Lab 7 -PlateTectonics_activity (1)

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko This lab covers the mechanisms of plate tectonics and the resulting landforms and events we see and feel on Earth’s surface. At the end of this lab you should be able to: 1) Explain the theory of plate tectonics in your own words 2) Summarize the reasons for different plate boundary interactions and describe the resulting surface landforms and events. 3) Evaluate where on Earth’s surface we have plate boundaries and describe the processes happening at these boundaries. 4) Use current landforms on Earth’s surface to classify former plate boundaries. You should start by watching three videos on iCollege: Wegener and Continental Drift, Sea Floor Spreading Proof, and Plate Tectonics. The work your way through these questions, referring back to the videos as needed. Part 1: Plate Tectonics 1) In the above diagram, arrows denote the direction of movement of the crust and mantle, with numbers and letters above each boundary between plates. Name each numbered plate boundary, and what types of plates are involved. (15 pts) Name of the numbered plate boundary what types of plates are involved 1 Convergent Island Arc 2 Divergent Mid Oceanic Ridge 3 Convergent Continental Arc 4 Divergent Continental Rift 5 Convergent Orogenic Mountain

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 2) Name the lettered bathymetric (sea-floor) features in the figure above that are created by plate tectonics (2 pts) A: Island Arc B: Mid Oceanic Ridge 3) Describe in your own words the following plate boundaries. Where on Earth would you expect to find an example of each boundary? (6 pts) Convergent: This occurs when two plates come together and can be found in the Himalaya’s. Divergent: This occurs when two plates move away from each other. Can be found in the mid ocean ridge. Transform: This occurs when plates pass each other. And can be found on the bottom of the oceanic floor. 4) Name two ways oceanic crust differs from continental crust? (2 pts) Continental crust is much older, granitic, and less dense than oceanic crust, which is made up of basaltic rock. 5) Thinking back to your igneous rock labs, what two elements might account for these differences? (2 pts) The oceanic crust is mafic and contains basalt, whereas the continental crust is felsic. These factors could explain the differences.

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 6) Look at the above image and answer the following questions (hint: Ma means Mega- annum, or millions of years) a. Where is the oldest oceanic crust in the Atlantic? (1 pt) The oldest oceanic crust, which is about 200 million years old, is found near the continental margins in the Abyssal Plains. b. Where is the youngest oceanic crust in the Atlantic? (1 pt) The youngest oceanic crust is found near the Mid ocean Ridge and is less than 10 million years old. c. Explain why this variation in the age of the oceanic crust exists across the Atlantic Ocean. (2 pts) The divergent boundary at MAR causes variations in the age of Oceanic Crust. The new ocean crust is formed at the MAR, and the Divergent Boundary of the MAR shifts it away from the MAR and toward continental margins. As a result, the newest crust is found at MAR, while it becomes older as we move towards the Continents.

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko d. The feature in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Given your responses to the above questions, is this a convergent, divergent, or transform boundary? (1 pt) The Mid Atlantic Ridge is a Divergent Boundary where two Oceanic plates are moving apart .

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko Earthquakes distribution

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 8) Using the above maps of volcanos and earthquakes, answer the following questions: a. Which of the following has high concentrations of volcanos? Mark all that apply. (4 pts) ___ Eastern Atlantic Ocean ___ Eastern Pacific Ocean ___ Hawaii ___ Western Atlantic Ocean ___ Western Pacific Ocean ___ Iceland b. One of the oceans in the world is referred to as the “Ring of Fire” – which might it be and why? (4 pts) c. Given your responses to the above questions, is a convergent, divergent, or transform boundary represented in locations that have volcanic activity and high concentrations of earthquakes? (2 pts)

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko Part 2: Plate Tectonics and Landforms

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 12)Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains formed during the closure of the Cretaceous Interior Seaway, a shallow sea between North America and an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. What kind of boundary is this? (2 pts) A Convergent Plate Boundary between the Pacific Ocean's Oceanic Plate and the North American Continental Plate. These two plates are colliding and squeezing the sediments into fold Mountains.

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 13) Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea The Jordan Valley in the Levant is composed of the Sea of Galilee, which flows into the Jordan River, and eventually into the super salty Dead Sea. This valley is at the boundary of the African and Arabian plates. The valley is composed of sediments that have eroded into the space between the two plates, and the valley is so deep that the Dead Sea is below sea level! What kind of boundary is this? (2 pts) Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea are positioned along the divergent plate boundary of two continental plates, the Arabian Plate and the African Plate. The divergence of plates produced tensional sinking of land and the development of rift valleys, which were eventually filled with water.

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 14) The Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains in central Russia are some of the oldest mountains in the world. They are near no plate boundaries, no earthquake activity, and essentially in the middle of the Eurasian plate. Hypothesize how they formed, keep in mind from the Hawaii example in the lecture that plate movement can change over time. (4 pts) The Ural Mountains were produced by the convergence of two ancient continental plates, one Asian and one European. The plate Boundary fused these two sections together, and the plate Boundary's location altered. The Ural Mountains were produced by the convergence of these plates.

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 15) Lake Superior Lake Superior is an exceptionally deep lake north of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While the other Great Lakes are much shallower and are hypothesized to be formed from retreating glaciers at the end of the ice age, scientists suspect something different for Lake Superior. It should be noted that ages of the rocks in Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula (both colored

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko orange and green on the East side of the map) have mirrored ages in their rocks, getting older further away from each other. Hypothesize how Lake Superior formed (4 pts) Lake Superior was produced, according to my theory, by the process of rifting. Which is the process through which the continental crusts separate. 16) Mid Ocean Ridge You know that Mid Ocean Ridges are created from Divergent boundaries. However, you may have noticed that they only form straight lines for a while and are quite jagged. This is the result of trying to split apart curved surfaces. This implies another kind of fault is also at play here. If the crust is spreading away from each of the green lines, which other fault type/boundary is present here? (1 pt) Divergent Plate Boundary.

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko 17) Iceland

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko The island of Iceland in the North Atlantic is formed from a hot spot/mantle plume just the same as Hawaii. However, we don’t see an island chain, only a singular large island. Why might this be? (4 pt) Iceland is the only continent with a mid-oceanic ridge above the continental area. Because it is a divergent or mid-oceanic ridge type location, there are no hot-spot type activity, such as chains of volcanic islands.

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko Part 3: Seismic Explorer Go to the following website to complete the final activity: https://seismic-explorer.concord.org/ Click “Map Type” and choose “Relief”. Click “Data Type” and have both “Plate Boundaries” and “Earthquakes” enabled Hit “Start” in the lower left. This will show major earthquakes over time. Answer the following questions: 1. What patterns in the locations of earthquakes do you observe? (1 pt) 2. Red dots are shallow earthquakes while blue dots are deeper. What areas of the world have blue dots? What plate boundaries are these? (2 pts) Click “Draw Cross Section” in the lower right. Draw a cross section with it covering part of western South America with both red and blue dots, going from red (P1) to blue (P2). Then click “Open 3D View” in the lower right. 3. Describe the relationship (trend) between depth of earthquakes and distance from plate boundary. (1 pt) Close the 3D view and cancel cross section drawing. In “Data Type” enable “Plate Movement” and “Plate Names” and disable “Earthquakes”. Each “i” if clicked on will show the speed of movement and boundary name (e.g., “COC-NAZ”). 4. Click around these “i”’s. Which plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean is moving the fastest? (2 pts) 5. Even this fast plate above doesn’t have uniform speed or direction across all its boundaries. Hypothesize why below. Keep in mind all plates are moving independently of each other and all speeds are relative to the opposing plate. (2 pts)

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name: Cheikh Tanko Part 4: Summary Fill in the below chart to summarize your understanding of characteristics at different plate boundaries. (10 pts) TYPE DESCRIBE MOVEMENT CRUST Created? Destroyed? Neither? EARTHQUAKES? Shallow? and/or Deep? TYPE OF VOLCANISM? Rifting? Volcanos? WHERE IN WORLD? (EXAMPLES) Divergent Apart Created Shallow Rifting Pacific Ocean Convergent (Subduction) Under/Over Destroyed Deep Volcanos Pacific Northwest