Implication of Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is an essential theory for scientist who studies the earth, and the ocean. The understanding of plate tectonics helps us understand the past, and move forward into the future. Through the understanding of plate tectonics, scientists have learnt where to look for natural resources such as oil and natural gas (Ross, 1995). Plate tectonics is a relatively new idea, built on older concepts.

The history of plate tectonics dates back to 1965. It was then, when J. Tuzo Wilson combined the ideas of continental drifting and sea floor spreading (Garrison, 1995). The idea of continental drifting idea was first suggested back in 1596 by the Dutch map maker Abraham Ortelius in his work Thesaurus Geographicus (Kious and Tilling, 1996). It wasn’t until 1912 when Alfred Wegener proposed the actual theory of continental drifting. Wegener provided evidence to support his theory. His evidence included the puzzle-like match that the shorelines of the continents had. This thought led to the supercontinent of Pangaea, and the ocean surrounding it was Panthalassa. These names are both derived of Greek words: Pan meaning all; Gaea meaning Earth; and Thaslassa meaning ocean

Some topics in this essay:
Tuzo Wilson, Thurman Burton, Atlantic Ocean, Ridge Convergent, Drilling Project, Oceanography Plate, Alfred Wegener, Antarctica Garrison, Kious Tilling, Earth Thaslassa, plate tectonics, sea floor, floor spreading, sea floor spreading, type boundary, garrison 1995, continent continent, plates type boundary, convergent boundaries, continental drifting, burton 2001, plates type, thurman burton 2001, idea sea floor, 1965 tuzo wilson,