GEOTECTONICS

BS Geology(4th semester) BAHRIA UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF PLATE TECTONICS

Historical Perspective
The theory of plate tectonics has largely been developed since 1967 but the history of ideas concerning the mobilist view of the earth extends back considerably longer The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth s outermost layer is fragmented into a dozen of large & small plates that are moving relative to one another on the top of mobile asthenosphere.

Before the advent of plate tectonics ,however, some people already believed that the present day continents were the fragmented pieces of preexisting larger landmasses (supercontinents). Plate tectonics is the relatively new scientific concept, introduced in the 19th centuary. The theory has unified the study of the earth by drawing together many branches of earth sciences, from paleontology to seismology.

Plate tectonics theory has provided explanation to the distribution of earthquakes & volcanic active zone around the globe.

Abraham Ortelius(1527-1598)
He was the first to note the similarity & suggest an ancient separation in 1756. He suggested that the Americas were torn away from Europe & Africa by earthquake & floods .

Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 June 28, 1598) was a Flemish cartographer and geographer, generally geographer, recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World). He is also believed to be the first person to imagine that the continents were joined together before drifting to their present positions.

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

Sir Francis Bacon:

In 1620, he commented on the similar form of the west coasts of Africa & South America. He also noted the similar configuration of the New & Old world, both of which are broad & extended towards the north, narrow & pointed towards south.

Sir Francis Bacon

Theodor Christoph Lilienthal:

Theodor Christoph, Professor of Theology at Konigberg in Germany, also note A fit of Atlantic Coasts of South America & Africa & Suggest that they might once have been side by side

Alexander Von Humbolt:

The German explorer Humbolt also noted the geometric & geological similarities of the opposing shores of the Atlantic but also suggested that the Atlantic ocean was formed by catastrophic event.

Catastrophism Vs Uniformitarianism
Catastrophism Uniformitarianism The principle that states that geological change occurs over long periods of time, by sequence of almost imperceptible events. In addition, processes and scientific laws operating today also operated in the past and thus past geologic events can be explained by forces observable today.

A principle that states that catastrophic events have been important in Earth history and modify the path of slow change.

In the mid of 19th centuary concept of catastrophism is replaced by that of uniformitarianism or actualism as proposed by the Scottish geologist James Hutton in 1785. The Principle of uniformity is commonly stated as: The present is Key to the past

James Hutton

It means that slow processes going on at & beneath the Earth s surface today have been going on throughout geological time & have shaped the surface record. However the geologic forces & processes are gradual as well as catastrophic, acting on the Earth today are the same as those that have acted in the geologic past.

For the first time it was considered that drift is taking place today & has take place at least through the past 100-200 Ma of Earth history. In this way drift was considered to account for the geometric & geological similarities of the trailing edges of the continents around the Atlantic & Indian oceans & the formation of the young fold mountain systems at their leading edges.

Continental drift

Continental drift & Alfred Wegner s Theory

In 1912, the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930), first proposed the theory of continental drift , which state that parts of the Earth s crust slowly drift atop of a mobile asthenosphere. Wegener detailed much of the older, predrift, geological data & maintained that the continuity of older structures, formations & fossils faunas & floras across present continental shorelines was more readily understood on predrift reconstruction.

Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880(1880-1930), the originator of the theory of continental

Wegener hypothesized that all the continents were assembled into supersontinents 200 Ma ago, which he named Pangaea , meaning All earth . Pangaea was a supercontinent consisting of all of Earth s land masses. It existed from Permian to Jurassic periods. It began breaking up during the Jurassic period, forming two supercontinents

Pangaea (all earth)

Laurasia
(from Laurentia,a region of Canada & Asia )

Gondwanaland
(literally land of Gonds, after an ancient tribe of northern India)

Laurasia:
It is the northern portion of supercontinents & consists of North America, Greenland, Europe & Asia.

Gondwanaland It is the southern portion of Supercontinent & include South America, Antarctica, Africa, Madagascar, India & Australia.

These two supercontinents was separated by palaeo-Thethys ocean (after the Greek goddess of the sea). The ocean surrounding them was Panthalassa (literally all ocean ).

Alfred Supercontinents

Position of Continents in different periods

Wegener proposed his Continental drift hypothesis in book Die Entstehung der kontinente und ozeane (The origin of continents & oceans)

Drawbacks of Alfred Wegener s Theory

Lack of plausible driving force was missing. Wegener suggested that continents drift occurred in response to the centripital force experienced by the continents because of the Earth s rotation but it is not true

Wegener s theory vindication

Although Wegener s continental theory was rejected during his life time due to lack of reasonable mechanism for continental drift. Later on, the British geologist Arthur Holmes championed the theory of continental drift & proposed that continents were moved by convection current powered by the heat of radioactive decay.

However, after his death, new evidence from ocean floor exploration and other studies rekindled interest in Wagener's theory, ultimately leading to the development of the theory of plate tectonics

Evidences of Continental drift

Wegener devoted his life to doggedly pursuing additional evidence to defend his theory. The evidence used by Wegener, du Toit, and others to support the hypothesis of continental drift are as follow;

1)GEOMETRICAL FIT OF CONTINENTS

Wegener, like some before him, was impressed by the close resemblance between the coastlines of continents on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, particularly between South America and Africa. He argued that continents are fit together like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

He cited these similarities as partial evidence that the continents were at one time joined together as a supercontinent that subsequently split apart.

As his critics pointed out, though, the configuration of coastlines result from erosional and depositional processes and therefore is continually being modified. So even if the continents had separated during the Mesozoic Era, as Wegener proposed, it is not likely that the coastlines would fit exactly.

A more realistic approach is to fit the continents together along the continental slope where erosion would be minimal.

In 1965 Sir Edward Bullard, an English geophysicist, and two associates showed that the best fit between the continents occurs along the continental slope at a depth of about 2,000m. Since then, other reconstructions using the latest ocean basin data have confirmed the close fit between continents when they are reassembled to form Pangaea.

2)Similarity of Rock Sequences and Mountain Ranges If the continents were at one time joined, then the rocks and mountain ranges of the same age in adjoining locations on the opposite continents should closely match. Such is the case for the Gondwana continents. Marine, non-marine, and glacial rock sequences of Pennsylvanian to Jurassic age are almost identical for all five Gondwana continents, strongly indicating that they were joined together at one time.

The continuity of Paleozoic fold belts across the assembled Laurasia & Gondwanaland also support the hypothesis of continental drift. The continuation of Appalachian fold belt of North America with the Caledonian fold belt of northern Europe was noted. Similarly the sedimentary deposits associated with these fold belts also supported theory.

The grain size & chemical composition of the sediments can be used to determine the nature & direction of the source. The source of the sediments in Caledonian fold belt of northern Europe lies to the west in location now occupied by Atlantic ocean, indicate that in past both continents were side by side.

3) Age provinces
The correlation of the patterns of ages across the southern Atlantic is also noted. He observed similar rock units up to Jurassic.

4) Igneous provinces
The igneous rocks of similar age can be traced b/w various continents. This consists of both extrusive & intrusive e.g. the Mesozoic dolorites spread through Africa, Antarctica, America.

4) Glacial Evidence
During the Late Paleozoic Era, massive glaciers covered large continental areas of the Southern Hemisphere. Evidence for this glaciation includes layers of till (sediments deposited by glaciers) and striations (scratch marks) in the bedrock beneath the till.

Fossils and sedimentary rocks of the same age from the Northern Hemisphere, however, give no indication of glaciation. Fossil plants found in coals indicate that the Northern Hemisphere had a tropical climate during the time that the Southern Hemisphere was glaciated.

All of the Gondwana continents except Antarctica are currently located near the equator in subtropical to tropical climates. Mapping of glacial striations in bedrock in Australia, India, and South America indicates that the glaciers moved from the areas of the presentday oceans onto land. This would be highly unlikely because large continental glaciers flow outward from their central area of accumulation toward the sea.

If the continents did not move during the past, one would have to explain how glaciers moved from the oceans onto land and how large-scale continental glaciers formed near the equator. But if the continents are reassembled as a single landmass with South Africa located at the south pole, the direction of movement of Late Paleozoic continental glaciers makes sense.

Furthermore, this geographic arrangement places the northern continents nearer the tropics, which is consistent with the fossil and climatological evidence from Laurasia.

5) Fossil Evidences
Some of the most compelling evidence for continental drift comes from the fossil record.

a)Glossopteris flora
Glossopteris, a tree-like plant from the Permian through the Triassic Period. It had tongue-shaped leaves and was about 12 ft (3.7 m) tall. It was the dominant plant of Gondwana.

Eduard Suess was an Austrian geologist who first realized that there had once been a land bridge between South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica. He named this large land mass Gondwanaland (named after a district in India where the fossil plant Glossopteris was found). The present-day climates of South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica range from tropical to polar and are much too diverse to support the type of plants that compose the Glossopteris flora.

Distribution of Glosspteris

b)Mesosaurus
It is freshwater reptile whose fossils are found in Permian-aged rocks in certain regions of Brazil and South Africa and nowhere else in the world. Because the physiology of freshwater and marine animals is completely different, it is hard to imagine how a freshwater reptile could have swum across the Atlantic Ocean and found a freshwater environment nearly identical to its former habitat.

Mesosaurus

Moreover, if Mesosaurus could have swum across the ocean, its fossil remains should be widely dispersed. It is more logical to assume that Mesosaurus lived in lakes in what are now adjacent areas of South America and Africa, but were then united into a single continent.

c) Lystrosaurus and Cynognathus

Both are land-dwelling reptiles that lived during the Triassic Period; their fossils are found only on the present-day continental fragments of Gondwana. Because they are both land animals, they certainly could not have swum across the oceans currently separating the Gondwana continents. Therefore, the continents must once have been connected.

d) Polar dinosaurs
Recently, paleontologists (specialists in studies of fossils) have carefully studied some well-preserved dinosaur remains unearthed at Dinosaur Cove, at the southeastern tip of mainland Australia. Dinosaurs found in most other parts of the world are believed to have lived in temperate or tropical regions, but these Australian species, popularly called "polar" dinosaurs, seemed well adapted to cooler temperature conditions.

They apparently had keen night vision and were warm-blooded, enabling them to forage for food during long winter nights, at freezing or sub-freezing temperatures. The last of the dinosaurs became extinct during a period of sharp global cooling toward the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago). The discovery of the polar dinosaurs clearly suggests that they survived the volcanic winter that apparently killed other dinosaur species.

Paleontologists do not have the answers. Regardless, this recently acquired paleontologic evidence convincingly demonstrates that Australia has drifted north toward the equator during the past 100 million years. At the time when the Australian polar dinosaurs thrived, their habitat was much farther south, well within the Antarctic Circle.

Approximately 100 million years ago, the Dinosaur Cove area (small red outlined boxes) at the southern end of Australia was well within the Antarctic Circle, more than 40 degrees closer to the South Pole than it is today.

Palaeoclimatology & continental drift

Palaeoclimatology
It is the study of ancient climates. It may be used to demonstrate that continents have drifted at least in a northsouth direction.

Factor controlling climate

Climate

Latitude

Wind direction & ocean currents

Elevation & topographic barriers

1) Carbonates & reef deposits

Condition: restricted to warm water Latitude range: within 30 of the equator at the present day. Temperature range: 25-30 C

2) Evaporites
Conditions: formed under hot arid conditions in regions where evaporations exceeds sea water influx/precipitation. Latitude: arid subtropical high pressure zones b/w about 10 & 40

3) Red-beds
Condition: hot climate Latitude: < 30

Coal & oil

Condition: warm humid climate is necessary for accumulation & degradation of organic matter. Latitude: < 30 .

5) Glacial deposits
Latitude: within 30 of pole The result of applying these palaeoclimatic techniques strongly indicate that continents have changed their latitudinal position throughout geological time.