C.W. Post
Department of Earth and Environmental Science 


Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
GLY 47 / GLY 511
Spring 2012
Class Notes

Prof. V.J. DiVenere
Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science
C.W. Post Campus - Long Island University

GLY 511 Syllabus
GLY 47 Syllabus
Department Home Page
Term Papers
Dr. D. Home Page
Calculators
Lecture Topics
 
Minerals & Rocks in Brief
Geologic Structures Review
Stress and Strain - Rock Deformation
 
Lecture Topics
Related Notes
January 23
Introduction, Geosynclines, Wegener and Continental Drift
Paleomagnetism and Continental Motions, Harry Hess
Isostacy and Geosynclines
Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics

Assignment 1 - determining paleolatitude from magnetic inclination
due February 6
The Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy of the Mauch Chunk Formation (Opdyke & DiVenere, 2004)

January 30
Marine Magnetic Anomalies and Seafloor Spreading
Seismic Evidence for Plate Tectonics, Direct Measurement
Earth's Interior - The Moho, Crust

Tectonic Plate Boundaries
Ridges and Trenches
Earthquake Seismology
primer on focal mechanisms (seismic beachballs)

Assignment 2 - global seismicity, fault plane solutions & plate boundaries
due February 13

February 6
Earth's Interior - Core, Mantle, Asthenosphere, Lithosphere
Mantle Convection, Isostacy
Framework of Plate Tectonics

Earth's Interior
Euler Poles and Fracture Zones
February 13
Midocean Ridges and the Ocean Crust
Oceanic Transforms
Midocean Ridges
Making Crust From Mantle
Oceanic Transforms
February 21 - meet on Tuesday
Continental Rifts, Passive Margins
Continental Rifts
The Newark Rift Basin
February 27
finish hanging topics, review for midterm
start new material for final exam
March 5
Midterm Exam
March 12
Spring Break

March 19
Subduction Zones

Subduction Zones
March 26
article approvals due!
Subduction Zones
subduction angle, accretionary prisms, backarc basins
Subduction Zones Lectures Summary

April 2
Orogenic Belts
Continental Transforms

Continental Collisions
Continental Transforms
Orogens & Continental Transforms Summary
April 9
Hotspots and Mantle Plumes
Hotspots
Are Hotspots Fixed?
Hotspots Lecture Summary
April 16
Mantle Convection
The Driving Forces of Plate Motions

Driving Forces of Plate Motion
Mantle Convection and Driving Forces Summary

April 23
finish hanging topics, review for final
Final Exam Review 2010
April 30
Final Exam