Plate Tectonics

Unit 2_Geology

Energy that drives the rock cycle?

Sunlight
Earth Interior

This section will focus

on energy from the
interior (thermal energy).

Continental Drift
The hypothesis that a single large landmass
broke up into smaller land masses to form the
continents, which then drifted to their present
locations.
proposed by
Alfred Wegener.

Evidence that supports Continental

drift
Fossil evidence
Geologic evidence
Climate evidence

Mechanism (system or means by which

something gets done): mid-ocean ridges

Mid-Ocean Ridges
A long undersea mountain chains that has a
steep, narrow valley at this center, that forms
as magma rises from the asthenosphere,
and that creates new oceanic lithosphere
(sea floor) as tectonic plates move apart.

Sea-Floor Spreading
The process by which new oceanic lithosphere
(seafloor) forms from magma that rises to the
earths surface at the mid-ocean ridges and
solidifies, as older, existing sea floor moves
away from the ridge.
Does that mean Earth
is getting larger?
if not what?

Earths Magnetic Field

The magnetic field the outer core creates goes way
out into space and makes a protective barrier
around the earth that shields us from the sun's
damaging solar wind.

Paleomagnetism
The residual magnetism of rock.
As magma solidifies to form rock the iron-rich
minerals align with the Earths magnetic field.

paleo-early or prehistoric

Magnetic Field Reversal

Geologic evidence that shows that the
magnetic field of the Earth did not always point
north.
Normal polarity = field points north
Reversed polarity = field points south

Plate Tectonics Theory

Explains how large pieces of the lithosphere,
called plates, move and change shape.

Tectonic Plates
Large pieces of the lithosphere.
Tectonics plates can include continental crust,
oceanic crust or both.

Tectonic Plates
The crust is carried along on the moving
tectonic plates.
15 major plates (7 continental plates)*
Found by studying
earthquakes and
volcanoes
*no consensus

Plate Movements

Plate Tectonic
Pangaea broke into two parts:
Northern Laurasia
Southern Gondwanaland

Earthquakes
When the tectonic plates move, sudden shifts
can occur along their boundaries.
Occur at all 3 boundaries

Plate Boundaries
Dramatic changes in Earths crust happen
along plate boundaries.

3 Types of Boundaries

Causes
Convection movement of heated material due
to differences in density that are caused by
differences in temperature.

Energy -> from the core

->rises through heated
material

Divergent
Tending to be different or develop in different
directions.
-ent = inclined to

Divergent boundary
When 2 tectonic plates move away from each other
Formation:
New land
Rift valley= where plates separate
- mid ocean ridges (mostly)
seafloor spreading
- continental

Earthquakes along ocean ridge

Convergent
Coming close together
con=together
-ent=inclined to

Convergent boundary
When 2 plate boundaries push toward each other.
They come together.
Earthquakes occur
3 types of collision:
1. Continental & continental mountain
[density is the same for each]
mountains

Convergent boundary
2. continental & oceanic = trenches form because of
subduction. [oceanic material is denser]
3. oceanic & oceanic = island arc form because of
subduction. There is melting and as the magma rises
to the surface it forms an island arc.

Subduction Zones
Area along the plate boundary where one plate
moves under another plate.
Subduct=to take away
-tion=the act of doing

material melts and is recycled

back into mantle rock.

Transform boundary
Transform boundary
When 2 plates slide past each other horizontally
Formation:
Earthquakes
Example: San Andreas Fault in San Francisco
Continental-continental
Oceanic-oceanic (fracture zones)

Ridge Push
Newly formed rock is warmer and less dense
than older rock therefore it is more elevated.
The older rock slopes down putting pressure
on the plates. The force exerted by the sliding
cooling rock is called
Ridge Push

Slab Pull
Plates pull away from each other and magma
will rise and cool. The denser material
subducts and pulls the plate with it.

Earths Convection System

3 mechanism
convection cell
Ridge push
Slab pull

Creation of Crust
Tectonic plates pull apart, molten rock (magma)
rises to fill the crack, cooling to form new crust.

Destruction of Crust
Subducted crust melts and is recycled into
molten rock.

Deformation
Change the shape of
-tion = the state or act of
de- = down or away from; remove

Examples: bending, titling, and breaking of the

Earths crust.

Stress
amount of force on a rock.
Any push or pull force on a rock that can
cause bending or breaking.
3 types:
Compression
Tension
Shear Stress

Compression
Stress that pushes rocks together
-occurs mainly at or near convergent boundary

Tension
Stress that stretches or pulls rocks apart
-occurs mainly at divergent boundary
thinner in the middle and thicker on sides.

Shear Stress
Stress that pushes rocks in opposite direction
sheared rock bends, twists or breaks apart
-occurs at mainly at transform boundary

Fold
A form of ductile strain where the rock layers
bend, usually because of compression.
--Wavelike
temperature and pressure are higher

Ductile
able to be deformed without losing its pliability.
NOT BRITTLE.

Folds
Anticline
An upward fold
-oldest layer in center
Syncline
A downward fold
-youngest layer in center

Fault
A break along which the surrounding rock
moves.
temperature and pressure are low

two types of breaks: fault and

fracture (a break no movement)

Faults
Block of rock above the fault - hanging wall
Block of rock below the fault footwall

Faults & Folds

4 faults:
Normal
Reverse
Lateral or strike-slip
Thrust

4 Faults
Normal fault
Due to tension (pull apart), hanging wall slides
down below foot wall.
Reverse fault
Due to compression (pushed), hanging wall
moves up above foot wall.
Lateral/strike slip fault
Shearing (opposing forces) causes rock blocks to
slide horizontally past each other.
Thrust fault
Due to compression, hanging wall
slides on top of foot wall.

Mountain Range
Series of mountains that are closely related.
Mountain belts 2 larger systems: circumPacific belt and the Eurasian-Melanesium

Types of Mountains
Folded Mountains rock layers squeezed
together and uplifted.
Fault-Block and Grabens faulting breaks
crust into large blocks
Dome mountains-circular or elliptical
(symmetrical)
Volcanic mountains-formed when magma
erupts.
Hot Spots - volcanic active
area near plates

Fault Features
Fault block mountain
A piece or block of land is uplifted when 2 normal
faults occur.
Stress:
Rift valley
A piece of land that drops down between 2 normal
faults
Stress:

Fault vs. Fold

Page 296
4 factors that determine if a rock will fault or fold
1.
2.
3.
4.

Fault vs. Fold Warm-up

A rock will fold based on its __________________(or
what its made of). If a rock is brittle, it will fault and
if it is ____________, it tends to fold. Two types of
folds are ______________ which is an upward fold
and ______________ which is a downward fold. The
more quickly pressure is applied causes the rock to
________________. However, if there is not a lot of
pressure, it may fold. If pressure is applied
___________ and over a long period of
___________, it will probably fold.

Boundaries Pages 268-302

Take notes on:

Divergent boundaries
-what happens
-what forms
Convergent boundaries
-what happens
Oceanic & continental forms_________
Continental & continental forms_____________
Oceanic & oceanic forms_______________
Transform boundaries
-what happens
-examples
What is: mantle convection, ridge push, slab pull

1.

Boundaries Questions

Which boundary do you have when new lithosphere is formed along the
mid-ocean ridge?_________________
2. The 3 boundaries are ___________________, __________________ and
______________________
3. In which boundary do plates come together? ________
4.
Mountains form when continental and ______________ plates move
toward each other
5. When an oceanic crust and a continental crust collide, a(n) forms
_____________________
6. The San Andreas Fault is an example of what type of boundary?
__________________
7. The force exerted by the sliding of cooling rocks is called ______________
_____________.
8. When 2 plates move away from each other, which boundary do you have?
__________________
9. When 2 plates pull away from each other and magma fills the gap and cools
to form lithosphere, you have ________ _______.

 Grand Canyon formation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgE-dSxfPc

Warm-up
A break or crack is called a _____________, while a
fold is a ___________ in rocks. When the hanging
wall moves __________ relative to the foot wall, you
have a normal fault. During a ____________ fault,
the rocks slide past each other horizontally. The 2
faults caused by compression are __________ and
________ fault. The boundary that leads to sea floor
spreading or mid-ocean ridge is _______________
boundary. The hottest layer is the _____________.
The _________________ crust is thinner but denser
than the __________________ crust.

Talk away
Hanging wall
Fault
Divergent
Stress
Fault block mountain
Anticline
Half-life
Footwall
Normal fault
Syncline
Relative age
Reverse fault
Rift valley
Tension
Inner core
Transform
Plasticity
Compression
Crust
Outer core
Mantle
Thrust fault
Convergent
Strike-slip (lateral)

EARTHQUAKES

Caused by boundaries
Most common transform boundary
Earthquake damage is measured on Richter Scale

Earthquake
Earth Quake- Shaking
Earthquake- Movements of the ground caused
by sudden release of energy when rocks move
along a fault

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/educa
tion/media/earthquakes-101/?ar_a=1

Elastic Rebound
Elastic-capable of returning to its original state
after being stretched
Re- again
Bound-to move by leaps, spring
The sudden return of deformed rock to its
undeformed shape

Shadow Zone
Shadow- shade or darkness
Zone- area
An area on surface where no seismic waves
can be detected.

Measuring Earthquakes Pgs.325-27

Seismograph
Seismogram
Seismologist
How far an earthquake is based on distance between
P, S and L waves
Magnitude
#s on the Richter Scale
What Richter Scale measures

Seismic Waves
Seismic- related to earthquakes
Of enormous proportion

Waves- a disturbance that travels through a

medium from one location to another.
(Transports energy not matter.)

Primary Seismic Waves

Primary-first
Primary Waves or P waves are compression
waves. They are the fastest and always
detected first. They can move through solid,
liquid or gas.

Compression wave

P Waves
Push-pull motion or back and forth motion.
the more rigid the material the faster
they move

Secondary Seismic Waves

Second- after the first
Secondary or Shear waves

Seismic Waves
side to side or up and
down

slower than P waves

only travels through solids

Surface Waves
Surface- on the outside, outermost layer
slowest moving waves but they cause the
greatest damage.
Two types: Love and Rayleigh

Love Waves or L-wave

Slowest wave
Bends and twists the crust
Most destructive
side to side and perpendicular to wave direction

Rayleigh Wave

waves churn over and under like rolling ocean

waves
earth moves elliptical, or rolling motion

Difference between L and R

wave
Love wave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b
FK0azDTNvE
raleigh wave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W
Z3EaEay3YM

Read and take notes

page 325-328
Include definitions for:
seismograph
seismogram
seismologist
difference between magnitude &
intensity

Seismograph

Seismo- relating to earthquakes

-graph - writing

Seismogram
Seismo- relating to earthquake
-gram- Something written, drawing

Seismologist
Seismo- relating to earthquakes
-ologist- person who studies

Foreshock
Little earthquake that precede the actual
earthquake (occur beforehand)

After shock
Small earthquakes that happen after the major
earthquake.

Parts of an Earthquake
Focus - location within or along the fault
where the first motion is detected.

Parts of an Earthquake
Epicenter
Epi- on, over, near, at
Center- middle point
location on the surface above the focus that is
considered the starting point of the earthquake.

A Real Earthquake.
Seismograms:
TUC = Tucson
PCAZ = Phoenix
GLA = Yuma
WUAZ = Wupatki

Determine distance
of earthquake from
station GLA at Yuma:
P arrival time
46 sec
S arrival time
91 sec
(S - P time)
45 sec

Distance from station to EQ:

distance = (S - P time) X 8 km/sec
= 45 sec X 8 km/sec = 360 km
NOW YOUR TURN T0 DETERMINE
DISTANCES FROM OTHER STATIONS!

Triangulating on the
earthquake:
Draw circle with radius
360 km around GLA.
Use your distances from
other seismic stations
to triangulate the
location of the
earthquake.

360 km

How do we measure the strength of an

earthquake?

Forces inside Earth slowly deform the rock

causing the rock to change its shape or bend.
As rocks bend they store elastic energy, just like
a wooden stick might.
What happens to that energy if you let go?
What happens if you keep apply force?

Measuring Earthquakes
Richter Scale-Measures the magnitude or the
strength of an earthquake. Rating system: 1-10
Mercalli Scale- Measures the intensity (or damage)
of an earthquake. Rating system: I-XII

RICHTER SCALE AND DAMAGE

1 and 2: Usually not felt, but detected by instruments.
3: Felt by very few people to many, often mistaken for a passing vehicle.
indoors: dishes and doors disturbed.
4: Felt by nearly everyone. People awakened. Cracked walls, trees
disturbed.
5: Felt by all. Many run outdoors. Furniture moves. Slight damage occurs.
Poorly built buildings suffer severe damage.
6: Everyone runs outdoors. Moderate to major damage. Minor damage to
specially designed buildings. Chimneys and walls collapse.
7: All buildings suffer major damage. Ground cracks, pipes break,
foundations shift. Major damage. Structures destroyed. Ground is badly
cracked. Landslides occur.
8: Severe damage. Felt over large areas. Earthquake-resistant building
suffer moderate to heavy damage. Very wide cracks in ground. Total
destruction. Ground surface waves seen. Bridges wrecked. Objects thrown
into the air.
9: Near or total destruction. Permanent changes to the land.

Avalanche and landslide caused by

earthquakes

Tsunami destroying Japan 2011

Damage caused by surface

waves

Ground opens up- shallow crevices

Alaska Earthquake 2012 5.8

Kobe, Japan 1995 6.9

1989 San Francisco 7.0

Close buildings toppling over

1989 San Francisco - 7.0

1989 San Francisco 7.1

Turkey 2011 7.2

Turkey 2011 7.2

Kobe Japan 1995 7.2

Kobe Japan 1995 7.2

Turkey 1999 7.4

1976 Guatemala City 7.5

China Earthquake 2008 7.9

Mexico City, Mexico 1985 - 8.1

2004 Japan 8.9

1960 Arauco Chile - 9.5

Tsunami
Ocean waves caused because of earthquakes,
volcanoes or landslides (caused by a sudden
drop or rise in the ocean floor).

The devastation caused by the earthquake-generated tsunami

is seen on the south coast of Western Samoa.

2004 Tsunami 9.0 Biggest tsunami

The most common causes of tsunamis are underwater earthquakes. The

energy from earthquake pushes the water upward above normal sea level.

December 26, 2004, tsunami in the Indian Ocean was a 9.0 on the Richter
scale -- one of the biggest in recorded history.

Tsunami
http://education.nationalgeographic.com
/education/media/tsunamis101/?ar_a=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4_7
cPsY0VU

Stay Safe Assignment

As a group make a poster stressing earthquake
safety for the following locations:
Indoors
In a vehicle
Outdoors
Under debris
Each group is responsible for one and should
indicate which one they did
For each situation give the heading, 3 bullet facts
and 3 colored drawings
You may do your bullets and colored drawings on a
separate computer paper and glue it to your poster
at the end.
Need a catchy title

Stay Safe Poster Rubric

Title 10 points
Heading 3 points
Each Bullet 11 points (3x11=33)
Each Colored drawing 15 points (15x3=45)
Name 5 points
Indicating what you did/Hour 4 points

Safety Notes

One fact :
Before Earthquake
During Earthquake
After Earthquake
What are foreshocks

Safety Notes

One fact :
Before EarthquakeDuring EarthquakeAfter Earthquake-

What are foreshocks

Japan 9.0 Earthquake and Tsunami

Name:____________________

1. Japan lies between 2 plates. The Pacific plate is ramming into the other plate at a
rate of ______cm a year/ the rate your fingernails grow.
2. P-waves (Primary) moved the fastest at ______km per second. The S-waves
followed at ______Km per second.
3. Until this earthquake the highest magnitude earthquake experienced by Japan was
_________ on the Richter Scale.
4. Most earthquakes last mere seconds. Unusually long, how many minutes did this
earthquake last? _______ minutes.
5. When did this earthquake happen? _______________, 11, 20 ____
6. Tsunami was triggered by the explosive _____________ released by the
______________.
7. The tsunami waves were 1 meter high but ________________of kilometers from
front to back.
8. Where the water was deeper, the tsunami traveled _________________ and
reached land more ______________.
9. The last time a tsunami hit Japan was half a _________________ ago.
10. This tsunami was ____ meters high.

Warm-up
In 1906, there was an earthquake of 8.3
magnitude in San Francisco and 700 people
were killed.
17 years later, in 1923 an Earthquake of
similar magnitude happened in Tokyo, Japan
and over 100,000 people were killled.
In a paragraph, give at least 5 reasons why
this might be the case. 1 reason for each
sentence.

Thermal Energy
Thermal- heat
Energy- ability to do work, force

Volcanoes
A vent in the earth's crust through which lava, steam,
ashes, etc., are thrown with force
active v. dormant

3 Types of Volcano
Shield, Cinder Cone & Composite
The 3 types have distinct characters
Shape of volcano, type of eruption, types
of lava and pyroclastic materials

Types of Lava
Mafic Lava
-Dark colored, runny, gooey
-quiet or fast flowing
Felsic Lava-Light colored, thick, dry
-explosive

Pyroclastic Materials
Different size fragments that spews from a volcano
Volcanic dust (sometimes called ash/ like flour)

Volcanic ash-

Pyroclastic Materials
Different size fragments that spews from a volcano
Lapilli- Small pebbles
Cinders- Golf ball size
Volcanic blocks and bombs
- Large

Pyroclastic Surge
gas and rock fragment. ratio of gas higher than
rock.
more turbulent

Shield volcanoes
Large, flat, spread out shape

Quiet eruption, Runny lava pours out of the

vent from a volcano-mafic lava

Cinder Cone volcanoes

Steep, conical hill

Violent eruption
Felsic dry, blocky lava
Pyroclastic material flies out with force

Composite volcanoes
Alternating quiet and violent eruptions

Parts of a Volcano

Hot Spot
A magma plume that reaches the surface which
is not near a plate boundary.

Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire is located along Pacific coast of N and S

America, Asia and Islands of Pacific Ocean.
Hot spots form when magma breaks through lithosphere
(crust). Volcanoes can form.
If the lithosphere drifts slowly, activity of volcano stops
because it moved away from magma. New volcano forms
island arc

Volcanoes
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity
/types-of-volcanic-eruptions/?ar_a=1

A composite volcano is made up of

many layers of hardened lava and
volcano ash of eruptions that have
already taken place.

During these eruptions the volcanoes will throw out debris, have lots of lava
flow they can also causes landslide, avalanches and even tsunamis. The
eruptions of these volcanoes cause the most damage than any of the rest.
Some of the most well know volcano eruptions are from composite volcanoes
like Mt. St Helens, Mt.Fuji and Mt. Etna.

Cinder cones are a very classic look that a volcano can have. They have a
bowl shaped crater at the top of the summit.

This is a picture of one of the most

famous cinder volcanoes in Mexico.

Shield volcanoes are very large in size; the picture above shows an example
of one which is the largest volcano on earth Mauna Lau. largest mountain in
our solar system Olympus Mons is a shield volcanoes

When the shields volcanoes erupt it does like the rest it sends ash in the air
and lava flows out. They usually dont have huge explosions that injure
people but like all volcanoes they do damage to the environment.

More than 300,000 people have died from volcanic activity in the past 500
years. A house being set on fire by advancing aa lava from Kilauea volcano
in January, 1960

9 October 2006: moderate activity

from 7 active vents.

Stromboli Volcano
5 July 06. Moments during an eruption of the
collapsed cone

Pompeii during a catastrophic eruption

of the volcano Mount Vesuvius- 79 AD

People were covered by ash during this

great eruption

Volcano Safety- List 3 things before, during and

after eruption
Before Eruption
1.
2.
3.
During Eruption
1.
2.
3.
After Eruption
1.
2.
3.