Tectonics 1.2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What speed do Earth’s tectonic plates move per year?

A

2-5 cm

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2
Q

How many main tectonic plates are there?

A

Seven

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3
Q

Other than large tectonic plates, what else is there?

A

Micro plates

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4
Q

How thick is each plate?

A

Approximately 100km

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5
Q

Who proposed Continental Drift hypothesis in 1912?

A

Alfred Wegener;

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6
Q

What year was Continental Drift hypothesis in suggested?

A

1912

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7
Q

What is the name of theory Alfred Wegener suggested?

A

Continental Drift Hypothesis;

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8
Q

What did Alfred Wegener’s Continental Drift hypothesis in 1912 postulate?

A

Separate continents had once been joined;

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9
Q

What is the name of the single landmass that was present before drifting to present locations proposed by Alfred Wegener?

A

Pangaea;

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10
Q

What notion did Arthur Holmes (1930s) suggest?

A

Mantle Convection moved tectonics

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11
Q

What does mantle convection suggest about what drives movement of plate tectonics?

A

Earth’s radioactive heat;

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12
Q

When was the asthenosphere discovered?

A

1960;

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13
Q

The asthenosphere can be described as what?

A

Weak; Deformable;

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14
Q

Where is the asthenosphere in comparison to lithosphere?

A

Beneath

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15
Q

What does the asthenosphere cause the lithosphere to do?

A

Move;

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16
Q

When was magnetic strips in the oceanic crust of the sea bed discovered?

A

1960s

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17
Q

What is the name of magnetic strips in the oceanic crust of the sea bed?

A

palaemagnetic signals;

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18
Q

Where are palaemagnetic signals from?

A

Past reversals; Earth’s magnetic field;

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19
Q

What do palaemagnetic signals prove?

A

New ocean crust; Sea-Floor Spreading;

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20
Q

At what type of ridge does Sea-Floor Spreading occur?

A

Mid-ocean ridges;

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21
Q

At what type of plate boundary do seafloor spreading and palaeomagnetism occur?

A

Divergent;

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22
Q

At what type of plate boundary do seafloor spreading and palaeomagnetism occur?

A

Divergent;

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23
Q

Who proposed transform faults which were recognised in 1965?

A

Tuzo Wilson;

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24
Q

Who suggested sea-floor spreading?

A

Harry Hess;

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25
Q

What type of plate boundary does subduction of one plate under another plate occur?

A

Convergent;

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26
Q

What is the range of focal depths in subduction zones?

A

10km to 400km;

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27
Q

What is the range of focal points at subduction zones?

A

10km to 400km;

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28
Q

What line do focal points follow?

A

Line of subducting plate;

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29
Q

What type of plate margin has gravitational sliding?

A

Divergent margins;

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30
Q

What type of altitudes do constructive margins have?

A

Elevated altitudes;

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31
Q

Why do divergent margins have elevated altitudes?

A

Rising heat between them;

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32
Q

What does rising heat between divergent margins create?

A

‘Slope’ down;

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33
Q

Which plate margin does oceanic plates slide due to gravitational sliding?

A

Convergent;

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34
Q

What is gravitational sliding also known as?

A

Ridge Push;

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35
Q

What is the name of the plate that is subducted?

A

Oceanic;

36
Q

What is the name of plate that does not subduct?

A

Continental;

37
Q

What are the features of the subducting oceanic plate?

A

Colder; more dense;

38
Q

Is the continental plate more or less dense than the oceanic plate?

A

Less dense;

39
Q

Slab pull is when what type of oceanic plate is subducted beneath what type of continental plate?

A

Colder; more dense
Less dense

40
Q

What causes the oceanic plate to pull itself into the mantle?

A

Its density;

41
Q

What type of plate margin does slab pull occur at?

A

Convergent;

42
Q

What are all tectonic hazards caused by?

A

Earth’s tectonic heat engine;

43
Q

What do radioactive isotopes do in the Earth’s core?

A

Generate heat;

44
Q

What are two examples of radioactive isotopes?

A

Uranium-238; Thorium-232

45
Q

What do heat currents generate in the plastic mantle?

A

Convection Currents;

46
Q

Is the interior of the Earth dynamic or static?

A

Dynamic;

47
Q

What are the main categories of the Earth’s structure?

A

Crust
Mantle
Inner Core
Outer Core

48
Q

Is the Mantle solid or liquid?

A

Solid;

49
Q

Is the Outer Core solid or liquid?

A

Liquid;

50
Q

Is the Inner Core solid of liquid?

A

Solid;

51
Q

Despite being a solid, what is the mantle capable of doing because of high temperatures?

A

Slow flow; Deformable;

52
Q

What type of faults do conservative plate boundaries consist of?

A

Transform faults;

53
Q

What do faults do to sections of constructive plate boundary as they traverse the Earth’s surface

A

‘Join up’;

54
Q

What type of pattern do these faults traverse the Earth’s surface in?

A

A zig-zag pattern;

55
Q

What do long transform faults act like in their own right?

A

Boundary;

56
Q

What type of focal depths do earthquakes along conservative boundaries often have?

A

Shallow;

57
Q

What do shallow focus depths mean for earthquakes?

A

High magnitude; destructive;

58
Q

Is there any volcanic activity at conservative zones?

A

No;Absent;

59
Q

What are eruptions like at constructive plate margins?

A

Small; Effusive;

60
Q

Why are eruptions small and effusive at constructive margins?

A

Basalt lava;

61
Q

What are the features of erupted basalt?

A

Low gas content; High Viscosity;

62
Q

Are earthquakes shallow or deep at constructive margins?

A

Shallow;

63
Q

What is the depth of earthquakes at constructive margins?

A

Less than 60km;

64
Q

What are the magnitudes of Constructive margin earthquakes?

A

Low; 5.0<

65
Q

What type of earthquakes do Oceanic- Oceanic Constructive Margins create?

A

Minor; Shallow Earthquakes;

66
Q

What type of earthquakes do Continent-Continent Constructive margins create?

A

Minor;

67
Q

What type of volcanoes do Continent-Continent Constructive margins create?

A

Basaltic volcanoes;

68
Q

What is the Benioff Zone?

A

A z of s w e are p by the i of a d g o c p i a s z.

69
Q

What is a Benioff Zone?

A

A zone of seismicity where earthquakes are produced by the interaction of a down going oceanic crustal plate in a subduction zone.

70
Q

What type of earthquakes can yield from Benioff Zone?

A

Large; 9.0;

71
Q

What focal depths does the Benioff Zone occur in?

A

10km-400km;

72
Q

What type of margin do Benioff Zones occur?

A

Convergent Margins;

73
Q

What is the name of the process that the descending plate begins to melt at depth in Benioff Zone?

A

Wet partial melting;

74
Q

What type of magma does wet partial melting generate?

A

High gas; silica content

75
Q

What does high gas and silica content mean for volcanoes?

A

Explosive;

76
Q

What are collision zones cut by?

A

Huge thrust faults;

77
Q

What do huge thrust points generate?

A

shallow, high-magnitude earthquakes

78
Q

What type of earthquakes form at Oceanic-Oceanic convergent margins?

A

Frequent;

79
Q

What type of volcanoes form at Oceanic-Oceanic convergent margins?

A

violent; curving chain; volcanic islands

80
Q

What type of earthquakes do Continent-Continent at convergent plates form?

A

Infrequent; major;

81
Q

What type do earthquakes form at Oceanic-Continent convergent plates?

A

Frequent; large

82
Q

What type do volcanoes form at Oceanic-Continent convergent plates?

A

Violent;

83
Q

What type of focal depth do earthquakes along conservative boundaries often have?

A

Shallow focal depths;

84
Q

What do shallow focal depths mean for earthquakes?

A

Destructive;

85
Q

What do shallow focal depths mean for volcanoes?

A

Absent;

86
Q

What type of earthquakes are at Oceanic-Continent conservative margins?

A

Frequent; Shallow;

87
Q

What type of volcanoes are at Oceanic-Continent conservative margins?

A

No Volcanic Activity;