What provides evidence for continental drift and plate tectonics?
Modern continents hold clues to their distant past. Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed.
How was the continental drift theory proven?
Evidence for continental drift Wegener knew that fossil plants and animals such as mesosaurs, a freshwater reptile found only South America and Africa during the Permian period, could be found on many continents. He also matched up rocks on either side of the Atlantic Ocean like puzzle pieces.
How was magnetic striping relevant to the continental drift theory?
Continental Drift – Seafloor Spreading – Plate Tectonics In 1912, Wegener formulated the theory of continental drift. The ultimate proof of this was the discovery of “magnetic stripes” on the seafloor later in the 1960s: the magnetic domains in oceanic rocks recorded reversal of Earth’s magnetic field over time.
What does seafloor spreading look like?
The continual process of seafloor spreading separated the stripes in an orderly pattern. Oceanic crust slowly moves away from mid-ocean ridges and sites of seafloor spreading. As it moves, it becomes cooler, more dense, and more thick.
What is the importance of seafloor spreading in understanding the origin of the plate?
Answer: Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic plates diverge, tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere.
How quickly do tectonic plates move?
They move at a rate of one to two inches (three to five centimeters) per year.
How do tectonic plates affect us?
Even though plates move very slowly, their motion, called plate tectonics , has a huge impact on our planet. Plate tectonics form the oceans, continents, and mountains. It also helps us understand why and where events like earthquakes occur and volcanoes erupt.