What are Plate Tectonics?

The images below is a map of the world distribution of earthquakes - if you roll the mouse over the image you will see a map of the world distribution of volcanoes.

Because of the link between between the two patterns there must be a link in the causes!

Alfred Wegener was the first to publish a theory of 'continental drift' and the existence of a 'super continent' in his 1915 publication The Origin of Continents and Oceans.

See the proposed breakup of Pangaea here.

See the future of plate movements here.

Wegener's ideas were rubbished by his peers. Many geologists focused on a lack of a demonstrable mechanism and rejected and ridiculed Wegener for his ideas, noting that he could not explain how continents were able to move.

Task

Produce a newspaper article, published in 1915, supporting the ideas of Alfred Wegener. Your article needs to summarize the evidence (geological, biological and climate based) and suggest some mechanisms for how the plates move.

Plate Tectonics