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Transcript
Wegener's hypothesis of Continental Drift lacked a geological mechanism to explain how the continents could drift across the earth's surface. PLATE TECTONICS It wasn’t until the 1960s that the theory of plate tectonics was advanced to explain how the continents could separate.. The main features of plate tectonics are: •Convection currents beneath the plates move the crustal plates in different directions. •The source of heat driving the convection currents is radioactivity deep in the Earth's mantle. Oh that’s it! I couldn’t figure that part out! Convection currents rise up from the radioactive core, carrying heat to the thin crust of the earth. In the 1960’s, U of T professor J. Tuzo Wilson completed his theory called “Plate Tectonics” after mapping the ocean floor. He discovered that the Atlantic gets larger each year. Oil deposits in Alberta and the Arctic. Oil originates from paleo-fish & algae which thrived in shallow, tropical, warm sea water. (must have been closer to the Equator) Coal in Antarctica and Nova Scotia Coal originates from ferns and plants which survived in hot and wet climates Palm tree fossils in Antarctica too NOTE: Plates slide: where two plates slip past one another. Eg:…..