Plate Tectonics
What are the three original pieces of evidence for continental drift and Pangea?
Continents fit like a puzzle
Same/similar fossils
Same/similar geological structures
List the three types of plate boundaries and how they move.
Convergent →←
Divergent ←→
Transform ↑↓
Define erosion, sedimentation, and weathering.
Weathering - breaking down rock
Erosion - moving rock
Sedimentation - build up of rock
Why are ocean currents important?
They carry nutrients, gas, heat, and organisms
What are upwellings?
What are the three new pieces of evidence when the theory was revised as plate tectonics?
Seafloor spreading
Paleomagnetic stripes
How the plates move
What two structures are usually only found at divergent boundaries?
What are the three types of weathering and give an example for each.
Chemical - oxidation, acids, ions
Physical - temp changes, water freezing in rock
Organic - tree roots, lichen, animals hitting or walking over
What is a spring tide and when does it occur?
AND
What is a neap tide and when does it occur?
Spring: Highest high and Lowest low
- Earth, moon, sun in line (New and Full moon)
Neap: Lowest high and Highest low
- Earth, moon, sun at right angle (1st and 3rd quarter)
Describe normal conditions of weather currents
Cold moves to South America and hot moves to Australia / Asia
Describe how the tectonic plates move.
Convection currents in the mantle (hot magma rising and cool falling) causes the plates to be pushed and moved
What happens at mid ocean ridges
Seafloor spreading - hot magma rises and cools, causing crust to be pushed out
List the five littoral zone examples.
Sandy shore
Muddy shore
Delta
Estuary
What causes surface currents?
What causes deep ocean currents?
Surface: Wind and Coriolis effect
Deep: Density differences caused by salinity and temp (thermohaline circulation)
How does the weather in South America and Australia differ during normal conditions and El Nino conditions?
Normal:
SA- dry
AUS- rainy and stormy
El:
SA- rainy and stormy
AUS- dry and droughts
Describe what seafloor spreading is and how they show evidence for the theory of Plate Tectonics.
New crust is being made from magma rising out of the mid ocean ridge
Shows a mechanism for how crust is made / crust would all be the same age if there wasn't new being made / Pacific is shrinking and Atlantic is growing
If you are looking for hydrothermal vents in the ocean, what factors might help indicate its location?
List at least two
Hot temperatures, high acidity, toxic chemical composition, plume coloration
How does water speed and particle size impact sedimentation rate?
Faster the water = harder for sedimentation to occur
Smaller the particle = harder for sedimentation to occur
What does the Oceanic Nino Index do?
Identifies El Nino events by tracking surface temperatures
Describe what paleomagnetic stripes are and how they show evidence for the theory of Plate Tectonics.
The pattern of magnetic stripes on the ocean floor due to Earths change in polarity
If there was no new crust being made, the stripes would all be the same polarity
Describe how weathering, erosion, and/or sedimentation impact the following:
Rocky shores
Sandy shores
Muddy shores
Rocky- little sedimentation due to fast water
Sandy- lots of erosion (sandstone) and sedimentation (sand)
Muddy- lots of sedimentation, little to no erosion and weathering
Describe the path the Global Conveyor Belt takes.
Starts at Arctic
Atlantic
Antarctic
Splits to Indian or Pacific
Both of them loop and heat up
Meets back together at Southern Indian
Back to Arctic
What are three differences of El Nino and La Nina
EL: No wind, hot, less productivity, hurricanes in Pacific
LA: More wind, cold, more productivity, hurricanes in Atlantic