September 8, 2014 Earth’s Forces Ring of Fire Movie Warm-Ups In August 2011, Hurricane Irene hit the east coast of the US and did millions of dollars worth of damage. If you were the mayor of a city, which could be affected by a hurricane, how would you protect the city and its citizens? – Write at least 5 sentences
How many different layers make up the Earth’s structure? What are they? Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust
What is the Earth’s Core? Solid metallic Inner Core Liquid metallic Outer Core Both made of iron and nickel
What is the Mantle? Surrounds the core Soft layer of molten (melted) rock called magma!!!
What is the Crust? Thin layer of rock at the earth’s surface
What is the Atmosphere? Layer of gases surrounding the earth
What is the Lithosphere? Solid rock portion of the Earth’s surface
What is the Hydrosphere? All the water elements of the Earth 1.Oceans 2.Seas 3.Rivers 4.Lakes
What is the Biosphere? Where plants and animals live Includes: Atmosphere, Lithosphere, & Hydrosphere
What is Plate Tectonics? Movement of large plates (crust) above magma in the mantle What proof is there? Fossils, plants and animals along coastlines of separated continents
What is the theory of Continental Drift? 1912 theory by Alfred Wegener Earth once had a supercontinent (all connected) Called “Pangea”
Plate Boundaries Plates collide, separate, and shift along these boundaries
What type of movements are there? 1.Divergent 2.Convergent: Subduction 3.Convergent: Collision 4.Transform
Example: Sub-Duction Zone
Example: Sea Floor Spreading
Example: Transform Boundary San Andreas Fault-California What type of movement takes place? Transform Movement
Seismograph Measures the size of waves created by the earthquake How are Earthquakes measured?
Earthquakes
Review: Plate Tectonics Plate Movement – Spreading – usually ocean floor – Sub-duction – form Volcanoes – Collision – form mountains – Sliding/Shearing – cause earthquakes Boundaries – where plates meet – Divergent- moving apart – Convergent - collide – Transform – slide past each other
Volcanoes What is the Ring of Fire? Most volcanoes located around the rim of the Pacific Ocean
What force might have caused this?
What is Weathering? Types of Weathering are… Mechanical – When rocks and other minerals are broken into smaller pieces. Chemical – When minerals are changed completely when they mix with water and air. Like metal changing to rust.
What is Wind Erosion? – Loess is wind-blown silt, sand, and clay. – Can form sand dunes 100’s of feet deep!
What is Water Erosion? Precipitation Mudslides Avalanche
What is Glacial Erosion? Glaciation – changes in a landform made from a slowly moving sheet of ice (glacier) Moraines – rocks left behind after a glacier moves Creates new valleys, hills, or ridges
What is soil, how is it made? Through the process of weathering and erosion of rocks Humus – quality of soil 1.Texture of the soil 2.Amount of organic material in the soil