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Geography > Tectonics 1 > Flashcards

Tectonics 1 Flashcards

Includes Examples for every structure

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1
Q

What is the plate tectonic theory? What does it explain?

A
  • Earth 3-layered structure
  • Earth’s litosphere broken up, huge pieces (tectonic plates)
  • plates alwayz moving
  • Plate movements -> landforms phenomena
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2
Q

Earth’s structure

A

Crust, uppermost mantle, mantle, core

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3
Q

What does Litosphere contain?

A

Litosphere = Tectonic Plate
- Crust, uppermost mantle

Uppermost mantle is Solid.

Tectonic Plates
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12rAwkWXiw5RGFDGpRY3RhY_ab2Cs2ZpI7u36Bog2OvM/edit Page 2

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4
Q

Two categories of crusts and where they are found

A
  • oceanic (seafloor)
  • continental (continents)

Oceanic denser

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5
Q

What does the asthenosphere contain?

A

Semi-solid Upper mantle

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6
Q

What causes the athenosphere to be semi-solid?

A

Heat from core
causes rocks
Athenosphere melt

Semi-solid Upper mantle, Athenosphere same thing

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7
Q

Core mantle crust temperature thickness

A

Core: 4400-6000deg, 3300km
Mantle: 1000-3700deg, 2900km
Crust: Lowest, 6-70km

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8
Q
  1. types of plate boundaries
  2. What cause plate boundaries exist?
A

Types of plate boundaries
Divergent
Convergent
Transform

What causes them exist?
Convection Currents
Slab-pull force

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9
Q

Describe what happens at divergent, convergent and transform boundaries

A

Divergent -> Plates move away from one another
Convergent -> towards
Transform -> slide past

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10
Q

How does convection currents lead to divergent plate movement?

A
  1. Heat from Earth’s core -> mantle material decrease, density
  2. Mantle material rises surface
  3. Rising convection currents spreads magma under plates, dragging them apart.
  4. Mantle loses heat, sinks back towards core
  5. material gets heated up again
  6. repeat process

For 4:
Mantle material cools because it is at the area beneath plates that is further from the core which is the heat source, so its cooler there and the mantle material cools down, becomes denser and sinks.

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11
Q

How does slab-pull force contribute to convergent plate movement?

A
  1. two plates converge, denser crust pulled down, gravity
  2. subducts under less dense crust, sink under it’s own weight
  3. pulling down rest of plate with it
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12
Q

Subduction
- what is it?
- happens to what crust. why?

A

Happens to…?
Oceanic crust only.
Only denser oceanic crust can subduct

Descending under another plate

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13
Q

Magma VS Lava

A

same thing except for location
Magma -> In the volcano
Lava -> Outside of volcano

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14
Q

How does seafloor spreading occur?

A
  • At O-O divergent plate boundaries, when plates diverge, mid-ocean ridge is formed
  • Magma rises from weakened part of crust fills it
  • New seafloor formed after magma cooled.

Weakened part of the crust is as a result of the divergence (the mid-ocean ridge), you can imagine that as the plates move away, there are weaker areas of the crust just like how if you stretch an elastic material, it is more prone to breaking.

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15
Q

How is a Fold Mountain formed?

A

Two plate converges, buckles, folds, forming fold mountains

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16
Q

Evidence of Seafloor Spreading

A
  • Age of rocks at seabed shows a pattern

pattern
- Rocks nearest to center of mid-ocean ridge youngest
- Rocks further away are progressively older
- Shows how new oceanic crust is created at divergent boundaries

17
Q

What is Magnetic Striping?

A
  • Zebra-like pattern, normal polarity rocks alternating alongside strips of reversed polarity rocks
  • symmetrical on both sides
18
Q

What is normal polarity of Earth?

A
  • Earth has geographic North, geographic South
  • This does not change.
  • Earth has magnetic North, magnetic South
  • Magnetic North, South reversed multiple times
  • When the Magnetic North Points towards the Geographic North, and the Magnetic South Points towards the Geographic South, that is Normal Polarity.
19
Q

Magnetic Striping occurs as…?

A
  • When iron-rich lava erupts, cools solidifies, forms basaltic rocks
  • it’s Magnetic materials point towards Earth’s magnetic North, recording evidence of Earth’s polarity at that point of time
20
Q

Three plate movements

A
  • Convergent
  • Divergent
  • Transform
21
Q

1 Divergent Boundary example

A

North American, Eurasian Plate

22
Q

1 Convergent Boundary Example

A

Nazca, South American Plate

23
Q

What forms at o-o divergent plate boundaries?

A
  • Mid oceanic ridges
  • Volcanoes
  • Rift valley
  • Earthquake
24
Q

What happens at O-O Divergent Boundaries?

A
  1. Two oceanic plates move apart
  2. Decrease in overlying pressure causes underlying mantle to melt, forms magma
  3. Magma rises thru weak areas in crust, fills gaps caused by diverging plates
  4. Lava cools, solidifies to form basaltic rocks
  5. Rocks make up new oceanic crust
  6. Mid-ocean ridge forms

Write this first

Heat from Earth’s core -> mantle material to decrease in density
2. Mantle material rises to surface
3. Rising convection currents spreads magma beneath plates, dragging them apart.

25
Q

Example of Mid-Oceanic Ridge

A

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

LINK
Recall the example for o-o divergence

Eurasian and North American Plate diverge

26
Q

What is formed in divergent c-c plate boundaries?

A
  • Rift valley
  • Volcanoes
  • Earthquakes

Same As O-O diverge except for no mid-oceanic range

27
Q

Example of Rift Valley

A

East African Rift Valley

28
Q

Example of Volcano

A

Mount Kenya

29
Q

Example of Oceanic Trench

A

Mariana Trench

30
Q

What forms at convergent oceanic-oceanic boundaries?

A
  • Oceanic trench
  • Volcanoes
  • Earthquakes
31
Q

What forms at continental-continental plate boundaries

A
  • Fold mountains
  • Earthquakes
32
Q

Example of a fold mountain

A

Himalayas

33
Q

What forms at oceanic-continental convergent boundaries?

A
  • Oceanic trench
  • Volcanoes
  • Fold mountains
  • Earthquakes
34
Q

what is a chain of volcanoes called?

A

island arc

35
Q

What forms at transform plate boundaries

A
  • faults
  • earthquakes
36
Q

Example of fault

A

San Adreas Fault, USA

North American Plate slide past Pacific Plate

Geography (12 decks)

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