Episode 111: Plate Tectonics

The Science of Everything Podcast

James Fodor

Natural Sciences, Science, Social Sciences

4.8 • 750 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2020

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

An introduction to the theory of plate tectonics, beginning with an overview of the internal structure of Earth, the differences between oceanic and continental crust, subduction and other forms of plate boundaries, the formation of volcanic arcs, the origin of the Earth's magnetic field, and the mechanisms underlying tectonic plate movement. The episode concludes with a summary of the varies lines of evidence in favour of continental drift, including seafloor spread, biogeography, and polar wandering. Recommended prelistening is Episode 74: Minerals and Rocks. If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a paypal donation or becoming a patreon supporter. https://www.patreon.com/jamesfodor https://www.paypal.me/ScienceofEverything

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, wow, oh, oh, whoa, oh, wow.
0:13.0	Oh, wow.
0:15.0	Oh, wow. Hello, you're listening to the Science of Everything podcast, episode 111, plate tectonics.
0:39.6	And I'm your host, James Fodor.
0:41.4	In this episode, we're going to discuss the theory of plate tectonics, which is the, I guess,
0:47.2	underpinning theory that describes a wide range of phenomena in Earth science, particularly
0:52.8	the relationship of the continents and their movement
0:55.7	about the Earth's mantle to volcanoes and the Earth's intercomposition, the magnetic field.
1:01.1	So it sort of all ties everything together in geology. So it's a really foundational theory.
1:06.8	And as foundational theories go, it's fairly new, a dating back really to under the 1960s.
1:11.3	So a lot of very interesting content we have to get through. In this episode, we're going to be
1:15.0	talking about the Earth's internal composition, leading into a discussion of the difference
1:19.4	between oceanic and continental crust, discussion of continental plates and the boundaries between
1:24.2	them. We'll look at the Earth's magnetic field and what causes it and how
1:29.0	changes in the Earth's magnetic field over time gave rise to some of the most powerful
1:33.0	evidence in favor of plate technonic theory, which leads us into the evidence in favor of
1:37.0	plate technics and for content of drift, and also a discussion of the mechanisms for
1:42.2	plate movement. Recommended pre-listing for this episode is episode 74, Minerals and Rocks, which gives a bit of
1:50.3	background about different types of rocks and minerals, which will be relevant for this
1:53.4	episode.
1:54.6	So, without further ado, let's make a start and begin by talking about the internal composition
1:59.8	of the Earth.
	...

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