SCIENCE REVIEWER

Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics Theory

The Earth’s crust is broken segments in (plates) that move very slowly but constantly (tectonics).

Earth’s Lithosphere-the outermost layer of the Earth and it is made up of crust and the upper part of the
mantle.

Plate Tectonics

-a theory which suggests that Earth’s crust is made up of plates that interact in various ways, thus
producing earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes, and other geologic features.

Seven large plates:

1.North American Plate

2.South American Plate
3.Pacific Plate
4.African Plate
5.Eurasian Plate
6.Antarctic Plate
7.Australian Plate.
8Minor plates:
1.Indian Plate
2.Arabian Plate
3.Scotia Plate
4.Cocos Plate
5.Philippine Plate
6.Caribbean Plate
7.Juan De Fuca Plate
8.Nazca Plate

Main causes of Plate movement

Plates move because of heat-driven currents in the mantle and gravity pulling plates at subduction
zones.
1.Convection current
 Hot magma rises, cools, then sinks in the mantle.
 This circular motion pushes and pulls the plates above.
2.Ridge push
 At divergent boundaries, magma rises and forms new crust.
 Gravity pushes the plates away from the high ridge.
3.Slab pull
 At subduction zones, a heavy oceanic plate sinks under another plate.
  This sinking plate pulls the rest of the plate with it.

Effects of plate movements

 Earthquakes
 Formation of volcanoes
 Formation of Mountains/Mountain Ranges

Types of Plate Boundaries

 1.At Divergent Boundary ⬅️➡️
 Formed when plates move apart (moving away from each other)
Tension at these boundaries causes earthquakes, and magma rises to form new oceanic
crust.
 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.
Geologic Events/Events Present
 Rift valleys-down faulted valleys
 Oceanic ridges-underwater mountain ranges
 Earthquakes

[Formation of rift valleys and oceanic ridges are indications that the crust is spreading or
splitting apart.]

 2.Convergent Boundary➡️⬅️
 Plates move towards each other (come together)
 At convergent boundaries, one plate subducts or both buckle, forming mountains or trenches.
 An example is the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Geologic Events/Events Present
 Mountains
 VolcanoesTrenches
 Trenches
❖ Earthquakes
Three Types of Convergent Boundaries
(1)(oceanic-oceanic)- the denser plate will end up sinking below the less dense plate, leading to the
formation of an oceanic subduction zone.
(2.) (oceanic-continental)-the
Oceanic crust will always subduct under the continental crust; this is because oceanic crust is naturally
denser.
(3.) (continental-continental)
-a collision zone is formed.
-they eventually collide and end up producing mountains; this was how the Himalayan Mountains were
created. Neither continental crust will subduct underneath one another because of their similar densities
 3.Transform Fault Boundary
 Plates that are sliding past each other (without diverging or converging
 Boundaries neither create nor destroy the seafloor.
 One example would be the San Andreas fault.
Geologic Events/Events Present;
  Earthquakes
Hotspot
A hotspot is a heat concentration in the mantle that creates magma. It’s not just a tunnel from the core.
Rising heat causes mantle convection—hot rises, cool sinks.
Hawaiian Island-style hotspot beneath a moving lithospheric plate.

The Seafloor spreading

-Propose by Harry Hess
--According to this theory, hot, less dense material from below the earth’s crust rises towards the surface
at the mid-ocean ridge.This material flows sideways carrying the seafloor away from the ridge, and
creates a crack in the crust. The magma flows out of the crack, cools down and becomes the new
seafloor.
-The process of seafloor spreading allowed the creation of new bodies of water.
-Seafloor spreading is also pulling the continents of Australia, South America, and Antarctica away from
each other in the East Pacific Rise.
East Pacific Rise-one of the most active sites of seafloor spreading, with more than 14 centimeters every
year.
Findings that support Seafloor Spreading Theory:
1. Rocks are younger at the mid-ocean ridge.
2. Rocks far from the mid-ocean ridge are older.
3. Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
4. Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than those at the continents.

 Magnetic Reversal-called
magnetic ‘flip’ of the Earth. It happens when the North Pole is transformed into a South
Pole and the South Pole becomes the North Pole. This is due to the change in the direction
of flow in the outer core.

Magnetic Stripes on the Seafloor

 Found on both sides of mid-ocean ridges.
 Formed when magma cools and iron minerals align with Earth’s magnetic field.
 Earth’s magnetic field reverses over time (normal ↔ reversed).
 Creates alternating magnetic patterns (stripes) in ocean crust.
 Stripes are symmetrical on both sides of the ridge.
 Proves seafloor spreading and supports plate tectonics.
 Youngest rocks are at the ridge; rocks get older as you move away.
Seismic Waves
-energy radiates in all directions from the focus in the form of waves, which are recorded in
seismographs.
The two main types of seismic waves:
-body waves
-surface waves
Surface waves
-can only travel through the surface of the Earth.
-They arrive after the main P and S waves and are confined to the outer layers of the Earth.
Body Waves
Travel through Earth’s interior; used to study inner layers.
🔹 Higher frequency than surface waves.
🔹 Three types:
1.P-waves (Primary Waves)
 Fastest; arrive first.
 Move through solids, liquids, and gases.
 Compressional (push-pull motion).
 Particles move parallel to wave direction.
2.S-waves (Secondary Waves)
 Slower than P-waves.
 Move only through solids.
 Share or transverse motion.
 Particles move perpendicular to wave direction.
 Their inability to pass through liquids helped confirm the outer core is liquid.
3.Long (L) surface wave
-can be detected by using an instrument called Siesmograph. A record made by Siesmograph is called
Seismogram.
Two types of surface waves
🔹 Travel along Earth’s surface (not through the interior).
🔹 Slower than body waves but more destructive.
1. Love Waves (L-waves)
-Move the ground side to side (horizontal motion).
-Cause strong shaking.
-Do not move through water.
2.Rayleigh Waves
-Move like ocean waves (rolling motion).
-Ground moves up and down and side to side.
-Cause the most ground shaking during earthquakes.

The Composition of the Earth Interior

The Earth is composed of three major layers: the crust, mantle, and core which is subdivided into outer
and inner core.
 Crust
•The outer portion of the Earth.
•Average density of 2.8 g/cm3
•Thickness ranges from 5 to 50 km.
•Made of a variety of solid rocks like:
  Sedimentary (forms from sediments compaction)
 Metamorphic (forms by transformation of other rock)
 Igneous (forms from magma or lava solidification)
Two kinds of crust
1.Continental Crust
-the thick part of the Earth’s crust.
-not located under the oceans.
-the thicker but less dense
2. Oceanic Crust
- thin part of the Earth’s crust
-located under the oceans.
-the thinner but dense.
[Crust consists of two layers. The upper layer is composed of granite and is only found in the continental
crust.

 Mantle
-Beneath the crust, which extends to about 2900 kilometers from the Earth’s surface.
-makes most of the Earth’s Volume-(about 80% Total Volume) and mass (about 68% Total Mass).
-made up of silicate rocks, and contrary to common belief, is solid, since both S-waves and P-
waves pass through it.
-mostly made of the elements silicon, oxygen, iron and magnesium.

Elements in the Earth’s crust

Oxygen-46.60%
Silicon-27.72%
Aluminum-8.13%
Iron-5.00%
Calcium-3.63%
Sodium-2.83%
Potassium-2.59%
Magnesium-2.09%
Titanium-0.40%
Hydrogen-0.14%

Crust and the uppermost part of the mantle form a relatively cool, outermost rigid shell called
Lithosphere.
Lithospheric plates-lithospehere subdivided into portions.
-move relative to each other.
Asthenosphere
-Beneath the lithosphere lies the soft, weak layer.
-made of hot molten material.
-temperature is about 300-800*C
-where the lithospheric plates float and move around

 Core
 The core is the innermost layer of the Earth and is made of iron and nickel.
It has two parts:
 Outer core
-Liquid, about 2,250 km thick, temperatures up to 2,000°C
 Inner core
-Solid, radius of 1,300 km, temperatures up to 5,000°C; stays solid due to
extreme pressure

Thickness of the different layers of the Earth.

 Crust-40 km
 Mantle-2900 km
 Outer core-2200 km
 Inner core-1278 km

Fault-a break in a rock along which movement has occurred.

Fracture-any break in a rock in which no significant movement has taken place.
Epicenter-the point of the ground directly above the foucs.

The Earth’s Mechanism

 The continent Drift
-In 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist, proposed a theory that about 200 million years ago,
the continents were once one large landmass. He called this landmass Pangaea.
Landmass Pangaea-Greek word which means “All Earth.”
-Pangaea started to break into two smaller supercontinent called Laurasia and Gondwanaland during the
Jurassic Period.
Evidence:
1.The Continental Jigsaw Puzzle
- Continents were once one is their shape.
-the edge of one continent surprisingly matches the edge of another.
1. Fossils
-Fossils are preserved remains or traces of ancient plants and animals.
Glossopteris fossils (250 million years old) were found in Africa, Australia, India, and Antarctica,
showing these continents were once connected.
3.Rock
Matching rocks and mountain ranges in Africa and South America show that the continents were
once joined together.

Magnetic Stripes on the Seafloor

 Earth’s magnetic field reverses over time (normal ↔ reversed).
 When magma at mid-ocean ridges cools, iron in the rock aligns with the magnetic field.
 This forms magnetic stripes that are symmetrical on both sides of the ridge.
 The stripes record Earth’s magnetic history and prove seafloor spreading.
 Rock near the ridge is youngest, and it gets older as you move away.