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Unit 3:
Plate Tectonics & Earthquakes
By:
Tiffany Gilboy
&
Stephen Holly
“The tectonic plates “floats” on the
asthensphere because they are less
dense.”
•Like
Ice in
Water
Convection currents move the plates. Warm
magma rises because it is less dense, cool
magma sinks because it is denser.
•Like
the
water
cycle.
Volcanoes and earthquakes are
found mainly along plate
boundaries.
•Like
trees
form in
cracks in
rocks.
Mid- ocean ridge – divergent plate
boundary – new basaltic crust –
sea floor spreading.
• Like when
you take to
gram
crackers on
frosting and
push down
and pull
apart.
Divergent boundaries make oceans;
convergent boundaries make
mountains and volcanoes.
• Like when
you are on
the moon
your spine
decompres
ses.
Trench – convergent boundary
– subduction – crust is
destroyed.
• convergent
boundaries- like on
earth your spine
compresses
• trench- like when
you dig a hole in
the ground
• Subduction- like a
sinking boat
Ocean crust gets older, cooler,
and denser as you move away
from a mid- ocean ridge.
• Like a island
the farther
from the
volcano the
older and
cooler the
rock.
Continental crust is much
older than ocean crust.
•like dinosaurs are
older than humans
Magnetic polarity reversals
proved sea floor spreading.
•Like
reverse
reverses
a cars
tires.
Mountains are formed
by uplift.
•Lights
are
turned on
by
flipping a
switch.
Hot spots are located away from plate boundaries –
they are stationary- form chains of volcanic islands as
a plate moves over them.
•Houses aren’t located
by fast moving rivers.
Earthquakes are the release of energy
from the stress built up along faults or
when plates collide.
• Explosions
are a rapid
release of
explosive
gas.
Epicenter- the point on the earth’s
surface where the earthquake appears
to begin.
•The
Atlantic
in
hurricane
season.
P-waves – aka primary or
compressional waves – travel through
solids, liquids and gases- fast.
•A
concrete
saw.
S-waves – aka secondary or shear
waves – travel only through solids
(stops at the liquid outer core.)
•A
power
drill.
P&S – waves are called body waves
because the travel through the body
of the earth.
•An auger
travels
through
the earth.
You need distances from 3 seismic
stations to find the epicenter of an
earthquake.
• A GPS
needs 3
towers to
pinpoint
location.
Shadow Zone – NO P or S waves – due
to refraction of P-waves and S- Waves
stop at outer core.
•The
dark
corner
of a
light
room.
Our Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
www.google.com
Our ESRT books
Our head knowledge
Mrs. Van-Wert & Mr. Saks
Our lab and workbooks
And www.yahoo.com mail
Unit IV: Weathering,
Erosion, & Surface
Processes
By:
Danny Anderson
Sadie Smith
The Basics
• Weathering, by definition, is the
breaking of rocks into smaller
pieces.
• Erosion is the movement of
pieces of broken rock. Gravity
causes this.
• There are two types of
weathering: physical
weathering and chemical
Physical Weathering
• Physical weathering breaks down
rocks into smaller pieces, but of
the same composition.
• Physical weathering can help
chemical weathering along by
increasing surface area.
hemical Weathering
• Chemical weathering changes the
composition of the material it breaks
down.
• Chemical weathering works better in
warm, wet climates.
• The more surface area, the faster
chemical weathering will break
down the material.
• Harder minerals are more resistant
to weathering than soft minerals.
• Minerals such as calcite, limestone,
Streams
• Water moves the most sediment
on earth via suspension, which
means carrying sediment in the
water’s current.
• Stream velocity is the fastest
outside a bend in the stream
(causes erosion) and slowest on
the inside (causes depostion).
This is called meander.
• Stream velocity depends on
discharge and slope.
Organization of Sediments
In a River
• Streams carry different sediments in
their current.
• The bigger sediments settle first when
stream velocity decreases..
• Streams round sediments – the longer
it has been in the stream, the rounder
it will be.
• Two types of sorting – vertical sorting
and horizontal sorting.
• Vertical sorting – big sediments on top,
little on the bottom.
• Horizontal sorting – big sediments near
the mouth, smaller, further out in the
Streams vs. Glaciers
• Streams organize their
sediments by size – unlike
glacier deposits, which are
unorganized.
• Rivers and streams cut Vshaped valleys.
• Glaciers cut out U-shaped
valleys.
Surface Process
• Mature soils have three
different horizons : A, B, and C.
• Porosity is the volume of open
space in rock or soil – doesn’t
depend on sediment size.
• Permeability is the ability to
travel through spaces in rock or
soil – larger the sediment, the
more permeable it is.
Plateaus vs. Mountains
Plateaus have flat rock layers, while
mountains have more zigzagged rock
layers.
Mountain:
zigzagged rock
layers.
Plateau: flat
rock layers.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Saks
and Mrs. Van Wert, for
educating us on the wonders of
earth science.
We would like to thank our fellow
students, for making the
education process easier, or,
occasionaly, harder.
Finally, we would like to thank
our notes and reference tables.
Meteorology
Radiation-
Transfer of energy through space-doesn’t require particles.
97
UV Radiation  Infrared Radiation-
UV
Radiation from the sun is converted to Infrared Radiation on
Earth.
98
UV Radiation-The hottest part of the day is after 1
pm. It takes time for Earth to absorb UV rays from the sun
and convert it to IR radiation to heat the atmosphere.
99
Conduction-Transfer of energy from
particle to particle-mainly in solids.
100
101
Convection-Transfer of energy in a liquid or
gas due to differences in density-warm, less dense
material rises and cools; more dense material sinks.
Specific Heat-
The higher a material’s specific
heat, the more energy it takes to change its temperature.
102
Specific Heat-Good absorbers of energy
are good radiators of energy.
103
105
Insolation:Incoming Solar Radiation- Direct rays
(90 degrees) transfer more energy than
indirect rays.
Absorbers-Rough, dark colored materials
absorb more energy than smooth, light colored materials.
104
106
Direct Rays- We receive more direct rays in
summer than in winter.
Heating and Cooling- Adiabatic cooling and
heating is simply caused by air expanding (cools) or
contracting (heats).
107
108
Air Pressure-Air pressure decreases as altitude
increases.
Air-Air expands as it rises because pressure
decreases with altitude.
109
Water Cycle-
Evaporation is a cooling process.
Condensation is a heating process- helps warm the
atmosphere.
110
Relative Humidity- Relative humidity is a
111
measure of how much water is actually in the air relative
to how much it could hold (capacity).
Air Temperature-As air temperature
increases, capacity increases- Warm air holds more
moisture than cool air because it is drier.
A
i
r
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
Capacity
112
113
Relative Humidity- Relative humidity is
usually highest in the morning/ evening when the air is
cool.
Average Temperatures Throughout The Day
Air-Air is saturated with moisture when it’s
relative humidity is 100%.
114
Dewpoint- The dewpoint temperature is the
temperature at which condensation begins.
115
Dewpoint- When the dewpoint temperature is
the same as the air temperature, clouds form and
precipitation can begin.
116
Clouds- Warm, moist air rises, expands, cools
to dewpoint, condenses and forms a cloud.
117
Pressure- Pressure differences are caused by
differential heating of the Earth.
118
119
Winds- Differences in air pressure causes windswinds like to blow from high to low pressure.
Winds- Winds are named for the direction they
are blowing from.
120
Isobars- The closer the isobars are together,
the stronger/ faster the winds are.
121
122
Air- Air rises in a low pressure center because it
is warm and less dense.
Surface Winds- Surface winds blow
counterclockwise and in around a low.
123
High Pressure Center- Air sinks in a
high pressure center because it’s cool and denser.
124
Surface Winds-
Surface winds blow
clockwise and out around a high.
125
Highs/Lows- Highs are cool and dry.
are warm and wet.
126
Lows
Weather- A falling barometer (low pressure)
means stormy/bad weather is approaching.
127
Air Masses- Cold, dry air masses (cP) come
from Canada; warm, moist air masses (mT) come from
the Gulf of Mexico.
128
129
Weather- Weather moves from west to east in
the United States. It moves northeast across New
York.
Fronts- Cold fronts move faster than warm
fronts.
130
Precipitation- Precipitation occurs at a
cold front and ahead of a warm front.
131
Climate- The climate of any region can be
described by its temperature and moisture.
132
Climate- Climates are colder by the poles due
to indirect insolation.
133
Climate- Climates are warmer near the
equator due to direct insolation.
134
Mountain- The windward side of the
mountain is wet and cool; the leeward side is warm
and dry.
135
Water- Large bodies of water have amoderate
temperature: cooler summers & warmer winters.
136
Specific Heat- Water heats and cools
slowly due to its high specific heat.
137
Water/Temperature- As distance
from water increases, temperature range increases.
D
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
Temperature Range
138