Plate Tectonics

EARTH STRUCTURE & HEAT

LAYERS OF THE EARTH CRUST MANTLE OUTER CORE INNER CORE

CRUST outer solid Thin, outer layer made of cooled, solid rock LAYERS OF THE EARTH

MANTLE Thickest layer under the crust made of hot, plastic-like material

LAYERS OF THE EARTH OUTER CORE beneath Located beneath the Mantle, and is the … Moving Moving layer of liquid metal (iron/nickel) which causes the inner core to spin thus causing the Earth’s to act as a giant magnet

Protects the Earth from dangerous solar radiation. Earth’s Magnetic Field Causes this

Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude

LAYERS OF THE EARTH INNER CORE – SOLID INNER MOST LAYER MADE OF HOT, SOLID METAL (IRON AND NICKEL) THAT SPINS

Heat Transfer In The Earth

THE DEEPER DOWN, THE HOTTER IT GETS THE CLOSER TO THE SURFACE, THE COOLER IT GETS Earth’s Temperature

INTERNAL SOURCES OF THE EARTH’S HEAT RESIDUAL HEATRESIDUAL HEAT – HEAT REMAINING FROM PLANET FORMATION RADIOACTIVE HEATRADIOACTIVE HEAT – HEAT PRODUCED FROM THE DECAY OF RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS

HEAT TRANSFER INSIDE THE EARTH HEAT IS TRANSFERED TOWARDS THE SURFACE BY THE MOVEMENT OF HEATED ROCK IN CONVECTION CURRENTS IN THE MANTLE

TRANSFER OF HEAT BY CONVECTION CURRENTS

THEORIES OF PLATE MOVEMENT CONTINENTAL DRIFT (WHAT HAPPENED) & PLATE TECTONICS (WHY IT HAPPENED)

THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT PROPOSED IN 1912 BY ALFRED WEGENER A GERMAN GEOLOGIST, METEOROLOGIST AND EXPLORER

THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT PANGAEA 1) ALL CONTINENTS WERE ONCE JOINED TOGETHER IN A SUPERCONTINENT CALLED PANGAEA

2) PANGAEA BROKE INTO TWO MAJOR PIECES CALLED: LAURASIA LAURASIA GONDWANALANDGONDWANALAND

MOVING 3) THE PLATES CONTINUE MOVING AROUND THE EARTH TODAY.

PLATE TECTONICS THE CAUSE OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT WAS LATER EXPLAINED BY THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS

200 Million Years Ago

180 Million Years Ago - Jurassic TWO CONTINENTS

135 Million Years Ago - Cretaceous

65 Million Years Ago - Cenozoic

Present

50 Million Years in the Future

LITHOSPHERE THE FORMATION, MOVEMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH’S PLATES (LITHOSPHERE). TECTONIC LAYERS ITHOSPHERE 1)LITHOSPHERE 2)ASTHENOSPHERE PLATE TECTONICS WHAT IS PLATE TECTONICS?

LITHOSPHERE SOLID/RIGID THE LITHOSPHERE (EARTH’S PLATES) IS THE SOLID/RIGID LAYER OF THE EARTH THAT FORMS THE TECTONIC PLATES TECTONIC LAYERS

12 MAJOR PLATES, AND SEVERAL MINOR PLATES THERE ARE

THE LITHOSPHERE RIDES ON AND IS MOVED AROUND BY THE ASTHENOSPHERE. TECTONIC LAYERS

ASTHENOSPHERE ASTHENOSPHERE: LOCATED IN THE SOFTER, MANTLE WHERE CONVECTION CURRENTS MOVE THE LITHOSPHERIC PLATES AROUND

PLATE TECTONICS EVIDENCE OF PLATE MOVEMENT 1) MATCHING ROCK LAYERS 2) MATCHING FOSSIL BEDS

PLATE TECTONICS EVIDENCE OF PLATE MOVEMENT 3) FORCES SEEN AT WORK TODAY: VOLCANOES FAULTING CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKES SUBDUCTION – ONE PLATE DIVING BENEATH ANOTHER PLATE

EVIDENCE OF PLATE MOVEMENT - COAL FIELDS ALIGN -SHAPES ARE SIMILAR

EVIDENCE OF PLATE MOVEMENT MESOSAURUS + OTHER ORGANISM FOSSILS ALIGN

Types of Tectonic Plates Oceanic – covered by water Continental – above water

PLATE BOUNDARIES LITHOSPHERIC PLATE BOUNDARIES – THE EDGES OF THE LITHOSPHERIC PLATES (TECTONIC PLATES) Tectonic Plate (Lithosphere)

PLATE BOUNDARIES DIVERGENT CONVERGENT TRANSFORM TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES *THE TYPE OF PLATE BOUNDARY IS DETERMINED BY WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE

DIVERGENT ROOT WORD: DIVERGE ASSOCIATED TERMS: TO MOVE AWAY OR PULL APART PLATE BOUNDARY VOCABULARY

DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: LITHOSPHERIC PLATES MOVE APART AND LAVA COOLS AND HARDENS IN THE CRACK

CAUSED BY: CONVECTION CURRENTS PUSHING THE PLATES APART HOTTER ROCK RISES COOLER ROCK SINKS HOTTER COOLER CONVECTION CURRENTS DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY

rift valley

DIVERGENT BOUNDARY

MID- ATLANTIC RIDGE

CONVERGENT ROOT WORD: CONVERGE ASSOCIATED TERMS: COME TOGETHER, MEET PLATE BOUNDARY VOCABULARY

CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES DESCRIPTION: PLATES ARE BEING PUSHED TOGETHER BY CONVECTION CURRENTS IN THE ASTHENOSPHERE CONVECTION CURRENTS HOTTER COOLER HOTTER

CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES CAUSED BY: CONVECTION CURRENTS PUSHING THE PLATES TOGETHER CONVECTION CURRENTS HOTTER COOLER HOTTER

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES Convergent collisions cause the plates to do two different things. 1) Subduction 2) Head-on Collision

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES SUBDUCTION dives One plate dives beneath another. Subduction forms: Deep ocean trenches Volcanoes Subduction Zone *The area involved in subduction is called a Subduction Zone.

SUBDUCTION ZONE Volcanovolcano trench

SUBDUCTION ZONE Volcanovolcano trench

SUBDUCTION ZONE Volcanovolcano trench

SUBDUCTION ZONE Volcanovolcano trench

SUBDUCTION ZONE volcano trench

Ocean Plate volcano trench

MARIANA TRENCH TRENCH DEEPEST TRENCH IN THE WORLD – 36,000+ FEET OLDEST OCEAN FLOOR CRUST YOUNGEST OCEAN FLOOR CRUST

TRENCH DEEPEST TRENCH IN THE WORLD

DEEPEST TRENCH IN THE WORLD Trench Island Arc

TRENCH MARIANA TRENCH

CASCADE VOLCANOES Example: CASCADE VOLCANOES (Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainer) SUBDUCTS JUAN DE FUCA PLATE SUBDUCTS UNDER THE NORTH AMERICAN PLATE

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES Head-on Collisions head-on mountain ranges The plates collide, head-on and form mountain ranges.

MOUNTAINS: UPWARDDOWNWARD MOUNTAINS: WHEN CONTINENTAL PLATES COLLIDE, THE ENDS OF THE PLATES MOVE UPWARD AND DOWNWARD LANDFORM

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES

HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS EXAMPLE: HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS WERE CAUSED BY THE INDIAN PLATE CRASHING INTO THE EURASIAN PLATE

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES

TRANSFORM ROOT WORD: FORM ASSOCIATED TERMS: TO CHANGE OR MOVE BY EACH OTHER IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS PLATE BOUNDARY VOCABULARY

TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES OPPOSITE TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES – PLATES SLIDE BY EACH OTHER MOVING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS PLATE BOUNDARY #3

CAUSE PUSHING OPPOSITE CONVECTION CURRENTS IN THE ASTHENOSPHERE ARE PUSHING THE PLATES IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

LANDFORM CREATED FAULT LINE IT’S YOUR FAULT! CRACK MOVEMENT A CRACK IN THE EARTH’S CRUST ALONG WHICH MOVEMENT OCCURS

FAULT LINE LANDFORM CREATED BY A TRANSFORM BOUNDARY IS A: FAULT LINE

SAN ANDREAS FAULT IS A TRANSFORM BOUNDARY PACIFIC PLATE SLIDING NORTH NORTH AMERICAN PLATE SLIDING SOUTH

WHEN THE INSIDE OF THE EARTH COOLS AND HARDENS PLATE MOVEMENTSTOPS MOUNTAIN BUILDING VOLCANOES STOPS STOPS WHEN THERE ARE NO CONVECTION CURRENTS

Hot Spots An extra hot area in the mantle that burns through the crust Creates volcanoes

Hot Spots Examples: Hawaii and Yellowstone Park

Hawaii (Oceanic Hotspot) Hot spot under Pacific Plate Plate slowly moves over hotspot creating a chain of volcanic islands

Hawaii

Yellowstone Park (Continental Hotspot) Hotspot under North American Plate Plate slowly moves over hotspot

Yellowstone Park (Continental Hotspot)