Plates Tectonics Group Project-2 (1)
pdf
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Arizona State University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
101
Subject
Geology
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
Pages
4
Uploaded by BarristerRiver13217
Plate Tectonics Group Project
GLG 101 Spring 2024
Instructions
You will be drawing a cross section across several plate boundaries. Use what you have learned in lectures and in Chapter 2 of
An Introduction to Geology, Johnson et al (2017) to 1) draw and annotate a cross section, 2) support your drawing with
evidence. HINT: Chapter 2, Sections 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 will be particularly helpful.
What is a cross section??? In this context it’s a “slice” of the Earth where you can see what tectonic plates are doing below
the surface. Usually, cross sections are drawn along a profile line along the Earth’s surface – this line will cross features of
interest. In our case, that’s plate boundaries. Below is an example that I’ve sketched:
Yours will be more detailed than this and will include annotations, which are given to you in the instructions below.
Part 1
Your cross section will be based on a line along the 15°N latitude line from 120°W to 0° (prime meridian) longitude, which can
be found using the Google Earth .kmz file provided on Canvas (
101_plate tectonics_cross section.kmz
). This file contains the
profile line along which you will draw your cross section, plus overlays for earthquake events and volcanoes. For help with
Google Earth, watch the
Google Earth Instructions
video provided on the Plate Tectonics Project page.
Here’s how to access Google Earth:
•
Start by downloading the Google Earth application on your computer. Here's a link:
https://www.google.com/earth/versions/
.
•
Click the "
Download Earth Pro on desktop
" button near the bottom of the page. Follow instructions to install. Note:
the browser version will not work, so please do not use it.
•
Click to open Google Earth application on your computer.
•
Now that you have Google Earth installed and open, go to the course Canvas page and download the
101_plate
tectonics_cross section.kmz
file to your computer (it’s in the Plate Tectonics Project page). Take note of where you
saved the file on your computer because you’ll need to access it.
•
In the Google Earth application, click File > Open and then browse to
101_plate tectonics_cross section.kmz
file and
open the file.
•
A folder named
101_plate tectonics_cross section
will show up in the
Places
panel on the left.
•
Click the arrow to the left of
101_plate tectonics_cross section
to open the folder. You will see “profile”,
“earthquakes”, and “volcanoes of the world” in the folder. If the box beside each of these is checked, you’ll be able to
see the cross section (pink line), earthquakes (yellow, orange, red and blue dots) and volcanoes (blue triangles) on
your map.
•
For help with Google Earth, watch the
Google Earth Instructions
video provided on the Plate Tectonics Project page.
Drawing your cross section:
•
The template for the cross section (Part 1 pdf) can be found on the Plate Tectonics Project page on Canvas. Print that
page and draw your cross section there or sketch using a computer or tablet. Make sure everyone in your group has
access please.
•
Compare the profile line in Google Earth to the first map in the Plate Tectonics Chapter (Chapter 2) of your online
textbook to determine what plate boundaries are included in your assigned profile. Alternatively, Wikipedia has a
nice high resolution map of plate boundaries:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_ce
ntered-en.svg
. Tectonic plate names are in white letters that are outlined in black. The legend tells you which colors
correspond to which plate boundary type.
•
After you know what plate boundaries you are working with, use that information to decide where it would make
sense to place them on the diagram from Part 1 in the assignment. Your sketch in Part 1 should have the longitude
and latitude labeled on each side of the cross section.
•
The cross section crosses multiple plates and should be drawn down to the asthenosphere.
•
For your horizontal scale, you can estimate distances between features in your cross section using the ruler tool in
Google Earth (see the Google Earth instructions video for help). The horizonal distance between plate boundaries
should be scaled correctly.
•
For your vertical scale, 1) the relative thickness between the oceanic and continental crust and the lithospheric
mantle should be realistic and 2) the relationship between lithosphere and asthenosphere at plate boundaries
should be clear.
•
Clearly place on the cross section all the features listed in the key using the symbols provided at the bottom of the
Part 1 pdf. Please draw carefully and use all of the space provided.
Make sure your group cross section has all of the following items:
●
Names of the tectonic plates (label them above the cross section and make sure you indicate with a dashed vertical
line the edges of the plate extending from the plate boundary to the top of the diagram). You can find the names in
the first map in section 2.2.2 Physical Layers in the textbook online.
●
Draw an arrow under the plate name to show the direction it is moving.
●
Show variations in thickness of the oceanic and continental crust.
●
Use an arrow from the melting area to the volcanic activity to show where melting is occurring at depth and connect
this melting to volcanoes or volcanic vents at the surface.
●
See the
checklist
in the assignment to make sure you have included everything you need!
Cross section checklist:
General
___ All content is neat, clear and legible. If we can’t read your text, we can’t grade it.
Location
___ Longitude and latitude of each side of the cross section labeled.
Tectonic plates
___ Plates named & labelled.
___ Correct plate directions are indicated for each plate.
___ Horizontal distance between plate boundaries is scaled correctly.
Crust, mantle, lithosphere
___ Continental crust and oceanic crust are labelled according to legend.
___ Relative thicknesses of continental and oceanic crust are correct.
___ Lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere labelled are labelled according to legend.
Plate Geometries
___ Trench(es)/subduction zone(s) are identified where appropriate.
___ Subducting slab(s) drawn at appropriate angle.
___ Mid-ocean ridge(s) are identified where appropriate.
Earthquakes
___ Earthquake activity is labelled in all relevant locations.
Volcanoes
___ All areas of melting are properly indicated where appropriate.
___ Volcanic arc(s) labelled where appropriate.
___ All areas of volcanic activity labelled where appropriate.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Part 2: Evidence of Plate Boundaries
GROUP NUMBER: 24
Here you will support how you decided to label/draw the parts of the diagram in Part 1. Fill out the table below with lines of
evidence from Part 1 to support your location of divergent boundaries (i.e. mid-ocean ridges) and convergent boundaries (i.e.
subduction zones). Provide AT LEAST two lines of evidence for each box.
Evidence for divergent boundaries
Evidence for convergent boundaries
●
There is a mid-ocean ridge at all of the divergent
boundaries.
●
The plates were labeled as moving in opposing
directions.
●
There are volcanoes on the overriding plate.
●
There are trenches formed between the subduction
and overriding plate.
Question:
Thinking about the cross section you just made, what would happen if the spreading along the divergent boundary
in the Atlantic Ocean were to stop, but the other plate boundaries continued to be active? What would happen over the
course of 100 Ma?
Answer:
The Mid Atlantic Ridge would not make any new oceanic crust, but all the other mid ocean ridges would still make new crust.
The other plates would keep moving and over the course of 100Ma the Atlantic ocean would shrink because the South
American and African plates would continue to move towards each other eventually colliding.
In the space below, list the group members who contributed to this project submission. If you have group members that did
not contribute, please do not include their name.
Riley Saldano, Roshini Vanapalli, Alexia Neri-Dominguez, Sydney Rohlik, Mackenzie Parra-Massie
How to submit: Combine your cross section (Part 1) and this page (Part 2) into one pdf file. Upload to the Plate Tectonics
Project page on the course Canvas page by the due date. On Tuesday, Feb 13
th
, hand in paper copies of Parts 1 and 2.