![]() There have been three evident supercontinent cycles: A supercontinent cycle consists of the landmasses assembling together and breaking up again. The supercontinent cycle is described as an outcome of plate tectonics as a self-organizing system. This cyclical nature is referred to as the supercontinent cycle in the literature discussing this process. This debate also extends to the cyclical nature of plate tectonic processes and when did this start occurring. However, there is much debate surrounding this topic, with others suggesting the plate tectonic process began during the Meso to Neo-Proterozoic times, which occurred 2.0-0.8 billion years ago. Many scientists believe that the plate tectonic system had its roots in the Hadean Archaean transition, which occurred 4.2-4.0 billion years ago. This era was roughly 3.8 billion to 2.5 billion years ago. Evidence of chemical alterations in rocks indicative of the process of subduction have been found in rocks from the Archean eon, which some scientists suggest can be linked to the emergence of plate tectonics. One of these questions is when did the plate tectonic system emerge? Some researchers suggest that plate tectonics stopped and started sporadically for billions of years before falling into a continuous cycle. There are still however, many questions to be answered in and around the area of plate tectonics. It was this period that advanced the theory of plate tectonics greatly, as major questions relating to how the plates formed, how the continents were pulled apart and drifted back together were being studied and discussed throughout prominent scientific literature.įast-forward to modern day and the theory of plate tectonics has been widely established as the correct one. Although his theory was not entirely correct, it was a hypotheses that was certainly on the right track. Furthermore, there was also evidence of magnetic anomalies in rocks across varying parts of the world’s landmasses to show that the continents had moved apart.Ī British geologist Arthur Holmes was one of the first scientists to attempt to give a reason for how the plates moved at this time, he put forth his convection current hypothesis which suggested that continents would drift apart as they were carried along the backs of the laterally-moving convection currents. Another aspect that indicated seafloor spreading on the ocean floor and hence the theory of plate tectonics was the presence of alternating patterns of magnetic anomalies. This was discovered with the use of machines used to monitor nuclear testing called seismic listening networks. These discoveries included the use of magnetic surveys on the ocean floor to discover the edges of the plates across the globe. This revival only occurred due to the discovery of new evidence, in relation to geophysics and oceanography. It was only in the 1960’s that Wegener’s theory of continental drift was revived. However, as he had no model to show how the continents had moved, his ideas were largely denounced at the time. ![]() Furthermore, he collected a wide variety of fossil and rock evidence to back up the idea that the continents had once all been joined together into one supercontinent, which he named Pangea. He developed the theory of continental drift to explain the movement of the continents. Wegener was a meteorologist, who was intrigued by the concept of moving continents. This in turn led to evolving theories on how these continents could have been once connected.Ī major development in the theory of plate tectonics was made by Alfred Wegener in 1912, he built on Ortelius’ earlier observations in relation to interlocking continental coastlines. Further development in mapmaking and reliable maps led to more discussion of the inter-fitting nature of the continents, with many acknowledging that it could not be a coincidence. For example, Abraham Ortelius, a sixteenth-century cartographer questioned the concept of moving continents when he observed that the coastlines of America, Europe and Africa potentially matched up when put together on a map. Many scientists have hypothesised questions relating to plate tectonics over the years, without fully understanding the processes that were occurring. Therefore, it can offer up many insights on the changing nature of the Earth’s surface and system through a deep geological timescale. The plate tectonic system is thought to have developed very early into the Earth’s formation. This theory has evolved over many years and there are many questions related to this theory that are still debated in scientific literature today. ![]() Plate tectonics is the theory that the earth is split into plates of varying sizes, that move atop a semi-molten mantle. Have you ever wondered how the earth’s plates move and why? Here’s an explanation.
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