Chapter 3: Earth Materials and Plate Tectonics

Earth’s planetary structure

 Earth’s interior
 Primarily composed of solids
 By mining and drilling we
have examined only a small
part directly
 Geothermal gradient
 Indirect means
 Remote sensing
 Seismic waves

 Seismograph

 P (primary) waves

 S (secondary) waves
Earth’s planetary structure
 Seismic waves
 Seismograph

On what average speed did the seismic waves travel through earth
from Chile to Athens? What maximum vertical motion (vertical
deflection) did Athens experience from this earthquake?
Earth’s planetary structure
 Earthquake’s produce two major types of seismic
waves
 P (primary) waves
 S (secondary) waves
Earth’s planetary structure
Which of Earth’s internal zones is the largest?
Earth’s planetary structure
 Core
1/3 of Earth’s mass
Enormous pressure
Iron and nickel
Inner core
 Solid
Outer core
 molten lava
Earth’s planetary structure
 Mantle
Largest of interior zones
Solid rocky material
Less dense than core
Plastic solid
Outermost layer
behaves like an elastic
solid (rigid)
Lithosphere
Earth’s planetary structure
 Mantle
Tectonic forces come
from movement of
asthenosphere
Moho discontinuity
Earth’s planetary structure
 Crust
1% of Earth’s mass
Exterior of lithosphere
Density
Oceanic crust
(basaltic)
Continental crust

(granitic)
Earth’s planetary structure
 Lithosphere
and
asthenosphere
 Extreme uppermost part of
mantle
 Chemical composition like the
mantle
 Responds to stresses like the crust
 Elastic solid
 Asthenosphere
 Thick layer of the upper mantle that
responds to stress by deforming and
flowing slowly
 Plastic solid
MINERALS
 Minerals
Building blocks of
rocks
Inorganic
Crystalline substance
 Displays a specific,
repeated, 3-D
structure at the
molecular level
MINERALS
 Minerals
Distinct and recognizable
characteristics
 Hardness
 Color

 Luster

 Cleavage

 Tendency to fracture

 Specific gravity

 Shape of crystal
MINERALS
 Minerals
Categorized into groups
based on chemical
composition
Elements that combine
readily with other
elements
 Silicon, oxygen, and carbon
 Most common mineral

groups are silicates, oxides,

Most common
and carbonates
elements in earth’s
 Most common are Silicates
crust
ROCKS
 Rocks
Aggregate of various types
of minerals or individual
grains of the same kind of
mineral
Most consist of several
minerals

How many different kinds

of minerals can you see in
this sample of granite?
ROCKS
 Rocks
Bedrock
Regolith
Outcrop

What physical
characteristics of this
rock outcrop have
caused it to protrude
above the general
land surface?
ROCKS
 Three major categories of
rocks
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
ROCKS
 Igneous rocks
Molten rock material cools
and solidifies
Magma (below surface)
Lava (at surface)
Two major categories of
Igneous:
 Extrusive
 intrusive What features besides the
red color indicate the part
of the flow that was added
most recently?
ROCKS
 Extrusive
 Extrusive igneous rock
(volcanic rock)
 solidifies at surface
 Pyroclastics
 fine fragments

 Intrusive
 Intrusive igneous rock:
molten magma solidifies
(freezes)
 Also called plutonic rock
ROCKS
 Chemical
composition of
igneous
Felsic, Mafic,
Dionite, Andesite
 Extrusive:
Basalt, Andesite,
Rhyolite
 Intrusive:
Gabbro, Diorite,
Granite
ROCKS
 Sedimentary rocks
Accumulated
sediment
Clastic
sedimentary rocks
Conglomerate,
sandstone, shale

Why do the shapes and sizes of

the sediments in sedimentary
rocks differ?
ROCKS
 Sedimentary rocks
Limestone formation
Organic sedimentary
rock
 Coal

Chemical precipitate
sedimentary rocks
 dolomite
ROCKS
 Sedimentary rocks
Stratification
Strata
Bedding planes
Unconformity
ROCKS
 Sedimentary rocks
Cross bedding
Fins
ROCKS
 Metamorphic rocks
Changes form due to
enormous heat and
pressure
Foliation

How does foliation

differ from bedding
planes?
ROCKS
 Metamorphic rocks
Schist
Gneiss
Marble
Quartzite
ROCKS
 Rock cycle
What conditions are necessary to change igneous rock
to metamorphic rock? Can a metamorphic rock be
metamorphosed?
 Weathering

Transportation

Deposition Uplift and exposure

Sediments
Igneous rocks
(extrusive)

Lithification
(Compaction and
Cementation)
Consolidation

Sedimentary
rocks

Metamorphism Igneous rocks

(intrusive)

Metamorphic
rocks Crystallization

Melting
Magma
Stepped Art
Figure 13-19 p368
PLATE TECTONICS
 Catastrophism
 Uniformitarianism
 Theory of continental
drift
Idea that continents and
other landmasses have
shifted
Wegener
Pangaea
 Gondwana
 Laurasia
PLATE TECTONICS
 Plate tectonics
Modern theory to explain
movement of continents
Lithospheric plates
Plates move in distinct and
discrete units
Plates diverge, converge,
or move laterally
7 major plates
How would continental
movement affect the
climates of landmasses?
PLATE TECTONICS
 Evidencein support of
continental drift
Paleomagnetism
Reconstructed locations of
continents using rocks of
different age
Widely separated
continents with similar
reptile and plant fossils
PLATE TECTONICS
 Evidencein support of
continental drift
Ancient glaciation
Rocks of ancient mountain
ranges
Use of the true continental
edges for reconstruction
Tropical forest climates
existed on widely
separated continents
PLATE TECTONICS
 Seafloor
spreading and
subduction
Undersea mapping
Midoceanic ridges
Parallel bands of
matching magnetic
patterns
Rocks on ocean floor very
young
What is the relative age
Oldest rocks lie next to
of oceanic crust along the
continents east coast of the U.S.?
PLATE TECTONICS
 Seafloorspreading
 Subduction
PLATE TECTONICS
 The theory of plate tectonics
 Modern day theory that explains sea floor spreading,
subduction, and the movement of the lithosphere
PLATE TECTONICS
 Does every lithospheric plate include a continent?
PLATE TECTONICS
Why is plate
tectonics a better
name than
continental drift for
the lateral
movement of
earth’s solid outer
shell?
PLATE TECTONICS
 Tectonic
plate
movement
Pulling apart
Pushing together
Sliding alongside
each other
PLATE TECTONICS
 Tectonic
plate
movement
Plate divergence
(pulling apart)
PLATE TECTONICS
 Plate divergence
Rift Valley, Africa
Sinai Peninsula
PLATE TECTONICS
 Plate
convergence
(pushing together)
Denser plate forced
under lighter plate
Subduction
Examples:
 Peru-Chile trench
 Japan

Oceanic-continental
convergence
PLATE TECTONICS
 Plate convergence
Deep ocean trenches
Island arcs
 Aleutians
 Kuriles

Continental collisions
 Himalayas
 Tibetan Plateau
PLATE TECTONICS
 Transform Movement
Plates slide pass each
other
Transform faults
Examples
 San Andreas Fault, CA
 Ocean plates

What boundary type is found

north of San Francisco, and
what types of surface features
indicate this change?
PLATE TECTONICS
 Hot spots
 Almost stationary molten mass that rises to surface
 Hawaiian Islands
 Approximately how long did it take the Pacific plate to
move Oahu to its current location?
GROWTH OF CONTINENTS
 Origin of continents still
debated
 Continental shields
(ancient crystalline rock)
 Example: Canadian
shield
 Accretion
 Microplate terranes
GROWTH OF CONTINENTS
Going outward from the shield toward the coast, what generally
happens to the ages of rocks?
GROWTH OF CONTINENTS
 Geologic time and paleogeography
Paleogeography
 study of past geographical environments
 Goal = reconstruct the past environment of a

geographical region based on geologic and climate

evidence
Geological timescale of Earth history
 Eras (e.g., Mesozoic)
 Periods (e.g., Cretaceous)

 Epochs (e.g., Pleistocene)

GROWTH OF CONTINENTS
 The geologic timescale
GROWTH OF CONTINENTS
How has the environment at the location where you live
changed through geologic time?