Understanding Plate Tectonics: Key Concepts and Processes

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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 Plate Boundary Oceanic-oceanic plates 2 Divergent Plate Boundary Oceanic-oceanic plates 3 Convergent Plate Boundary Oceanic-oceanic plates 4 Divergent Plate Boundary Continental-Continental Plates 5 Convergent Plate Boundary Continental-Continental Plates

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 2) Name the lettered bathymetric (sea-floor) features in the figure above that are created by plate tectonics (2 pts) A: Subduction Trench 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: It occurs when part of the earth’s outer shell collides into each other. When this occurs, it can lead to creations like mountains, earthquakes, and even plates sliding beneath another. Divergent: it occurs on the earth’s surface when two tectonic plates move away from each other. They create gaps/spaces/rifts on the earth’s crust. Underwater mountains tend to occur from this. Transform: It occurs when two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally. As they slide, they have a possibility to get stuck, thus allowing for earthquakes. 4) Name two ways oceanic crust differs from continental crust? (2 pts) Oceanic crusts are thinner than continental due to the rocks they are composed of. oceanic crusts are composed with much finer-grained rocks In comparison to continental crusts that have a wide-array of rocks. 5) Thinking back to your igneous rock labs, what two elements might account for these differences? (2 pts) Magnesium and iron

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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) ___it is near AF_____ b. Where is the youngest oceanic crust in the Atlantic? (1 pt) _it is MAR___________ c. Explain why this variation in the age of the oceanic crust exists across the Atlantic Ocean. (2 pts) It is due to the divergent boundary at MAR. the new ocean is constructed at the MAR, the divergent boundary of MAR moves It away from the MAR towards continental margins. So as a result newest crust is found at MAR, whereas it gets older as we move towards continents. 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) it is a divergent boundary

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name ….

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. Earthquakes distribution

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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 _T_ Eastern Pacific Ocean _T_ Hawaii ___ Western Atlantic Ocean _T_ Western Pacific Ocean _T__ 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) The Pacific Ocean is regarded as the ring of fire because it undergoes many active volcanoes due to the subduction zone of convergent plate boundaries 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) Convergent boundary

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. Part 2: Plate Tectonics and Landforms

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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) Divergent plate boundary 14) The Ural Mountains

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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) It is one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges that is formed through ancient plate movements and continental collisions. Despite being currently within the Eurasian plate, the mountains originated from processes that occurred over millions of years, including the convergence of land. The Ural Mountains are not clear active plate boundaries now, their history showcases the earth’s the long term dynamism

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. colored 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) It differs from other great lakes and are formed by a divergent boundary that is no longer active. the parallel rocks ages within the region’s geological record hint at an intricate geological narrative behind the formation of Lake Superior. 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) Transform boundaries

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 17) Iceland

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 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) The difference in the formation of Iceland, compared to Hawaii is primarily due to the where it is located, Atlantic. Both are formed by hot spot, but Iceland’s location is above a mid-ocean ridge which allows for the creation of a single island. Hawaii’s hot spot is in the middle of a tectonic plate in the pacific, which leads to the formation of island chains. 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) Oceanic area, Along the plate boundaries 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) South America and areas near the convergent boundary 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.

Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. 3. Describe the relationship (trend) between depth of earthquakes and distance from plate boundary. (1 pt) Curved tend of exponentially deeper earthquakes further in land from plate boundary. 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) PAC-NAZ 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) The non-uniform speed and direction of tectonic plates at their boundaries can be attributed to variations in geological features, difference in plate interactions like convergent and the influence of mantle convection currents. Additionally, accumulated stress and strain, as well as past geological events, impact plate motion, resulting in observed non-uniformity 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) Apart Created Rifting Mid-Atlantic Ridge

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Lab 7 – Plate tectonics GEOL 1121 Name …. Divergent Shallow Convergent (Subduction) Under/Over destroyed shallow volcanos Pacific Northwest Transform Sliding Neither shallow None San-address fault

Lab 7 -PlateTectonics_activity done

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