The Earth's Interior
http://www.hcrhs.hunterdon.k12.nj.us/science/four.html
The crust is the top layer of the
Earth. Below it is the mantle, which
is made of rock material (upper part is solid, lower part is partly melted. The upper mantle and crust are called
the lithosphere. Below the mantle
is the core. The outer core is made
up of mainly liquid iron and nickel, while the inner core is solid.
Evidence for Continental Drift
- Alfred Wegener
( http://www.hcrhs.hunterdon.k12.nj.us/science/alfred.html ) collected evidence to explain the various shapes of the continents and how they were all
together at one time.
Biological Evidence
- fossil evidence was found on different continents, like mesosaurus, kannemeyerid
and lystrosaurus (see map on p. 383)
- along with the fossils and the interlocking shapes of the continents, Wegener concluded that the continents were
joined together as one supercontinent pangaea
(pangea).
(http://www.hcrhs.hunterdon.k12.nj.us/science/pangea.html )
- his explanation is called the Theory of Continental Drift.
Evidence from Rocks
Mountain ranges were also compared:
- the Appalacian in North America and the range in Britain and Norway were made of the same kind and age of rock
- Trilobites in the Himalayas suggested
that India was once part of Antarctica, which broke off and collided with Eurasia, putting the fossils of trilobites,
from the bottom of the sea, high into the Himalayans.
Geological Evidence of Climate
- coal provided more evidence, because in order for it to form, a rich tropical
plant environment must have been present - coal is found in moderate to cold climates
- evidence of even greater climatic changes were found in places likely covered by glaciers (these places are now
far too warm to support the presence of glaciers), this suggested that the continents may have once been part of
the south pole.
Response to Wegener
- after his findings were published, in a book called The Origin of the Continents
and Oceans, Wegener's ideas were rejected, because the scientific community did not agree with his assumptions
and explanation that the moon might be responsible for the movement of the continents.
- after his death, advances in new technology and the work of a Canadian Scientist led to a new theory that explained
Wegener's observations
Advances in New Technology
- sonar
(sound wave technology) identified the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- magnetometers (electronic instruments
that detect the direction and strength of a magnetic field) the magnetic field in the Atlantic sometimes pointed
south, instead of north (these were called reversal strips)
- igneous rock contains magnetite,
which lines itself with the Earth's magnetic field, as the rock hardens on the surface, the mineral particles maintain
their alignment with the magnetic field, indicating that the reversal strips must have formed at a different time
- the pattern of magnetic reversal strips along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge meant the sea floor was spreading, leading
to the Theory of Sea Floor Spreading.
(as new rock forms, it takes on the magnetic polarity of the the Earth at the time of formation)
Deep Sea Drilling
- confirmation of the theory of sea floor spreading was provided by the ship, Glomar
Challenger, which brought drill samples up from the ocean floor (younger rock was closer to the ridge and older
rock was closer to the continents)
- lava that cools very quickly on the ocean floor is called 'pillow lava'.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics
All the evidence collected indicates that the Earth's crust is broken up into plates
(see Figure 5.43, p. 390), which are moving on the Earth's mantle. The new theory is called the Theory of Plate Tectonics. Plates pushing together
are called converging plates, whereas
plates pulling aprt are called diverging plates. Tuzo J. Wilson (a Canadian Scientist) helped form this new theory, by suggesting the plates slide
past each other.
Convection Currents
- a convection current is the circular flow within a fluid that is caused by the rising of warmer particles and sinking of
cooler particles
- scientists believe it is this action, within the mantle, which is causing the plates to move
- the plates that collide, or converge have one plate above and the other below (these places are called subduction zones)
- subduction zones occur where the convection currents, in the mantle, cool and sink
Applications
- a unifying theory is one which explains several different natural events and landforms
(volcanoes, earthquakes and mountains)
- Sound Navigation and
Ranging (SONAR)
- self-contained underwater
breathing apparatus (SCUBA)
- Submersibles are small submarines that enable divers to go deeper, protecting them from the pressure of the water
- satellites and lasers are used to measure incremental change (change that happens slowly) in plate movements
- 'black smokers' are deep-sea (ocean
floor) vents, where tube worms use the sulphur from the vents as an energy source
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