
    Tectonics
    •Dredged rocks of the seafloor
    included only basalt, gabbro,
    and serpentinite—no
    continental materials.

    You might also like