The theory of plate tectonics explains that the majority of Earth's geological features—from mountain ranges to ocean trenches—result from interactions between slabs of rock that make up Earth's outer shell. The slabs—collectively called tectonic plates—vary in size, composition, and movement, and have been dragged by convection currents in Earth's mantle for at least 3 billion years.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
Like a chain slipping off a ledge, as tectonic plates sink, their weight can pull the rest of the trailing plate forward, accelerating their movement. Plates can also break apart and fall, creating a suction effect that drives movement, resembling leaves following a passing car.
Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth’s lithosphere, which consists of the crust and the solid, upper layer of the mantle. Segments of major plates can break and form minor or microplates, whose total number varies based on ongoing geological activity.
Researchers at the University of Sydney developed the model, incorporating changing plate boundaries rather than just moving continents, to better understand the changes to biological and climatic systems throughout Earth’s history.
Coming from the Greek words for “all” (pan) and “Earth” (gaia), the supercontinent existed from about 320 million to 195 million years ago. The tectonic activity that split Pangaea into today’s continents may one day bring the continents back together, forming Pangaea Proxima.
Marie Tharp identified the structure when mapping the ocean floor using sonar data, but her colleague, who did not favor continental drift, was unconvinced. Famed filmmaker Jacques Cousteau even tried to disprove her work with underwater footage, only to validate her maps.
German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents were all one giant landmass in the past, which he named Pangaea. Despite geological and climate evidence suggesting continental movement, his theory was dismissed until the 1960s.
Facts are observations of the world, and they can be pooled together for a given phenomenon to develop a hypothesis—a proposed explanation consistent with observations that requires further investigation. Experiments and additional data can rule out many hypotheses or graduate a proposed explanation into a widely accepted and validated theory.
Mesosaurus fossils are found in South America and Africa, but these freshwater creatures could not have travelled across the ocean between continents. Rock layers in the Appalachian Mountains match those seen in Europe, indicating that the mountain belts were once connected.
These processes transfer heat from Earth’s core to the surface via rising magma plumes, while cooler, denser rock falls into the mantle at rates similar to human fingernail growth. These rates are determined by combining seismic data with computer simulations to model Earth’s interior.
New ocean crust is formed at these ridges as magma rises from Earth’s mantle and fills the space between the spreading plates. The speed of divergence influences ridge shape, with slow spreads forming rugged valleys and fast spreading creating smooth, wide slopes.
Dive into the dynamic world of science and technology, where curiosity has brought about extraordinary understandings of the universe and creativity has led to the breakthroughs and innovations that have transformed our world. Explore a wide range of topics, from the natural and physical sciences to cutting-edge technologies and the people who shaped them, each of which is accompanied by carefully curated resources meant to inform, engage, and inspire those eager to uncover the nature of reality.