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A powerpoint on plate tectonics
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Plate Tectonics
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-Provides the mechanisms for the next segment of class - Earthquakes - Volcanoes
- Earth is a dynamic system not only as climate, but in solids as well - Rock solids move and interact - Source of energy is from within the Earth - Residual heat from Earths formation - Very term and concept heavy. Get these things down
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Components of Earth
Crust (two types)-
Oceanic Crust- Thin, dense crust formed at mid-ocean ridges (basaltic). Continental Crust- Thick, less dense continental material (silicic). Mantle- Solid but acts plastic (moves over geologic time) Outer Core- Liquid iron and nickel Inner Core- Solid iron and nickel
Components of Earth
Lithosphere- Consists of crust and upper part of upper mantle
Asthenosphere- Consists of highly viscous portion of the upper mantle
These terms are described by their mechanical qualities, not chemical/mineral!
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- Crust is broken into pieces - Called Tectonic Plates - These plates move atop the mantle due to underlying forces (and others). We call this process-
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Plate Tectonics- The big picture that describes movement of crustal plates.
Driving forces
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Convection drives plate tectonics. Tectonic plates in turn move on atop the currents and interact with each other
- Smashing into each other - Pulling away from each other - Rubbing against each other
Boundaries
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3 types
Divergent- Where plates pull apart Convergent- Where plates smash together Transform- Where plates pass one another
Boundaries
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Divergent Boundary- Rising magma creates pull apart conditions and crust rips apart. New crust forms at boundary.
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Boundaries
Divergence of rock (think of this as stretching) can occur on a continent. Leads to a thinning of the continent and Basin and Range (Nevada)
Nevada is Americas stretch mark
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Boundaries
Convergent Boundary- Two plates smash into each other. These are subduction zones and collision zones (mountain building areas).
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Boundaries
Hand sample rock densities- - Oceanic Crust (basalt) is dense (heavy) - Continental crust (silica) is less dense (light) When the two encounter one another, the dense material subducts under the lighter material.
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Boundaries
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Boundaries
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Boundaries
Transform Boundary- Plates moving in opposite direction slide past one another.
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Boundaries
The San Andreas fault is a transform boundary between the Pacific and North American plates Cal Poly Pomona is moving North in reference to Victorville
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Evidence
- Many theories have been presented to explain the concept of the continents moving.
- 1912- Alex Wegener proposed that all continents were once part of a supercontinent he called Pangaea. Hypothesized the continents moved and called it Continental Drift.
- Not widely accepted until the 1960s
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Evidence
Many lines of evidence, from the obvious to quite technical. We will focus on three. 1) Continental fit 2) Regional similarities 3) Sea floor age
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-Next time-
Exercise #1 (from the manual) & Tectonic Regions