Wagner's Great Ideas

Our home (the earth) contains many interesting features and activities which makes many interested individuals seek research, explanations, and answers. With a curious mind and years of research many different people have been able to explain and even answer many of the earth’s mysteries. It is a shame that many brilliant minds have died before sharing their discoveries or reaching the answer of their life long work. With a lack of technology and evidence many great ideas have been rejected and ignored.

Alfred Wagner is one individual who died with his dreams when he shared his theory of Continental drift in the early 20th century and was rejected by the scientific community of the time. He concluded that the continents moved across the earth’s

surface through time and that there was once a super continent which he named Pangea. With a lack of evidence he was ridiculed by many. But later in the 1950s, his theory of Continental drift along with Harry Hess’s Theory of Sea floor spreading (which explained the formation of new areas of oceanic crust), and known information on global seismicity; Wagner’s vision and knowledge not only helped reinforce the Theory of Plate Tectonics but was also recognized for his valid theory.
The Theory of Plate Tectonics proclaims that the lithosphere consists of plates that converge, diverge, and transform, which explains the formation of oceans, mountain ranges, and seismic activity. Converging plates push against each other, Diverging plates move away from each other, and Transforming plates slide closely past each other. Each plate is named according to their nearest location that being a landmass or body of water.

The different plates explain the addition of different land features and the cause of different seismic activities. For example the Appalachian Mountains were formed by the collision of the North American and African Plates and the Himalaya Mountains were formed by the subduction of the Indian Plate under The Eurasian Plate.
There are three different types of plates and each type of plate is well known to cause some type of feature or activity. Just to name a few; Diverging plates are well known to create oceanic floor made of basalt, an example of a diverging plate is the African and Arabian plate boundary. Next, Converging Plates create mountain ranges and trenches an example of a converging plate is the Eurasian and Indian plate boundary. Lastly, Transforming plates create earthquakes an example being the Pacific and Australian boundary or the San Andreas Boundary.
Although some land features are added and others are still growing, some land features are slowly in the process of destruction. Projections of plate motion conclude that portions of California will separate from North America and The Italian “boot” will disappear.
The rate of plate tectonic movement also causes a change in the Rock Cycle .The Rock cycle is the process of the formation, breakdown, and reformation of rocks creating Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks are formed at earth’s surface. Igneous rocks form from cooling and crystallization of molten magma. Metamorphic rocks form from heat and pressure in the earth’s crust.

The rate of plate motion is directly related to the production of all types of rocks. With that being said, the higher the rate of plate tectonic movement the higher the production of all three types of rocks as well as the lower the rate of plate tectonic movement the lower the production of all three types of rock.
From the super continent Pangea, to now the seven continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Antarctica), to the many continents predicted to break off or disappear. Plate tectonics explains the features and activities of the earth from the past, the present and it can definitely predict the future features and activities.