Identify three different plate boundaries and list the outstanding features of each boundary. • List one natural event that occurs as a direct result of plate boundary interactions. . Compare and cont

The Creation of the Ocean Floor

SCI/209

The Creation of the Ocean Floor

One scientific speculation about the beginning of ocean water declares that as Earth developed from a gas and dust cloud more than 4.5 billion years ago, an enormous quantity of insubstantial elements such as oxygen and hydrogen became confined inside the liquefied inner part of the newly formed planet (Advameg, 2013). In the course of the first few billion years following planets formation, these basic gases emerged across thousands of miles of red-hot and liquefying rock to discharge on the Earth’s surface through fissures (long narrow cracks) and volcanoes.

Inside the earth and atop the exterior, the gas hydrogen joined oxygen developing water. Massive amounts of liquid blanketed the planet as an extraordinarily heavy atmosphere of water cloud. Close to the uppermost part of the atmosphere, where high temperature may possibly dissipate to outward reaches of the earth, water vapor concentrated to a liquid form and dropped into the stratum below, chilling the level. This atmospheric cool down procedure lasted till the initial precipitation dropped to the planet’s young exterior and flared into a misty haze. This came to pass as the creation of an astonishing downpour that through the course of time, progressively filled the ocean cavities.

There are three major classes of tectonic plate boundaries: divergent boundaries, covergent boundaries, and transform boundaries. The divergent boundaries outstanding features are fresh crust is produced as two or more plates tear away from one other. Oceans are generated and grow broader where plates deviate or pull apart. Seafloor expanding is a process in which the molten rock produces new ground underneath water. This progression takes millions of years to establish a 10 foot hill because growth fluctuates from two to 10 centimeters yearly. The convergent boundaries outstanding features are here crust is demolished and reprocessed back into the inside of the Earth as one plate descents under another. These are recognized as Subduction Zones - volcanoes and mountains are often discovered where plates come together. The kinds of volcanoes that can occur depend on the chemical composition of the molten rock that decides its fluidity. There are three kinds of convergent boundaries: Oceanic-Continental Convergence, Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence, and Continental-Continental Convergence (Platetectonics, 2010). The transform boundaries outstanding features are when two plates are skimming parallel by each other. These are additionally identified as transform boundaries or in addition normally called faults. The San Andreas Fault is the best known and considered the most lethal translational line.

One natural event that occurs as a direct result of plate boundary interactions is a tsunami. Plate tectonics are the secondary trigger of tsunamis. When a major seismic vibration occurs beneath a mass of water, the force from that tremble is released into the encompassing fluid. The energy expands out from its original location, moving through the water in the configuration of a swell growing larger into a wave. A tsunami wave presents insignificant threat out in the deep ocean. When the upsurge reaches coastline this is different story. The low pressure area of the gigantic wave hits land first, seen as the drawing of water away from the shoreline. Then the wave top strikes, with catastrophic consequences (Brown, 2013).

When comparing and contrasting the ideas behind plate tectonics and the theory of continental drift, one idea seems more plausible than the other. According to the theory of continental drift, the planet was made up of a lone continent through most of geologic period. That landmass finally separated and floated apart, shaping the seven continents seen today. The first widespread theory of continental drift was advocated by the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912. Wegener stated that the earth a long time ago had a supercontinent known as Pangea (Schafer, 2013). His theory was centered on four distinctive ideas. The first was the fit of the landmasses, fossil remains, rock variety, and paleoclimatic account (Johnson, 2013). The hypothesis emphasizes that the continents contain lighter rocks that lay on denser crustal matter, similar to how icebergs float on water. Wegener argued that the comparative positions of the landforms are not firmly fixed but are gradually shifting at a frequency of about one yard per century.

According to the largely acknowledged plate-tectonics theory, researchers think that Earth's surface is fragmented into a number of ever-changing wedges or plates, which average approximately 50 miles in thickness. These plates shift relative to one another atop a sweltering, cavernous, more moveable area at typical ratios as a few inches per year. A majority of the world's working volcanoes are beside or close to the boundaries amid ever-changing plates and are called plate-boundary volcanoes.

In conclusion other than the text a minimum of two outside sources were used as a reference credible websites and articles that support the findings. Identified three different plate boundaries and listed the outstanding features of each boundary. One natural event was listed that occurred as a direct result of plate boundary interaction. Compared and contrasted ideas behind plate tectonics and the theory of continental drift.

References

Advameg. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.scienceclarified.com/Mu-Oi/Ocean.html

Brown, L. (2013). Natural Disasters Caused by Plate Tectonics. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5516200_natural-disasters-caused-plate-tectonics.html

Clark, C. (2013). What Are the Theories of Continental Drift & Plate Tectonics. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8395474_theories-continental-drift-plate-tectonics.html

Johnson, C. (2013). Continental Drift, Plate Tectonics and Sea-Floor Spreading: A Critical Commentary. Retrieved from http://earthmatrix.com/symmetry/continental_drift_critique.htm

Pearson. (2013). Continental Drift and Plate-Tectonics Theory. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001765.html

Platetectonics. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_5.asp

Schafer, D. (2013). Continental Drift Theory Science Project Ideas. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8075408_continental-theory-science-project-ideas.html

Steeley, E. (2013). What Are the Three Types of Tectonic Plate Boundaries?. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8402363_three-types-tectonic-plate-boundaries.html

Watson, J. (2012). Understanding plate motions. Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html