Download 174 CONTINENTS AND THEIR MOVEMENT B.J. Taygushanov, E.V.

CONTINENTS AND THEIR MOVEMENT
B.J. Taygushanov, E.V. Efremov
Scientific advisor associate professor N.Y. Gutareva
National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk,
Russia
The aim of this work is to consider different views on history continents
and their movement.
Hypothesis of a constant position of the continents and ocean has
dominated in geological science for a long time. Previously, it was thought that
they both have appeared hundreds of millions of years ago and never changed
their position.
Some scientists have questioned the validity of these assumptions in the
late XIX - early XX century, and began to express the idea of the unity of the
continents in the geological past, now is separated by vast oceans. These
scientists, as many people have found themselves in a quandary because they
had no evidence of an assumption. Indeed, if the vertical oscillations of the
earth's crust can be explained by some internal forces (exposure to heat from the
Earth), the movement of vast continents on the earth's surface is difficult to
imagine .
The theory of continental drift proposed German geophysicist Wegener at
the beginning of XX century. He suggested took the idea of the possible
movements of the continents, which he noticed with studying the map of the
world . He was struck by a surprising similarity coastline of South America and
Africa.
Figure 1. Map of the world
Wegener and his supporters gave four groups of independent evidence:
the geomorphological, geological, paleontological and paleoclimatic to prove the
theory of motion of the continents. Wegener suggested that about 250 million
years ago, all the continents were grouped into a single giant supercontinent –
174
Pangaea. Given supermaterik consisted of two parts. It was located in the north
Laurasia, which united Eurasia (excluding India), and North America, and in the
south – Gondwana from South America, Africa, Indo, Australia and Antarctica
[1].
Strong evidence for the existence of Pangea, Gondwana and Laurasia
were obtained by Wegener, after summarizing the paleoclimatic data. At that
time it has already well known that almost all the southern continents traces of
the largest ice sheet, which occurred about 280 million years ago. Glacial
formations in the form of fragments of ancient seas, glacial relief forms residues
and traces of glacier movement have known in South America (Brazil,
Argentina), South Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica. It is hard to imagine
how the current situation in the continents would be icing almost simultaneously
as far away from each other districts. Furthermore, most of these regions and
glacial currently located in the equatorial latitudes.
Opponents of the movement of the continents of the hypothesis presented
the following arguments. In their opinion the continents were at a significantly
higher level than at present, hypsometric position, which led to the emergence
within them of ice and snow. After all, nowadays Mount Kilimanjaro has many
years of snow and ice. However, in practice it is unlikely that the total height of
the continents in that distant time was 3500-4000 m for this assumption no valid
reason, as in this case, the continents were subjected to intense erosion and their
framing had to accumulate thick coarse-grained material, such savings in finite
pools of Mountain Rivers. In fact, on the shelf of the continents deposited a finegrained bed of precipitation.
The most reasonable explanation for this unique phenomenon, that is,
being in the modern equatorial and tropical regions of the Earth's ancient seas, is
that 260 - 280 million years ago the continent of Gondwana, consisting of the
collected together in South America, India, Africa, Australia and Antarctica was
in high latitudes, near the geographic South pole.
Opponents of this hypothesis could not imagine how the continents
traveled long distances. Wegener also explained this to the movement of
icebergs, which was carried out under the influence of centrifugal forces due to
the rotation of the planet .
Due to the simplicity and clarity, and above all, convincing presented in
the defense of the hypothesis of continental drift, it quickly became popular in
the scientific community. However, after the success of the crisis came soon
enough. Home critical of Wegener's hypothesis put Geophysics, which received
a large number of facts and physical contradictions in the chain of evidence
moving continents. This allowed them to demonstrate the method and causes
weakness of continental drift, and by the early 40s, this hypothesis has lost
almost all of their supporters. To the 50-th years of XX century, most geologists
thought that the hypothesis of continental drift should be permanently
abandoned and can only be considered as one of the ironies of history of science
who have not received the confirmation and has substained the test of time.
The theory of continental drift was rejected by the West. It was negatively
perceived, and it prevails in the Soviet school of geology. The main proponent
175
of the concept of fiksizma sharply denied mobilistic concept was MA Usov,
defenНОН ЭСО «pЮХsКЭТШЧ СвpШЭСОsТs» ШП РОШХШРТМКХ ОЯШХЮЭТШЧ ШП ЭСО EКrЭС. TСТs
situation prevailed until the early 1970s, when mobilism was revived on the
basis of compelling evidence in the form of the concept of plate tectonics (the
new global tectonics) [2].
The revived the hypothesis of continental drift was called plate tectonics.
These plates slowly move across the surface of our planet. Their thickness is
sometimes as high as 100-120 km, but more often is 80-90 km. Lithospheric
plates on Earth a little ( Fig. 2) – eight large and about a dozen smaller ones. The
latter is often referred to as microplates. Two large plates are located within the
Pacific Ocean and are thin and easily permeable oceanic crust. The Antarctic,
Indo- Australian, African, North American, South American and Eurasian
lithospheric plates have continental crust. They have different edges (borders).
In those cases where the plates diverge, the edges called divergent. Because they
differ in the cracks (rift zone) flows mantle material. It freezes on the surface of
the bottom and increasing oceanic crust. New portions of mantle material
extending rift zone, which makes moving lithospheric plates. Pushing them on
the spot formed the ocean, the size of which increases all the time. This type of
fixed boundaries of modern oceanic rift cracks along the axes of mid-ocean
ridges.
Figure 2. Modern lithospheric plates of the Earth and the
Knowing the location of the poles and speed of the modern movement of
lithospheric plates moving apart and the speed of absorption of the ocean floor,
it is possible to chart a path of movement of continents in the future and present
their position in a period of time [3.]
This forecast was made by American geologists R. Dietz and J. Holden.
After 50 million years, according to their assumptions, the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans will grow through the Pacific, Africa will shift to the north and thus
gradually eliminated the Mediterranean Sea. Gibraltar will disappear, and the
176
«ЭЮrЧТЧР» SpКТЧ аТХХ МХШsО ЭСО BКв ШП BТsМКв. AПrТМК аТХХ spХТЭ ЭСО AПrТМКЧ RТПЭ
Valley and the eastern part of it will shift to the north- east. Red Sea is so
enlarged that separates the Sinai Peninsula from Africa, Arabia will move to the
north- east and close the Persian Gulf. India is increasingly will hang in Asia,
which means that the Himalayas are growing. California on the San Andreas
Fault separates from North America, and in this place will begin to form a new
ocean basin. Significant changes occur in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia
crosses the equator and come into contact with Eurasia. This forecast requires
considerable refinement. Much information still remains controversial and
unclear.
Having considered this work can be seen that in Wegener's theory laid the
beginnings of the current theory of the "movement of the lithospheric plates."
References
1. Hallam, E. The great geological controversy = Great geological controversies.
- Moscow: Mir, 1985. - 216 p.
2. Koronovskii NV. General Geology. Moscow, Moscow State University, 2002.
– 115 .
3. Yasamanov NA. Modern Geology. Moscow: Nedra, 1987. - 191 p.
BACTERIA AS A KIND OF LIVING ORGANISM
L. I. Khudyakova
Scientific advisor associate professor, A. P. Astashkina
associate professor, Y. V. Kolbysheva
National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk,
Russia
The wildlife of our planet is wonderfully rich and diverse. The concept of
"biological diversity" or briefly "biodiversity" covers all types of living
organisms on the Earth – from the smallest bacteria to giant sequoias, from
earthworms to eagles. All life forms on the Earth set a comprehensive
interrelated system, which also includes the elements of an inanimate nature.
Living organisms depend on the components of the environment such as an
atmosphere, oceans, fresh water sources, different soils and rocks. This united
biological system is called the biosphere and a man is an integral part of it.
Biodiversity embraces all types of bacteria and other microorganisms. Many of
them are known to be involved into the important chemical processes necessary
for a normal functioning of ecosystems. The biodiversity in particular includes
green plant photosynthesis which absorbs the solar energy and stores it in the
form of carbohydrates – the main source of energy for most other organisms,
and release oxygen. In this article we deal with bacteria.
Bacteria are micro-organisms that have a cellular texture. The diameter of
a bacterial cell is about 1 micron. Cell dimensions can vary from 0.1 to 10
microns. Bacteria are single-celled organisms; they can be seen only under a
177