Unit 3-Plate Tectonics

Major Concepts:

I.  Plate Tectonics
         A. Volcanoes (my photos)
         B. Mountains (my photos)
         B. Earthquakes
         C. Faults
         
II.  Evidence for Continental Drift
		   A. Alfred Wegener
               
III.  Evidence for Plate Tectonics
         A.   Earth’s magnetic field and paleomagnetism
               1. How this is recorded
         B.   Sea floor spreading
         C.   Plate tectonics accepted by the late 1960s
               
IV.  Earth structure (How do we know this stuff?)
   		A.  Earth is divided into three main layers chemically 
				1. Crust, Mantle, Core 
       	B.  Earth divided  into five main layers physically 
               1. Lithosphere, Asthenosphere, Mesosphere, Outer core, Inner core   
         C.  Isostatic adjustment (before and after)
V.  Plate boundaries (Overview-USGS)(Animations)
         A.  Divergent
         B.  Convergent
	        C.  Transform
VI.  Some applications of plate tectonics
         A.  Mantle plumes and hotspots
         B.  Seamounts and tablemounts
         C.  Coral reef development (atoll development)
         D.  Using satellites to detect plate motion
         E.  Paleoceanography
         F.  Future positions of continents and ocean basins deduced through plate tectonics

Vocabulary:

Seismic

Alfred Wegener

Epicenter

Seismic waves

Ice age

Convergent plate boundary

Continental drift

Mesosaurus

seismograph

Subduction

Magnetic field

Plate tectonics

Fault

Paleomagnetism

Panthalassa

Lithosphere

Curie Point

Sea floor spreading

Collision

Magnetic dip

Fredrick Vine

Volcano

Polar wandering

trenches

Basin

Polarity

Ring of Fire

Tethys Sea

Magnetic anomalies

ocean

Pangaea

Mid-ocean ridge

Core

Earthquakes

Subduction (zone)

Crust

Divergent

Drummond Matthews

Oceanic crust

p-waves

mountain

Continental crust

s-waves

friction

Convergent boundary

Outer core

Heat flow

Rifting

athenosphere

Mantle

Oceanic rises

Basalt

Inner core

Mid-Atlantic ridge

Isostatic adjustment

Mesosphere

Volcanic arc

Transform boundary

Seismic moment magnitute

Transform fault

Rift valley

Continental arc

hotspot

Pacific Rise

Mantle plume

Seamounts

Coral reef

nematath

guyots

Charles Darwin

Table mounts

Barrier reef

Laurasia

Continental accretion

atoll

 

Schedule:

Documents

PowerPoints

 

Quizzes

Unit III Links

 

pangaea animation

 

oceanography bottom banner

top