Transcript click here for plate tectonic notes

I. Layers of the
Earth
II. Plate Tectonics
III. Continental Drift
Earth-
rd
3
rock from the sun…
Vital Statistics
Age=
4.6 billion years
Orbit =
365.24 days
Rotation=
23 hours 56 min
70% Water
Pole to Pole 12,714 km
Vital Statistics
Equator 12,756 km
199 million square miles
One of the Terrestrial
planets (Earth, Mars,
Mercury, Venus)…with a
small mass
…as opposed to the Gas
Giants
earth’s UniqUe FeatUres
• Only planet with
Continental Drift
• Only planet where
the surface can be
in the form of a
liquid, solid and
gas.
earth’s interior
• Crust
• Mantle
• Core
–Inner
–Outer
•Temperature
and pressure
Increase
_________
as
you approach
the center.
Differentiation
• The Earth’s layers represent
differentiation. Heavier
metals are in the center
(core) , lighter rocks such as
silicates are in the (crust.)
Crust
• Outermost layer
• Thinnest layer
• Land/ocean floor
• 5-40 km thick
Crust
• Thinnest, outside
layer
• Continental crust
20-40 miles thick
• Oceanic crust 3
miles thick
• Mostly Granite
and Basalt
2 types of crust
• Oceanicbasalt
material,
dark, dense
• Continentalgranite, less
dense, light
in color
Mantle
• Iron, Magnesium
• Not liquid, not
solid (taffy)
• Plate tectonic
activity
• 1,800 miles thick
Mantle
• Hot rock
• Taffy like
• Upper mantle and
Crust = lithosphere
• Lower mantlehotter, more
pressure, becomes
solid=
asthenosphere
• Heavier
materials sink
while lighter
materials are
pushed
higher to a
surface…
Core
• 1) Liquid core(outer core) thick
metal, magnetic
field.
• 2- Solid core• (inner coreincrease in
pressure, dense,
solid)
Core
• 1) Inner core 9000
degrees F. Solid due to
the pressure!
• 2) Outer core 8100
degrees F.
• Liquid
• Nickel/Iron currents
• Magnetic fields
Plate Tectonics
• Heat causes motion. Hot
air rises- it’s less dense
and cool air sinks. This
process is called
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryrXAG
Y1dmE
This heat source from the Earth
causes…
1912 Albert Wegener
http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/1000
00003515124/animated-lifepangaea.html?smid=nytcore-ipadshare&smprod=nytcore-ipad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1cES1Ekto
Pangea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swRFn
Pq-lJo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcDe
d4xVD4
And Pangea II?
Rifting
• As hot liquids
rise to the
surface it
pulls the
crust along
with it (think
of soup,
pudding or
coffee scum).
Subduction
• “sub”
meaning
under or
below. One
piece of
crust goes
under
another.
• When two pieces of crust get
stuck under one another
pressure begins to build and
eventually an Earthquake can
happen!
We call major
rifting/subduction
zones Plates
Earthquakes
• 1:30 seconds
• More 3000 move
Earth’s crust
• Hundreds move
measurable
distances
• 20 severe damage
Earthquake
• “shaking of the Earth’s crust”- energy is
released through friction as stress builds
up along fault lines/tectonic plates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwtFu
• Lithosphere
G_M4EE
• Secondary issues
Other causes of Earthquakes
Earthquakes can occur at
various depths
• Shallow (less than 30
km) occur with
sliding/spreading
plates
• Deep (up to 700 km)
subduction
• Focus- point where
fault/plate movement
occurs *in Earth’s
layers
• Epicenter- surface
point above focus
*on Earth’s surface
Earthquake Waves
• 3 main type of seismic waves
• Body waves (travel through Earth)
• S/P (Primary and Secondary Waves)
• Surface Waves (travel at surface of Earth)
• L (Love waves)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOGoK
CK17a4&list=PL9AC95ABE68FEB57E&ind
ex=4
Seismometer
• Tool used to measure seismic waves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpFzICi
WPwA
Locating the epicenter
Scientists use
triangulation to find
an epicenter (point
where all three
circles meet)
Scientists track
differences in P/S
waves and use
that to create a
circle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdHbFA8WU
Charles Richter
• 1940’s
• Created a
scale to
measure the
energy
released
from an
earthquake.
Volcano!
• A quick review!
Volcano!
Weak spot in the crust where magma
(molten material) comes to the surface.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRfEGv
p6wDU
Magma
Mixture of rock forming substances, gases, and
water vapor from the mantle.
Lava
Magma that
reaches the
surface
Viscosity
• Resistance to
“flow” (usually
liquids)
• High viscosity
materials flow
slowly
• Low viscosity
materials flow
__________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KU_sk
fdZVQ
Think about it…
• Which of these
materials has a
higher viscosity?
• Which of these
materials has a
lower viscosity?
Think about it
What affect do you predict
temperature has on the viscosity
of a material knowing what you
know about temperature and
energy…
How would this variable relate to
volcanos?
How does viscosity relate to
volcanos?
• Volcanos range in
size, shape, and
type of eruptions
that occur!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBggr
CdkN0