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biodiversity & biogeographhy > chapter 8: plate tectonics > Flashcards

chapter 8: plate tectonics Flashcards

1
Q

vicariance

A

isolation of a population

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2
Q

ectotherm

A

relies primarily on its external environment to regulate the temperature of its body
- reptile/amphibian

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3
Q

Endotherms

A

able to regulate their body temperatures by producing heat within the body
- birds

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4
Q

geologic/deep time

A

all of earth’s history

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5
Q

index fossils (guide fossils)

A

wide-ranging species; lifestyles more independent of small-scale patches
- ex: freely dispersed marine habitats

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6
Q

eons (3)

A

~1 billion years
- Archaen
- Proterozoic
- Phanerozioc (all of life)

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7
Q

era (current era?)

A

2nd largest time scale
- current era = Cenozoic!!

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8
Q

period

A

2+ eras

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9
Q

cambrien period

A

increase oxygen = explosion life

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10
Q

carboniferous period

A

increase in plant life = increased in buried dead plants = created fossil fuels today

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11
Q

life is about ___ years old

A

3.7 billion

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12
Q

half-life

A

amount of time for 1/2 radioactive material to decay to stable element
- calculate ratio of radio/stable to date samples

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13
Q

earth is about how old?

A

4.55 billion

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14
Q

are rocks today as old as earth?

A

NO, younger!

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15
Q

radio carbon dating

A

age of organic materials by tracking decay (1/2 life) of carbon-14 (isotope)

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16
Q

ways of estimating times

A

radio active decay/radio carbon dating, tree-rings, glacial ice cores/growth lines, luminescence (time since burial = amnt of light)

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17
Q

continental drift theory

A

continents/portions of continents rafted across earth’s surface on viscous upper mantle (above crust; crust = fixed to oven basins)

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18
Q

earths crust is..

A

dynamic

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19
Q

plate tectonics theory

A

Earth’s lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere
- plates come together, separate, and collide
- origin/destruction of plates and their drifts

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20
Q

lithosphere

A

earth’s solid outer crust/top layer of earth
- crust + upper mantle

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21
Q

plate subduction

A

one plate goes under the other, causes mountains or volcanoes
- main driver of plate tectonics today

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22
Q

before tectonics

A

core = too hot = holds continents together (1.8+ billion years ago); only had life in oceans until it cooled

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23
Q

tillites

A

glacial deposits in africa and South America where the poles once were
- wegener’s theory

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24
Q

sea floor spreading

A

plate’s move apart
- mid-oceanic ridges form and underwater mountain ranges can form

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25
stratigraphic evidence for continental drift
formation of mountains, oceanic ridges, island chains, glaciers, coal beds, sand dunes
26
paleoclimatic evidence for continental drift
all continents in Southern hemisphere have tillites (@ S.)
27
paleontological evidence for continental drift
fossils and records
28
trenches
formed at subduction zones - deep cuts in ocean floor - on sides of island arcs "V"-shaped - lower gravitational pull - ~ 10 km deep
29
earliest continental crust
basaltic material melted and oceanic plates move down into hot mantle; small proto-continents form (Archean)
30
central rift valley
zone w/ frequent, shallow earthquakes bc of submarine mountain ranges
31
magnetic reversals
poles switch directions - changes in orientation of earth's magnetic field - caused by change in magma flow through mantle
32
magma
molten rock
33
asthenosphere
deep, fluid layer of mantle (mostly molten rock)
34
3 plate movements
ridge push ("sea floor spreading"), mantle drag, slab pull (subduction)
35
what generates plate movement?
heat (convection) and earth's forces
36
sea floor spreading
at mid-oceanic ridges, plates split
37
what occurs at mid oceanic ridges?
formation of new crust - older rock spreads apart
38
mantle drag
lateral flow/friction b/w plate and mantle - recycling of lithosphere - pulls old lithosphere under, (so new can form in subduction)
39
subduction
denser plate slides down into magma, less dense plate covers the other - when plates crash - lithosphere recycling: when old plate goes under, gets heated by core, reused
40
what force drives subduction?
force due to the weight of the denser plate sinking (older) - biggest drifting force
41
divergent boundaries occur at...
mid-oceanic ridges - w/ sea floor spreading - plates move apart
42
convergent boundaries occur at..
subduction sites - subduction and collisions
43
transformation boundaries occur at...
major fault lines - plates rubbing together - linear faults
44
how old are todays continents
100 million years
45
order of 3 supercontinents:
oldest): rodinia --> panotia --> Pangaea
46
pangaea
life is introduced - and adapts/spreads
47
laurasia
Pangaea splits --> N. supercontinent
48
gondwana
Pangaea splits --> S. supercontinent
49
rodinia
original supercontinent - glaciation - 1.1 billion years ago - split 3 ways
50
panthalassia
1 global ocean during pangaea
51
pannotia
2nd supercontinent - cambrian explosion of life - 4 way split - 2 large oceans form - ~500 million years ago
52
ithsmas
small piece of land connecting 2 larger pieces of land
53
currently this is the __ period in earth's history.
driest
54
epeiric sea/epicontinental seas
formed when sea level rise and falls
55
continental islands
island breaks off from continent - easier access to colonize
56
oceanic islands
volcanic islands - soil = high in nutrients - longer time to colonize (less access) - adapt/evolve more
57
surstsey
volcanic island exploded/appeard in 1960s - 1964: 1st bacteria - 1965: 1st vascular plant - 2004: 400+ species
58
hotspots
weak spot in mantle where magma is released; oceanic plate subduction = volcano
59
hotspots form...
linear island chains - older submerge, new appear
60
triple junction
where 3 plate boundaries meet
61
triple junction forms...
volcanic islands
62
global circulation patterns are controlled by...
equatorial pole gradients and movement of land/ocean currents
63
what drives weather patterns?
oceanic current
64
Pangaea ultimate theory
theory we're moving toward another supercontinent

biodiversity & biogeographhy (12 decks)

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