Why is it important for scientist to know about plate tectonics?

Question

No I don't think "Gods" control things. I'm not emailing you or whatev.

Answer 1

hi my name is ercan Do you to want speak with me my msn adress [e-mail] i'm kissing you bye

Answer 2

Geologists are very interested in this phenomenon because it predicts where the earth is most active. When one plate slides under another plate, this causes volcanos to form. The place this happens the most is east africa and south asia. The mid atlantic ridge is an area where the plates are tearing apart. This is an especially interesting area for biologists because there are underwater ecosystems which don't rely on sunshine as their energy source. The source of the energy is heat and hydrogen sulfide from underwater geisers. California earthquakes are caused by two plates sliding past one another. The movement isn't constant because the edges of the plates are jagged and lock together like opossing gears. The force builds up until any obstructions are overcome. One plate then slides past the other and enormous amounts of energy is released. The tsunami in Indonesia was caused by an earthquake in which the seafloor lifted 70 feet and this displaced thousands of square miles of ocean water. Palentologists also benefit from the study of plate tetonics. 300 million years ago, all the land on earth was part of a giant supercontinent. Movements in the earth's plates then began to split this land into the continents which one can see today. The isolation of the continents can have great changes on evolution. Australia is the best example. It split away from south america, and antartica just as mammals were beginning to evolve. This explains why there are only marsupials like opossums and kangaroos in Australia. South America was also isolated much later. Animals such as deer and carnivores were absent for millions of years. Madagascar is another good example. Lemurs are primitive primates which went extinct in Africa when monkeys evolved. Madagascar split from Africa before monkeys appeared and this is why lemurs survived.

Plate tetonics is a very recient theory. It wasn't well accpeted when it was first proposed in the middle of the 20th century. The theory was proved by deposits on the ocean floor. The earth's magnetic poles reverse every 100 thousand years on average. When lava forms, it is magnetized by the field. The sea floor revealed a precise series of lava bands magnetized in opposite directions. This strongly suggested the sea floor was spreading apart along a giant crack which constantly filled with lava. The mid Atlantic ridge is an example of this phenomenon.

Answer 3

Short answer: Plate tectonics is the driving force behind just about every other geological process.

Plus, its super cool.

Answer 4

Because it's the one major scientific discovery that describes geologic history, natural hazards, time, continent accretion, and planetary movement in general. It also contributed to evolution.

Answer 5

We need to know what causes the earth quakes and volcanoes and not think that the GODS are mad at something u did.