Question

Discuss the similarity and dissimilarity of the theory of wegener and plate tectonics

Answer 1

The plate tectonics theory refers to the large-scale movement of the seven major plates along with several other smaller plates that form the earth’s lithosphere, for the last hundreds of millions of years. The theory is based on the concept proposed by the continental drift model and was accepted by the geological community in the early 1960s. The plate tectonics theory states that the lithosphere, or the earth’s outer rigid layer, is made up of a few dozen plates moving across the surface of the earth, similar to how slabs of ice move above a lake’s surface.

The earth ‘s outer layer is divided into two parts: the lithosphere (outer rigid layer) and the asthenosphere (generally solid region under the lithosphere). The theory suggests that the lithosphere is individual tectonic plates riding on the fluid-like but visco-elastic asthenosphere. Similar to a sheet of ice inching its way over water, the plates move somewhere between 0.4 and 6.3 inches (10 and 160 millimeters) each year. The movement of these plates is attributed to the intense heat coming from the earth’s core. This movement causes the plates to shift and slide, which in turn causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions