Download plate tectonics - NagelBeelmanScience

ABBY WINTERNITZ

Pangaea- The idea of a landmass made up of
all the continents joined together. This
supposedly happened about 300 million years
ago.

Alfred Wegner- The man who came up with
the theory of Pangaea. Born November 1st,
1880, in Germany. He graduated at The
University of Berlin, getting a PhD in
astronomy and geology. He died in 1930.


Technically, “Pangaea” means “All
of the earth” in Greek.
The Earth Period in which Pangaea
theoretically occurred in was about
300 million years ago. It is believed
that Pangaea broke apart about 180
million years ago


The idea of Pangaea was originally accepted by
scientists because Wegner’s theory appeared
to fit the facts that they already had. Or at least,
as for as they knew.
Because Wegner also majored in astronomy, he
knew how the universe worked. How it
orbited, the planets…etc. He used this
knowledge to relate to how our planet worked.

Another Theory that was around during the
Pangaea Theory was the “Contraction Theory.”
This theory stated that the belief that the planet
was originally a “molten ball,” and in the
process of cooling, the surface cracked and
folded over upon itself. However, if this had
really happened, all of the mountain ranges in
the world would be the same age, but they are
not. That is the fault of this theory.

Arthur Holmes elaborated on Wegner’s idea of
Pangaea after it was dismissed. This idea was
that the mantle goes under thermal convection.
This idea was unpopular, at first.
30 years later , Harry Hess and R. Deitz had a
similar hypothesis, and this became popular.
These ideas related to Wegners because the
actual idea that the mantle undergoes thermal
convection was his in the first place
Resources:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tec
hist.html
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm


A convergent boundary is a sort of
“geological” mark that shows where the
lithosphere joins together with the plate
tectonics causing land to rise up.
Hazards such as volcanoes(Volcano- A vent in
the Earth’s crust that which lava runs through)
earthquakes(Earthquake- A Series of vibrations
induced by two plates rubbing together.)
mountains, mudslides, landslides and trenches
are characteristics and the results of a
convergent boundary.


The Andes Mountain Range



Volcanic activity.
Caused By The South American Plate colliding with
the Nazca plate
Caribbean Volcanic Arch


Islands that are volcanic
Eastern Margin of the Caribbean plate came in
contact with the south American plate

Aleutian Islands
 Volcanic Islands
 Caused by the North American and pacific
plates
Resources:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTec
tonics/description_plate_tectonics.html
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm

Divergent boundary-plates that form the
ocean form. The plates move away from each
other

Can cause earthquakes, land and mudslides,
and trenches because when the plates move
away from each other, they can devastate cities
and towns with earthquakes that split the land
apart.

Red Sea
Narrow Sea
 Formed in between the African and Arabian Plates


Linear Lakes


Linear lakes formed on a forming on a divergent plate in
Eastern Africa
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Located in Atlantic ocean
 Some volcanic activity
Resources:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics/des
cription_plate_tectonics.html
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm


Transform Boundary-A boundary that’s
created by two plates rubbing together
sideways.

Causes Earthquakes, volcanoes,
mountains(Mountain-A risen sum of land
mass caused by two plates colliding on top of
each other. landslides(Landslide- The massive
falling of any type of rock or soil)
mudslides(Mud Slide- The massive falling of
dirt or mud that is wet.), and trenches(TrenchA narrow split in the earth caused by a fire or
an earthquake)

Alpine Fault


The Fault Between the Australian and Pacific Plate
San Andres Fault zone

Fracture zone between the North and Pacific Plates.
Resources:
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate2.htm
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics
/description_plate_tectonics.html

We, as U.S. citizens, live on the North
American Plate, West of the the Atlantic Plate,
South of the Juan De Fuca Plate, and East of the
Pacific Plate. We live just north of the
Caribbean and South American plates.

We, Living in Ohio, can expect hazards relating
to plate Tectonics, such as Sinkholes, Coastal
Erosion of Lake Erie, Landslides, Light
Earthquakes, and Seismic Risks. Other places
in the U.S. may experience these as well as
Volcanoes and new mountain ranges forming,
especially by the West coast.

Some problems we can expect in the Very
distant future may be collisions of the North
and Juan de Fuca plates, as well as the splitting
of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, causing the whole
area around it to split is well. This may cause
the U.S. some extreme danger.
Resources:
 http://geology.com/plate-tectonics.shtml
 http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey/
html/geo_f03/tabid/8307/Default.aspx
 http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey/
gen/seismic/seismic/tabid/7892/Default
.aspx