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Tectonics > Unit 1 > Flashcards

Unit 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the sublayers and temperature of the core?

A

sublayers = inner and outer
temperature = 6100 degrees

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2
Q

What are the properties and composition of the core of the Earth?

A

properties = solid
composition = iron and nickel

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3
Q

What are the sublayers and temperature of the mantle?

A

sublayers = mesosphere and asthenosphere
temperature = 1000 - 3700 degrees

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4
Q

What are the properties and composition of the mantle?

A

properties;
mesosphere = solid
asthenosphere = almost solid, slightly melted

composition = magnesium, iron and oxygen

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5
Q

What is the boundary between the crust and the mantle known as?

A

Moho Discontinuity

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6
Q

What are the two sublayers of the Lithosphere?

A

Oceanic crust and Continental crust

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7
Q

What is the thickness and temperature of oceanic crust?

A

thickness = 6 - 10 km
temperature = up to 1200 degrees at the deepest point

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8
Q

What are the properties and composition of oceanic crust?

A

properties = thinner, younger and less dense
composition = silica and magnesium

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9
Q

What is the thickness and temperature of continental crust?

A

thickness = 25 - 75km
temperature = up to 400 degrees at the deepest point

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10
Q

What are the properties and composition of continental crust?

A

properties = thicker, older and less dense
composition = silica and aluminum

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11
Q

The Earth’s crust is broken into sections, what are these sections called and what do they move on?

A

sections = plates
move on the… ductile semi molten asthenosphere

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12
Q

What is an example of a major oceanic plate type?

A

Pacific plate

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13
Q

What is an example of a minor oceanic plate type?

A

Philippine plate

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14
Q

What is an example of a major oceanic and continental plate type?

A

Antarctica plate

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15
Q

What is an example of a minor oceanic and continental plate type?

A

Indian plate

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16
Q

What does the original theory of plate movement state?

A

convection currents in the mantle
driven by heat released from radioactive decay in the core (creates convection cells)

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17
Q

What does the modern theory of ‘Ridge Push’ and ‘Slab Pull’ say how plate movement occurs?

A

plates move through a combination of:
- convection currents create traction with the plates
- pull from the weight of the subducting plates due to gravity
- the outward pushing at a ridge where magma is rising and forming new crust
dominant process = gravity driven slab pull

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18
Q

What are the lines along which neighboring plates meet called?

A

plate margins/boundaries

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19
Q

What is the movement of plates at a divergent plate boundary? (constructive)

A

when neighboring plates move away/ diverge from each other

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20
Q

What is the movement of plates at a convergent plate boundary? (destructive)

A

where neighboring plates move towards or converge towards each other

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21
Q

What is the movement of plates at a conservative plate boundary? (transform)

A

where neighboring plates move alongside each other, either the same way or different ways

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22
Q

Where on the planet can two oceanic plates diverging be found?

A

Mid Atlantic Ridge

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23
Q

What is the dominant process forcing plates apart?

A

gravity driven slab pull

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24
Q

What is meant by extensional forces?

A

pulling apart, cause thinning of the crust

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25
What is the first stage of divergent plate boundaries? What landforms are there and how do they form?
extensional forces cause the thinning of crust - faults (cracks) develop in the crust and blocks drop downwards to create a rift valley with fault scarp slopes - magma from the mantle, rises through the cracks in the crust to create volcanoes
26
How do fault scarp slopes form, and at which plate boundary?
when there are faults (cracks) develop in the crust and blocks drop downwards to create a rift in the valley = divergent
27
What is the case study for fault scarp slopes, stage 1 divergent plate margin?
Eastern African Rift Valley - there are 600m deep rift valleys which are separated by steep fault scarp slopes - lava erupts forming basaltic lava flows and large shield volcanoes e.g. Mount Kilimanjaro
28
What is stage 2 of divergent plate margins?
continuous stage 1 leads to erupted lava forming thin new basaltic crust along the boundary, this low lying area becomes flooded by the sea
29
What is the case study for stage 2 of a divergent plate margin?
the Red Sea
30
What happens in the stage 3 of the formation of divergent plate margin?
pressure from the rising magma causes doming up along the boundary creating a mid ocean ridge variation of rates of spreading causes transform faults to develop at right angles to the ridge
31
What type of hazard do transform faults cause?
Shallow focus earthquakes
32
What type of hazards occur at the plate margins at a divergent boundary?
underwater volcanoes, causes new land to form e.g. Iceland
33
What are the three forms of convergent plate margins can take at the collision zone?
= where oceanic and continental collide = where oceanic and oceanic collide = where continental and continental crust collide
34
What occurs at an oceanic and continental crust convergent margin?
- Plates are moving towards each other, driven by convection currents in the mantle, and the processes of ridge push and slab pull - the less dense continental crust is subject to compression, causing fold mountains e.g. The Andes - the oceanic crust is less dense and is therefore subducted under the continental plate - this forms an oceanic trench at the subduction zone
35
What is an example of an ocean trench?
Peru-Chile trench, which is over 6000m deep
36
What happens at an oceanic and continental convergent margin, after the oceanic plate has been subducted?
- once it is subducted, the pressure and friction allows partial melting and forms magma, which being less dense, rises into the continental crust - some of the magma will cool and solidify into granite, forming fold mountains - or can form volcanoes that violently erupt due to the type of magma
37
Do earthquakes occur on an oceanic and continental convergent margin and how?
YES - as the oceanic crust is subducted beneath the continental crust it can become stuck causing a build up of pressure, when this pressure is released, it can form powerful earthquakes - e.g. Chile in May 1960 (9.5 on the Richter scale)
38
What is the definition of the Benioff zone?
the area within the subduction zone where the earthquake occurs
39
What happens at an oceanic and oceanic convergent margin?
(the process is similar to that of an oceanic and continental convergent plate margin) - the key difference is that because there is no continental crust, no fold mountains form - explosive volcanoes will develop from the sea floor and will overtime create chains of volcanic islands = ISLAND ARC
40
Where is an example of an island arc?
Pacific ring of fire
41
What is an example of a volcanic eruption that occurred on an oceanic and oceanic convergent plate boundary?
Tonga eruption of 2022
42
What were the casualties of the Tonga eruption in 2022?
7 dead 19 injured $182 million in damages
43
What happens on a continental and continental convergent margin/ collision margin?
when the two plates collide neither is subducted, so this means that there is no volcanic activity - the two plates push against each other leading to folding and thrust faults in the fold mountains that develop - powerful earthquakes are common as the pressure release along the thrust faults is powerful
44
What is the definition of orogenesis?
the process of fold mountain creation
45
What is an example of a fold mountain created on a collision plate margin?
The Himalayas formed at the collision margin between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates
46
What is the height of the Himalayas?
Mount Everest at 8,849m
47
What are the natural hazards that occur in the Himalayas due to Earthquakes?
earthquakes are common in this mountain range and can lead to glacial outburst floods, landslides and buildings to collapse
48
What is an example of an earthquake that occurred in the Earthquake?
7.8 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal, in April 2015 was a disaster for the country
49
What happens at a conservative (transform) plate boundaries?
At these boundaries two neighbouring plates slide past each other, known as transform movement - there is no volcanic activity, but frequent shallow earthquakes occur as pressure is released during movement
50
What is an example of an earthquake that occurred on a conservative (transform) plate boundary?
2010 Haiti earthquake
51
What is an example of a plate margin of a conservative boundary?
San Andreas Fault in California
52
What is a hot spot?
is the top of a small scale but active mantle plume
53
What happens when an oceanic plate moves over a hot spot?
an island chain is formed for example, the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean
54
What is a seamount?
once a section of plate has moved over and away from a hot spot, this creates an island with an extinct volcano = they erode e.g. Suiko
55
What is an example of a continental area that has a hotspot that has formed on it?
Yellowstone national park, in the USA has localised areas of heat develop as magma rises through a crack in thick continental crust
56
Why is the Yellowstone hot spot known as a supervolcano, when was its last super eruption?
due to its size, magma chamber = 90km long and 40km wide - supereruption was 640,000 years ago
57
Look back at the booklet for the last summary page and try to recall the information
please DO IT
58
What is the definition of a hazard?
something that can cause harm to people, property or environment
59
What is the definition of vulnerability?
refers to the relative impacts on the group of people that follows a hazardous event
60
How does economic level of development affect risk and vulnerability?
- less developed = increased risk and vulnerability won't have the resources to prepare or plan or even rebuild after
61
How does social population density affect risk and vulnerability?
increased pop density = more lives in danger, longer evacuation times, more infrastructure likely to be destroyed
62
How does social levels of education affect risk and vulnerability?
increased levels of education = decreased risk, they can plan evacuation routes, be aware of hazards
63
How does political quality of governance affect risk and vulnerability?
increase quality = decrease risk, gov has more funding and time to plan and cope
64
How does environmental rural/urban location affect risk and vulnerability?
rural = decreased risk, less densely populated, but still the same harm to the environment

Tectonics (4 decks)

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