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liquid part of Earths dense metallic center | (A) crust (B) asthenosphere (C) outer core (D) mantle (E) meteorite (F) lithosphere (G) inner core | C | At the planets center lies a dense metallic core. Scientists know that the core is metal because: 1. The density of Earths surface layers is much less than the overall density of the planet, as calculated from the planets rotation. If the surface layers are less dense than average, then the interior must be denser than average. Calculations indicate that the core is about 85% iron metal with nickel metal making up much of the remaining 15%. 2. Metallic meteorites are thought to be representative of the core. The 85% iron/15% nickel calculation above is also seen in metallic meteorites (Figure 1.1). If Earths core were not metal, the planet would not have a magnetic field. Metals such as iron are magnetic, but rock, which makes up the mantle and crust, is not. Scientists know that the outer core is liquid and the inner core is solid because: 1. S-waves do not go through the outer core. 2. The strong magnetic field is caused by convection in the liquid outer core. Convection currents in the outer core are due to heat from the even hotter inner core. The heat that keeps the outer core from solidifying is produced by the breakdown of radioactive elements in the inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: The dense, iron core forms the center of the Earth. Scientists know that the core is metal from studying metallic meteorites and the Earths density. Seismic waves show that the outer core is liquid, while the inner core is solid. Movement within Earths outer liquid iron core creates Earths magnetic field. These convection currents form in the outer core because the base of the outer core is heated by the even hotter inner core. When Earth was entirely molten, gravity drew denser elements to the center and lighter elements rose to the surface. The separation of Earth into layers based on density is known as differentiation. The densest material moved to the center to create the planets dense metallic core. Materials that are intermediate in density became part of the mantle (Figure 1.1). |
The mantle and the asthenosphere are different names for the same thing. | (A) true (B) false | B | The asthenosphere is solid upper mantle material that is so hot that it behaves plastically and can flow. The lithosphere rides on the asthenosphere. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are layers based on physical properties. The outermost layer is the lithosphere. The lithosphere is the crust and the uppermost mantle. In terms of physical properties, this layer is rigid, solid, and brittle. It is easily cracked or broken. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is also in the upper mantle. This layer is solid, but it can flow and bend. A solid that can flow is like silly putty. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties: 1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. 2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow. A cross section of Earth showing the fol- lowing layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5) asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
solid part of Earths dense metallic center | (A) crust (B) asthenosphere (C) outer core (D) mantle (E) meteorite (F) lithosphere (G) inner core | G | At the planets center lies a dense metallic core. Scientists know that the core is metal because: 1. The density of Earths surface layers is much less than the overall density of the planet, as calculated from the planets rotation. If the surface layers are less dense than average, then the interior must be denser than average. Calculations indicate that the core is about 85% iron metal with nickel metal making up much of the remaining 15%. 2. Metallic meteorites are thought to be representative of the core. The 85% iron/15% nickel calculation above is also seen in metallic meteorites (Figure 1.1). If Earths core were not metal, the planet would not have a magnetic field. Metals such as iron are magnetic, but rock, which makes up the mantle and crust, is not. Scientists know that the outer core is liquid and the inner core is solid because: 1. S-waves do not go through the outer core. 2. The strong magnetic field is caused by convection in the liquid outer core. Convection currents in the outer core are due to heat from the even hotter inner core. The heat that keeps the outer core from solidifying is produced by the breakdown of radioactive elements in the inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: The dense, iron core forms the center of the Earth. Scientists know that the core is metal from studying metallic meteorites and the Earths density. Seismic waves show that the outer core is liquid, while the inner core is solid. Movement within Earths outer liquid iron core creates Earths magnetic field. These convection currents form in the outer core because the base of the outer core is heated by the even hotter inner core. When Earth was entirely molten, gravity drew denser elements to the center and lighter elements rose to the surface. The separation of Earth into layers based on density is known as differentiation. The densest material moved to the center to create the planets dense metallic core. Materials that are intermediate in density became part of the mantle (Figure 1.1). |
We can hold something like the core in our hands: a metallic meteorite. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists study meteorites to learn about Earths interior. Meteorites formed in the early solar system. These objects represent early solar system materials. Some meteorites are made of iron and nickel. They are thought to be very similar to Earths core (Figure 6.2). An iron meteorite is the closest thing to a sample of the core that scientists can hold in their hands! At the planets center lies a dense metallic core. Scientists know that the core is metal because: 1. The density of Earths surface layers is much less than the overall density of the planet, as calculated from the planets rotation. If the surface layers are less dense than average, then the interior must be denser than average. Calculations indicate that the core is about 85% iron metal with nickel metal making up much of the remaining 15%. 2. Metallic meteorites are thought to be representative of the core. The 85% iron/15% nickel calculation above is also seen in metallic meteorites (Figure 1.1). If Earths core were not metal, the planet would not have a magnetic field. Metals such as iron are magnetic, but rock, which makes up the mantle and crust, is not. Scientists know that the outer core is liquid and the inner core is solid because: 1. S-waves do not go through the outer core. 2. The strong magnetic field is caused by convection in the liquid outer core. Convection currents in the outer core are due to heat from the even hotter inner core. The heat that keeps the outer core from solidifying is produced by the breakdown of radioactive elements in the inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: A meteoroid is dragged towards Earth by gravity and enters the atmosphere. Friction with the atmosphere heats the object quickly, so it starts to vaporize. As it flies through the atmosphere, it leaves a trail of glowing gases. The object is now a meteor. Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere. They never reach Earths surface. Large meteoroids may not burn up entirely in the atmosphere. A small core may remain and hit the Earths surface. This is called a meteorite. Meteorites provide clues about our solar system. Many were formed in the early solar system (Figure 25.34). Some are from asteroids that have split apart. A few are rocks from nearby bodies like Mars. For this to happen, an asteroid smashed into Mars and sent up debris. A bit of the debris entered Earths atmosphere as a meteor. |
Meteorites may represent material from the early solar system. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists study meteorites to learn about Earths interior. Meteorites formed in the early solar system. These objects represent early solar system materials. Some meteorites are made of iron and nickel. They are thought to be very similar to Earths core (Figure 6.2). An iron meteorite is the closest thing to a sample of the core that scientists can hold in their hands! Although most meteors burn up in the atmosphere, larger meteoroids may strike the Earths surface to create a meteorite. Meteorites are valuable to scientists because they provide clues about our solar system. Many meteorites are from asteroids that formed when the solar system formed (Figure 1.2). A few meteorites are made of rocky material that is thought to have come from Mars when an asteroid impact shot material off the Martian surface and into space. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Lunar rocks reveal an enormous amount about Earths early days. The Genesis Rock, with a date of 4.5 billion years, is only about 100 million years younger than the solar system (see opening image). The rock is a piece of the Moons anorthosite crust, which was the original crust. Why do you think Moon rocks contain information that is not available from Earths own materials? Can you find how all of the evidence presented in the bullet points above is present in the Moons birth story? |
The mantle is divided into the inner mantle and outer mantle. | (A) true (B) false | B | The two most important things about the mantle are: (1) it is made of solid rock, and (2) it is hot. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties: 1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. 2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow. A cross section of Earth showing the fol- lowing layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5) asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: The layers scientists recognize are pictured below (Figure 1.1). Core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition: 1. The crust is less than 1% of Earth by mass. The two types are oceanic crust and continental crust.Continental crust is felsic and oceanic crust is mafic. 2. The mantle is hot, ultramafic rock. It represents about 68% of Earths mass. 3. The core is mostly iron metal. The core makes up about 31% of the Earth. |
Earthquakes send waves of energy through rocks inside Earth. | (A) true (B) false | A | An earthquake is sudden ground movement caused by the sudden release of energy stored in rocks. Earthquakes happen when so much stress builds up in the rocks that the rocks rupture. The energy is transmitted by seismic waves. Earthquakes can be so small they go completely unnoticed, or so large that it can take years for a region to recover. Geologists study earthquake waves to see Earths interior. Waves of energy radiate out from an earthquakes focus. These are called seismic waves (Figure 6.1). Seismic waves change speed as they move through different materials. This causes them to bend. Some seismic waves do not travel through liquids or gases. Scientists use all of this information to understand what makes up the Earths interior. Seismic waves are the energy from earthquakes. Seismic waves move outward in all directions away from their source. Each type of seismic wave travels at different speeds in different materials. All seismic waves travel through rock, but not all travel through liquid or gas. Geologists study seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and the Earths interior. |
Meteorites formed a long time ago in the early solar system. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists study meteorites to learn about Earths interior. Meteorites formed in the early solar system. These objects represent early solar system materials. Some meteorites are made of iron and nickel. They are thought to be very similar to Earths core (Figure 6.2). An iron meteorite is the closest thing to a sample of the core that scientists can hold in their hands! Although most meteors burn up in the atmosphere, larger meteoroids may strike the Earths surface to create a meteorite. Meteorites are valuable to scientists because they provide clues about our solar system. Many meteorites are from asteroids that formed when the solar system formed (Figure 1.2). A few meteorites are made of rocky material that is thought to have come from Mars when an asteroid impact shot material off the Martian surface and into space. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Our solar system began about 5 billion years ago. The Sun, planets and other solar system objects all formed at about the same time. |
Earths crust is made of solid rock. | (A) true (B) false | A | Earths outer surface is its crust, a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very thin relative to the radius of the planet. There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties, which are summarized in Table 1.1. Crust Oceanic Continental Thickness 5-12 km (3-8 mi) Avg. 35 km (22 mi) Density 3.0 g/cm3 2.7 g/cm3 Composition Mafic Felsic Rock types Basalt and gabbro All types Crust, mantle, and core differ from each other in chemical composition. Its understandable that scientists know the most about the crust, and less about deeper layers (Figure 6.3). Earths crust is a thin, brittle outer shell. The crust is made of rock. This layer is thinner under the oceans and much thicker in mountain ranges. Earth formed like the other planets. Different materials in its region of space collided. Eventually the material made a planet. All of the collisions caused Earth to heat up. Rock and metal melted. The molten material separated into layers. Gravity pulled the denser material into the center. The lighter elements rose to the surface (Figure 12.4). Because the material separated, Earths core is made mostly of iron. Earths crust is made mostly of lighter materials. In between the crust and the core is Earths mantle, made of solid rock. |
Lava flows formed the oceanic crust. | (A) true (B) false | A | Oceanic crust is composed of mafic magma that erupts on the seafloor to create basalt lava flows or cools deeper down to create the intrusive igneous rock gabbro (Figure 1.1). Gabbro from ocean crust. The gabbro is deformed because of intense faulting at the eruption site. Sediments, primarily mud and the shells of tiny sea creatures, coat the seafloor. Sediment is thickest near the shore, where it comes off the continents in rivers and on wind currents. The oceanic crust is relatively thin and lies above the mantle. The cross section of oceanic crust in the Figure 1.2 shows the layers that grade from sediments at the top to extrusive basalt lava, to the sheeted dikes that feed lava to the surface, to deeper intrusive gabbro, and finally to the mantle. The first crust was made of basaltic rock, like the current ocean crust. Partial melting of the lower portion of the basaltic crust began more than 4 billion years ago. This created the silica-rich crust that became the felsic continents. There are two kinds of crust. Oceanic crust is made of basalt lavas that flow onto the seafloor. It is relatively thin, between 5 to 12 kilometers thick (3 - 8 miles). The rocks of the oceanic crust are denser (3.0 g/cm3 ) than the rocks that make up the continents. Thick layers of mud cover much of the ocean floor. |
The continental crust contains only igneous rock. | (A) true (B) false | B | Continental crust is made up of many different types of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The average composition is granite, which is much less dense than the mafic rocks of the oceanic crust (Figure 1.3). Because it is thick and has relatively low density, continental crust rises higher on the mantle than oceanic crust, which sinks into the mantle to form basins. When filled with water, these basins form the planets oceans. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: A cross-section of oceanic crust. The earliest felsic continental crust is now found in the ancient cores of continents, called the cratons. Rapid plate motions meant that cratons experienced many continental collisions. Little is known about the paleogeography, or the ancient geography, of the early planet, although smaller continents could have come together and broken up. Geologists can learn many things about the Pre-Archean by studying the rocks of the cratons. Cratons also contain felsic igneous rocks, which are remnants of the first continents. Cratonic rocks contain rounded sedimentary grains. Of what importance is this fact? Rounded grains indicate that the minerals eroded from an earlier rock type and that rivers or seas also existed. One common rock type in the cratons is greenstone, a metamorphosed volcanic rock (Figure 1.1). Since greenstones are found today in oceanic trenches, what does the presence of greenstones mean? These ancient greenstones indicate the presence of subduction zones. Ice age glaciers scraped the Canadian Shield down to the 4.28 billion year old greenstone in Northwestern Quebec. Continental crust is much thicker than oceanic crust. It is 35 kilometers (22 miles) thick on average, but it varies a lot. Continental crust is made up of many different rocks. All three major rock types igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary are found in the crust. On average, continental crust is much less dense (2.7 g/cm3) than oceanic crust. Since it is less dense, it rises higher above the mantle than oceanic crust. |
Heat travels from the top to the bottom of the mantle. | (A) true (B) false | B | Beneath the crust is the mantle. The mantle is made of hot, solid rock. Through the process of conduction, heat flows from warmer objects to cooler objects (Figure 6.4). The lower mantle is heated directly by conduction from the core. Hot lower mantle material rises upwards (Figure 6.5). As it rises, it cools. At the top of the mantle it moves horizontally. Over time it becomes cool and dense enough that it sinks. Back at the bottom of the mantle, it travels horizontally. Eventually the material gets to the location where warm mantle material is rising. The rising and sinking of warm and cooler material is convection. The motion described creates a convection cell. Scientists know that the mantle is extremely hot because of the heat flowing outward from it and because of its physical properties. Heat flows in two different ways within the Earth: 1. Conduction: Heat is transferred through rapid collisions of atoms, which can only happen if the material is solid. Heat flows from warmer to cooler places until all are the same temperature. The mantle is hot mostly because of heat conducted from the core. Peridotite is formed of crystals of olivine (green) and pyroxene (black). 2. Convection: If a material is able to move, even if it moves very slowly, convection currents can form. Convection in the mantle is the same as convection in a pot of water on a stove. Convection currents within Earths mantle form as material near the core heats up. As the core heats the bottom layer of mantle material, particles move more rapidly, decreasing its density and causing it to rise. The rising material begins the convection current. When the warm material reaches the surface, it spreads horizontally. The material cools because it is no longer near the core. It eventually becomes cool and dense enough to sink back down into the mantle. At the bottom of the mantle, the material travels horizontally and is heated by the core. It reaches the location where warm mantle material rises, and the mantle convection cell is complete (Figure 1.2). Convection. Convection within the Earths mantle causes the plates to move. Mantle material is heated above the core. The hot mantle rises up towards the surface (Figure 6.16). As the mantle rises it cools. At the surface the material moves horizontally away from a mid-ocean ridge crest. The material continues to cool. It sinks back down into the mantle at a deep sea trench. The material sinks back down to the core. It moves horizontally again, completing a convection cell. |
Earths core is very dense. | (A) true (B) false | A | At the planets center lies a dense metallic core. Scientists know that the core is metal because: 1. The density of Earths surface layers is much less than the overall density of the planet, as calculated from the planets rotation. If the surface layers are less dense than average, then the interior must be denser than average. Calculations indicate that the core is about 85% iron metal with nickel metal making up much of the remaining 15%. 2. Metallic meteorites are thought to be representative of the core. The 85% iron/15% nickel calculation above is also seen in metallic meteorites (Figure 1.1). If Earths core were not metal, the planet would not have a magnetic field. Metals such as iron are magnetic, but rock, which makes up the mantle and crust, is not. Scientists know that the outer core is liquid and the inner core is solid because: 1. S-waves do not go through the outer core. 2. The strong magnetic field is caused by convection in the liquid outer core. Convection currents in the outer core are due to heat from the even hotter inner core. The heat that keeps the outer core from solidifying is produced by the breakdown of radioactive elements in the inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: The dense, iron core forms the center of the Earth. Scientists know that the core is metal from studying metallic meteorites and the Earths density. Seismic waves show that the outer core is liquid, while the inner core is solid. Movement within Earths outer liquid iron core creates Earths magnetic field. These convection currents form in the outer core because the base of the outer core is heated by the even hotter inner core. When Earth was entirely molten, gravity drew denser elements to the center and lighter elements rose to the surface. The separation of Earth into layers based on density is known as differentiation. The densest material moved to the center to create the planets dense metallic core. Materials that are intermediate in density became part of the mantle (Figure 1.1). |
Convection currents occur in the inner core. | (A) true (B) false | B | The dense, iron core forms the center of the Earth. Scientists know that the core is metal from studying metallic meteorites and the Earths density. Seismic waves show that the outer core is liquid, while the inner core is solid. Movement within Earths outer liquid iron core creates Earths magnetic field. These convection currents form in the outer core because the base of the outer core is heated by the even hotter inner core. Beneath the crust is the mantle. The mantle is made of hot, solid rock. Through the process of conduction, heat flows from warmer objects to cooler objects (Figure 6.4). The lower mantle is heated directly by conduction from the core. Hot lower mantle material rises upwards (Figure 6.5). As it rises, it cools. At the top of the mantle it moves horizontally. Over time it becomes cool and dense enough that it sinks. Back at the bottom of the mantle, it travels horizontally. Eventually the material gets to the location where warm mantle material is rising. The rising and sinking of warm and cooler material is convection. The motion described creates a convection cell. Convection within the Earths mantle causes the plates to move. Mantle material is heated above the core. The hot mantle rises up towards the surface (Figure 6.16). As the mantle rises it cools. At the surface the material moves horizontally away from a mid-ocean ridge crest. The material continues to cool. It sinks back down into the mantle at a deep sea trench. The material sinks back down to the core. It moves horizontally again, completing a convection cell. |
Plate tectonics is the theory that the lithosphere is divided into plates that move over Earths surface. | (A) true (B) false | A | Earthquakes are used to identify plate boundaries (Figure 6.14). When earthquake locations are put on a map, they outline the plates. The movements of the plates are called plate tectonics. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates. Each plate is named for the continent or ocean basin it contains. Some plates are made of all oceanic lithosphere. A few are all continental lithosphere. But What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. |
Compared with the other layers of Earth, the crust is very | (A) thick (B) warm (C) brittle (D) two of the above | C | Crust, mantle, and core differ from each other in chemical composition. Its understandable that scientists know the most about the crust, and less about deeper layers (Figure 6.3). Earths crust is a thin, brittle outer shell. The crust is made of rock. This layer is thinner under the oceans and much thicker in mountain ranges. Earths outer surface is its crust, a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very thin relative to the radius of the planet. There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties, which are summarized in Table 1.1. Crust Oceanic Continental Thickness 5-12 km (3-8 mi) Avg. 35 km (22 mi) Density 3.0 g/cm3 2.7 g/cm3 Composition Mafic Felsic Rock types Basalt and gabbro All types The layers scientists recognize are pictured below (Figure 1.1). Core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition: 1. The crust is less than 1% of Earth by mass. The two types are oceanic crust and continental crust.Continental crust is felsic and oceanic crust is mafic. 2. The mantle is hot, ultramafic rock. It represents about 68% of Earths mass. 3. The core is mostly iron metal. The core makes up about 31% of the Earth. |
Seismic waves reveal information about Earths interior because they travel | (A) at different speeds through different materials (B) only through liquids and gases (C) at the same speed as sound (D) only in straight lines | A | The energy from earthquakes travels in waves. The study of seismic waves is known as seismology. Seismologists use seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and also to learn about the Earths interior. One ingenious way scientists learn about Earths interior is by looking at earthquake waves. Seismic waves travel outward in all directions from where the ground breaks and are picked up by seismographs around the world. Two types of seismic waves are most useful for learning about Earths interior. Seismic waves are the energy from earthquakes. Seismic waves move outward in all directions away from their source. Each type of seismic wave travels at different speeds in different materials. All seismic waves travel through rock, but not all travel through liquid or gas. Geologists study seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and the Earths interior. Geologists study earthquake waves to see Earths interior. Waves of energy radiate out from an earthquakes focus. These are called seismic waves (Figure 6.1). Seismic waves change speed as they move through different materials. This causes them to bend. Some seismic waves do not travel through liquids or gases. Scientists use all of this information to understand what makes up the Earths interior. |
Earths layers differ from one another in | (A) chemical makeup (B) temperature (C) state of matter (D) all of the above | D | Crust, mantle, and core differ from each other in chemical composition. Its understandable that scientists know the most about the crust, and less about deeper layers (Figure 6.3). Earths crust is a thin, brittle outer shell. The crust is made of rock. This layer is thinner under the oceans and much thicker in mountain ranges. Earths outer surface is its crust, a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very thin relative to the radius of the planet. There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties, which are summarized in Table 1.1. Crust Oceanic Continental Thickness 5-12 km (3-8 mi) Avg. 35 km (22 mi) Density 3.0 g/cm3 2.7 g/cm3 Composition Mafic Felsic Rock types Basalt and gabbro All types The layers scientists recognize are pictured below (Figure 1.1). Core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition: 1. The crust is less than 1% of Earth by mass. The two types are oceanic crust and continental crust.Continental crust is felsic and oceanic crust is mafic. 2. The mantle is hot, ultramafic rock. It represents about 68% of Earths mass. 3. The core is mostly iron metal. The core makes up about 31% of the Earth. |
Compared to oceanic crust, continental crust is | (A) denser (B) thicker (C) less variable (D) all of the above | B | Continental crust is much thicker than oceanic crust. It is 35 kilometers (22 miles) thick on average, but it varies a lot. Continental crust is made up of many different rocks. All three major rock types igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary are found in the crust. On average, continental crust is much less dense (2.7 g/cm3) than oceanic crust. Since it is less dense, it rises higher above the mantle than oceanic crust. Continental crust is made up of many different types of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The average composition is granite, which is much less dense than the mafic rocks of the oceanic crust (Figure 1.3). Because it is thick and has relatively low density, continental crust rises higher on the mantle than oceanic crust, which sinks into the mantle to form basins. When filled with water, these basins form the planets oceans. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: A cross-section of oceanic crust. There are two kinds of crust. Oceanic crust is made of basalt lavas that flow onto the seafloor. It is relatively thin, between 5 to 12 kilometers thick (3 - 8 miles). The rocks of the oceanic crust are denser (3.0 g/cm3 ) than the rocks that make up the continents. Thick layers of mud cover much of the ocean floor. |
Earths magnetic field is created by movements in Earths | (A) inner core (B) outer core (C) mantle (D) crust | B | Earth has a magnetic field (Figure 24.6). The magnetic field has north and south poles. The field extends several thousand kilometers into space. Earths magnetic field is created by the movements of molten metal in the outer core. Earths magnetic field shields us from harmful radiation from the Sun (Figure 24.7). If you have a large bar magnet, you can hang it from a string. Then watch as it aligns itself in a north-south direction, in response to Earths magnetic field. A compass needle also aligns with Earths magnetic field. People can navigate by finding magnetic north (Figure 24.8). Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field (Figure 1.1) that behaves as if the planet had a gigantic bar magnet inside of it. Earths magnetic field also has a north and south pole. The magnetic field arises from the convection of molten iron and nickel metals in Earths liquid outer core. Like all magnets, Earth has a magnetic field. Earths magnetic field is called the magnetosphere. You can see a model of the magnetosphere in the Figure 1.3. It is a huge region that extends outward from Earth in all directions. Earth exerts magnetic force over the entire field, but the force is strongest at the poles, where lines of force converge. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
The lithosphere is | (A) solid (B) rigid (C) able to flow (D) two of the above | D | The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. The lithosphere is the outermost mechanical layer, which behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. The lithosphere is about 100 kilometers thick. How are crust and lithosphere different from each other? The definition of the lithosphere is based on how Earth materials behave, so it includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, which are both brittle. Since it is rigid and brittle, when stresses act on the lithosphere, it breaks. This is what we experience as an earthquake. Although we sometimes refer to Earths plates as being plates of crust, the plates are actually made of lithosphere. Much more about Earths plates follows in the chapter "Plate Tectonics." Lithosphere and asthenosphere are layers based on physical properties. The outermost layer is the lithosphere. The lithosphere is the crust and the uppermost mantle. In terms of physical properties, this layer is rigid, solid, and brittle. It is easily cracked or broken. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is also in the upper mantle. This layer is solid, but it can flow and bend. A solid that can flow is like silly putty. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties: 1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. 2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow. A cross section of Earth showing the fol- lowing layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5) asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
The consistency of the asthenosphere is most like | (A) hard plastic (B) frozen water (C) silly putty (D) solid metal | C | The asthenosphere is solid upper mantle material that is so hot that it behaves plastically and can flow. The lithosphere rides on the asthenosphere. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are layers based on physical properties. The outermost layer is the lithosphere. The lithosphere is the crust and the uppermost mantle. In terms of physical properties, this layer is rigid, solid, and brittle. It is easily cracked or broken. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is also in the upper mantle. This layer is solid, but it can flow and bend. A solid that can flow is like silly putty. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties: 1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. 2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow. A cross section of Earth showing the fol- lowing layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5) asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
hypothesis explaining how the ocean floor forms | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | D | The features of the seafloor and the patterns of magnetic polarity symmetrically about the mid-ocean ridges were the pieces that Hess needed. He resurrected Wegeners continental drift hypothesis and also the mantle convection idea of Holmes. Hess wrote that hot magma rose up into the rift valley at the mid-ocean ridges. The lava oozed up and forced the existing seafloor away from the rift in opposite directions. Since magnetite crystals point in the direction of the magnetic north pole as the lava cools, the different stripes of magnetic polarity revealed the different ages of the seafloor. The seafloor at the ridge is from the Brunhes normal; beyond that is basalt from the Matuyama reverse; and beyond that from the Gauss normal. Hess called this idea seafloor spreading. As oceanic crust forms and spreads, moving away from the ridge crest, it pushes the continent away from the ridge axis. If the oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, it sinks into the trench and is lost into the mantle. The oldest crust is coldest and lies deepest in the ocean because it is less buoyant than the hot new crust. Hess could also use seafloor spreading to explain the flat topped guyots. He suggested that they were once active volcanoes that were exposed to erosion above sea level. As the seafloor they sat on moved away from the ridge, the crust on which they sat become less buoyant and the guyots moved deeper beneath sea level. The seafloor spreading hypothesis brought all of these observations together in the early 1960s. Hot mantle material rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The hot magma erupts as lava. The lava cools to form new seafloor. Later, more lava erupts at the ridge. The new lava pushes the seafloor that is at the ridge horizontally away from ridge axis. The seafloor moves! In some places, the oceanic crust comes up to a continent. The moving crust pushes that continent away from the ridge axis as well. If the moving oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, the crust sinks into the mantle. The creation and destruction of oceanic crust is the reason that continents move. Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
Before echo sounders, scientists thought topography of the seafloor | (A) was just like the topography of the continents (B) had many long linear mountain ranges (C) like Japan (D) c had lots of small hills (E) but nothing else (F) d was completely flat | D | The people who first mapped the seafloor were aboard military vessels during World War II. As stated in the Earth as a Planet chapter, echo sounders used sound waves to search for submarines, but also produced a map of seafloor depths. Depth sounding continued in earnest after the war. Scientists pieced together the ocean depths to produce bathymetric maps of the seafloor. During WWII and in the decade or so later, echo sounders had only one beam, so they just returned a line showing the depth beneath the ship. Later echo sounders sent out multiple beams and could create a bathymetric map of the seafloor below. We will run a multi-beam echo sounder as we go from Woods Hole out to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Before World War II, people thought the seafloor was completely flat and featureless. There was no reason to think otherwise. Harry Hess was a geology professor and a naval officer who commanded an attack transport ship during WWII. Like other ships, Hesss ship had echo sounders that mapped the seafloor. Hess discovered hundreds of flat-topped mountains in the Pacific that he gave the name guyot. He puzzled at what could have formed mountains that appeared to be eroded at the top but were more than a mile beneath the sea surface. Hess also noticed trenches that were as much as 7 miles deep. Meanwhile, other scientists like Bruce Heezen discovered the underwater mountain range they called the Great Global Rift. Although the rift was mostly in the deep sea, it occasionally came close to land. These scientists thought the rift was a set of breaks in Earths crust. The final piece that was needed was the work of Vine and Matthews, who had discovered the bands of alternating magnetic polarity in the seafloor symmetrically about the rift. |
device used to map the ocean floor | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | A | Scientists study the ocean floor in various ways. Scientists or their devices may actually travel to the ocean floor. Or they may study the ocean floor from the surface. One way is with a tool called sonar. The people who first mapped the seafloor were aboard military vessels during World War II. As stated in the Earth as a Planet chapter, echo sounders used sound waves to search for submarines, but also produced a map of seafloor depths. Depth sounding continued in earnest after the war. Scientists pieced together the ocean depths to produce bathymetric maps of the seafloor. During WWII and in the decade or so later, echo sounders had only one beam, so they just returned a line showing the depth beneath the ship. Later echo sounders sent out multiple beams and could create a bathymetric map of the seafloor below. We will run a multi-beam echo sounder as we go from Woods Hole out to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Oceanographers use a type of topographic map that shows water depths (Figure 2.32). On this map, the contour lines represent depth below the surface. Therefore, high numbers are deeper depths and low numbers are shallow depths. These maps are made from depth soundings or sonar data. They help oceanographers understand the shape of bottoms of lakes, bays, and the ocean. This information also helps boaters navigate safely. |
In the Atlantic Ocean, the mid-ocean ridge is | (A) a straight line between the Americas and Europe/Africa (B) a line that mimics the coastlines of the Americas and Europe/Africa (C) not visible (D) none of these | B | There is a lot of volcanic activity at divergent plate boundaries in the oceans. As the plates pull away from each other, they create deep fissures. Molten lava erupts through these cracks. The East Pacific Rise is a divergent plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean (Figure 8.2). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary in the Atlantic Ocean. Continents can also rift apart. When mantle gets close enough to the surface, volcanoes form. Eventually, a rift valley will create a new mid-ocean ridge. Plates move apart at mid-ocean ridges. Lava rises upward, erupts, and cools. Later, more lava erupts and pushes the original seafloor outward. This is seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading forms new oceanic crust. The rising magma causes earthquakes. Most mid-ocean ridges are located deep below the sea. The island of Iceland sits right on the Mid-Atlantic ridge (Figure 6.17). Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. |
switching of Earths magnetic poles | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | E | Indeed, scientists discovered something astonishing. Many times in Earths history, the magnetic poles have switched positions. North becomes south and south becomes north! When the north and south poles are aligned as they are now, geologists say it is normal polarity. When they are in the opposite position, they say that it is reversed polarity. Many times during Earth history, even relatively recent Earth history, the planets magnetic field has flipped. That is, the north pole becomes the south pole and the south pole becomes the north pole. Scientists are not sure why this happens. One hypothesis is that the convection that drives the magnetic field becomes chaotic and then reverses itself. Another hypothesis is that an external event, such as an asteroid impact, disrupts motions in the core and causes the reversal. The first hypothesis is supported by computer models, but the second does not seem to be supported by much data. There is little correlation between impact events and magnetic reversals. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Earths magnetic field is like a bar magnet resides in the center of the planet. Earths magnetic poles have switched places repeatedly in the past. As you can see in the Figure 1.1, each time the switch occurred, Earths magnetic field was reversed. The magnetic field is the region around a magnet over which it exerts magnetic force. We think of todays magnetic field direction as normal, but thats only because its what were used to. |
At a time of reversed magnetic polarity, the north and south poles are | (A) aligned as they are now (B) in somewhat different locations from where they are now (C) in the opposite positions from where they are now (D) none of these | C | Indeed, scientists discovered something astonishing. Many times in Earths history, the magnetic poles have switched positions. North becomes south and south becomes north! When the north and south poles are aligned as they are now, geologists say it is normal polarity. When they are in the opposite position, they say that it is reversed polarity. Many times during Earth history, even relatively recent Earth history, the planets magnetic field has flipped. That is, the north pole becomes the south pole and the south pole becomes the north pole. Scientists are not sure why this happens. One hypothesis is that the convection that drives the magnetic field becomes chaotic and then reverses itself. Another hypothesis is that an external event, such as an asteroid impact, disrupts motions in the core and causes the reversal. The first hypothesis is supported by computer models, but the second does not seem to be supported by much data. There is little correlation between impact events and magnetic reversals. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Earths magnetic field is like a bar magnet resides in the center of the planet. All magnets have two magnetic poles. The poles are regions where the magnet is strongest. The poles are called north and south because they always line up with Earths north-south axis if the magnet is allowed to move freely. (Earths axis is the imaginary line around which the planet rotates.) What do you suppose would happen if you cut the bar magnet in Figure 24.2 in half along the line between the north and south poles? Both halves would also have north and south poles. If you cut each of the halves in half, all those pieces would have north and south poles as well. Pieces of a magnet always have both north and south poles no matter how many times you cut the magnet. |
New oceanic crust is created | (A) at mid-ocean ridges (B) at deep sea trenches (C) within abyssal plains (D) at long (E) linear chains of volcanoes | A | The first crust was made of basaltic rock, like the current ocean crust. Partial melting of the lower portion of the basaltic crust began more than 4 billion years ago. This created the silica-rich crust that became the felsic continents. Oceanic crust is composed of mafic magma that erupts on the seafloor to create basalt lava flows or cools deeper down to create the intrusive igneous rock gabbro (Figure 1.1). Gabbro from ocean crust. The gabbro is deformed because of intense faulting at the eruption site. Sediments, primarily mud and the shells of tiny sea creatures, coat the seafloor. Sediment is thickest near the shore, where it comes off the continents in rivers and on wind currents. The oceanic crust is relatively thin and lies above the mantle. The cross section of oceanic crust in the Figure 1.2 shows the layers that grade from sediments at the top to extrusive basalt lava, to the sheeted dikes that feed lava to the surface, to deeper intrusive gabbro, and finally to the mantle. The seafloor spreading hypothesis brought all of these observations together in the early 1960s. Hot mantle material rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The hot magma erupts as lava. The lava cools to form new seafloor. Later, more lava erupts at the ridge. The new lava pushes the seafloor that is at the ridge horizontally away from ridge axis. The seafloor moves! In some places, the oceanic crust comes up to a continent. The moving crust pushes that continent away from the ridge axis as well. If the moving oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, the crust sinks into the mantle. The creation and destruction of oceanic crust is the reason that continents move. Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! |
deepest places on the ocean floor | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | G | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. As we have seen, the ocean floor is not flat: mid-ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. In fact, Earths tallest mountain is Mauna Kea volcano, which rises 10,203 m (33,476 ft.)meters) from the Pacific Ocean floor to become one of the volcanic mountains of Hawaii. The deepest canyon is also on the ocean floor, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 10,916 m (35,814 ft). The continental margin is the transition from the land to the deep sea or, geologically speaking, from continental crust to oceanic crust. More than one-quarter of the ocean basin is continental margin. (Figure 1.3). Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
device used to study magnetic properties of the seafloor | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | F | Warships also carried magnetometers. They were also used to search for submarines. The magnetometers also revealed a lot about the magnetic properties of the seafloor. On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. Scientists study the ocean floor in various ways. Scientists or their devices may actually travel to the ocean floor. Or they may study the ocean floor from the surface. One way is with a tool called sonar. |
Since new oceanic crust is being created | (A) Earth must be getting larger (B) mountains must be rising somewhere (C) old crust must be destroyed somewhere (D) none of these | C | The first crust was made of basaltic rock, like the current ocean crust. Partial melting of the lower portion of the basaltic crust began more than 4 billion years ago. This created the silica-rich crust that became the felsic continents. Oceanic crust is composed of mafic magma that erupts on the seafloor to create basalt lava flows or cools deeper down to create the intrusive igneous rock gabbro (Figure 1.1). Gabbro from ocean crust. The gabbro is deformed because of intense faulting at the eruption site. Sediments, primarily mud and the shells of tiny sea creatures, coat the seafloor. Sediment is thickest near the shore, where it comes off the continents in rivers and on wind currents. The oceanic crust is relatively thin and lies above the mantle. The cross section of oceanic crust in the Figure 1.2 shows the layers that grade from sediments at the top to extrusive basalt lava, to the sheeted dikes that feed lava to the surface, to deeper intrusive gabbro, and finally to the mantle. The seafloor spreading hypothesis brought all of these observations together in the early 1960s. Hot mantle material rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The hot magma erupts as lava. The lava cools to form new seafloor. Later, more lava erupts at the ridge. The new lava pushes the seafloor that is at the ridge horizontally away from ridge axis. The seafloor moves! In some places, the oceanic crust comes up to a continent. The moving crust pushes that continent away from the ridge axis as well. If the moving oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, the crust sinks into the mantle. The creation and destruction of oceanic crust is the reason that continents move. Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! |
flat regions of the ocean floor | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | C | Although they expected an expanse of flat, featureless plains, scientists were shocked to find tremendous features like mountain ranges, rifts, and trenches. This work continues on oceanographic research vessels as they sail across the seas today. The map in the Figure 1.2 is a modern map with data from several decades. The major features of the ocean basins and their colors on the map in Figure 1.2 include: mid-ocean ridges: these features rise up high above the deep seafloor as a long chain of mountains, e.g. the light blue gash in middle of Atlantic Ocean. rift zones: in the middle of the mid-ocean ridges is a rift zone that is lower in elevation than the mountains surrounding it. deep sea trenches: these features are found at the edges of continents or in the sea near chains of active volcanoes, e.g. the very deepest blue, off of western South America. abyssal plains: these features are flat areas, although many are dotted with volcanic mountains, e.g. consistent blue off of southeastern South America. See if you can identify each of these features in Figure 1.2. A modern map of the southeastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. When they first observed these bathymetric maps, scientists wondered what had formed these features. It turns out that they were crucial for fitting together ideas about seafloor spreading. Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
mountain ranges on the ocean floor | (A) echo sounder (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) abyssal plains (D) seafloor spreading (E) polar reversal (F) magnetometer (G) trenches | B | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. Although they expected an expanse of flat, featureless plains, scientists were shocked to find tremendous features like mountain ranges, rifts, and trenches. This work continues on oceanographic research vessels as they sail across the seas today. The map in the Figure 1.2 is a modern map with data from several decades. The major features of the ocean basins and their colors on the map in Figure 1.2 include: mid-ocean ridges: these features rise up high above the deep seafloor as a long chain of mountains, e.g. the light blue gash in middle of Atlantic Ocean. rift zones: in the middle of the mid-ocean ridges is a rift zone that is lower in elevation than the mountains surrounding it. deep sea trenches: these features are found at the edges of continents or in the sea near chains of active volcanoes, e.g. the very deepest blue, off of western South America. abyssal plains: these features are flat areas, although many are dotted with volcanic mountains, e.g. consistent blue off of southeastern South America. See if you can identify each of these features in Figure 1.2. A modern map of the southeastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. When they first observed these bathymetric maps, scientists wondered what had formed these features. It turns out that they were crucial for fitting together ideas about seafloor spreading. Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
Before World War II, people thought the seafloor | (A) had huge mountain ranges (B) contained deep trenches (C) was flat and featureless (D) had active volcanoes | C | Before World War II, people thought the seafloor was completely flat and featureless. There was no reason to think otherwise. The people who first mapped the seafloor were aboard military vessels during World War II. As stated in the Earth as a Planet chapter, echo sounders used sound waves to search for submarines, but also produced a map of seafloor depths. Depth sounding continued in earnest after the war. Scientists pieced together the ocean depths to produce bathymetric maps of the seafloor. During WWII and in the decade or so later, echo sounders had only one beam, so they just returned a line showing the depth beneath the ship. Later echo sounders sent out multiple beams and could create a bathymetric map of the seafloor below. We will run a multi-beam echo sounder as we go from Woods Hole out to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Harry Hess was a geology professor and a naval officer who commanded an attack transport ship during WWII. Like other ships, Hesss ship had echo sounders that mapped the seafloor. Hess discovered hundreds of flat-topped mountains in the Pacific that he gave the name guyot. He puzzled at what could have formed mountains that appeared to be eroded at the top but were more than a mile beneath the sea surface. Hess also noticed trenches that were as much as 7 miles deep. Meanwhile, other scientists like Bruce Heezen discovered the underwater mountain range they called the Great Global Rift. Although the rift was mostly in the deep sea, it occasionally came close to land. These scientists thought the rift was a set of breaks in Earths crust. The final piece that was needed was the work of Vine and Matthews, who had discovered the bands of alternating magnetic polarity in the seafloor symmetrically about the rift. |
Echo sounders were first developed to | (A) map the ocean floor (B) locate enemy submarines (C) determine the depth of the ocean (D) find evidence for seafloor spreading | B | But during the war, battleships and submarines carried echo sounders. Their goal was to locate enemy submarines (Figure 6.9). Echo sounders produce sound waves that travel outward in all directions. The sound waves bounce off the nearest object, and then return to the ship. Scientists know the speed of sound in seawater. They then can calculate the distance to the object that the sound wave hit. Most of these sound waves did not hit submarines. They instead were used to map the ocean floor. The people who first mapped the seafloor were aboard military vessels during World War II. As stated in the Earth as a Planet chapter, echo sounders used sound waves to search for submarines, but also produced a map of seafloor depths. Depth sounding continued in earnest after the war. Scientists pieced together the ocean depths to produce bathymetric maps of the seafloor. During WWII and in the decade or so later, echo sounders had only one beam, so they just returned a line showing the depth beneath the ship. Later echo sounders sent out multiple beams and could create a bathymetric map of the seafloor below. We will run a multi-beam echo sounder as we go from Woods Hole out to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Did you ever shout and hear an echo? If you did, thats because the sound waves bounced off a hard surface and back to you. The same principle explains how sonar works. A ship on the surface sends sound waves down to the ocean floor. The sound waves bounce off the ocean floor and return to the surface, like an echo. Figure 14.19 show how this happens. Sonar can be used to measure how deep the ocean is. A device records the time it takes sound waves to travel from the surface to the ocean floor and back again. Sound waves travel through water at a known speed. Once scientists know the travel time of the wave, they can calculate the distance to the ocean floor. They can then combine all of these distances to make a map of the ocean floor. Figure 14.20 shows an example of this type of map. |
The deepest place on Earth is | (A) 11 km below sea level (B) 110 km below sea level (C) 1100 km below sea level (D) none of the above | A | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. As we have seen, the ocean floor is not flat: mid-ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. In fact, Earths tallest mountain is Mauna Kea volcano, which rises 10,203 m (33,476 ft.)meters) from the Pacific Ocean floor to become one of the volcanic mountains of Hawaii. The deepest canyon is also on the ocean floor, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 10,916 m (35,814 ft). The continental margin is the transition from the land to the deep sea or, geologically speaking, from continental crust to oceanic crust. More than one-quarter of the ocean basin is continental margin. (Figure 1.3). Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
Two different plates of lithosphere lie on each side of the mid-ocean ridge. | (A) true (B) false | A | With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. A divergent plate boundary on land rips apart continents (Figure 1.2). In continental rifting, magma rises beneath the continent, causing it to become thinner, break, and ultimately split apart. New ocean crust erupts in the void, ultimately creating an ocean between continents. On either side of the ocean are now two different lithospheric plates. This is how continents split apart. These features are well displayed in the East African Rift, where rifting has begun, and in the Red Sea, where water is filling up the basin created by seafloor spreading. The Atlantic Ocean is the final stage, where rifting is now separating two plates of oceanic crust. Iceland provides us with a fabulous view of a mid-ocean ridge above sea level (Figure 1.1) As you can see, where plates diverge at a mid-ocean ridge is a rift valley that marks the boundary between the two plates. Basalt lava erupts into that rift valley and forms new seafloor. Seafloor on one side of the rift is part of one plate and seafloor on the other side is part of another plate. Leif the Lucky Bridge straddles the divergent plate boundary. Look back at the photo at the top. You may think that the rock on the left side of the valley looks pretty much like the rock on the right side. Thats true - its all basalt and it even all has the same magnetic polarity. The rocks on both sides are extremely young. Whats different is that the rock one side of the bridge is the youngest rock of the North American Plate while the rock on the other side is the youngest rock on the Eurasian plate. This is a block diagram of a divergent plate boundary. Remember that most of these are on the seafloor and only in Iceland do we get such a good view of a divergent plate boundary in the ocean. |
Reversed polarity means that the north and south magnetic poles are | (A) located in the same positions as they are right now (B) located opposite their present positions (C) both in the same location (D) no longer magnetic | B | Indeed, scientists discovered something astonishing. Many times in Earths history, the magnetic poles have switched positions. North becomes south and south becomes north! When the north and south poles are aligned as they are now, geologists say it is normal polarity. When they are in the opposite position, they say that it is reversed polarity. Many times during Earth history, even relatively recent Earth history, the planets magnetic field has flipped. That is, the north pole becomes the south pole and the south pole becomes the north pole. Scientists are not sure why this happens. One hypothesis is that the convection that drives the magnetic field becomes chaotic and then reverses itself. Another hypothesis is that an external event, such as an asteroid impact, disrupts motions in the core and causes the reversal. The first hypothesis is supported by computer models, but the second does not seem to be supported by much data. There is little correlation between impact events and magnetic reversals. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Earths magnetic field is like a bar magnet resides in the center of the planet. All magnets have two magnetic poles. The poles are regions where the magnet is strongest. The poles are called north and south because they always line up with Earths north-south axis if the magnet is allowed to move freely. (Earths axis is the imaginary line around which the planet rotates.) What do you suppose would happen if you cut the bar magnet in Figure 24.2 in half along the line between the north and south poles? Both halves would also have north and south poles. If you cut each of the halves in half, all those pieces would have north and south poles as well. Pieces of a magnet always have both north and south poles no matter how many times you cut the magnet. |
The mid-ocean ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. As we have seen, the ocean floor is not flat: mid-ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. In fact, Earths tallest mountain is Mauna Kea volcano, which rises 10,203 m (33,476 ft.)meters) from the Pacific Ocean floor to become one of the volcanic mountains of Hawaii. The deepest canyon is also on the ocean floor, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 10,916 m (35,814 ft). The continental margin is the transition from the land to the deep sea or, geologically speaking, from continental crust to oceanic crust. More than one-quarter of the ocean basin is continental margin. (Figure 1.3). Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Mid-ocean ridges form at divergent plate boundaries. As the ocean floor separates an enormous line of volcanoes is created. When continental crust is pulled apart, it breaks into blocks. These blocks of crust are separated by normal faults. The blocks slide up or down. The result is alternating mountain ranges and valleys. This topography is known as basin-and-range (Figure 7.19). The area near Death Valley, California is the center of a classic basin-and-range province (Figure 7.20). |
The alternating magnetic stripes on the ocean floor show | (A) how Earth first formed (B) why the seafloor spreads (C) when polar reversals occurred (D) where sediments were deposited | C | Scientists were also surprised to discover a pattern of stripes of normal and reversed polarity. These stripes surround the mid-ocean ridges. There is one long stripe with normal magnetism at the top of the ridge. Next to that stripe are two long stripes with reversed magnetism. One is on either side of the normal stripe. Next come two normal stripes and then two reversed stripes, and so on across the ocean floor. The magnetic stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents. Sometimes the stripes end at a deep sea trench (Figure 6.11). On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. Scientists dont know for certain why magnetic reversals occur, but there is hard evidence that they have for hundreds of millions of years. The evidence comes from rocks on the ocean floor. Look at Figure 1.2. They show the same ridge on the ocean floor during different periods of time. A. At the center of the ridge, hot magma pushes up through the crust and hardens into rock. Once the magma hardens, the alignment of magnetic domains in the rock is frozen in place forever. Magnetic domains are regions in the rocks where all the atoms are lined up and pointing toward Earths north magnetic pole. B. The newly hardened rock is gradually pushed away from the ridge in both directions as more magma erupts and newer rock forms. The alignment of magnetic domains in this new rock is in the opposite direction, showing that a magnetic reversal has occurred. C. A magnetic reversal occurs again. It is frozen in rock to document the change. Rock samples from many places on the ocean floor show that the north and south magnetic poles reversed hundreds of times over the last 330 million years. The last reversal was less than a million years ago. |
New seafloor forms at | (A) deep-sea trenches (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) continental edges (D) two of the above | B | Plates move apart at mid-ocean ridges. Lava rises upward, erupts, and cools. Later, more lava erupts and pushes the original seafloor outward. This is seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading forms new oceanic crust. The rising magma causes earthquakes. Most mid-ocean ridges are located deep below the sea. The island of Iceland sits right on the Mid-Atlantic ridge (Figure 6.17). Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. Mid-ocean ridges form at divergent plate boundaries. As the ocean floor separates an enormous line of volcanoes is created. When continental crust is pulled apart, it breaks into blocks. These blocks of crust are separated by normal faults. The blocks slide up or down. The result is alternating mountain ranges and valleys. This topography is known as basin-and-range (Figure 7.19). The area near Death Valley, California is the center of a classic basin-and-range province (Figure 7.20). |
The mid-ocean ridge is only found in the Atlantic Ocean. | (A) true (B) false | B | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. There is a lot of volcanic activity at divergent plate boundaries in the oceans. As the plates pull away from each other, they create deep fissures. Molten lava erupts through these cracks. The East Pacific Rise is a divergent plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean (Figure 8.2). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary in the Atlantic Ocean. Continents can also rift apart. When mantle gets close enough to the surface, volcanoes form. Eventually, a rift valley will create a new mid-ocean ridge. Although they expected an expanse of flat, featureless plains, scientists were shocked to find tremendous features like mountain ranges, rifts, and trenches. This work continues on oceanographic research vessels as they sail across the seas today. The map in the Figure 1.2 is a modern map with data from several decades. The major features of the ocean basins and their colors on the map in Figure 1.2 include: mid-ocean ridges: these features rise up high above the deep seafloor as a long chain of mountains, e.g. the light blue gash in middle of Atlantic Ocean. rift zones: in the middle of the mid-ocean ridges is a rift zone that is lower in elevation than the mountains surrounding it. deep sea trenches: these features are found at the edges of continents or in the sea near chains of active volcanoes, e.g. the very deepest blue, off of western South America. abyssal plains: these features are flat areas, although many are dotted with volcanic mountains, e.g. consistent blue off of southeastern South America. See if you can identify each of these features in Figure 1.2. A modern map of the southeastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. When they first observed these bathymetric maps, scientists wondered what had formed these features. It turns out that they were crucial for fitting together ideas about seafloor spreading. |
Old seafloor sinks into the mantle at | (A) deep-sea trenches (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) continental edges (D) two of the above | D | The features of the seafloor and the patterns of magnetic polarity symmetrically about the mid-ocean ridges were the pieces that Hess needed. He resurrected Wegeners continental drift hypothesis and also the mantle convection idea of Holmes. Hess wrote that hot magma rose up into the rift valley at the mid-ocean ridges. The lava oozed up and forced the existing seafloor away from the rift in opposite directions. Since magnetite crystals point in the direction of the magnetic north pole as the lava cools, the different stripes of magnetic polarity revealed the different ages of the seafloor. The seafloor at the ridge is from the Brunhes normal; beyond that is basalt from the Matuyama reverse; and beyond that from the Gauss normal. Hess called this idea seafloor spreading. As oceanic crust forms and spreads, moving away from the ridge crest, it pushes the continent away from the ridge axis. If the oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, it sinks into the trench and is lost into the mantle. The oldest crust is coldest and lies deepest in the ocean because it is less buoyant than the hot new crust. Hess could also use seafloor spreading to explain the flat topped guyots. He suggested that they were once active volcanoes that were exposed to erosion above sea level. As the seafloor they sat on moved away from the ridge, the crust on which they sat become less buoyant and the guyots moved deeper beneath sea level. Remember that the mid-ocean ridge is where hot mantle material upwells in a convection cell. The upwelling mantle melts due to pressure release to form lava. Lava flows at the surface cool rapidly to become basalt, but deeper in the crust, magma cools more slowly to form gabbro. The entire ridge system is made up of igneous rock that is either extrusive or intrusive. The seafloor is also igneous rock with some sediment that has fallen onto it. Earthquakes are common at mid-ocean ridges since the movement of magma and oceanic crust results in crustal shaking. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: By combining magnetic polarity data from rocks on land and on the seafloor with radiometric age dating and fossil ages, scientists came up with a time scale for the magnetic reversals. The first four magnetic periods are: Brunhes normal - present to 730,000 years ago. Matuyama reverse - 730,000 years ago to 2.48 million years ago. Gauss normal - 2.48 to 3.4 million years ago. Gilbert reverse - 3.4 to 5.3 million years ago. The scientists noticed that the rocks got older with distance from the mid-ocean ridges. The youngest rocks were located at the ridge crest and the oldest rocks were located the farthest away, abutting continents. Scientists also noticed that the characteristics of the rocks and sediments changed with distance from the ridge axis as seen in the Table 1.1. Rock ages At ridge axis With distance from axis youngest becomes older Sediment thickness none becomes thicker Crust thickness Heat flow thinnest becomes thicker hottest becomes cooler Away from the ridge crest, sediment becomes older and thicker, and the seafloor becomes thicker. Heat flow, which indicates the warmth of a region, is highest at the ridge crest. The oldest seafloor is near the edges of continents or deep sea trenches and is less than 180 million years old (Figure something was happening to the older seafloor. Seafloor is youngest at the mid-ocean ridges and becomes progressively older with distance from the ridge. How can you explain the observations that scientists have made in the oceans? Why is rock younger at the ridge and oldest at the farthest points from the ridge? The scientists suggested that seafloor was being created at the ridge. Since the planet is not getting larger, they suggested that it is destroyed in a relatively short amount of geologic time. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
The seafloor is oldest at the mid-ocean ridges | (A) true (B) false | B | The scientists used geologic dating techniques on seafloor rocks. They found that the youngest rocks on the seafloor were at the mid-ocean ridges. The rocks get older with distance from the ridge crest. The scientists were surprised to find that the oldest seafloor is less than 180 million years old. This may seem old, but the oldest continental crust is around 4 billion years old. Scientists also discovered that the mid-ocean ridge crest is nearly sediment free. The crust is also very thin there. With distance from the ridge crest, the sediments and crust get thicker. This also supports the idea that the youngest rocks are on the ridge axis and that the rocks get older with distance away from the ridge (Figure 6.12). Something causes the seafloor to be created at the ridge crest. The seafloor is also destroyed in a relatively short time. By combining magnetic polarity data from rocks on land and on the seafloor with radiometric age dating and fossil ages, scientists came up with a time scale for the magnetic reversals. The first four magnetic periods are: Brunhes normal - present to 730,000 years ago. Matuyama reverse - 730,000 years ago to 2.48 million years ago. Gauss normal - 2.48 to 3.4 million years ago. Gilbert reverse - 3.4 to 5.3 million years ago. The scientists noticed that the rocks got older with distance from the mid-ocean ridges. The youngest rocks were located at the ridge crest and the oldest rocks were located the farthest away, abutting continents. Scientists also noticed that the characteristics of the rocks and sediments changed with distance from the ridge axis as seen in the Table 1.1. Rock ages At ridge axis With distance from axis youngest becomes older Sediment thickness none becomes thicker Crust thickness Heat flow thinnest becomes thicker hottest becomes cooler Away from the ridge crest, sediment becomes older and thicker, and the seafloor becomes thicker. Heat flow, which indicates the warmth of a region, is highest at the ridge crest. The oldest seafloor is near the edges of continents or deep sea trenches and is less than 180 million years old (Figure something was happening to the older seafloor. Seafloor is youngest at the mid-ocean ridges and becomes progressively older with distance from the ridge. How can you explain the observations that scientists have made in the oceans? Why is rock younger at the ridge and oldest at the farthest points from the ridge? The scientists suggested that seafloor was being created at the ridge. Since the planet is not getting larger, they suggested that it is destroyed in a relatively short amount of geologic time. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. |
Magnetic polarity stripes end at the edges of continents. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists were also surprised to discover a pattern of stripes of normal and reversed polarity. These stripes surround the mid-ocean ridges. There is one long stripe with normal magnetism at the top of the ridge. Next to that stripe are two long stripes with reversed magnetism. One is on either side of the normal stripe. Next come two normal stripes and then two reversed stripes, and so on across the ocean floor. The magnetic stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents. Sometimes the stripes end at a deep sea trench (Figure 6.11). On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. How do you figure out which of those three possibilities is correct? You decide to look at magnetic rocks on different continents. Geologists noted that for rocks of the same age but on different continents, the little magnets pointed to different magnetic north poles. 400 million-year-old magnetite in Europe pointed to a different north magnetic pole than magnetite of the same age in North America. 250 million years ago, the north poles were also different for the two continents. Now look again at the three possible explanations. Only one can be correct. If the continents had remained fixed while the north magnetic pole moved, there must have been two separate north poles. Since there is only one north pole today, what is the best explanation? The only reasonable explanation is that the magnetic north pole has remained fixed but that the continents have moved. |
An echo sounder with just one beam can create a three-dimensional map of the ocean floor. | (A) true (B) false | B | The people who first mapped the seafloor were aboard military vessels during World War II. As stated in the Earth as a Planet chapter, echo sounders used sound waves to search for submarines, but also produced a map of seafloor depths. Depth sounding continued in earnest after the war. Scientists pieced together the ocean depths to produce bathymetric maps of the seafloor. During WWII and in the decade or so later, echo sounders had only one beam, so they just returned a line showing the depth beneath the ship. Later echo sounders sent out multiple beams and could create a bathymetric map of the seafloor below. We will run a multi-beam echo sounder as we go from Woods Hole out to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Did you ever shout and hear an echo? If you did, thats because the sound waves bounced off a hard surface and back to you. The same principle explains how sonar works. A ship on the surface sends sound waves down to the ocean floor. The sound waves bounce off the ocean floor and return to the surface, like an echo. Figure 14.19 show how this happens. Sonar can be used to measure how deep the ocean is. A device records the time it takes sound waves to travel from the surface to the ocean floor and back again. Sound waves travel through water at a known speed. Once scientists know the travel time of the wave, they can calculate the distance to the ocean floor. They can then combine all of these distances to make a map of the ocean floor. Figure 14.20 shows an example of this type of map. Scientists study the ocean floor in various ways. Scientists or their devices may actually travel to the ocean floor. Or they may study the ocean floor from the surface. One way is with a tool called sonar. |
A mid-ocean ridge runs from east to west through the center of the Atlantic Ocean. | (A) true (B) false | B | There is a lot of volcanic activity at divergent plate boundaries in the oceans. As the plates pull away from each other, they create deep fissures. Molten lava erupts through these cracks. The East Pacific Rise is a divergent plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean (Figure 8.2). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary in the Atlantic Ocean. Continents can also rift apart. When mantle gets close enough to the surface, volcanoes form. Eventually, a rift valley will create a new mid-ocean ridge. Plates move apart at mid-ocean ridges. Lava rises upward, erupts, and cools. Later, more lava erupts and pushes the original seafloor outward. This is seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading forms new oceanic crust. The rising magma causes earthquakes. Most mid-ocean ridges are located deep below the sea. The island of Iceland sits right on the Mid-Atlantic ridge (Figure 6.17). A divergent plate boundary on land rips apart continents (Figure 1.2). In continental rifting, magma rises beneath the continent, causing it to become thinner, break, and ultimately split apart. New ocean crust erupts in the void, ultimately creating an ocean between continents. On either side of the ocean are now two different lithospheric plates. This is how continents split apart. These features are well displayed in the East African Rift, where rifting has begun, and in the Red Sea, where water is filling up the basin created by seafloor spreading. The Atlantic Ocean is the final stage, where rifting is now separating two plates of oceanic crust. |
Deep-sea trenches are found near the west coast of Central and South America. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. Although they expected an expanse of flat, featureless plains, scientists were shocked to find tremendous features like mountain ranges, rifts, and trenches. This work continues on oceanographic research vessels as they sail across the seas today. The map in the Figure 1.2 is a modern map with data from several decades. The major features of the ocean basins and their colors on the map in Figure 1.2 include: mid-ocean ridges: these features rise up high above the deep seafloor as a long chain of mountains, e.g. the light blue gash in middle of Atlantic Ocean. rift zones: in the middle of the mid-ocean ridges is a rift zone that is lower in elevation than the mountains surrounding it. deep sea trenches: these features are found at the edges of continents or in the sea near chains of active volcanoes, e.g. the very deepest blue, off of western South America. abyssal plains: these features are flat areas, although many are dotted with volcanic mountains, e.g. consistent blue off of southeastern South America. See if you can identify each of these features in Figure 1.2. A modern map of the southeastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. When they first observed these bathymetric maps, scientists wondered what had formed these features. It turns out that they were crucial for fitting together ideas about seafloor spreading. Were on a new trip now. We will start in Mexico, in the region surrounding the Gulf of California, where a divergent plate boundary is rifting Baja California and mainland Mexico apart. Then we will move up into California, where plates on both sides of a transform boundary are sliding past each other. Finally well end up off of the Pacific Northwest, where a divergent plate boundary is very near a subduction zone just offshore. In the Figure 1.1 a red bar where seafloor spreading is taking place. A long black line is a transform fault and a black line with hatch marks is a trench where subduction is taking place. Notice how one type of plate boundary transitions into another. |
The only mountains on the ocean floor are part of mid-ocean ridges. | (A) true (B) false | B | Scientists were surprised to find huge mountains and deep trenches when they mapped the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridges form majestic mountain ranges through the deep oceans (Figure 6.10). Deep sea trenches are found near chains of active volcanoes. These volcanoes can be at the edges of continents or in the oceans. Trenches are the deepest places on Earth. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This trench plunges about 11 kilometers (35,840 feet) beneath sea level. The ocean floor does have lots of flat areas. These abyssal plains are like the scientists had predicted. As we have seen, the ocean floor is not flat: mid-ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below the abyssal plains. In fact, Earths tallest mountain is Mauna Kea volcano, which rises 10,203 m (33,476 ft.)meters) from the Pacific Ocean floor to become one of the volcanic mountains of Hawaii. The deepest canyon is also on the ocean floor, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 10,916 m (35,814 ft). The continental margin is the transition from the land to the deep sea or, geologically speaking, from continental crust to oceanic crust. More than one-quarter of the ocean basin is continental margin. (Figure 1.3). Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Scientists have learned a lot about the ocean floor. For example, they know that Earths tallest mountains and deepest canyons are on the ocean floor. The major features on the ocean floor are described below. They are also shown in Figure 14.22. The continental shelf is the ocean floor nearest the edges of continents. It has a a gentle slope. The water over the continental shelf is shallow. The continental slope lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. It has a steep slope with a sharp drop to the deep ocean floor. The abyssal plain forms much of the floor under the open ocean. It lies from 3 to 6 kilometers (1.9 to 3.7 miles) below the surface. Much of it is flat. An oceanic trench is a deep canyon on the ocean floor. Trenches occur where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest trench is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It plunges more than 11 kilometers (almost 7 miles) below sea level. A seamount is a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor. Seamounts that rise above the water surface are known as islands. There are many seamounts dotting the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range that runs through all the worlds oceans. It is almost 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) long! It forms where tectonic plates pull apart. Magma erupts through the ocean floor to make new seafloor. The magma hardens to create the ridge. |
Magnetometers were first used on ships to search for submarines. | (A) true (B) false | A | Warships also carried magnetometers. They were also used to search for submarines. The magnetometers also revealed a lot about the magnetic properties of the seafloor. On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. But during the war, battleships and submarines carried echo sounders. Their goal was to locate enemy submarines (Figure 6.9). Echo sounders produce sound waves that travel outward in all directions. The sound waves bounce off the nearest object, and then return to the ship. Scientists know the speed of sound in seawater. They then can calculate the distance to the object that the sound wave hit. Most of these sound waves did not hit submarines. They instead were used to map the ocean floor. |
Polar reversals have occurred only twice in Earths history. | (A) true (B) false | B | Indeed, scientists discovered something astonishing. Many times in Earths history, the magnetic poles have switched positions. North becomes south and south becomes north! When the north and south poles are aligned as they are now, geologists say it is normal polarity. When they are in the opposite position, they say that it is reversed polarity. Many times during Earth history, even relatively recent Earth history, the planets magnetic field has flipped. That is, the north pole becomes the south pole and the south pole becomes the north pole. Scientists are not sure why this happens. One hypothesis is that the convection that drives the magnetic field becomes chaotic and then reverses itself. Another hypothesis is that an external event, such as an asteroid impact, disrupts motions in the core and causes the reversal. The first hypothesis is supported by computer models, but the second does not seem to be supported by much data. There is little correlation between impact events and magnetic reversals. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Earths magnetic field is like a bar magnet resides in the center of the planet. Earths climate has changed many times through Earths history. Its been both hotter and colder than it is today. |
Magnetic stripes on the ocean floor end abruptly at the edges of continents. | (A) true (B) false | A | Scientists were also surprised to discover a pattern of stripes of normal and reversed polarity. These stripes surround the mid-ocean ridges. There is one long stripe with normal magnetism at the top of the ridge. Next to that stripe are two long stripes with reversed magnetism. One is on either side of the normal stripe. Next come two normal stripes and then two reversed stripes, and so on across the ocean floor. The magnetic stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents. Sometimes the stripes end at a deep sea trench (Figure 6.11). On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. At the end of the Paleozoic there was one continent and one ocean. When Pangaea began to break apart about 180 million years ago, the Panthalassa Ocean separated into the individual but interconnected oceans that we see today on Earth. The Atlantic Ocean basin formed as Pangaea split apart. The seafloor spreading that pushed Africa and South America apart is continuing to enlarge the Atlantic Ocean (Figure 1.1). As the continents moved apart there was an intense period of plate tectonic activity. Seafloor spreading was so vig- orous that the mid-ocean ridge buoyed upwards and displaced so much water that there was a marine transgression. Later in the Mesozoic those seas regressed and then transgressed again. |
The rocks currently found at mid-ocean ridges have reversed polarity. | (A) true (B) false | B | Scientists were also surprised to discover a pattern of stripes of normal and reversed polarity. These stripes surround the mid-ocean ridges. There is one long stripe with normal magnetism at the top of the ridge. Next to that stripe are two long stripes with reversed magnetism. One is on either side of the normal stripe. Next come two normal stripes and then two reversed stripes, and so on across the ocean floor. The magnetic stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents. Sometimes the stripes end at a deep sea trench (Figure 6.11). Scientists dont know for certain why magnetic reversals occur, but there is hard evidence that they have for hundreds of millions of years. The evidence comes from rocks on the ocean floor. Look at Figure 1.2. They show the same ridge on the ocean floor during different periods of time. A. At the center of the ridge, hot magma pushes up through the crust and hardens into rock. Once the magma hardens, the alignment of magnetic domains in the rock is frozen in place forever. Magnetic domains are regions in the rocks where all the atoms are lined up and pointing toward Earths north magnetic pole. B. The newly hardened rock is gradually pushed away from the ridge in both directions as more magma erupts and newer rock forms. The alignment of magnetic domains in this new rock is in the opposite direction, showing that a magnetic reversal has occurred. C. A magnetic reversal occurs again. It is frozen in rock to document the change. Rock samples from many places on the ocean floor show that the north and south magnetic poles reversed hundreds of times over the last 330 million years. The last reversal was less than a million years ago. On our transit to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we tow a magnetometer behind the ship. Shipboard magnetometers reveal the magnetic polarity of the rock beneath them. The practice of towing a magnetometer began during WWII when navy ships towed magnetometers to search for enemy submarines. When scientists plotted the points of normal and reversed polarity on a seafloor map they made an astonishing discovery: the normal and reversed magnetic polarity of seafloor basalts creates a pattern. Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity alternate across the ocean bottom. Stripes form mirror images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges (Figure 1.1). Stripes end abruptly at the edges of continents, sometimes at a deep sea trench (Figure 1.2). The magnetic stripes are what created the Figure 1.1. Research cruises today tow magnetometers to add detail to existing magnetic polarity data. |
The seafloor is older than the continents. | (A) true (B) false | B | The earliest crust was probably basalt. It may have resembled the current seafloor. This crust formed before there were any oceans. More than 4 billion years ago, continental crust appeared. The first continents were very small compared with those today. The scientists used geologic dating techniques on seafloor rocks. They found that the youngest rocks on the seafloor were at the mid-ocean ridges. The rocks get older with distance from the ridge crest. The scientists were surprised to find that the oldest seafloor is less than 180 million years old. This may seem old, but the oldest continental crust is around 4 billion years old. Scientists also discovered that the mid-ocean ridge crest is nearly sediment free. The crust is also very thin there. With distance from the ridge crest, the sediments and crust get thicker. This also supports the idea that the youngest rocks are on the ridge axis and that the rocks get older with distance away from the ridge (Figure 6.12). Something causes the seafloor to be created at the ridge crest. The seafloor is also destroyed in a relatively short time. By combining magnetic polarity data from rocks on land and on the seafloor with radiometric age dating and fossil ages, scientists came up with a time scale for the magnetic reversals. The first four magnetic periods are: Brunhes normal - present to 730,000 years ago. Matuyama reverse - 730,000 years ago to 2.48 million years ago. Gauss normal - 2.48 to 3.4 million years ago. Gilbert reverse - 3.4 to 5.3 million years ago. The scientists noticed that the rocks got older with distance from the mid-ocean ridges. The youngest rocks were located at the ridge crest and the oldest rocks were located the farthest away, abutting continents. Scientists also noticed that the characteristics of the rocks and sediments changed with distance from the ridge axis as seen in the Table 1.1. Rock ages At ridge axis With distance from axis youngest becomes older Sediment thickness none becomes thicker Crust thickness Heat flow thinnest becomes thicker hottest becomes cooler Away from the ridge crest, sediment becomes older and thicker, and the seafloor becomes thicker. Heat flow, which indicates the warmth of a region, is highest at the ridge crest. The oldest seafloor is near the edges of continents or deep sea trenches and is less than 180 million years old (Figure something was happening to the older seafloor. Seafloor is youngest at the mid-ocean ridges and becomes progressively older with distance from the ridge. How can you explain the observations that scientists have made in the oceans? Why is rock younger at the ridge and oldest at the farthest points from the ridge? The scientists suggested that seafloor was being created at the ridge. Since the planet is not getting larger, they suggested that it is destroyed in a relatively short amount of geologic time. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
The seafloor is spreading away from mid-ocean ridges. | (A) true (B) false | A | Plates move apart at mid-ocean ridges. Lava rises upward, erupts, and cools. Later, more lava erupts and pushes the original seafloor outward. This is seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading forms new oceanic crust. The rising magma causes earthquakes. Most mid-ocean ridges are located deep below the sea. The island of Iceland sits right on the Mid-Atlantic ridge (Figure 6.17). Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. The seafloor spreading hypothesis brought all of these observations together in the early 1960s. Hot mantle material rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The hot magma erupts as lava. The lava cools to form new seafloor. Later, more lava erupts at the ridge. The new lava pushes the seafloor that is at the ridge horizontally away from ridge axis. The seafloor moves! In some places, the oceanic crust comes up to a continent. The moving crust pushes that continent away from the ridge axis as well. If the moving oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, the crust sinks into the mantle. The creation and destruction of oceanic crust is the reason that continents move. Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! |
Plate tectonics helps to explain | (A) how mountains form (B) where new seafloor is created (C) why earthquakes occur where they do (D) all of the above | D | First, lets review plate tectonics theory. Plate tectonics theory explains why: Earths geography has changed over time and continues to change today. some places are prone to earthquakes while others are not. certain regions may have deadly, mild, or no volcanic eruptions. mountain ranges are located where they are. many ore deposits are located where they are. living and fossil species are found where they are. Plate tectonic motions affect Earths rock cycle, climate, and the evolution of life. The theory of plate tectonics is the most important theory in much of earth science. Plate tectonics explains why much geological activity happens where it does, why many natural resources are found where they are, and can be used to determine what was happening long ago in Earths history. The theory of plate tectonics will be explored in detail in later concepts. Knowing where plate boundaries are helps explain the locations of landforms and types of geologic activity. The activity can be current or old. |
Earths plates are made of slabs of | (A) crust (B) upper mantle (C) crust and upper mantle (D) asthenosphere | C | Earths outer surface is its crust, a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very thin relative to the radius of the planet. There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties, which are summarized in Table 1.1. Crust Oceanic Continental Thickness 5-12 km (3-8 mi) Avg. 35 km (22 mi) Density 3.0 g/cm3 2.7 g/cm3 Composition Mafic Felsic Rock types Basalt and gabbro All types Earth formed like the other planets. Different materials in its region of space collided. Eventually the material made a planet. All of the collisions caused Earth to heat up. Rock and metal melted. The molten material separated into layers. Gravity pulled the denser material into the center. The lighter elements rose to the surface (Figure 12.4). Because the material separated, Earths core is made mostly of iron. Earths crust is made mostly of lighter materials. In between the crust and the core is Earths mantle, made of solid rock. What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. |
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a ring around the Pacific ocean where | (A) volcanoes are common (B) tectonic plates interact (C) many hot spots occur (D) two of the above | D | The scientists realized that the earthquakes were most common in certain areas. In the oceans, they were found along mid-ocean ridges and deep sea trenches. Earthquakes and volcanoes were common all around the Pacific Ocean. They named this region the Pacific Ring of Fire (Figure 6.13). Earthquakes are also common in the worlds highest mountains, the Himalaya Mountains of Asia. The Mediterranean Sea also has many earthquakes. Nearly 95% of all earthquakes take place along one of the three types of plate boundaries. As you learned in the Plate Tectonics chapter, scientists use the location of earthquakes to draw plate boundaries. The region around the Pacific Ocean is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is due to the volcanoes that line the region. The area also has the most earthquakes. About 80% of all earthquakes strike this area. The Pacific Ring of Fire is caused by the convergent and transform plate boundaries that line the Pacific Ocean basin. About 15% of all earthquakes take place in the Mediterranean-Asiatic belt. The convergent plate boundaries in the region are shrinking the Mediterranean Sea. The convergence is also causing the Himalayas to grow. The remaining 5% of earthquakes are scattered around the other plate boundaries. A few earthquakes take place in the middle of a plate, away from plate boundaries. Western North America has volcanoes and earthquakes. Mountains line the region. California, with its volcanoes and earthquakes, is an important part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is the boundary between the North American and Pacific Plates. |
The outlines of the plates are located by mapping | (A) earthquake epicenters (B) continental margins (C) the locations of earthquake faults (D) mid-ocean ridges | A | Knowing where plate boundaries are helps explain the locations of landforms and types of geologic activity. The activity can be current or old. Earthquakes are used to identify plate boundaries (Figure 6.14). When earthquake locations are put on a map, they outline the plates. The movements of the plates are called plate tectonics. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates. Each plate is named for the continent or ocean basin it contains. Some plates are made of all oceanic lithosphere. A few are all continental lithosphere. But What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. |
Plates move over Earths surface at a rate of | (A) 100 kilometers per year (B) a few kilometers per year (C) a few centimeters per year (D) a couple of millimeters per year | C | The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. |
If a divergent plate boundary is found within a continent, | (A) a line of volcanoes forms (B) a subduction zone forms (C) the continent rifts apart (D) none of these | C | A divergent plate boundary can also occur within a continent. This is called continental rifting (Figure 6.18). Magma rises beneath the continent. The crust thins, breaks, and then splits apart. This first produces a rift valley. The East African Rift is a rift valley. Eastern Africa is splitting away from the African continent. Eventually, as the continental crust breaks apart, oceanic crust will form. This is how the Atlantic Ocean formed when Pangaea broke up. A divergent plate boundary on land rips apart continents (Figure 1.2). In continental rifting, magma rises beneath the continent, causing it to become thinner, break, and ultimately split apart. New ocean crust erupts in the void, ultimately creating an ocean between continents. On either side of the ocean are now two different lithospheric plates. This is how continents split apart. These features are well displayed in the East African Rift, where rifting has begun, and in the Red Sea, where water is filling up the basin created by seafloor spreading. The Atlantic Ocean is the final stage, where rifting is now separating two plates of oceanic crust. A convergent plate boundary forms where two plates collide. That collision can happen between a continent and oceanic crust, between two oceanic plates, or between two continents. Oceanic crust is always destroyed in these collisions. |
An island arc forms when | (A) two oceanic plates diverge (B) a continental plate sub ducts beneath an oceanic plate (C) an oceanic plate sub ducts beneath a continental plate (D) an oceanic plate sub ducts beneath an oceanic plate | D | Two oceanic plates may collide. In this case, the older plate is denser. This plate subducts beneath the younger plate. As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a line of volcanoes, known as an island arc (Figure 6.21). Japan, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are examples of island arcs (Figure 6.22). Continents grow when microcontinents, or small continents, collide with each other or with a larger continent. Oceanic island arcs also collide with continents to make them grow. Oceanic crust may collide with a continent. The oceanic plate is denser, so it undergoes subduction. This means that the oceanic plate sinks beneath the continent. This occurs at an ocean trench (Figure 6.19). Subduction zones are where subduction takes place. As you would expect, where plates collide there are lots of intense earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The subducting oceanic plate melts as it reenters the mantle. The magma rises and erupts. This creates a volcanic mountain range near the coast of the continent. This range is called a volcanic arc. The Andes Mountains, along the western edge of South America, are a volcanic arc (Figure 6.20). |
Plates move over Earths surface because of | (A) conduction within the crust (B) subduction in the outer core (C) radiation from the inner core (D) convection within the mantle | D | The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. Convection within the Earths mantle causes the plates to move. Mantle material is heated above the core. The hot mantle rises up towards the surface (Figure 6.16). As the mantle rises it cools. At the surface the material moves horizontally away from a mid-ocean ridge crest. The material continues to cool. It sinks back down into the mantle at a deep sea trench. The material sinks back down to the core. It moves horizontally again, completing a convection cell. |
Magma from the mantle rises up through Earths crust at | (A) deep-sea trenches (B) mid-ocean ridges (C) hot spots (D) all of the above | D | At divergent plate boundaries hot mantle rock rises into the space where the plates are moving apart. As the hot mantle rock convects upward it rises higher in the mantle. The rock is under lower pressure; this lowers the melting temperature of the rock and so it melts. Lava erupts through long cracks in the ground, or fissures. Remember that the mid-ocean ridge is where hot mantle material upwells in a convection cell. The upwelling mantle melts due to pressure release to form lava. Lava flows at the surface cool rapidly to become basalt, but deeper in the crust, magma cools more slowly to form gabbro. The entire ridge system is made up of igneous rock that is either extrusive or intrusive. The seafloor is also igneous rock with some sediment that has fallen onto it. Earthquakes are common at mid-ocean ridges since the movement of magma and oceanic crust results in crustal shaking. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Magma forms deep beneath the Earths surface. Rock melts below the surface under tremendous pressure and high temperatures. Molten rock flows like taffy or hot wax. Most magmas are formed at temperatures between 600o C and 1300o C (Figure 8.8). Magma collects in magma chambers beneath Earths surface. Magma chambers are located where the heat and pressure are great enough to melt rock. These locations are at divergent or convergent plate boundaries or at hotpots. The chemistry of a magma determines the type of igneous rock it forms. The chemistry also determines how the magma moves. Thicker magmas tend to stay below the surface or erupt explosively. When magma is fluid and runny, it often reaches the surface by flowing out in rivers of lava. |
Plate tectonics theory says that | (A) Earths geography has been the same for all geologic time (B) Earths geography is continually changing (C) all geological activity happens at plate boundaries (D) continents drift but scientists do not yet know why | B | First, lets review plate tectonics theory. Plate tectonics theory explains why: Earths geography has changed over time and continues to change today. some places are prone to earthquakes while others are not. certain regions may have deadly, mild, or no volcanic eruptions. mountain ranges are located where they are. many ore deposits are located where they are. living and fossil species are found where they are. Plate tectonic motions affect Earths rock cycle, climate, and the evolution of life. The theory of plate tectonics is the most important theory in much of earth science. Plate tectonics explains why much geological activity happens where it does, why many natural resources are found where they are, and can be used to determine what was happening long ago in Earths history. The theory of plate tectonics will be explored in detail in later concepts. The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. |
The edge of a plate sinks into the mantle | (A) where two plates diverge (B) at a subduction zone (C) at a transform boundary (D) none of the above | B | Melting at convergent plate boundaries has many causes. The subducting plate heats up as it sinks into the mantle. Also, water is mixed in with the sediments lying on top of the subducting plate. As the sediments subduct, the water rises into the overlying mantle material and lowers its melting point. Melting in the mantle above the subducting plate leads to volcanoes within an island or continental arc. Convection within the Earths mantle causes the plates to move. Mantle material is heated above the core. The hot mantle rises up towards the surface (Figure 6.16). As the mantle rises it cools. At the surface the material moves horizontally away from a mid-ocean ridge crest. The material continues to cool. It sinks back down into the mantle at a deep sea trench. The material sinks back down to the core. It moves horizontally again, completing a convection cell. Two oceanic plates may collide. In this case, the older plate is denser. This plate subducts beneath the younger plate. As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a line of volcanoes, known as an island arc (Figure 6.21). Japan, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are examples of island arcs (Figure 6.22). |
Continental plates do not subduct because they | (A) are very thick and low in density (B) do not collide with other plates (C) have only intraplate activity (D) two of the above | A | Continental lithosphere is low in density and very thick. Continental lithosphere cannot subduct. So when two continental plates collide, they just smash together, just like if you put your hands on two sides of a sheet of paper and bring your hands together. The material has nowhere to go but up (Figure 6.23)! Earthquakes and metamorphic rocks result from the tremendous forces of the collision. But the crust is too thick for magma to get through, so there are no volcanoes. Oceanic crust may collide with a continent. The oceanic plate is denser, so it undergoes subduction. This means that the oceanic plate sinks beneath the continent. This occurs at an ocean trench (Figure 6.19). Subduction zones are where subduction takes place. As you would expect, where plates collide there are lots of intense earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The subducting oceanic plate melts as it reenters the mantle. The magma rises and erupts. This creates a volcanic mountain range near the coast of the continent. This range is called a volcanic arc. The Andes Mountains, along the western edge of South America, are a volcanic arc (Figure 6.20). Converging plates can be oceanic, continental, or one of each. If both are continental they will smash together and form a mountain range. If at least one is oceanic, it will subduct. A subducting plate creates volcanoes. In the chapter Plate Tectonics we moved up western North America to visit the different types of plate boundaries there. Locations with converging in which at least one plate is oceanic at the boundary have volcanoes. |
All volcanoes and earthquakes take place at plate boundaries. | (A) true (B) false | B | Most geological activity takes place at plate boundaries. But some activity does not. Much of this intraplate activity is found at hot spots. Hotspot volcanoes form as plumes of hot magma rise from deep in the mantle. Plate boundaries are where two plates meet. Most geologic activity takes place at plate boundaries. This activity includes volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. The activity occurs as plates interact. How can plates interact? Plates can move away from each other. They can move toward each other. Finally, they can slide past each other. These are the three types of plate boundaries: Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other. Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other. Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other. The features that form at a plate boundary are determined by the direction of plate motion and by the type of crust at the boundary. Earthquakes at convergent plate boundaries mark the motions of subducting lithosphere as it plunges through the mantle (Figure 1.1). Eventually the plate heats up enough deform plastically and earthquakes stop. Convergent plate boundaries produce earthquakes all around the Pacific Ocean basin. |
At transform plate boundaries, two plates move toward each other. | (A) true (B) false | B | With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. Plate boundaries are where two plates meet. Most geologic activity takes place at plate boundaries. This activity includes volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. The activity occurs as plates interact. How can plates interact? Plates can move away from each other. They can move toward each other. Finally, they can slide past each other. These are the three types of plate boundaries: Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other. Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other. Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other. The features that form at a plate boundary are determined by the direction of plate motion and by the type of crust at the boundary. |
All earthquakes at transform plate boundaries are fairly small. | (A) true (B) false | B | Deadly earthquakes occur at transform plate boundaries. Transform faults have shallow focus earthquakes. Why do you think this is so? Nearly 95% of all earthquakes take place along one of the three types of plate boundaries. About 80% of all earthquakes strike around the Pacific Ocean basin because it is lined with convergent and transform boundaries (Figure 1.2). About 15% take place in the Mediterranean-Asiatic Belt, where convergence is causing the Indian Plate to run into the Eurasian Plate. The remaining 5% are scattered around other plate boundaries or are intraplate earthquakes. Earthquake epicenters for magnitude 8.0 and greater events since 1900. The earthquake depth shows that most large quakes are shallow focus, but some sub- ducted plates cause deep focus quakes. Earthquakes also occur at divergent plate boundaries. At mid-ocean ridges, these earthquakes tend to be small and shallow focus because the plates are thin, young, and hot. Earthquakes in the oceans are usually far from land, so they have little effect on peoples lives. On land, where continents are rifting apart, earthquakes are larger and stronger. |
Seafloor spreading is what makes the continents move. | (A) true (B) false | A | Seafloor spreading is the mechanism for Wegeners drifting continents. Convection currents within the mantle take the continents on a conveyor-belt ride of oceanic crust that, over millions of years, takes them around the planets surface. The spreading plate takes along any continent that rides on it. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: The seafloor spreading hypothesis brought all of these observations together in the early 1960s. Hot mantle material rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The hot magma erupts as lava. The lava cools to form new seafloor. Later, more lava erupts at the ridge. The new lava pushes the seafloor that is at the ridge horizontally away from ridge axis. The seafloor moves! In some places, the oceanic crust comes up to a continent. The moving crust pushes that continent away from the ridge axis as well. If the moving oceanic crust reaches a deep sea trench, the crust sinks into the mantle. The creation and destruction of oceanic crust is the reason that continents move. Seafloor spreading is the mechanism that Wegener was looking for! As heat builds up beneath a supercontinent, continental rifting begins. Basaltic lavas fill in the rift and eventually lead to seafloor spreading and the formation of a new ocean basin. This basalt province is where Africa is splitting apart and generating basalt lava. |
The youngest volcano in Hawaii is below sea level. | (A) true (B) false | A | A bathymetric map is like a topographic map with the contour lines representing depth below sea level, rather than height above. Numbers are low near sea level and become higher with depth. Kilauea is the youngest volcano found above sea level in Hawaii. On the flank of Kilauea is an even younger volcano called Loihi. The bathymetric map pictured in the Figure 1.2 shows the form of Loihi. Loihi volcano growing on the flank of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. Black lines in the inset show the land surface above sea level and blue lines show the topography below sea level. A geologic map of the region around Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park. The first photo above is of a volcanic eruption in Hawaii. Hawaii is not in western North America, but is in the central Pacific ocean, near the middle of the Pacific Plate. The Hawaiian Islands are a beautiful example of a hotspot chain in the Pacific Ocean. Kilauea volcano lies above the Hawaiian hotspot. Mauna Loa volcano is older than Kilauea and is still erupting, but at a slower rate. The islands get progressively older to the northwest because they are further from the hotspot. This is because the Pacific Plate is moving toward the northwest over the hotspot. Loihi, the youngest volcano, is still below the sea surface. Since many hotspots are stationary in the mantle, geologists can use some hotspot chains to tell the direction and the speed a plate is moving (Figure 1.2). The Hawaiian chain continues into the Emperor Seamounts. The bend in the chain was caused by a change in the direction of the Pacific Plate 43 million years ago. Using the age and distance of the bend, geologists can figure out the speed of the Pacific Plate over the hotspot. The Hawaiian Islands have formed from volcanic eruptions above the Hawaii hotspot. A chain of volcanoes forms as an oceanic plate moves over a hot spot. This is how it happens. A volcano forms over the hotspot. Since the plate is moving, the volcano moves off of the hotspot. When the hotspot erupts again, a new volcano forms over it. This volcano is in line with the first. Over time, there is a line of volcanoes. The youngest is directly above the hot spot. The oldest is the furthest away (Figure 6.27). The Hawaii-Emperor chain of volcanoes formed over the Hawaiian Hotspot. The Hawaiian Islands formed most |
The locations of earthquakes have been used to identify plate boundaries. | (A) true (B) false | A | Earthquakes are used to identify plate boundaries (Figure 6.14). When earthquake locations are put on a map, they outline the plates. The movements of the plates are called plate tectonics. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates. Each plate is named for the continent or ocean basin it contains. Some plates are made of all oceanic lithosphere. A few are all continental lithosphere. But Knowing where plate boundaries are helps explain the locations of landforms and types of geologic activity. The activity can be current or old. Earthquakes at convergent plate boundaries mark the motions of subducting lithosphere as it plunges through the mantle (Figure 1.1). Eventually the plate heats up enough deform plastically and earthquakes stop. Convergent plate boundaries produce earthquakes all around the Pacific Ocean basin. |
The movement of Earths plates is called plate tectonics. | (A) true (B) false | A | The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. Earthquakes are used to identify plate boundaries (Figure 6.14). When earthquake locations are put on a map, they outline the plates. The movements of the plates are called plate tectonics. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates. Each plate is named for the continent or ocean basin it contains. Some plates are made of all oceanic lithosphere. A few are all continental lithosphere. But What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. |
The lithosphere is divided into just three major plates. | (A) true (B) false | B | Earthquakes are used to identify plate boundaries (Figure 6.14). When earthquake locations are put on a map, they outline the plates. The movements of the plates are called plate tectonics. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates. Each plate is named for the continent or ocean basin it contains. Some plates are made of all oceanic lithosphere. A few are all continental lithosphere. But What portion of Earth makes up the plates in plate tectonics? Again, the answer came about in part due to war. In this case, the Cold War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, scientists set up seismograph networks to see if enemy nations were testing atomic bombs. These seismographs also recorded all of the earthquakes around the planet. The seismic records were used to locate an earthquakes epicenter, the point on Earths surface directly above the place where the earthquake occurs. Why is this relevant? It turns out that earthquake epicenters outline the plates. This is because earthquakes occur everywhere plates come into contact with each other. The lithosphere is divided into a dozen major and several minor plates (Figure 1.1). A single plate can be made of all oceanic lithosphere or all continental lithosphere, but nearly all plates are made of a combination of both. The movement of the plates over Earths surface is termed plate tectonics. Plates move at a rate of a few centimeters a year, about the same rate fingernails grow. Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties: 1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle, rigid solid. 2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow. A cross section of Earth showing the fol- lowing layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5) asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
Most geologic activity takes place far from plate boundaries. | (A) true (B) false | B | Most geological activity takes place at plate boundaries. But some activity does not. Much of this intraplate activity is found at hot spots. Hotspot volcanoes form as plumes of hot magma rise from deep in the mantle. Plate boundaries are where two plates meet. Most geologic activity takes place at plate boundaries. This activity includes volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. The activity occurs as plates interact. How can plates interact? Plates can move away from each other. They can move toward each other. Finally, they can slide past each other. These are the three types of plate boundaries: Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other. Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other. Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other. The features that form at a plate boundary are determined by the direction of plate motion and by the type of crust at the boundary. Knowing where plate boundaries are helps explain the locations of landforms and types of geologic activity. The activity can be current or old. |
Mid-ocean ridges occur at convergent plate boundaries. | (A) true (B) false | B | There is a lot of volcanic activity at divergent plate boundaries in the oceans. As the plates pull away from each other, they create deep fissures. Molten lava erupts through these cracks. The East Pacific Rise is a divergent plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean (Figure 8.2). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary in the Atlantic Ocean. Continents can also rift apart. When mantle gets close enough to the surface, volcanoes form. Eventually, a rift valley will create a new mid-ocean ridge. Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. Earthquakes also occur at divergent plate boundaries. At mid-ocean ridges, these earthquakes tend to be small and shallow focus because the plates are thin, young, and hot. Earthquakes in the oceans are usually far from land, so they have little effect on peoples lives. On land, where continents are rifting apart, earthquakes are larger and stronger. |
Many volcanoes occur along subduction zones. | (A) true (B) false | A | Lots of volcanoes form along subduction plate boundaries. The edges of the Pacific Plate are a long subduction boundary. Lines of volcanoes can form at subduction zones on oceanic or continental crust. Japan is an example of a volcanic arc on oceanic crust. The Cascade Range and Andes Mountains are volcanic arcs on continental crust. Volcanoes at convergent plate boundaries are found all along the Pacific Ocean basin, primarily at the edges of the Pacific, Cocos, and Nazca plates. Trenches mark subduction zones, although only the Aleutian Trench and the Java Trench appear on the map in the previous concept, "Volcano Characteristics." The Cascades are a chain of volcanoes at a convergent boundary where an oceanic plate is subducting beneath a continental plate. Specifically the volcanoes are the result of subduction of the Juan de Fuca, Gorda, and Explorer Plates beneath North America. The volcanoes are located just above where the subducting plate is at the right depth in the mantle for there to be melting (Figure 1.1). The Cascades have been active for 27 million years, although the current peaks are no more than 2 million years old. The volcanoes are far enough north and are in a region where storms are common, so many are covered by glaciers. Volcanoes are a vibrant manifestation of plate tectonics processes. Volcanoes are common along convergent and di- vergent plate boundaries. Volcanoes are also found within lithospheric plates away from plate boundaries. Wherever mantle is able to melt, volcanoes may be the result. What is the geological reason for the locations of all the volcanoes in the figure? Does it resemble the map of earthquake epicenters? Are all of the volcanoes located along plate boundaries? Why are the Hawaiian volcanoes located away from any plate boundaries? World map of active volcanoes (red dots). |
The tallest mountains in the world formed at a transform plate boundary. | (A) true (B) false | B | Most of the worlds largest mountains form as plates collide at convergent plate boundaries. Continents are too buoyant to get pushed down into the mantle. So when the plates smash together, the crust crumples upwards. This creates mountains. Folding and faulting in these collision zones makes the crust thicker. The worlds highest mountain range, the Himalayas, is growing as India collides with Eurasia. About 80 million years ago, India was separated from Eurasia by an ocean (Figure 7.16). As the plates collided, pieces of the old seafloor were forced over the Asian continent. This old seafloor is now found high in the Himalayas (Figure 7.17). Many processes create mountains. Most mountains form along plate boundaries. A few mountains may form in the middle of a plate. For example, huge volcanoes are mountains formed at hotspots within the Pacific Plate. Mountain ranges also line the eastern edge of North America. But there are no active volcanoes or earthquakes. Where did those mountains come from? These mountains formed at a convergent plate boundary when Pangaea came together. About 200 million years ago these mountains were similar to the Himalayas today (Figure 6.26)! There were also earthquakes. |
Geologic features called faults occur at divergent plate boundaries. | (A) true (B) false | B | Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. Plate boundaries are the edges where two plates meet. How can two plates move relative to each other? Most geologic activities, including volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building, take place at plate boundaries. The features found at these plate boundaries are the mid-ocean ridges, trenches, and large transform faults (Figure 1.3). Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other. Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other. Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other. The type of plate boundary and the type of crust found on each side of the boundary determines what sort of geologic activity will be found there. We can visit each of these types of plate boundaries on land or at sea. Plate boundaries are where two plates meet. Most geologic activity takes place at plate boundaries. This activity includes volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. The activity occurs as plates interact. How can plates interact? Plates can move away from each other. They can move toward each other. Finally, they can slide past each other. These are the three types of plate boundaries: Divergent plate boundaries: the two plates move away from each other. Convergent plate boundaries: the two plates move towards each other. Transform plate boundaries: the two plates slip past each other. The features that form at a plate boundary are determined by the direction of plate motion and by the type of crust at the boundary. |
Scientists think that Pangaea was the first supercontinent. | (A) true (B) false | B | Scientists think that Pangaea was not the first supercontinent. There were others before it. The continents are now moving together. This is because of subduction around the Pacific Ocean. Eventually, the Pacific will disappear and a new supercontinent will form. This wont be for hundreds of millions of years. The creation and breakup of a supercontinent takes place about every 500 million years. There are times in Earth history when all of the continents came together to form a supercontinent. Supercontinents come together and then break apart. Pangaea was the last supercontinent on Earth, but it was not the first. The supercontinent before Pangaea is called Rodinia. Rodinia contained about 75% of the continental landmass that is present today. The supercontinent came together about 1.1 billion years ago. Rodinia was not the first supercontinent either. Scientists think that three supercontinents came before Rodina, making five so far in Earth history. Pangaea was the last supercontinent on Earth. Evidence for the existence of Pangaea was what Alfred Wegener used to create his continental drift hypothesis, which was described in the chapter Plate Tectonics. As the continents move and the land masses change shape, the shape of the oceans changes too. During the time of Pangaea, about 250 million years ago, most of Earths water was collected in a huge ocean called Panthalassa (Figure 1.2). Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: |
The Aleutian Islands formed at a plate boundary. | (A) true (B) false | A | The moving continents collided with island arcs and microcontinents so that mountain ranges accreted onto the continents edges. The subduction of the oceanic Farallon plate beneath western North America during the late In the Afar Region of Ethiopia, Africa is splitting apart. Three plates are pulling away from a central point. Jurassic and early Cretaceous produced igneous intrusions and other structures. The intrusions have since been uplifted so that they are exposed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Figure 1.2). The snow-covered Sierra Nevada is seen striking SE to NW across the eastern third of the image. The mountain range is a line of uplifted batholiths from Mesozoic subduction. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Two oceanic plates may collide. In this case, the older plate is denser. This plate subducts beneath the younger plate. As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a line of volcanoes, known as an island arc (Figure 6.21). Japan, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are examples of island arcs (Figure 6.22). Lots of volcanoes form along subduction plate boundaries. The edges of the Pacific Plate are a long subduction boundary. Lines of volcanoes can form at subduction zones on oceanic or continental crust. Japan is an example of a volcanic arc on oceanic crust. The Cascade Range and Andes Mountains are volcanic arcs on continental crust. |
where two plates slide past each other in opposite directions | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | F | With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. Two plates may slide past each other in opposite directions. This is called a transform plate boundary. These plate boundaries experience massive earthquakes. The worlds best known transform fault is the San Andreas Fault in California (Figure 6.25). At this fault, the Pacific and North American plates grind past each other. Transform plate boundaries are most common as offsets along mid-ocean ridges. Transform plate boundaries are different from the other two types. At divergent plate boundaries, new oceanic crust is formed. At convergent boundaries, old oceanic crust is destroyed. But at transform plate boundaries, crust is not created or destroyed. Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. |
fixed place under a plate where magma rises and may create volcanoes | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | E | Volcanoes rise where magma forms underground. Volcanoes are found at convergent plate boundaries and at hotspots. Volcanic activity is found at divergent plate boundaries. The map in Figure 8.1 shows where volcanoes are located. A small amount of geologic activity, known as intraplate activity, does not take place at plate boundaries but within a plate instead. Mantle plumes are pipes of hot rock that rise through the mantle. The release of pressure causes melting near the surface to form a hotspot. Eruptions at the hotspot create a volcano. Hotspot volcanoes are found in a line (Figure 1.1). Can you figure out why? Hint: The youngest volcano sits above the hotspot and volcanoes become older with distance from the hotspot. Some volcanoes form over active hot spots. Scientists count about 50 hot spots on the Earth. Hot spots may be in the middle of a tectonic plate. Hot spots lie directly above a column of hot rock called a mantle plume. Mantle plumes continuously bring magma up from the mantle towards the crust (Figure 8.3). As the tectonic plates move above a hot spot, they form a chain of volcanoes. The islands of Hawaii formed over a hot spot in the middle of the Pacific plate. The Hawaii hot spot has been active for tens of millions of years. The volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands formed at this hot spot. Older volcanoes that formed at the hot spot have eroded below sea level. These are called the Emperor Seamounts. Loihi seamount is currently active beneath the water southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii. One day the volcano will rise above sea level and join the volcanoes of the island or create a new island (Figure 8.4). Hot spots may also be active at plate boundaries. This is especially common at mid-ocean ridges. Iceland is formed by a hot spot along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Hot spots are found within continents, but not as commonly as within oceans. The Yellowstone hot spot is a famous example of a continental hot spot. |
where two plates move away from each other | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | B | Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. Two plates may slide past each other in opposite directions. This is called a transform plate boundary. These plate boundaries experience massive earthquakes. The worlds best known transform fault is the San Andreas Fault in California (Figure 6.25). At this fault, the Pacific and North American plates grind past each other. Transform plate boundaries are most common as offsets along mid-ocean ridges. Transform plate boundaries are different from the other two types. At divergent plate boundaries, new oceanic crust is formed. At convergent boundaries, old oceanic crust is destroyed. But at transform plate boundaries, crust is not created or destroyed. |
process in which an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | G | Oceanic crust may collide with a continent. The oceanic plate is denser, so it undergoes subduction. This means that the oceanic plate sinks beneath the continent. This occurs at an ocean trench (Figure 6.19). Subduction zones are where subduction takes place. As you would expect, where plates collide there are lots of intense earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The subducting oceanic plate melts as it reenters the mantle. The magma rises and erupts. This creates a volcanic mountain range near the coast of the continent. This range is called a volcanic arc. The Andes Mountains, along the western edge of South America, are a volcanic arc (Figure 6.20). Two oceanic plates may collide. In this case, the older plate is denser. This plate subducts beneath the younger plate. As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a line of volcanoes, known as an island arc (Figure 6.21). Japan, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are examples of island arcs (Figure 6.22). Melting at convergent plate boundaries has many causes. The subducting plate heats up as it sinks into the mantle. Also, water is mixed in with the sediments lying on top of the subducting plate. As the sediments subduct, the water rises into the overlying mantle material and lowers its melting point. Melting in the mantle above the subducting plate leads to volcanoes within an island or continental arc. |
slab of lithosphere that can move on the planets surface | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | A | With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. The asthenosphere is solid upper mantle material that is so hot that it behaves plastically and can flow. The lithosphere rides on the asthenosphere. The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. |
where two plates move toward each other | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | D | Plates move apart at divergent plate boundaries. This can occur in the oceans or on land. With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. Two plates may slide past each other in opposite directions. This is called a transform plate boundary. These plate boundaries experience massive earthquakes. The worlds best known transform fault is the San Andreas Fault in California (Figure 6.25). At this fault, the Pacific and North American plates grind past each other. Transform plate boundaries are most common as offsets along mid-ocean ridges. Transform plate boundaries are different from the other two types. At divergent plate boundaries, new oceanic crust is formed. At convergent boundaries, old oceanic crust is destroyed. But at transform plate boundaries, crust is not created or destroyed. |
divergent plate boundary that occurs within a continent | (A) tectonic plate (B) divergent plate boundary (C) continental rift (D) convergent plate boundary (E) hot spot (F) transform plate boundary (G) subduction | C | A divergent plate boundary can also occur within a continent. This is called continental rifting (Figure 6.18). Magma rises beneath the continent. The crust thins, breaks, and then splits apart. This first produces a rift valley. The East African Rift is a rift valley. Eastern Africa is splitting away from the African continent. Eventually, as the continental crust breaks apart, oceanic crust will form. This is how the Atlantic Ocean formed when Pangaea broke up. A divergent plate boundary on land rips apart continents (Figure 1.2). In continental rifting, magma rises beneath the continent, causing it to become thinner, break, and ultimately split apart. New ocean crust erupts in the void, ultimately creating an ocean between continents. On either side of the ocean are now two different lithospheric plates. This is how continents split apart. These features are well displayed in the East African Rift, where rifting has begun, and in the Red Sea, where water is filling up the basin created by seafloor spreading. The Atlantic Ocean is the final stage, where rifting is now separating two plates of oceanic crust. A convergent plate boundary forms where two plates collide. That collision can happen between a continent and oceanic crust, between two oceanic plates, or between two continents. Oceanic crust is always destroyed in these collisions. |
The energy released by an earthquake travels in seismic waves. | (A) true (B) false | A | Seismic waves are the energy from earthquakes. Seismic waves move outward in all directions away from their source. Each type of seismic wave travels at different speeds in different materials. All seismic waves travel through rock, but not all travel through liquid or gas. Geologists study seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and the Earths interior. The energy from earthquakes travels in waves. The study of seismic waves is known as seismology. Seismologists use seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and also to learn about the Earths interior. One ingenious way scientists learn about Earths interior is by looking at earthquake waves. Seismic waves travel outward in all directions from where the ground breaks and are picked up by seismographs around the world. Two types of seismic waves are most useful for learning about Earths interior. An earthquake is sudden ground movement caused by the sudden release of energy stored in rocks. Earthquakes happen when so much stress builds up in the rocks that the rocks rupture. The energy is transmitted by seismic waves. Earthquakes can be so small they go completely unnoticed, or so large that it can take years for a region to recover. |
Only transform plate boundaries have earthquakes. | (A) true (B) false | B | Deadly earthquakes occur at transform plate boundaries. Transform faults have shallow focus earthquakes. Why do you think this is so? With transform plate boundaries, the two slabs of lithosphere are sliding past each other in opposite directions. The boundary between the two plates is a transform fault. Nearly 95% of all earthquakes take place along one of the three types of plate boundaries. About 80% of all earthquakes strike around the Pacific Ocean basin because it is lined with convergent and transform boundaries (Figure 1.2). About 15% take place in the Mediterranean-Asiatic Belt, where convergence is causing the Indian Plate to run into the Eurasian Plate. The remaining 5% are scattered around other plate boundaries or are intraplate earthquakes. Earthquake epicenters for magnitude 8.0 and greater events since 1900. The earthquake depth shows that most large quakes are shallow focus, but some sub- ducted plates cause deep focus quakes. |
Earthquakes deep underground cause the most damage. | (A) true (B) false | B | The point where the rock ruptures is the earthquakes focus. The focus is below the Earths surface. A shallow earthquake has a focus less than 70 kilometers (45 miles). An intermediate-focus earthquake has a focus between 70 and 300 kilometers (45 to 200 miles). A deep-focus earthquake is greater than 300 kilometers (200 miles). About 75% of earthquakes have a focus in the top 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) of the crust. Shallow earthquakes cause the most damage. This is because the focus is near the Earths surface, where people live. Earthquake magnitude affects how much damage is done in an earthquake. A larger earthquake damages more buildings and kills more people than a smaller earthquake. But thats not the only factor that determines earthquake damage. The location of an earthquake relative to a large city is important. More damage is done if the ground shakes for a long time. The amount of damage also depends on the geology of the region. Strong, solid bedrock shakes less than soft or wet soils. Wet soils liquefy during an earthquake and become like quicksand. Soil on a hillside that is shaken loose can become a landslide. Hazard maps help city planners choose the best locations for buildings (Figure 7.38). For example, when faced with two possible locations for a new hospital, planners must build on bedrock rather than silt and clay. Fires often cause more damage than the earthquake. Fires start because seismic waves rupture gas and electrical lines, and breaks in water mains make it difficult to fight the fires (Figure 1.3). Builders zigzag pipes so that they bend and flex when the ground shakes. In San Francisco, water and gas pipelines are separated by valves so that areas can be isolated if one segment breaks. |
Earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges tend to be small and shallow. | (A) true (B) false | A | Earthquakes also occur at divergent plate boundaries. At mid-ocean ridges, these earthquakes tend to be small and shallow focus because the plates are thin, young, and hot. Earthquakes in the oceans are usually far from land, so they have little effect on peoples lives. On land, where continents are rifting apart, earthquakes are larger and stronger. Deadly earthquakes occur at transform plate boundaries. Transform faults have shallow focus earthquakes. Why do you think this is so? Nearly 95% of all earthquakes take place along one of the three types of plate boundaries. About 80% of all earthquakes strike around the Pacific Ocean basin because it is lined with convergent and transform boundaries (Figure 1.2). About 15% take place in the Mediterranean-Asiatic Belt, where convergence is causing the Indian Plate to run into the Eurasian Plate. The remaining 5% are scattered around other plate boundaries or are intraplate earthquakes. Earthquake epicenters for magnitude 8.0 and greater events since 1900. The earthquake depth shows that most large quakes are shallow focus, but some sub- ducted plates cause deep focus quakes. |
Seismic waves travel outward in all directions from their source. | (A) true (B) false | A | Seismic waves are the energy from earthquakes. Seismic waves move outward in all directions away from their source. Each type of seismic wave travels at different speeds in different materials. All seismic waves travel through rock, but not all travel through liquid or gas. Geologists study seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and the Earths interior. Surface waves travel along the ground, outward from an earthquakes epicenter. Surface waves are the slowest of all seismic waves, traveling at 2.5 km (1.5 miles) per second. There are two types of surface waves. The rolling motions of surface waves do most of the damage in an earthquake. Surface waves travel along the ground outward from an earthquakes epicenter. Surface waves are the slowest of all seismic waves. They travel at 2.5 km (1.5 miles) per second. There are two types of surface waves. Love waves move side-to-side, much like a snake. Rayleigh waves produce a rolling motion as they move up and backwards (Figure 7.29). Surface waves cause objects to fall and rise, while they are also swaying back and forth. These |
All seismic waves travel at the same speed through solid rock. | (A) true (B) false | B | Seismic waves are the energy from earthquakes. Seismic waves move outward in all directions away from their source. Each type of seismic wave travels at different speeds in different materials. All seismic waves travel through rock, but not all travel through liquid or gas. Geologists study seismic waves to learn about earthquakes and the Earths interior. P-waves and S-waves are known as body waves because they move through the solid body of the Earth. P-waves travel through solids, liquids, and gases. S-waves only move through solids (Figure 1.2). Surface waves only travel along Earths surface. In an earthquake, body waves produce sharp jolts. They do not do as much damage as surface waves. P-waves (primary waves) are fastest, traveling at about 6 to 7 kilometers (about 4 miles) per second, so they arrive first at the seismometer. P-waves move in a compression/expansion type motion, squeezing and S-waves (secondary waves) are about half as fast as P-waves, traveling at about 3.5 km (2 miles) per second, and arrive second at seismographs. S-waves move in an up and down motion perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. This produces a change in shape for the Earth materials they move through. Only solids resist a change in shape, so S-waves are only able to propagate through solids. S-waves cannot travel through liquid. Primary waves (P-waves) and secondary waves (S-waves) are the two types of body waves (Figure 7.28). Body waves move at different speeds through different materials. P-waves are faster. They travel at about 6 to 7 kilometers (about 4 miles) per second. Primary waves are so named because they are the first waves to reach a seismometer. P-waves squeeze and release rocks as they travel. The material returns to its original size and shape after the P-wave goes by. For this reason, P-waves are not the most damaging earthquake waves. P-waves travel through solids, liquids and gases. S-waves are slower than P-waves. They are the second waves to reach a seismometer. S-waves move up and down. They change the rocks shape as they travel. S-waves are about half as fast as P-waves, at about 3.5 km (2 miles) per second. S-waves can only move through solids. This is because liquids and gases dont resist changing shape. |
P-waves are the first seismic waves to reach a seismometer. | (A) true (B) false | A | Seismograms contain a lot of information about an earthquake: its strength, length and distance. Wave height used to determine the magnitude of the earthquake. The seismogram shows the different arrival times of the seismic waves (Figure 7.34). The first waves are P-waves since they are the fastest. S-waves come in next and are usually larger than P-waves. The surface waves arrive just after the S-waves. If the earthquake has a shallow focus, the surface waves are the largest ones recorded. A seismogram may record P-waves and surface waves, but not S-waves. This means that it was located more than halfway around the Earth from the earthquake. The reason is that Earths outer core is liquid. S-waves cannot travel Primary waves (P-waves) and secondary waves (S-waves) are the two types of body waves (Figure 7.28). Body waves move at different speeds through different materials. P-waves are faster. They travel at about 6 to 7 kilometers (about 4 miles) per second. Primary waves are so named because they are the first waves to reach a seismometer. P-waves squeeze and release rocks as they travel. The material returns to its original size and shape after the P-wave goes by. For this reason, P-waves are not the most damaging earthquake waves. P-waves travel through solids, liquids and gases. S-waves are slower than P-waves. They are the second waves to reach a seismometer. S-waves move up and down. They change the rocks shape as they travel. S-waves are about half as fast as P-waves, at about 3.5 km (2 miles) per second. S-waves can only move through solids. This is because liquids and gases dont resist changing shape. P-waves and S-waves are known as body waves because they move through the solid body of the Earth. P-waves travel through solids, liquids, and gases. S-waves only move through solids (Figure 1.2). Surface waves only travel along Earths surface. In an earthquake, body waves produce sharp jolts. They do not do as much damage as surface waves. P-waves (primary waves) are fastest, traveling at about 6 to 7 kilometers (about 4 miles) per second, so they arrive first at the seismometer. P-waves move in a compression/expansion type motion, squeezing and S-waves (secondary waves) are about half as fast as P-waves, traveling at about 3.5 km (2 miles) per second, and arrive second at seismographs. S-waves move in an up and down motion perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. This produces a change in shape for the Earth materials they move through. Only solids resist a change in shape, so S-waves are only able to propagate through solids. S-waves cannot travel through liquid. |
All undersea earthquakes generate tsunamis. | (A) true (B) false | B | Earthquakes can cause tsunami. These deadly ocean waves may result from any shock to ocean water. A shock could be a meteorite impact, landslide, or a nuclear explosion. An underwater earthquake creates a tsunami this way: The movement of the crust displaces water. The displacement forms a set of waves. The waves travel at jet speed through the ocean. Since the waves have low amplitudes and long wavelengths, they are unnoticed in deep water. As the waves reach shore they compress. They are also pushed upward by the shore. For these reasons, tsunami can grow to enormous wave heights. Tsunami waves can cause tremendous destruction and loss of life. Fortunately, few undersea earthquakes generate tsunami. Tsunami are deadly ocean waves from the sharp jolt of an undersea earthquake. Less frequently, these waves can be generated by other shocks to the sea, like a meteorite impact. Fortunately, few undersea earthquakes, and even fewer meteorite impacts, generate tsunami. Earthquakes in Japan are caused by ocean-ocean convergence. The Philippine Plate and the Pacific Plate subduct beneath oceanic crust on the North American or Eurasian plates. This complex plate tectonics situation creates a chain of volcanoes, the Japanese islands, and as many as 1,500 earthquakes annually. In March 2011 an enormous 9.0 earthquake struck off of Sendai in northeastern Japan. This quake, called the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, was the most powerful ever to strike Japan and one of the top five known in the world. Damage from the earthquake was nearly overshadowed by the tsunami it generated, which wiped out coastal cities and towns This cross section of earthquake epicen- ters with depth outlines the subducting plate with shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes. (Figure 1.2). Several months after the earthquake, about 22,000 people were dead or missing, and 190,000 buildings had been damaged or destroyed. Aftershocks, some as large as major earthquakes, have continued to rock the region. Destruction in Ofunato, Japan, from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. |
The deadliest tsunami of all time occurred in 2004 in Indonesia. | (A) true (B) false | A | The Boxing Day Tsunami struck on December 26, 2004. This tsunami was by far the deadliest of all time (Figure registered magnitude 9.1. The quake struck near Sumatra, Indonesia, where the Indian plate is subducting beneath the Burma plate. It released about 550 million times the energy of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Several tsunami waves were created. The tsunami struck eight countries around the Indian Ocean (Figure 7.31). About 230,000 people died. More than 1.2 million people lost their homes. Many more lost their way of making a living. Fishermen lost their boats, and businesspeople lost their restaurants and shops. Many marine animals washed onshore, including dolphins, turtles, and sharks. Not everyone had the same warning the people on Tillys beach had. The Boxing Day Tsunami of December 26, 2004 was by far the deadliest of all time (Figure 1.1). The tsunami was caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. With a magnitude of 9.2, it was the second largest earthquake ever recorded. The extreme movement of the crust displaced trillions of tons of water along the entire length of the rupture. Several tsunami waves were created with about 30 minutes between the peaks of each one. The waves that struck nearby Sumatra 15 minutes after the quake reached more than 10 meters (33 feet) in height. The size of the waves decreased with distance from the earthquake and were about 4 meters (13 feet) high in Somalia. The tsunami did so much damage because it traveled throughout the Indian Ocean. About 230,000 people died in eight countries. There were fatalities even as far away as South Africa, nearly 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from the earthquake epicenter. More than 1.2 million people lost their homes and many more lost their ways of making a living. The countries that were most affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. As a result of the 2004 tsunami, an Indian Ocean warning system was put into operation in June 2006. Prior to 2004, no one had thought a large tsunami was possible in the Indian Ocean. In comparison, a warning system has been in effect around the Pacific Ocean for more than 50 years. The system was used to warn of possible tsunami waves after the Tohoku earthquake, but most were too close to the quake to get to high ground in time. Further away, people were evacuated along many Pacific coastlines, but the waves were not that large. |
Tsunamis are more common in the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific Ocean. | (A) true (B) false | B | Tsunami are deadly ocean waves from the sharp jolt of an undersea earthquake. Less frequently, these waves can be generated by other shocks to the sea, like a meteorite impact. Fortunately, few undersea earthquakes, and even fewer meteorite impacts, generate tsunami. Most of the Indian Ocean tragedy could have been avoided if a warning system had been in place(Figure 7.32). As of June 2006, the Indian Ocean now has a warning system. Since tsunami are much more common in the Pacific, communities around the Pacific have had a tsunami warning system since 1948. Warning systems arent always helpful. People in communities very close to the earthquake do not have enough time to move inland or uphill. Farther away from the quake, evacuation of low-lying areas saves lives. As a result of the 2004 tsunami, an Indian Ocean warning system was put into operation in June 2006. Prior to 2004, no one had thought a large tsunami was possible in the Indian Ocean. In comparison, a warning system has been in effect around the Pacific Ocean for more than 50 years. The system was used to warn of possible tsunami waves after the Tohoku earthquake, but most were too close to the quake to get to high ground in time. Further away, people were evacuated along many Pacific coastlines, but the waves were not that large. |