EAS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Oceanic Basin, Volcanic Arc, Asthenosphere

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Course: EAS100
• Professor: Korhan

Document Summary

The earth"s surface is separated into huge plates of lithosphere that float on the. Tectonics: study of the movement and deformation of these plates. Topographic features on earth arise due to the motion and interaction of plates. 1508: leonardo da vinci discovered fossil seashells high in the italian mountains and reasoned that part of the seafloor must have been uplifted. 1700s: james hutton realized that such uplift would expose rocks to weathering and erosion. 1835: charles darwin experienced a great chilean earthquake that brought mussel shells 10 feet above the high water mark. 1914 alfred wegener published his continental drift hypothesis. Tried to explain the parallel shapes of the atlantic coastlines, matching glacial landscapes, mountain ranges, and plant and animal fossils on continents separated by ocean basins. Suggested that these landmasses were together in a single supercontinent. Presented his observations to support that the continents of today slowly drifted apart after having been disrupted and broken apart.