Asthenosphere

Question: Describe in detail the three theories that were the predecessors to plate tectonic theory. Provide evidence of how features of the surface support the current, theory of plate tectonics describing the ways the tectonic plates interact and the result of their interactions. The Continental Drift Theory The Continental Drift can help the surface support the current by plowing through ocean basins. It also did not include seafloor spreading or subduction. So, that did not cause an…

Continental drift was an idea raised in early 17th century by Sir Francis Bacon, as he wrote of the apparent shoreline fit of opposite sides of the Atlantic which was much like pieces of a puzzle (Figure 1). The fit was computed by Sir Edward Bullard in 1960s later (Figure 2). Later in 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist who was the first to propose the continental drift theory with a mechanism, suggested that all the lands were once joined together as a supercontinent – Pangaea, which…

1.1 Juan de Fuca Ridge - case study In Salmi et al. (2014) they deployed thermal blankets in a 450-700m area of a segment on the Juan de Fuca Ridge to examine the effects of hydrothermal circulation on very young oceanic 2 crust. The Juan de Fuca Ridge is a tectonic spreading center located off the coast of Washing- ton in the United States. The ridge is considered an intermediate spreading ridge as it spreads 5.6-5.7 cm/yr.
Several methods exist to measure the heat flow, some measure the…

flat landscapes into a high chain of mountains, diverging oceanic floors create underwater ridges. Diverging plate boundaries spread plates due to the outward movement, contributed by the upwelling coming from forces originated in the mantle and asthenosphere. The water–magma (lava) interaction, and the diverging and converging forces help in the formation of underwater mountain chains called mid-ocean ridges (Christopherson and Birkeland 340,…

One of the subfields of seismology is to study how and why earthquakes occur. Predicting and projecting when, how, and why earthquakes occur can save millions of lives, while also saving billions in public taxpayer funds to rebuild after the damage. There are several types of gravitational forces that occur within the earth and cause earthquakes, such as plate tectonics and seafloor spreading. Understanding these actions can allow us to have better understanding of the causation of earthquakes.…

The crust will be the first destination on our Journey to the Center of the Earth tour. The crust will be our shortest part of the expedition, for it is only 16 kilometers thick -- 8 below the oceans, and 40 below the continents. Make sure to pack a hat and gloves, as well as flip-flops and sunscreen, because the crust’s temperatures range from whatever the temperature is on the surface of the Earth to 870 degrees celsius! The crust is mostly made up of solid granite and basalt (volcanic lava…

one another and bumping into each other. The reason is the surface of Earth or lithosphere (first two internal layers of Earth) consist tectonic plates which about 50 km to 140 km thick and continuously moving slowly upon a bed of magma in the asthenosphere (third internal layer of Earth) (Pasyanos, 2008). This sudden shift of the plates called fault plane produces a massive energy of waves above sea…

The theory that today's continents were once part of a more complex and large super-continent, also referred to as “Pangaea”, was first introduced by Alfred Wegener. Wegener, the German meteorologist and geophysicist, formally initiated the detailed hypothesis that the once intact, large, continent had slowly drifted to their present positions. Although others brought fourth evidence, plate tectonics processes and continental drift was not of interest until the late 1950s, when scientists…

As the ocean was created, and took over more than half the world, that was when life was given. Water is the source of all creation. Without water, life on earth would never exist. The ocean has given a home to so much life on our earth. It houses food for the ecosystem and for us humans. The earth is a water planet, even tho starting of as a molten rock planet the question still needs to be asked, what brought us to life. Evolution is what got us to. And the ocean and water, just happened to…

Subject of study: The subject of study is the formation of the Hawaiian archipelago. The island chain is comprised of a string of volcanic islands, seamounts of igneous rock of which the largest, Hawaii, reaches from its base on the ocean floor to rise above the ocean to rival the height of the tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. The smaller and extinct volcanos of the Hawaiian chain are located at successively greater distances from the currently active volcano and younger, Kilauea on the largest…