Seafloor Spreading and Plate Tectonics (Part 2)
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater talks about the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the confirmation of magnetic reversals that provided strong evidence of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.
Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Distribution
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater talks about the correlation between plate boundaries and earthquake distribution.
Plate Tectonics and Heat
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater talks about plate tectonics as a mechanism by which Earth's interior sheds the tremendous heat that builds up as a result of radioactive decay.
Pangaea
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater talks about the super continent Pangaea, thought to have broken up into the continents as we know them today beginning about 200 million years ago.
Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater discusses the role of Alfred Wegener in bringing together a variety of evidence in support of the theory of continental drift.
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.