Plate Tectonics: Theory, Evidence, and Earth's Structure

This essay provides an overview of the plate tectonics theory, explaining that the earth's outermost layer is fragmented into moving plates. It discusses the theory's role in explaining earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and its historical development, including Wegener's contributions and the evidence from ocean floor exploration. The essay highlights the earth's structure (crust, mantle, and core) and how these layers influence plate tectonics. It also covers the scientific developments that led to the theory's acceptance, such as the ruggedness of the ocean floor, magnetic field reversals, seafloor spreading, and the correlation between earthquakes and volcanic activity. The essay emphasizes the link between geological processes on land and the dynamics of the ocean floor, including the discovery of magnetic striping and the recycling of the oceanic crust. The essay also includes citations from scientific literature.

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Plate tectonic is a relatively new scientific theory, which states that the outermost layer of
the planet earth is fragmented into dozens of very huge and tiny plates that are in motion relative
to each other as they move a top hotter and less viscous material. The theory also asserts that
before the current world. There was a preexisting large landmass. Plate tectonic is a little bit new
scientific concept. This theory brings together many branches of earth science such as
seismology and paleontology. This theory tries to give an explanation on the reason for the
occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions at specific places on the planet.
The theory further tries to assert the fact that the earth has been broken, divided into a
series of slabs. The theory tries to bring up the notion that the earth has always not been in the e
position that it is presently. According to Wegener Lothar, around 250 million years ago, the
earth started to split. Pate tectonic is an important part of the earth science whose evidence was
found on the ocean flow exploration that rekindled Wegner’s research (Marx, Werner, and Lutz
Bornmann. 595)
According to plate tectonic theory, rapid earthquake and volcanic eruptions are
concentrated near the boundaries since these regions of the earth are less thickly compared to
regions that are fur from the oceanic boundaries. Earlier the scientific community did not accept
the theory of plate tectonic since they saw it impossible for large solid rock to drift across the

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oceans. This theory was accepted into the scientific world after the death of Wegner who was
frozen to death in his attempt to come up with new evidence for his theory in the Greenland ice
cap. New evidence was found from explorations made on the ocean flow and other studies which
intern revived Wegner’s theory leading to development of the Plate tectonics (Landalf 47)
The earth is made up of three layers namely crust, mantle and core, which largely
influence the plate tectonic. From scientific evidence, the massive slabs of rock float despite their
tremendous weight due to the repeat clustering of the tectonic plates and separation. This theory
was largely debated off for decades before it was accepted. This was after the four primary
scientific developments that triggered plate-tectonics theory formulation. These developments
were; demonstrating the ruggedness of the floor of the ocean, confirming the repeat reversal of
the magnetic field of the earth in the past geology, the rise of the seafloor and associated
recycling of the oceanic crust and lastly the documentation of the earthquakes and volcanic
activities of the earth in line to its concentration along oceanic trenches.
From this theory, it has also become clear that most of the geologic processes that occur
on land are directly linked or indirectly related to the dynamics of the ocean floor. This theory
also facilitated the discovery of the varying magnetism across he bed of the ocean indicating that
the earth was not uniform. This further led to the discovery of the magnetic striping and
spreading and recycling of the oceanic crust.

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Works Cited
Landalf, Helen. “Tectonic Plate Movement.” Science Activities, vol. 35, no. 1, Spring 1998, pp.
14–16. .
Marx, Werner, and Lutz Bornmann. “The Emergence of Plate Tectonics and the Kuhnian Model
of Paradigm Shift: A Bibliometric Case Study Based on the Anna Karenina
Principle.” Scientometrics, vol. 94, no. 2, Feb. 2013, pp. 595–614.