Earth’s Systems Essay: Lithosphere Origins and Plate Tectonics

The lithosphere is the outermost solid layer of the Earth, consisting of the Earth’s crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It consists of several rock types, such as igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks (Fortey, 2011). It is the location of tectonic plate boundaries, where earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other geological phenomena occur. The two major theories that explain the formation and origin of the lithosphere are the Plate Tectonic Theory and the Expanding Earth Theory.

The two theories aim to explain the formation and movement of the lithosphere. They also propose that the Earth’s lithosphere has undergone significant changes over time and also recognize the importance of volcanic activity and other geological processes in shaping the Earth’s surface.

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These two theories, however, have major differences that include their interpretation of geological phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The Plate Tectonic Theory suggests that these phenomena occur due to the movement of plates, whereas the Expanding Earth Theory proposes that they occur due to the stretching and fracturing of the Earth’s crust (Fowler, 2020). Plate tectonic theory suggests that the movement of tectonic plates is driven by convection currents in the mantle, while expanding Earth theory proposes that the Earth’s interior is expanding due to heat generated by radioactive decay.

The plate tectonic theory is the most trusted theory due to the presence of evidence to support the theory. Some of the evidence are the ocean floor spreading, the distribution of certain fossils on different continents  (Simpson, 2018), the occurrence of hotspots and volcanic activity such as those in Hawaii and Iceland. These indicate that the tectonic plates are moving resulting in the formation of the lithosphere.

References

Fortey, R. (2011). The Earth: An Intimate History. Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Fowler, C. M. (2020). The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics. Cambridge University Press.

Simpson, D. W. (2018). Plate tectonics: Geological history and current status. Progress in Physical Geography.