Making the Pieces Fit: Seafloor Spreading
Alfred Wegener's hypothesis was rejected by many who felt it lacked a credible mechanism which could explain the continental movement hypothesized by Wegener. The notion of seafloor spreading, which suggested that new seafloor develops at oceanic ri...
Making the Pieces Fit: Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
Alfred Wegener proposed the idea of continental drift to explain the jigsaw puzzle fit of the continents. Wegner argued that the continents had all been joined together at one time as a super continent he called Pangaea. Wegener's ideas were initial...
Making the Pieces Fit: Confirming the Theory of Plate Tectonics
The theory of plate tectonics was initially accepted largely on the basis of indirect, paleomagnetic data. Eventually, however, it was confirmed through the use of GPS technology, which is able to actually measure plate motion.
Making the Pieces Fit: Significance of Plate Tectonics Theory
The evidence of plate tectonics takes many forms, from mountain ranges to oceanic ridges and volcanism It is widely considered to be a unifying theory that ties together a variety of scientific disciplines, including marine geology and geophysics, p...
Making the Pieces Fit: Coastlines and Jigsaw Puzzles
The scientific work that would eventually lead to the Theory of Plate Tectonics began with observations that the coastlines of Africa and South America are strikingly similar.
The Ocean's Memory: Sediment Distribution Patterns
While sediments of all varieties can be found almost anywhere in the marine environment, there are some very distinct distribution patterns.
The Ocean's Memory: Sediments and Earth's Magnetic Field
As with climate changes, there have been some unexplained aberrations in Earth's magnetic field during the recent past. Marine sediments provide important information that may help scientists better understand those aberrations.
The Ocean's Memory: Biogenous Sediments
While most sediments are terrigenous, there are other sediments that are also found in the marine environment. Biogenous sediments are those that form from the shells or skeletons of marine animals.
The Ocean's Memory: Terrigenous Sediments
Sediment is the debris that accumulates on the surface of the Earth as the result of chemical, physical and biological processes. Most sediment, known as terrigenous sediment, forms when rain falls on soil and washes it into rivers, which then carry...
The Ocean's Memory: Obtaining and Analyzing Sediment Samples
Despite its temporary nature, sediment remains uniquely valuable. As a result, oceanographers have worked hard to refine the process of obtaining and analyzing sediment samples.