The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

Dirk Spengler

Department of Geology and Mineralogy

Kyoto University

1 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 Outline

1 What are Earth Sciences?

2 What is Plate Tectonics?

3 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

4 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

2 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What are Earth Sciences?

Earth Sciences ...

... are all type of science

related to the planet Earth
... investigate the Earth’s:
Structure
Composition
Deformation processes
Climate
Life
Environmental
preservation studies

3 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What are Earth Sciences?

Earth Sciences ...

Disciplines Usage of
Geography Physics
(surface processes, Chemistry
human interactions)
Biology
Geology
Mathematics
(rocks)
Chronology (dating)
Geophysics
(Earth’s interior)
Geodesy To understand the Earth’s
(size, shape, position)
Past
Present
Future

4 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What are Earth Sciences?

Earth’s Evolution

Sun

?
Solar nebular Proto planets

4.54 Ga ago Today Future (0.5 Ga?)

(4.540.000.000) Takahashi, 1990

Solar nebular→planets Earth = cooled Earth = frozen

Early Earth = hot, surface, chemically &
homogeneous physically layered
No tectonic plates Active plate tectonics End of plate tectonics

Continuous heat loss

5 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What is Plate Tectonics?

Historical View of the Earth (Fixism)

Egyption idea Greek idea Modern proof
(∼5000 years ago) (∼2200 years ago) (1519-1522)
Plate shape Sphere shape Ferdinand Magellan

Continents are fixed

6 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What is Plate Tectonics?

Continental Drift Theory (Mobilism)

Continental shape
Antonio Snider-Pellegrini (1858)

7 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What is Plate Tectonics?

Continental Drift Theory (Mobilism)

Flora & Fauna distribution
Alfred Wegener (1915)
Pangaea (’Old Land’)
Distribution of fossils
across southern Pangaea

Driving force for continental drift?

8 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 What is Plate Tectonics?

Ocean Floor Mapping

(1950’s and 1960’s)

World ocean floor New findings

Mid ocean ridges
Magmatism
Magnetic anomalies
Sediment thickness
varies systematically
Deep trenches along
some continents

Renewal of the
improbable concept of
continental drift
9 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 What is Plate Tectonics?

Seafloor Spreading
Formation of Ocean Floor and Passive Continental Margins

Hess and Dietz (1960/62) Vine and Matthews (1963)

Theory Proof of Theory
Pattern of
magnetic
stripes at mid-
Atlantic ridge

Rising magma forms new ocean floor = Proof of continental drift

→ Global volume problem: where does the ocean floor go?
10 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 What is Plate Tectonics?

Inclined Plane of Seismicity

Kiyoo Wadati (1935) Wadati-Benioff-Zone

Plunging of Ocean Floor = Subduction Zone (Active Plate Margin)

11 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 What is Plate Tectonics?

Plate Tectonic Model

= Continental Drift + Seafloor Spreading + Subduction Zones

Global seismic activity Tectonic plates

The Earth outer shell is broken into large plates.

Size and position of these plates change over time.
Earthquakes and volcanoes help locating plate boundaries.
Divergent plate margins form plates, convergent plate
margins destroy plates (constant surface area of the
Earth).
12 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 What is Plate Tectonics?

Plate Tectonic Model

Synthesis (End of 1960’s) Mantle convection

Driving mechanisms:
High density of
3 major types of plate boundaries cooled ocean
(transform, divergent, convergent) floor (slab pull)
Widely accepted since 1970’s Low density of
Does not explain driving mechanism hot soft mantle
→ Mantle convection model (asthenosphere)
13 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 What is Plate Tectonics?

Consequences of Plate Tectonics

Ocean floor age Supercontinents

Pangaea 300 – 180 Ma

≤180 million years Rodinia 1100 – 750 Ma
Columbia 1800 – 1500 Ma

Periodical opening and closing of ocean basins (Wilson Cycle)

Ocean floor is recycled, continents are stable

14 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

Convergent Plate Boundaries

Ocean–Ocean Ocean–Continent Continent–Continent

(Japan) (Andes) (Himalaya)

Subduction of (heavy) oceanic plate Subduction of (light)

continental plate

What happens with ocean floor What’s about continents

under pressure? under pressure?
15 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

Subduction of Oceanic Crust

Seafloor composition Seafloor magmatic rocks
Crystallization from a melt
0.5 km Sediments
1.5 km Pillow lava (Basalt) ➀

5.0 km Gabbro ➁

Lava at seafloor Lava at land surface

3 minerals:
feldspar (white)
pyroxene (black)
olivine (green)
Regular distributed
Gabbro

Every rock consists of minerals.

16 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

Subduction of Oceanic Crust

Metamorphic rocks Metamorphic facies
Change in minerals and/or texture

➀➁

(Photo: B. Hacker) ➂
Blueschist ➂ ➃ Eclogite

glaucophane (blue) garnet (red) ➃

feldspar (white) omphacite (green)
garnet (red) zoisite, quartz (white) Groups of minerals that occur together

Subduction transforms magmatic

➀➁
into metamorphic rocks ➂
➃
Stability of minerals depends on
P & T → Mineral assemblage
tells the history of a rock
17 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

Subduction of Continental Crust

Continent–Continent Known
Sampling of mantle rocks
Continental and oceanic lithosphere
break apart
Subduction of light continental crust is
temporarily → exhumation
0
➅ ➄
km
400 Less known
Max depth of continental subduction
Timing

Suitable study objects

3 possible scenarios for
subduction / exhumation High grade metamorphic gneiss ➄
Enclosed mantle fragments ➅
18 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 Ocean Floor and Continents Under Pressure

Subduction of Continental Crust

High grade metamorphic rocks

Index minerals Mineral microstructures

Since 1984: Since 1998:

Coesite Majoritic
(>70 km) garnet
Massonne (2001) (>180 km,
20 µm
f (T))

Since 1990:
Diamond
(>120 km)

10 µm Korzakov & Hermannn (2006)

Today: subduction / exhumation probably max. 200 km depth

19 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

How do we get to know all this?

As a Geologist

Motivation: without interest nothing gets discovered

Observation
In the field (excursions)
In the laboratory (analysis of natural / artificial rocks)
Comparing data of natural and experimental rocks
Discussions: different people have different ideas
Testing ideas

20 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

How does it look in practise?

Geological Field Work

British GS mapping in Scotland (1902)

MSc Student maps eclogite, Norway (2002)
21 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

How does it look in practise?

Geological Field Work

Taking samples
Taking scale

Taking directions Taking notes

22 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences
 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

How does it look in practise?

Analyses

Light microscopy Electron microscopy Laser ablation

ICP-MS

Relationship between Crystal orientations Mineral trace elements

minerals

23 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences

 ’Listen’ to the Rocks

Thanks for listening!

24 The Role of Plate Tectonics in Earth Sciences