Tectonics Flashcards
what are intra plate earthquakes
occur in middle or interior of tectonic plates and are much rarer than boundary earthquakes
what is a volcano
a landform that develops around a weakness in the earths crust from which molten magma, volcanic rock and gases are ejected and extruded.
what are seismic hazards
generated when rock within 700km of the earths surface come under such stress that they break and become displaced.
where do most earthquakes occur
on plate boundaries
what % of earthquakes occur on pacific ring of fire
70%
name 3 places that earthquakes can occur
- ocean fracture zones eg mid Atlantic ridge
- continental fracture zones (across) activity found in mountain ranges eg Himalayas
- scattered earthquakes in continental interiors eg along old faults such as church stretten shropshire
where do volcanoes usually form
hot spots
how many volcanos are there in the world and how many erupt each year
500
-50 yearly
what is the size of a volcanic eruption determined by
amount of dissolved gases released
name some characteristics of continental crust
30-50km thick
-layer of granite, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks floating on mantle
name some characteristics of oceanic crust
6-8km thick
- thinner and composed of several layers
- top layer composed of basalt
what are intra plate earthquakes and how do they occur
- in the middle of the plate
- occur as over time stress builds and releases pressure in ancient faults causes to become active again
- however they dont occur in well defined patterns along plate margins and are harder to predict
what is a volcanic hotspot
- area in mantle where heat rises as hot thermal plume deep in the earth often called a magma plume.
- caused by heat and pressure melt rock of lithosphere
what is james huttons theory of the earth
- 1785
- realised erosion, deposition and uplift were connected and these processes operate continuously
- driven by earths internal heat
what other findings were concluded by james hutton
- after studing strata and rock deposits in various locations, he also concluded that the earth was much older than people believed at the time which was around 6000 years old
- came up with rock cycle (rocks transported to sea, buried, solidified and later lifted back to earth surface through tectonic processes.
what was Alfred Wegeners theory
continental drift
-suggested 200 million years ago supercontinent called pangea broke into pieces and parts moved away from one another and fragments we see today are pieces of that
how did wegener support his theory
by finding matching rock formations and similar fossils across continents
-concluded these were onced together
why was wegener ridiculed
because of religion
what theory did harry hess come up with
1962
- hypothesis of sea floor spreading
- theory of oceans basins which outlined a theory which later was known as seafloor spreading
- he discovered oceans were shallower in the middle
how did Hess conclude his theory
identified presence of mid-ocean ridges which were as high as 1.5km above flat sea floor and envisaged that oceans great from their centres with molten material/basalt oozing up from the earths mantle creating sea floor spreading each side
what did john tuzo wilson come up with the theory of
1963
- was sceptical of tectonic theory but then became a great supporter
- wondered why volcanoes occur 1000s of miles from plate boundaries and proposed hotspots which occur in middle of plate form volcanic island chains
what did tuzo wilson discover
-the idea of a 3rd plate boundary called transform faults or Conservative plate boundaries
what is the plate tectonic theory
lithosphere broken up into several major and minor plates
-these plates moved relative to each other over asthenosphere and a number of processes drive their movement
what is the asthenopshere
mantle below lithosphere made of semi-molten rock