UNIT 3: EARTH’S
PROCESSES
SEAFLOOR SPREADING THEORY
Post-WWII Ocean Exploration led to the discovery of
the ocean ridge system.
Harry Hess' Hypothesis: Oceanic crust moves away
from ridges, a process called seafloor spreading.
Process:
- Magma rises at the ridge, creating new ocean floor.
- Rocks near the ridge are younger than those farther away.
- Crystallized magma preserves Earth’s magnetic polarity.
Seafloor Movement: Estimated at 10 cm per year.
Misconception Alert!!
Plates, not continents alone, move due to convection currents
in the asthenosphere, carrying both continents and ocean
basins.
SEAFLOOR SPREADING THEORY
PLATE TECTONICS
Lithosphere: Rigid layer composed of the uppermost mantle and crust; fragments are called
plates.
Asthenosphere: Weaker mantle region beneath the lithosphere; behaves like a fluid and allows
the lithosphere to float and move.
Movement of Plates:
- Sir Arthur Holmes (1919) proposed mantle movement as the driving force.
- Convection currents in the asthenosphere carry lithospheric plates.
Major Lithospheric Plates (94% of Earth’s Surface):
- North American Plate
- South American Plate
- Pacific Plate
- African Plate
- Eurasian Plate
- Indo-Australian Plate
- Antarctic Plate
PLATE TECTONICS
Plate Boundaries:
1. Convergent Boundaries (Destructive Margins):
- Plates move toward each other.
- Three types:
1. Oceanic-Oceanic: One oceanic plate subducts, forming trenches and volcanic island arcs.
2. Oceanic-Continental: Oceanic crust sinks beneath continental crust, forming deep trenches and volcanic arcs.
Trenches: Long, narrow, curving features in the ocean floor, thousands of kilometers long and up to 10 km deep.
Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean, created by subduction.
3. Continental-Continental: Colliding plates cause folding and form mountain ranges (e.g., Himalayas).
PLATE TECTONICS
Plate Boundaries:
2. Divergent Boundaries (Constructive Margins):
- Plates move apart, usually below mid-oceanic ridges.
- Rising convection currents bring hot, viscous rock to
the surface, creating new crust as molten material
fills
the split.
- New surface is created, and plates are pushed apart.
3. Transform Boundaries (Conservative Margins):
- Plates slide horizontally past each other.
- Transform faults commonly connect two spreading
centers (divergent boundaries) or sometimes
trenches
(convergent boundaries).
- Example: The San Andreas Fault in California.
- The fault zone is about 1,300 km long and tens
of
kilometers wide.
- The Pacific Plate grinds past the North American
Plate at about 5 cm/yr.
- The fault has been active for 10 million years,
PLATE TECTONICS
THE BIG ONE
Understanding endogenic and exogenic processes, along with crust formation and plate tectonics, is
essential for recognizing how the Earth’s surface changes and the risks posed by natural disasters like
earthquakes. This knowledge is particularly important for the Philippines, which lies on the seismically
active Pacific Ring of Fire. Awareness of these processes helps in disaster preparedness, especially
concerning the potential "Big One" earthquake.
THANK YOU!
