The curriculum traces the evolution of the theory of plate tectonics. Rather than sniders rapid horizontal motion an the scale of. Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of earth structures or tectonic features. Plate tectonic theory timeline timeline created by scienceclass2. A describe the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory. The earthscience revolution launched by the theory of plate tectonics is not finished. Each inquiry lab will contain an essential questions that will drive the lessons and make students think. Time line of the development of the theory of plate tectonics year event 1596 flemish mapmaker abraham ortelius noted that the coastlines of the continents appear to fit together.
These interactions produce volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, and ocean basins. Continental drift, seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. You will use a computer or other resources to construct a timeline that shows the key ideas and scientists that played a role in the development of our understanding of plate tectonics. Beginning in the 1950s, scientists like victor vacquier, using magnetic instruments magnetometers adapted from airborne devices developed during world war ii. The theory of plate tectonics, like every scientific theory, resulted from centuries of observations and compilation of many scientists works. The theory of plate tectonics geology lumen learning. The theory of plate tectonics represents a fairly young science. Hans stille and leopold kober opposed the idea of continental drift and worked on a fixist geosyncline model with earth contraction playing a key role in.
In the early 1960s, the emergence of the theoryof plate tectonicsstarted a revolution in the earth sciences. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics. List and describe the evidence for the plate tectonics theory. A brief introduction to alfred wegeners theory of continental drift, which would lay the groundwork for the development of plate tectonic theory, which essentially explains the geology of the. In the early 1960s, the emergence of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. Plate tectonics theory formulated the work of many scientists reveals that the earths surface is broken into several interconnected plates of rock. The historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory. New crustal plate is formed at the midocean ridges and.
However, after a less than a year since internet publication of the brochure, i decided to change its title to the one that better reflects its content, i. History of ocean basins, in which he developed his idea of seafloor spreading, a fore. Plate tectonic theory had its beginnings in 1915 when alfred wegener proposed his theory of continental drift. How does the historical development of evidence support the theory of plate tectonics. As years passed, more and more evidence was uncovered to support the idea that the plates. Describe the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory. Continental drift to plate tectonics timeline preceden. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory of the earth how did the theory develop. The earth surface has continuously been changing ever since it was formed, especially regarding the geomorphological and geological phenomena. Next introduction the outer layer of the earth is broken up into a number of different plates, that are constantly moving at a very slow speed next the study of the movement of these plates has led to a. As you read each paragraph, take notes about the key ideas in the. Plasienka geological institute, slovak academy of sciences, slovakia keywords.
The theory of plate tectonics explains the relative movement of crustal plates that are juxtaposed with each other to form an interlocking pattern of plate boundaries, oceanic trenches, mountain ranges, etc. The earliest references to this similarity were made in 1596 by flemish cartographer abraham ortelius and later in 1620 by the english philosopher francis bacon, in his. The theory of continental drift was the first step toward plate tectonic theory, which became the foundation upon which modern geology is built. Plate tectonics and its relationship to the evolution of ideas. With no known process to account for these patterns, a variety of. D describe how plate tectonics causes major geological events such as ocean basins, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building. If youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Plate tectonic theory explore historical development that supports plate tectonic theory in this presentation you will. New crustal plate is formed at the midocean ridges and old crustal plate is destroyed at deep ocean trenches. A theory proposed by alfred wegner in 1915 continents were once joined together forming a supercontinent named pangae meaning all land.
In this lab, students will explore artifacts supporting continental drift theory, then model continental drift. South america and africa can line up in a way that they fit perfectly together. The idea that the earths crust is made up of huge tectonic plates that are floating on an ocean of molten hot magma seemed too fantastic to be believed. This approach is meant to highlight the historical development of the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics plate tectonics is the concept that the surface of the earth is made of plates that move around and interact with each other. Timeline of the development of the theory of plate tectonics significant events in the development of the theory of plate tectonics are summarized in the table. Describe some of the events and pieces of evidence that led to the theory of plate tectonics. Presents the state of current research on the interrelationships between global tectonics and macroscale landscape development across a wide range of topics and study areas. The development of the theory is an excellent example of the cumulative nature of science and the scientifc.
Even though the theory of plate tectonics is now widely accepted by the scientific community, aspects of the theory are still being debated today. Plate tectonics from the late latin tectonicus, from the greek. All this evidence, both from the ocean floor and from the continental margins, made it clear around 1965 that continental drift was feasible and the theory of plate tectonics, which was defined in a series of papers between 1965 and 1967, was born, with all its extraordinary explanatory and predictive power. History of plate tectonics plate tectonic theory had its beginnings in 1915 when alfred wegener proposed his theory of continental drift. The continents are carried on some of these plates. Development of plate tectonic theory timeline preceden. The student knows that natural events can impact earth systems. I have developed curriculum from a historical perspective that addresses two particular units of study in earth science geologic time and plate tectonics. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly. Plate tectonic theory timeline timetoast timelines. Although the general idea of plate tectonics is now widely accepted, many aspects still continue to confound and challenge scientists. Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the earths lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today.
The outlines of the continents flanking the atlantic ocean are so similar that their correspondence was apparent as soon as accurate maps became available. If youre behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains. It explains plate tectonics as the driving force behind ongoing changes on earth. In the early 1960s, the emergence of the theoryof plate. Historical perspective on the evolution of plate tectonic theory.
Plate tectonics, theory dealing with the dynamics of earths outer shell that revolutionized earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding mountainbuilding processes, volcanoes, and earthquakes as well as the evolution of earths surface and reconstructing its past continents and oceans. The structure of the earth, plate tectonics and landforms. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. Since then, scientists have verified and refined this theory, and now have a much better understanding of how our planet has been shaped by platetectonic processes. This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or scrape against each other. Beginning at the edge of the continents we can recognize four principal depth. Although wegeners continental drift theory was later disproved, it was one of the first times that the idea of crustal movement had been introduced to the scientific community. Convection currentplate motion plate motion is thought to be caused by convection currents in the asthenosphere. Pdf to understand how plate tectonics became earths dominant mode of convection, we need to address three related problems. We would like to propose a catastrophic plate tectonics theory as a framework for earth history. Plate tectonics, theory dealing with the dynamics of earths outer shell that revolutionized earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding mountainbuilding processes, volcanoes, and earthquakes as well as the evolution of earths surface. It started as a hypothesis and had to be proven with hard evidence before being completely accepted by the scientific community.
Catastrophic plate tectonics a global flood model of earth. The father of plate tectonics, alfred wegener wasnt recognized when he proposed continental drift in 1912. The theory of plate tectonics explains all this, including the movement of the continents, better than wegeners theory. It includes contextualized experiences for stu dents such as telling stories, utilizing original historical texts, narratives, and essential. You will find out how this affected both scientists and society over time. Plate tectonics plate tectonics development of tectonic theory. The crust is made up of six major plates and a number of minor ones. Catastrophic plate tectonics theories, such as snider proposed more than a century ago, appear capable of explaining a wide variety of dataincluding biblical and geologic data which the slow tectonics theories are incapable of explaining. The presentation about plate tectonics is divided into 3 separate discussions. The last 10 years have witnessed a remarkable growth in interest in the relationships between global tectonics and the earths maroscale topographic features. Wegener proposed that the continents plowed through crust of ocean basins, which would explain why the outlines of many coastlines like south america and africa look like they fit together like a puzzle.
The new model of horizontal movement of the continents was called plate tectonics. Plate tectonics theory is taught in science classrooms around the world, but just 50 years ago it was a hotly contested theory. Accumulation of species distribution data theory of evolution technological innovations plate tectonics renaissance greek, roman, biblical 1600 1850 age of reason linnaeus, buffon, candolle, lamarck, lyell, forbes, sclater. But before any historical questions can be examined we need an outline of the theory as it now exists. Development of plate tectonic theory flashcards quizlet. Relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features. Harry hess at the beginning of the 1960s and subsequently, at the end of the decade. Create a timeline of the events leading to the theory of plate tectonics. Prior to the year 1900, most scientists that studied geology believed that the present position and shape of. Correspondingly, plate tectonic theory was developed during the late.
His evidence was that some parts of the world like. What we would like is a model sufficiently good to predict such things as the average speed of a plate and the average size of a plate. During the great world explorations of the 15th 16th centuries, cartographers. By definition, the word plate in geologic terms means a large slab of solid rock. Continental drift theory inquiry lab kesler science. Since the hotter material deep in the asthenosphere is less dense it will slowly rise, as it reaches the base of the lithosphere it begins to cool, become more dense, and will sink. Plate tectonics is the theory that unified earlier ideas of continental drift and seafloor spreading. This module describes how the work of alfred wegener, harry hess, and others led to our understanding of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics has proven to be as important to the earth sciences as the discovery of the structure of the atom was to physics and chemistry and the theory of evolution was to the life sciences. Abraham ortelius abraham ortelius, was the one who came up with the continental drift theory. Plate tectonics development of tectonic theory britannica. The motion in the mantle the asthenosphere is caused by convection currents. So we still lack what one might call the theory of the theory of plate tectonics.
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