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Transcript
Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc CHAPTER SUMMARY Inside Earth Chapter 1 (pages 16 – 47) Geology is the study of planet Earth. Geologists are the scientists who study forces that make and shape planet Earth. Geologists divide forces that change the surface into two groups: 1. Constructive forces – shape the surface by building up mountains and landmasses. Example: The island Surtsey was formed in the Atlantic Ocean from a volcanic eruption. 2. Destructive forces – slowly wear away mountains. Example: Ocean waves that wear away shorelines. What’s inside Earth? Geologists can’t dig to the center of the Earth. They use seismic waves study what’s inside Earth. Seismic waves are vibrations that travel through Earth carrying the energy from an earthquake. The speed and paths the seismic waves take tell geologists how the planet is put together. Three main layers make up Earth’s interior: (Be able to label layers!) 1. Crust – layer of rock that forms Earths OUTER surface. - It includes both dry land and the ocean floor. - The crust beneath the ocean is called oceanic crust. - The oceanic crust consists mostly of dense rock called basalt. - The continental crust (crust that forms the continents) consists mainly of a less dense rock called granite. 2. Mantle – layer of hot, solid rock between the crust and core. 3. Core – consists of two parts: - The outer core is a layer of molten metal (iron, nickel) that surrounds the inner core. (Like a thick liquid) - The inner core is a dense ball of solid metal (iron, nickel). Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc Earth’s Interior CRUST (Granite, Basalt) MANTLE (Hot, Solid) Inner Core (Solid) Outer Core (Liquid) The Earth’s molten (liquid) outer core is nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. The heat from the outer core affects the mantle. How? Why? - Heat is always transferred from a warmer substance to a cooler substance. (Like touching a hot pot – the heat moved from the pot to your hand). - The movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object is called heat transfer. - There are three types of heat transfer: 1. Radiation – The transfer of energy through empty space. Sunlight is radiation that warms Earth’s surface. Other familiar forms of radiation are the heat you feel around a flame or fire. C O R E Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc 2. Conduction – Heat transfer by direct contact of particles of matter. Think about what happens as a spoon heats up in a pot of soup. Heat is transferred from the hot soup and pot to the spoon. If you touch the spoon, conduction transfers heat from the spoon directly to your skin. 3. Convection – The transfer of heat by movements of a heated fluid. - During convection heated particles of fluid begin to flow and transfer heat energy from one part of the fluid to another. - Heat transfer by convection is caused by differences of temperature and density within a fluid. - The differences in temperature and density cause convection currents. Convection in Earth’s Mantle - Like soup simmering in a pot, Earth’s mantle responds to heat. Convection currents have been moving inside Earth in the asthenosphere for more than four billion years! Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc Continental Drift (Drifting Continents) Alfred Wegener - Hypothesized that all the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have since drifted apart. - Wegener named this supercontinent Pangea meaning “all lands”. - According to Wegener, Pangacea existed 300 million years ago. - Over tens of millions of years, Pangea began to break apart. The pieces of Pangaea slowly moved toward their present-day locations becoming the continents they are today. - Wegener’s idea that the continents slowly moved over Earth’s surface became known as continental drift. - Most scientist rejected this theory because he could not identify a force that could move the continents. Evidence to support Continental Drift 1. Landforms - Mountain ranges in South America match up to mountains in Africa. Like putting a torn newspaper together 2. Fossils 3. Climate Deep in the ocean, the temperature is freezing! There is no light and there are not many living things! Yet some areas of the deepocean floor are filled with life. Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc - One of these areas is the East Pacific Rise in the Pacific Ocean. - Here, the ocean water sinks through cracks in the crust. The water is heated by contact with hot material from the mantle. Mid-Ocean Ridge - the longest chain of mountains in the world. - Scientist mapped the mid-ocean ridge using Sonar. Sonar is a device that bounces sound waves off underwater objects and then records the echoes of these sound waves. (The time it takes for the echo to arrive indicates the distance to the object) The mapping of the mid-ocean ridge made scientist curious to know what the ridge was and how it got there. Harry Hess, an American geologist was one of the first scientist who studied the mid-ocean ridge. - Harry Hess said that the ocean floors move like conveyor belts beginning at the mid-ocean ridge. - He said that at the mid-ocean ridge, molten materials rise from the mantle and erupt. The molten material then spreads out pushing older rock to both sides of the ridge. - Hess called the process that continually ADDS new material to the ocean floor sea-floor spreading. Evidence to support Sea-floor spreading - molten material - magnetic stripes - drilling samples Now scientist asked, How can the ocean floor keep getting wider and wider? Scientist also found out that the ocean floor sinks back into the mantle. This is called SUBDUCTION. The Theory of Plate Tectonics Matone-PlateTectonicChapterSummary.doc - Plate tectonics is the geological theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere (PLATES) are in constant, slow motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle. - Plate tectonics explains the formation, movement, and subduction of Earth’s plates. - As the plates move, they collide, pull apart, or grind past each other causing changes in Earth’s surface including volcanoes, mountain ranges, and deep-sea trenches. Faults – breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other. Three types of Plate Boundaries 1. Transform boundaries - Place where two plates slip past each other moving in opposite directions. Earthquakes occur frequently along these boundaries. 2. Divergent Boundaries - Place where to plates move apart - Sea-floor Spreading happens here! As the two plates move away from each other, magma wells up from the Earth's interior. It then hardens into rock as it is cooled creating new ocean floor. 3. Convergent Boundaries - Place where two plates come together Visit this PBS website for an animated look at types of boundaries! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tectonics/intro.html