第二讲 Plate Tectonics 1.pptVIP

第二讲Plate Tectonics preface The significance 板块构造的科学意义 The plate tectonics notion has profoundly changed the way we view the earth. In the early 1960s, the emergence（出现） of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. The plate tectonics theory is the result of the progress of science. The key of course课程要点 1.Here gives a brief introduction to the concept of plate tectonics and complements the visual and written information in This Dynamic Planet 2.Here highlights（强调） some of the people and discoveries that advanced the development of the theory and traces its progress since its proposal. 3.The many aspects still continue to confound（混淆） and challenge scientists. The earth-science revolution launched by the theory of plate tectonics is not finished. 4.Plate tectonics is a relatively new scientific concept, introduced more than 30 years ago. 5. The theory has unified the study of the Earth by drawing together many branches of the earth sciences paleontology (the study of fossils) seismology (the study of earthquakes) Petrology and geochemistry 6.It has provided explanations to questions that scientists had speculated upon for centuries – why earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in very specific areas around the world, and how and why great mountain ranges like the Alps and Himalayas formed 成矿动力学过程的解释 1.Historical perspective（回顾） 1.1 plate tectonics and continental drift continental drift -the forerunner to the theory of plate tectonics The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earths outermost layer is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small plates that are moving relative to one another as they ride atop(在…顶上) hotter, more mobile material（mantle）. Internal structure of Earth supercontinent Pangaea Before the advent（出现） of plate tectonics, however, some people already believed that the present-day continents were the fragmented pieces of preexisting larger landmasses (supercontinents). The diagrams below