Planetary Geology Ch 9 Flashcards
Plate tectonics plays a crucial role in the stability of
Earths climate
Only planet shaped primarily by ongoing
Plate tectonics
How can continents move apart in time
Sea floor spreading
Thinner, denser , and younger than continental crust
Sea floor crust
Sea floor crust made of
Basalt
Continental crust made of
Granite
Sea floor plate meets
Continental plate.
Why do terrestrial planets have different geology
Distance from sun
Size
RotAtion speed
All 4 planets were heavily cratered t or F
True
Volcanos and tectonics depend on planets?
Size
Small worlds ?? So they have not had ?,? For billion of years.
Cooled quickly. Volcanos or tectonics
PlAte tectonics are not just attributed to
Size ;Venus
A planets geology is largely destined
From birth
X is more important on earth
Erosion
?? May be important to our existence
Plate tectonics
Thinner lithosphere means
More geological activity
Crust and mantle make up
Lithosphere .
Most dense to least dense layers
Core , mantle, crust
3 ways interiors get hot
Heat of accretion
Heat of differentiation
Heat of radioactive decay
3 ways interiors cool off
Convection heat material expands and rises
Conduction heat from one thing goes to other by contact
Radiation emit thermal radiation characteristic of their temps. Low temps they radiate in the infrared.
What causes geological activity
Interior heating. Mantle convection , lithosphere thin, interior partly molten
Larger planets cool Slowly, stay active longer
A planets magnetic field needs 3 things
Inner layer of electrically conduction fluid, convection of that fluid, and rapid rotation . We have all three .
How do craters reveal a surfaces geological age.
More craters show older surface. Some have been erased .
What geological processes shaped our moon
Craters, young lava, small
. Tectonics no erosion cuz little atmosphere.
