IndexIntroductionFormation and DevelopmentScientific DevelopmentsHotspot LocationHypotheses for the FutureConclusionBibliographyIntroductionThe Glass House Mountains are a group of large hills scattered across the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland in Australia. The mountains received their names from the indigenous community, however their shared name (the Glass House Mountains) was given by Lieutenant Captain Cook in 1770. Many ideas have been theorized regarding the formation of the mountains, including several dream stories indigenous, however, as scientific data. Research has developed it is believed that the formation can be demonstrated by the theory of plate tectonics. To confirm this statement it is necessary to discuss how mountains have developed over the last 32 million years, the scientific theories that led to the development of this statement and a hypothesis regarding future volcanic activity in Australia. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Formation and Development Scientists are confident that the formation of the Glass House Mountains is not due to the subduction of tectonic plates because the Australian continent is not close to a plate boundary and therefore would not have been heavily affected if subduction had occurred subduction. It has been established that the formation of mountains began 32 million years ago when the Indo-Australian plate moved over a large hot spot under the earth's crust located in the asthenosphere. The hotspot exerted enormous pressure on the overlying rock, pushing magma through weak sections of the crust. As a result, numerous active volcanoes formed scattered along the sunny Australian coast, now known as the Hothouse Mountains. The hot spot and volcanic activity covered large amounts of nearby land with a thick layer of basalt, leaving the molten plugs of the volcanoes covered and protected. As the tectonic plate continued to move in a northeasterly direction, pulling the volcanoes away from the hot spot, it allowed them to cool and die out as the supply of magma ceased. The plugs hardened to form extremely hard rhyolite and trachyte plugs beneath a layer of basalt. Over millions of years, the basalt covering the hardened plugs was weathered and eroded, exposing the plugs, which is how effusive mountains are known to this day. Scientific Developments Alfred Wegener, a meteorologist, developed the theory of continental drift in the years 1908-1912. Wegener presented the idea that hundreds of millions of years ago all the continents were united forming a supercontinent which he called "Pangea", but over time they separated. He believed this was accurate because the boundaries of the continents seemed to fit together like a puzzle and groups of fossils were found to be connected on the continents. In 1915 Wegener published a book in which he explained his discoveries and, although fascinating, it was not enough to convince the world of his theory. Many people doubted his theory because not only was Wegener not a geologist, but he had made miscalculations in his published research. However, the biggest flaw in his claim was that it was largely lacking in evidence regarding how the continents separated due to the lack of technology at the time. The theory of continental drift was mostly correct and although Wenger is not alive to witness it, the theory is now partially accepted by the scientific community. The theory of plate tectonics is the modified and scientifically approved version of the theory of continental drift. Plate tectonics is theconcept that the Earth's crust is broken into several plates that sit on top of the mantle. The movement of magma in the mantle (convective currents) causes the plates to come into contact, causing subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges, earthquakes and tsunamis. There are three different types of plate boundaries, convergent (when plates come together), divergent (when plates move away from each other), and transform (when two plates slide past each other). This theory was developed using the help of modern technology which was not available to Wegener. GPS technology was used to confirm that continents were indeed moving, magnetic readings detected seafloor spreading, seismic monitoring found clear evidence of earthquakes occurring along plate boundaries, and deep-sea drilling depths and echo sounders have contributed to the discovery of mid-ocean ridges. However, the fossil specimens that Wegener had used were also an important part of developing the correct theory regarding plate tectonics. The location of the hot spotConvection currents are movements in the semi-plastic mantle that cause the movement of tectonic plates. This occurs due to heat being unevenly distributed in the Earth's core, thus heating different parts of the magma in the mantle causing parts to be less dense and rise, eventually cool and gain density and fall below in the heated section and start this again. process. This action triggers a circular motion in the mantle that pushes the overlying plate forward in the other. For more than 32 million years a convective current has been moving the Indo-Australian plate in a north-east direction. Using GPS satellite technology, geologists have theorized that the Indo-Australian Plate is moving about 7cm per year. Using the knowledge that the greenhouse mountains ceased all volcanic activity 26 million years ago (when the plate moved them from the hotspot) it is hypothesized that the hotspot is now 1820 km from the last greenhouse mountain. Therefore, it is likely that the eastern Australian hotspot is now located just above the Australian region of Tasmania, in the bastrait. Hypotheses for the future“The eastern Australian hotspot is a volcanic hotspot that pushes magma to weak sports in the Indo-Australian Plate to form volcanoes. The hotspot is currently located in eastern Australia. Therefore, the Australian continent will have future volcanic activity." This statement is a valid prediction of Australia's future. Volcanic activity is likely to occur on the island of Tasmania because earlier volcanoes formed in a roughly south-west direction due to plate movement in a north-east direction. Tasmania is aligned in the same direction as previous volcanoes that formed on the main island and is directly south of Mt Schank and Mt Gambier, which are Australia's youngest volcanoes/mountains, both of which erupted only 5000 years ago. While it is not certain that the continent will experience volcanic activity, it is possible that all of the activity will form on the oceanic crust beside Tasmania. However, lava fields have already been detected in Tasmania due to its proximity to the hotspot. If activity were to occur on the island of Tasmania, it is unlikely to occur within the next million years and will not be as substantial as the formation of the Greenhouse Mountains. Small fissure volcanoes or magma chambers account for the extent of activity expected to develop, this is due to the cooling of the hotspot in the time period following the formation of the greenhouse mountains. This can be deduced because the volcanoes that