Tectonics Flashcards
(98 cards)
What is the shape of the earth?
a geoid (bulges in the middle, flatter at the poles)
Why is the earth shaped like this?
due to centrifugal forces generated by the Earth’s rotation that fling the molten interior outwards
What is the Earth’s internal structure?
- crust
- mantle
- outer core
- inner core
How thick is the crust?
0-100km
How thick is the mantle?
2900km
How thick is the outer core?
2200km
How thick is the inner core?
1270km
What is the temperature and properties of the crust?
solid, 900°C
What is the temperature and properties of the mantle?
liquid peridotite, 1,600°C
What is the temperature and properties of the outer core?
liquid iron and nickel, 4,000°C
What is the temperature and properties of the inner core?
solid iron and nickel, 6,000°C
What are the two types of plates that the crust is made up of?
continental plates - thicker (up to 100km) less dense, sial (silica/aluminium)
oceanic plates - thinner (approx. 20km) denser, sima (silica/magnesium)
What is the lithosphere and asthenosphere?
lithosphere is the 100% solid layer of the earth (i.e. the crust)
asthenosphere can be semi-molten or molten and includes the bottom of the crust
How do convection currents work?
- at over 1000°C, peridotite in the mantle near the core is under extreme pressure and heat
- this peridotite becomes “plastic” (behaving like a viscous liquid) and flows upwards to the surface
- the high pressure of rocks in the crust stops them from melting as the peridotite reaches them, instead the peridotite cools and flows sideways before returning to the core
- this movement forms a convection current; the sideways movement of rocks just beneath the crust causes tectonic plates to move
What did Alfred Wegener suggest?
in 1912, Wegener suggested his theory of continental drift - belief that all continents were originally joined as one landmass an slowly drifted to their current position
What 6 pieces of evidence did Wegener base his theory of continental drift on?
- the shape of Africa fit into South America
- mountain range in Argentina and South Africa fit
- similar Mesosaurus fossils only found in SW Africa and Brazil
- same rock type in NW Scotland and Eastern Canada
- coal found in Antarctica (showed warmer latitude)
- glacial deposits and striations matched in Brazil and West Africa
How did Harry Hess add to Wegener’s theory?
in 1962, Hess put forward his theory of Plate Tectonics - discovered sea-floor spreading (that new ocean crust was being continually created along mid-ocean ridges as the crust moves apart) - this was established as the driving force of the movement of continents
How did Harry Hess support his theory?
using palaeomagnetism - every 400,000 years the Earth’s magnetism flips - particles in iron oxide called magnetite always move towards north, therefore different rocks have differently positioned minerals that reflect their age - used to prove the creation of new rock
What is slab pull?
slab pull - when denser oceanic plates are subjected at cold downwellings, this may cause mantle ares to be cooler and the downward movement within convection currents
e.g. the Pacific Plate has lots of subduction at its edge - this may be why it moves faster than other plates
How did the earth change from Pangaea to present day?
- permian - 250 million years ago (all continents joined as one super-continent called Pangaea)
- triassic - 200 million years ago (Pangaea split into Laurasia and Gondwanaland)
- Jurassic - 145 million years ago (continental landmasses continue to drift apart)
- Cretacious - 65 million years ago (South America and Africa separate)
- Present day (India has crashed into Asia)
What are the types of plate boundaries?
- divergent/constructive
- convergent/destructive
- conservative/transform
What happens at continental divergence?
- two continental plates move apart
- the land is too thick for magma to rise through the gap in the plates, and magma is too viscous, so the land between each fault collapses forming rift valleys
- e.g. Iceland rift valley where the Eurasian and North American Plate move apart
What happens at oceanic divergence?
- two oceanic plates move apart
- magma that is not very viscous flows to the surface, forming gently sloping shield volcanoes
- e.g. Surtsey - shield volcano formed an island in 1963, located on the SW coast of Iceland now with a functioning ecosystem
- ocean ridges also form - huge ranges of submarine mountains that do not remain volcanic, can be up to 4000m high but still completely submerged
- e.g. Mid Atlantic Ridge
What happens at continental convergence?
- two continental plates move towards eachother
- plates have a lower density than the asthenosphere below them, therefore do not subduct
- colliding plates are uplifted and buckle high to form fold mountain ranges
- e.g. Himalayan Mountains, Nepal (Indian and Eurasian plate)
- the lava is more viscous as the thick crust means gases are absorbed as it travels upwards - means no volcanic activity occurs