Plate Tectonics
Introductory and general sources.
Plate Tectonics in a Nutshell
I try to explain this subject as accurately as I can, as simply as I can, taking you as deep as you care to go.
I try to explain this subject as accurately as I can, as simply as I can, taking you as deep as you care to go.
Sizes of Lithospheric Plates
Thirty plates and microplates are listed in order of size.
Thirty plates and microplates are listed in order of size.
How Many Plates Are There?
Teachers want one right answer to this question, but there isn't one.
Teachers want one right answer to this question, but there isn't one.
Geo-Quiz 16: Plate Tectonics
See if you can answer these 12 questions on plate tectonics. Caution: this has been known to stump professors.
See if you can answer these 12 questions on plate tectonics. Caution: this has been known to stump professors.
The Earth's Crust
The Earth's crust is exceptionally important, and not just because we live on it.
The Earth's crust is exceptionally important, and not just because we live on it.
The Lithosphere in a Nutshell
The lithosphere is the brittle outer layer of the solid Earth. The plates of plate tectonics are segments of the lithosphere.
The lithosphere is the brittle outer layer of the solid Earth. The plates of plate tectonics are segments of the lithosphere.
Five Myths of Plate Tectonics
Even geologists are prone to these misbeliefs: plate rigidity, ridge compression, ridge fixity, forcible subduction, and mantle convection.
Even geologists are prone to these misbeliefs: plate rigidity, ridge compression, ridge fixity, forcible subduction, and mantle convection.
Measuring Plate Motion
We can tell from several different lines of evidence that the lithospheric plates move.
We can tell from several different lines of evidence that the lithospheric plates move.
Convergent Zones in a Nutshell
What happens when lithospheric plates come together.
What happens when lithospheric plates come together.
Divergent Zones in a Nutshell
Where the lithospheric plates move apart from each other.
Where the lithospheric plates move apart from each other.
Transforms in a Nutshell
What happens when lithospheric plates move past each other.
What happens when lithospheric plates move past each other.
Subduction in a Nutshell
What happens when a lithospheric plate must go down.
What happens when a lithospheric plate must go down.
Arc Volcanism in a Nutshell
How subducting plates create most of the world's volcanoes.
How subducting plates create most of the world's volcanoes.
About Ophiolites
Not a rock type, ophiolite is a whole assemblage of rocks representing oceanic crust.
Not a rock type, ophiolite is a whole assemblage of rocks representing oceanic crust.
The Death of Plates
What happens to a lithospheric plate after it has been subducted.
What happens to a lithospheric plate after it has been subducted.
Why Not Dispose of Waste in Ocean Trenches?
Waste disposal by subduction won't work.
Waste disposal by subduction won't work.
A Hotspot Alternative
A new theory about hotspots is based directly on plate tectonics.
A new theory about hotspots is based directly on plate tectonics.
Lost City of Serpentinization
Lost City, on the Atlantic seafloor, is the product of a major geochemical process.
Lost City, on the Atlantic seafloor, is the product of a major geochemical process.
News From the Edge: The Calcite Stress Gauge
Microscopic grains show the strain on a whole continent.
Microscopic grains show the strain on a whole continent.
True Polar Wander
A crazy idea resurfaces to knock Earth--and geology--upside the head.
A crazy idea resurfaces to knock Earth--and geology--upside the head.
"This Dynamic Earth"
The U.S. Geological Survey's 1996 pamphlet on plate tectonics is widely cited, but it is no longer accurate in several respects. For the history of the theory, though, it's the best source on the Web.
The U.S. Geological Survey's 1996 pamphlet on plate tectonics is widely cited, but it is no longer accurate in several respects. For the history of the theory, though, it's the best source on the Web.
The MARGINS Initiative Home Page
A comprehensive introduction to current research on continental margins, a leading-edge problem in plate tectonics.
A comprehensive introduction to current research on continental margins, a leading-edge problem in plate tectonics.
Paleomap Project
Here's where to watch plate tectonics in action through the geologic past: on Chris Scotese's scientifically accurate maps.
Here's where to watch plate tectonics in action through the geologic past: on Chris Scotese's scientifically accurate maps.
Plate Animations from UC Santa Barbara
UCSB's Tanya Atwater, a pioneer in applying plate tectonics to the continents, is also a pioneer in visualizing how the process works. Get her animations at the Educational Multimedia Visualization Center.
UCSB's Tanya Atwater, a pioneer in applying plate tectonics to the continents, is also a pioneer in visualizing how the process works. Get her animations at the Educational Multimedia Visualization Center.
"Plate Driving Forces and Tectonic Stress"
A paper by graduate student Arlo Weil (now teaching at Bryn Mawr) is an excellent treatment of what drives the plates.
A paper by graduate student Arlo Weil (now teaching at Bryn Mawr) is an excellent treatment of what drives the plates.
Teaching Resources on Plate Tectonics
The Geological Society of London hosts a set of pages on topics related to plate tectonics and structural geology.
The Geological Society of London hosts a set of pages on topics related to plate tectonics and structural geology.