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Bozola
Skeptic Friend
USA
166 Posts |
 Posted - 06/06/2001 : 10:53:01 [Permalink]
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Off hand, I'd say the the convection currents in the Earth's mantle aren't static.
Bozola
- Practicing skeet for the Rapture. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2001 : 12:23:07 [Permalink]
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quote:
I was just wondering about the way Pangea was taught in school. The world is covered completely with water, except for this one big lone landmass.
Ok here try this. Hawaii is created by volcanic activity through weak sposts in the crust. So despite Pangea being a congregation of the major land masses there might have been these weak spots in the crust during the existence of Pangea. This would mean that there were volcanic islands scattered around and resulting atolls from the movement of the plates. As was pointed out there is not enough information to really speculate as to the actual configuration of the landmasses beyond Pangea.
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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Bozola
Skeptic Friend
USA
166 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2001 : 16:07:43 [Permalink]
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"An aluminum plate moving slowly over an acetylene torch" is the description an old Geology Prof gave of Hawaii. Hawaii wasn't formed so much as by a weakness in the crust but by there being a large magma plume near the surface. These plumes are superhot "bubbles" that rise to near the surface from deeper mantle layers.
There's one currently under Yellowstone Park. You can trace it's route (or that of the plate above it, by looking on a topographic map or satellite image:
Ain't science grand?
Bozola
- Practicing skeet for the Rapture. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2001 : 17:18:20 [Permalink]
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I stand corrected Bozola. That's sounds a little more familiar to me than my explanation. It has been 6 or so years, I'm bound to be a little fuzzy.
Neat pic!
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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Bozola
Skeptic Friend
USA
166 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2001 : 17:31:04 [Permalink]
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I love geology!
I can say with certainty that I have met rocks smarter than Piper.
Bozola
- Practicing skeet for the Rapture.
Edited by - Bozola on 06/06/2001 17:32:14 |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2001 : 22:56:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
This is something I've always wondered about, but can't seem to find an explanation after a cursory search.
Apparently, it is widely held that at one time, all the continents were connected in one big mass called Pangea. My question is, what on earth caused all the land to be together in one mass, instead of just randomly dotting the surface? Take a ball of clay, and squeeze up one lump in one section, and you'll visualize what I mean (I hope). Is there a geological reason for this?
Perhaps a ball of clay in not a good example because the Earth was a hot 'ball' of gases or whatever not wet like clay. When clay drys it just gets hard and would crumble.
The Earth expanded. If you look, each land mass fits into every other land mass. If the Earth was to shrink again it would fit togather into a larger land mass each piece fitting togather[best it can after years of errosion].
It was one mass because that's the way it broke off of the star it came from. As it cooled and expanded and formed the separtate continents, water filled in the spaces. |
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