• Unifying theory of geology

• All geological features and processes are

related
• Concepts were drawn together in 1968
• Processes associated with the origin,
movement, and destruction of the
lithospheric plates
Motion of earth’s lithosphere

Lithosphere is made up of moderately

rigid plates (may consist of oceanic
or continental lithosphere)

= 7 major plates + several smaller

plates
 “pulling apart” – divergent
“sliding” – transform “crashing” – convergent
Places where plates
crash into each other
(oceanic – continental)
Places where plates crash
into each other
(continental – continental)
Places where plates
crash into each other
(oceanic – oceanic)
Places where plates are
being pulled away
from each other
Places where plates slide
past each other
In spite of the overwhelming evidence to
support the ideas of Plate Tectonics, some
skeptics refuse to accept it.

Why?

What causes the plates to move?

Convection currents

Hot materials rise,

cold materials sink
a. Two-layer convection – separated at depth of 660 kilometers
b. Whole-mantle convection – entire 2900-km mantle
Slab-pull
 Hot spots – provide a frame of reference for
tracing the direction of plate motion
relatively small, long-lasting, and exceptionally hot regions which exist below
the plates; provide localized sources of high heat energy (thermal plumes) to
sustain volcanism
 Global Positioning System

~7 cm/year

~9 cm/year
Manila Trench East Luzon Trough

Negros Trench Philippine Trench

Sulu Trench

Cotabato Trench
 Babuyan Claro

Taal

Canlaon
 A naturally-occurring aggregate of one or
more minerals; may or may not contain
mineraloids, natural glass and organic
matter.

 Types of rocks vary based on composition,

color, texture, structures, etc.
 Igneous rocks
◦ formed from solidification of magma
◦ extrusive if they crystallize on the surface of the
earth and intrusive if beneath the surface
 Sedimentary rocks
◦ Formed when sediments are transported, deposited
and then lithified by natural mechanisms
 Metamorphic rocks
◦ Formed from preexisting rock by the effects of
heat, pressure and chemically active fluids beneath
the earth’s surface
 Group of processes
that produce
igneous,
metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks.
The rock cycle is linked to other subcycles:
 Tectonic cycle for heat and energy
 Biogeochemical cycle for materials
 Hydrologic cycle for water used in
processes of weathering, erosion,
transportation, deposition and
lithification of sediments
 Circulation of
water from the
oceans to the
atmosphere and
back to the
oceans by way of
precipitation,
evaporation,
runoff from
streams and
rivers, and
groundwater flow
 Movement of a chemical element or
compound through the various earth
systems, including atmosphere, lithosphere,
biosphere and hydrosphere
 Cycles include:
◦ Carbon
◦ Oxygen
◦ Nitrogen
◦ Phosphorus
◦ Sulfur