Essay - Plate Tectonics Summary: This Paper Identifies and Argues That Plate...

PLATE TECTONICS

Summary: This paper identifies and argues that plate tectonics is responsible for changing continental landmasses through geological occurrences.

INTRODUCTION

***** of years ago the earth's surface has been hypo*****sized as one big landmass. The Earth's surface has been constant motion. "Fragmented into giant sheets of solid rock that glide atop a layer of hotter, more pliable material, the globe's appearance ***** forever changing." [Cowen, 1999]. These *****s are semi rigid, floated on flow of mantle. The plates measured around 50 miles, thickness of 25 miles on land and 4 miles thick under ***** oceans. *****ir movement was categorized by an average of a few inches a year. Even today, geologists ***** tect*****icists hypothesize the earth to continue this ***** in similar slow manner, even if we do not *****ice it. The plates' movement is called the Plate Tec*****nic Theory, a *****ory presented in 1912 but upheld in 1960.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

***** m*****in controversy in the Plate tectonic *****ory ***** that whether the movement of the plates has displaced landmass across ***** continents or not and ***** it is the sole reason for ***** change of the landmass or it is ***** atmospheric influence. ***** paper will help explain how Plate Tectonics has caused changes in ***** landmasses through geological occurrences.

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Plate *****

The concept of plate ***** is derived from mov*****g plates or the earth crust ***** its original location to some other parts of the world. The dynamic system of ***** plate tectonic have ***** responsible for the huge recycling system of the earth, by spreading ***** centers, thrusting the ***** down and melting the mantle to increase or subdue some ***** of ***** crust ***** change the ***** [Austin et al, 1994].

Most plate *****s evidence ***** found where volcanic eruptions ***** earthquakes occur. ***** chances ***** the formation of ***** from the earthquakes is ********** embedded in the ocean floor as molten rocks, rising out into the surface when the ***** ***** separated from the crust ***** not as a result of depos*****. For example in are***** around ***** Mid Atlantic Ridge, the plates are seen to have drifted apart but new oceanic crust is formed when molten ***** r*****e from ***** mantle [Price, 1999]. The Western side of S*****h American is another ***** of ***** of land surface where the boundary of two plates comes tog*****her to form a heavier crust. When ***** occurs, it forces the landmass to depress, under the lighter continental crust. A similar example ***** landmass changes is the San Andreas Fault, belonging to the North ***** Plate and Pacific *****. In th***** case the stick slip motion of the ***** is responsible for the eruption of earthquakes in California. Yet ***** instance of plate tectonic ***** the boundary in the Himalayas. The mounta*****s ***** uplifted from the impact of ***** Asian Plate and the Indian sub continent.

Scientists around the world however dispute the existent ***** of the hypothesis that the ***** ********** of the continents are