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John Z. Smith Planet Earth Project Team Maloney/Maurone My Doctoral Dissertation on Plate Tectonics During the first semester it was proposed that I, John Zachariah Smith, would become the foremost leading expert on everything plate tectonics. I am not. However, I did manage to become a veritable sponge on the matter of plate tectonics absorbing all information that happened to cross my path thereby increasing my knowledge by ten fold and guaranteeing me full credit on this, my future plate tectonics masterpiece. After countless hours perusing various books at the library I found that the best way to learn about this wacky world we call plate tectonics is hands on. MUSEUM HO!!!!!! And so begins our journey into everything and anything that is plate tectonics. Hold on to your socks boys and girls, it is going to be a wild ride. The theory of plate tectonics states that earth’s outermost layer is made up of numerous giant slabs of rock. These giant plates vary in shape and size moving along a hotter material causing the plates to grind against each other. The plates are almost dancing with each other, a plate tectonics tango of sorts. This theory helps explain the idea of Pangaea. Pangaea is the theory that early on in earth’s history the continents were all joined together in a super continent. Many scientists found evidence that this so called Pangaea was a very strong possibility. Vegetation and animal fossils found in Antarctica seemed to prove that it was closer to the equator at some point. Also, glacial deposits were found in South Africa as well. Still, how could such giant pieces of rock move such far distances? Amtrak could clearly not be called upon to transport these suckers. There was something else at work, something that could not be seen by any old Joe Bagadonuts from Middletown, USA. The scientific world needed a superhero. Superman? The Green Lantern? Robin? Wonder Woman? Well, they would be nice but they would have to settle for Alfred Wegener. Wegener contended that Pangaea broke into two major landmasses around 200 million years ago. He spent his life trying to prove the theory of continental drift that is best explained by plate tectonics and eventually died crossing the Greenland ice cap in attempts to further prove his brilliant theory. He will be missed. Even to the untrained eye it can be seen that the continents almost look as if they are part of some sort of oversized floor puzzle on this restaurant ground we call Earth. The molten layer under the plates is the cause of why the plates shift. When two plates collide they can create earthquakes, mountains, or trenches. These plates are the cause of the earth’s bad complexion. Earthquakes are bad. After much research it was found that these “bad earthquakes” are caused near oceanic trenches and spreading ridges. This helped prove the theory that the seafloor is spreading and therefore slowly moving the plates further apart. What a breakthrough!!!!!!!! There are four types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, transform, and plate boundary zones. Divergent boundaries are boundaries in which plates are moving apart from each other and magma is pushing upwards causing new crust to be formed. Convergent boundaries are the places where the plates collide and sometimes sink under each other to form trenches or push upwards to form mountains. These boundaries explain why the Earth is not growing bigger. The earth is destroying crust just as fast as it is creating new crust. Transform boundaries occur when two plates merely slide horizontally to each other. These cause earthquakes and as stated above earthquakes are bad. And by bad I mean mega ultra uncool. Plate boundary zones are more difficult to explain because it is unclear what occurs at these boundaries. They occur over a broad area so it is harder to see direct effects of what is resulting. I learned a lot from my trip to the museum over break. So much in fact that it cannot be compiled into such a short assignment. I gave you the broad overview of the main facts because I fear that if I gave all that I learned it could not be comprehended. I literally absorbed too much information. The continental drift theory is a tricky one to grasp but my 859 IQ and me were able to grasp the main concepts. Plate tectonics is an exciting, mind-boggling, and delicious topic to discuss on my Planet Earth project. I understand if there is not a suitable grade to give this paper as to the fact that A++++++++++++++++++++++++++ would not be fair to the other students who attempted to match my intellectual prowess. So mind boggling in fact that I must take a nap as to not over exert my brain and myself…please hold…..OK I am back. Thank you for holding. Although there is some humor inserted in this project I hope you do realize that I did put effort into this and I did get information out of it.