It’s also valuable for the oil and gas industry since it explains how sedimentary basins were created, allowing geologists and engineers to target and locate vast oil reserves. The theory has helped to explain tons of unanswered geological questions, assisting scientists in understanding how volcanoes, mountains, and ocean ridges are formed. Plate tectonics has been a game-changer for geologists. Source: Hannes Grobe The Importance of Plate Tectonics The below example of the Wilson Cycle specifically keys in on how the Atlantic Ocean, and its predecessor, the Iapetus Ocean, were formed as supercontinents drifted apart: The supercontinent cycle also ties into ocean formation. Nuna/Columbia: 1.6-1.4 billion years agoĪccording to the theory, this cycle of breaking apart and coming together happens because of subduction, which occurs when tectonic plates converge with one another.The exact number of supercontinents is largely debated, but according to the Encylopedia of Geology, here are five (including Pangea) that are widely recognized: Nowadays, it’s believed that Pangea was just one of several supercontinents to mass together (and break apart) over the course of geological history. But as more data emerged over the years, including research on seafloor spreading, the theory started to gain traction. Initially, the scientific community wasn’t on board with the theory of continental drift. He also pointed to similar rock formations and fossils on these two continents as proof to back his theory.

Wegener believed this continental drift explained why the borders of South America and Africa looked like matching puzzle pieces. Over millions of years, Pangaea slowly broke apart, eventually forming the continents as they are today. According to Wegener’s theory, Earth’s continents once formed a single, giant landmass, which he called Pangaea. In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed a theory he called continental drift. However, the concept of continental movement was brewing long before it became widely accepted.

Plate tectonics is a relatively new theory-in fact, according to National Geographic, it hadn’t become popular until the 1960s. Today’s animation looks at the Earth’s tectonic plate movement from 1 ga (geological time for 1 billion years ago) to the present-day, via EarthByte on YouTube.Įditor’s note: The video starts at time 1,000 ma (1,000 million years ago), and ticks down at the rate of about 25 million years every second. 1 Billion Years of Tectonic Plate Movement in 40 SecondsĪccording to plate tectonic theory, the Earth’s surface is made up of slabs of rock that are slowly shifting right under our feet.īecause of this constant movement, today’s Earth looks a lot different from what it did millions of years ago.

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