Plate Tectonics

.docx

School

Broward College *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

1010

Subject

Geology

Date

Jul 2, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

4

Uploaded by Sanjay21

Report
February 28, 2020 Physical Geology Plate Tectonics a.) Go to the understanding plate motions web page and learn about the three types of plate boundaries and respond to the following questions. 1.) There are four types of plate boundaries. The site gives a brief statement of each of them. Write a more detailed description for each of them. a.) Divergent boundaries: are new crust that is created as the plates pull far from one another. They take place where plates are moving away from each other and new crust gets made from magma coming up from the mantle b.) Convergent boundaries: anywhere crust is obliterated as one plate slides under another. c.) Transform boundaries: (also called transform-fault boundary) crust is not created or destroyed while the plates glide past one another. d.) Plate boundary zones: broad belts in which boundaries are not well defined and the effects of plate interaction are unclear. 2.) What is a subduction zone? A subduction zone is the area where crust is being destroyed at the same pace as it is being created. The salvaging of crust occurs in convergent boundaries, where the plates move near one another, or sometime a plate is subducted underneath another. The area where a plate sinks is called the subduction zone 3.) What are the three kinds of convergent plate boundaries? Provide a description of each. a.) Oceanic-continental convergence: Convergence are among an oceanic plate and a big continental plate. The oceanic plate gets subducted under the continental plate. b.) Oceanic-oceanic convergence: Convergence between two large oceanic plates. One plate becomes subducted below the other, during this a trench is created, as well as volcanoes c.) Continental-continental convergence: Convergence between two large continental plates. No plates are subducted, instead they collide 4.) What two kinds of crust are involved in a subduction zone? Which crust typically subducts under the other one? Oceanic crust and continental crust. The oceanic crust gets subducted under the continental crust. 5.) What type of plate boundary is cutting through Iceland? The divergent plate boundary is cutting through Iceland 6.) What is an island arc? An island arc is a bunch of islands that are formed from volcanic activity along the subduction zone. 7.) In the Transform Boundaries section, the figure shows fracture zones. What is a fracture zone? A fracture zone is a large fault, or crack in the ground. They connect two divergent plate boundaries, or sometimes convergent plate boundaries. 8.) At the San Andreas fault zone, the plates are moving past each other at 5 centimeters per year. The distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles is ~615 kilometers. At this
rate, how many years will pass until Los Angeles and San Francisco meet along the fault? Be sure to show your math calculations for credit. 9.) What is a microplate? Find an example of a microplate; provide the name and location of one of them. A microplate is a smaller plate that is caught among at least two large plates. The Easter microplate is located along the Pacific-Nazca ridge 10.) There are three commonly used space-geodetic techniques: VLBI, SLR, and GPS. Select one of the techniques and read more about it. Explain what the technique is and how it is used. Cite your sources using APA style. GPS (Global Positioning System): this was developed for military, aerospace research, radio astronomy and satellite tracking. It is the most useful for monitoring the Earth’s crustal movements. There are 21 satellites in space that orbit the Earth to study movement. It is also used for giving directions. We use this every day to get from place to place. The Global position system . (2020, February 28). Retrieved from GPS.gov: https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/ b.) Watch the YouTube video seafloor spreading. 11.) The lithospheric plates move apart due to convection. What is mantle convection? Mantle convection is the slow movement of Earth's mantle brought about by convection flows conveying heat from the inside to the planet's surface. 12.) What piece of content would you add to the video to help you and your fellow classmates better understand the material? Describe in at least 3 sentences. The part of content that I would improve on in the video is to explain why plates diverges 3-10cm per year and how a new type of crust is created by intruding magmas and how the lava erupts on the ocean floor. c.) Navigate to the plate convergence and seismicity web site. Click on the picture labeled 'Subduction' and watch the movie 13.) What two kinds of convergence are shown in the movie? What happens when the two plates collide? Oceanic and Continental plates. When both plates strike, the fragile and more heavy oceanic plate is controlled by hard and fewer solid continental plates d.)Closely review the plate tectonics map. Rest the mouse on the bottom right corner of the map and after a couple of seconds an enlargement icon should appear. Click on the icon to see the map in full size. Use the scroll bars on the side and bottom to maneuver around the map 14.) Using the key at the bottom of the map, what is happening in Idaho tectonically speaking? Are the people living in Idaho in any imminent danger? Explain Idaho has a fault zone, which means that an earthquake can happen at any time. According to the map to people living in Idaho may be in danger at times. The
dashed line means that activity is uncertain, which means they are unsure 15.) Scroll over to Asia and locate the Java Trench. This is where the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate interact. What kind of plate interaction was responsible for the December 26, 2004 tsunami? This is known as a subduction zone. The Eurasian plate is being pushed down underneath the Indian plate. 50 million years prior this is the way the introduction of the Himalaya’s begun. e.) Watch the YouTube animation showing how the tectonic plates looked around 235 million years ago. The animation begins with the supercontinent, Pangaea, and shows how the plates moved through time to their present configuration. 16.) What continents did North America used to be attached to during Pangaea time? The continents that were attached during Pangea time are Africa and South America f.) Go to the USGS Hotspots web page to learn about mantle thermal plumes. Respond to the following questions: 17.) Does a hotspot move with a tectonic plate, or are they static? Explain your answer. Hotspot is excusive since it does not develop at the compass of Earth’s tectonic plates, where another volcanism takes. place. The mantle plums that assembles hotspots are logic to be approximately static, while tectonic plates are not. 18.) What is the average speed of sea floor spreading? Make sure you give the proper units and cite your sources in APA style. The average speed of sea floor spreading s about 15cm and 6 inches per year SeaFloor Spreading . (2020, February 28). Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/seafloor-spreading/ 19.) Do an internet search to find the area with the fastest spreading rate. Where is it? How fast is it spreading? Cite your sources in APA style used to find the answer. The fastest spreading rate is about 150km and is located along the Pacific-Nazca extent among the Eastern and Juan Fernandez microplates. Earth’s Fastest Seafloor Spreading Center . (2020, February 28). Retrieved from Hawaii.edu: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HIGP/Faculty/hey/fastest.html 20.) Do an internet search to find a hotspot that is not located in the Pacific Ocean. Where is the hotspot located? Provide some background information about that particular hotspot. Cite your sources in APA style. The hotspot is located in Hawaii. The capital and biggest city of Hawaii is Honolulu which is located on the abolished volcanic island. Today the enormous Island of Hawaii installs over the hot spot and the only one that has effective volcanoes in that island group Volcano World . (2020, February 28). Retrieved from OSU: http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/hot-spot- volcanoes-hawaii-and-yellowstone-lesson-9
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help