Plate Tectonics (Questions 1 and 2)
The theory of plate tectonics indicates that earth's surface sits on a large floating island of rock. Although it feels solid and hard beneath our feet, the outer surface of the Earth is a thin crust of fragile rock, fractured like the cracked shell of an egg. The pieces of the shell are Earth's tectonic plates -- there are 12 major ones -- and they float across a layer of soft rock like rafts in a stream, their motions driven by forces generated deep in the Earth. At their boundaries, the plates spread apart, converge, and slide past one another.
Access the following link to read and observe the most common plate boundaries that occur as a result of tectonic plate theory. Then, access the link below it to experiment with the phenomena.
Savage Earth Plate Boundaries Descriptions
Savage Earth Plate Boundaries Applications
OR
Go to the Plates on the Move Game and explore
Earthquakes & Seismograms (Questions 3 through 16)
Most earthquakes happen near the boundaries of tectonic plates, both where the plates spread apart and where they crunch or grind together (although large temblors also strike from time to time in the normally stable interior of continents). Along plate boundaries, the brittle outer part of the Earth fractures along faults. As plates move, blocks of crust shift along the faults. The infamous San Andreas fault is not a single crack where the North American and Pacific plates slide past each other. It's the largest of a thicket of faults that collectively absorb the motion of the plates.
A typical earthquake sends out at least three types of waves. These waves travel differently in the earth and make different patterns on the seismogram, a read-out from a sensitive detecting instrument called a seisometer measuring tectonic activity. These are quite useful in detecting the epicenter or the location on the surface of the earth directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Following an earthquake, the body waves strike first. The fastest kind are the primary waves, or P-waves. People often report a sound like a train just before they feel a quake, which is the P-wave moving as an acoustic wave in the air.
Then the secondary, or S-waves, arrive. A person in a building perceives the arrival of S-waves as a sudden powerful jolt, as if a giant has pounded his fist down on the roof. Finally, the surface waves strike. In very strong earthquakes, the up-
and-down and back-and-forth motions caused by surface waves can make the ground appear to roll like the surface of the
ocean, and can literally topple buildings over. The L-waves or surface waves usually cause the most damage.
The theory of plate tectonics indicates that earth's surface sits on a large floating island of rock. Although it feels solid and hard beneath our feet, the outer surface of the Earth is a thin crust of fragile rock, fractured like the cracked shell of an egg. The pieces of the shell are Earth's tectonic plates -- there are 12 major ones -- and they float across a layer of soft rock like rafts in a stream, their motions driven by forces generated deep in the Earth. At their boundaries, the plates spread apart, converge, and slide past one another.
Access the following link to read and observe the most common plate boundaries that occur as a result of tectonic plate theory. Then, access the link below it to experiment with the phenomena.
Savage Earth Plate Boundaries Descriptions
Savage Earth Plate Boundaries Applications
OR
Go to the Plates on the Move Game and explore
Earthquakes & Seismograms (Questions 3 through 16)
Most earthquakes happen near the boundaries of tectonic plates, both where the plates spread apart and where they crunch or grind together (although large temblors also strike from time to time in the normally stable interior of continents). Along plate boundaries, the brittle outer part of the Earth fractures along faults. As plates move, blocks of crust shift along the faults. The infamous San Andreas fault is not a single crack where the North American and Pacific plates slide past each other. It's the largest of a thicket of faults that collectively absorb the motion of the plates.
A typical earthquake sends out at least three types of waves. These waves travel differently in the earth and make different patterns on the seismogram, a read-out from a sensitive detecting instrument called a seisometer measuring tectonic activity. These are quite useful in detecting the epicenter or the location on the surface of the earth directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Following an earthquake, the body waves strike first. The fastest kind are the primary waves, or P-waves. People often report a sound like a train just before they feel a quake, which is the P-wave moving as an acoustic wave in the air.
Then the secondary, or S-waves, arrive. A person in a building perceives the arrival of S-waves as a sudden powerful jolt, as if a giant has pounded his fist down on the roof. Finally, the surface waves strike. In very strong earthquakes, the up-
and-down and back-and-forth motions caused by surface waves can make the ground appear to roll like the surface of the
ocean, and can literally topple buildings over. The L-waves or surface waves usually cause the most damage.
Look over the following animations to observe the different types of waves:
Primary Waves (P)
Secondary Waves (S)
Surface Waves (L)
OR
Go to THIS SITE and observe P-waves, S-waves, Rayleigh-waves, and L-waves
Look carefully over the eight seismograms from the seismic stations around the world at the following link:
Seismograms From a Recent Earthquake
Volcanic Eruptions & Weather/Climate Change (Questions 17 through 23)
Though environmental scientists argue that global warming is a real phenomena causing significant reaching effects on a variety of global systems, outspoken skeptics argue that climate change is a fabrication and fallacy.
Media personality Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly asserted his opinion that "natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions emit pollutants in volumes that dwarf those produced by human activity, thus proving that fears of global climate
change are fabricated."
More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface--above and below sea level--is of volcanic origin. Gas emissions from volcanic vents over hundreds of millions of years formed the Earth's earliest oceans and atmosphere, which supplied the ingredients vital to evolve and sustain life. Over geologic eons, countless volcanic eruptions have produced mountains, plateaus, and plains, which subsequent erosion and weathering have sculpted into majestic landscapes and formed fertile soils. But, although there are hundreds of active volcanoes worldwide, most erupt only intermittently. A few erupt often, such as Hawaii's Mauna Loa, but most erupt only once every few decades to once in several centuries. A few massive eruptions have occurred during the past several thousand years, e.g., Mt. Mazama in Oregon, whose remains make up Crater
Lake National Park. And once every few hundred thousand years, a truly gigantic eruption occurs, producing deposits such as California's Bishop Tuff and having profound local and regional effects on climate and life.
Within the past few centuries, several volcanic eruptions have had well-documented temporary effects on terrestrial climate. One such event occurred in the late 1880's, the eruption of Krakatau in what is presently Indonesia. Such eruptions are so powerful that they blast vast quantities off ash and gas into the stratosphere (upper atmosphere)
above the zone of atmospheric turbulence. This ash and gas layer stays in the atmosphere for up to several years and is distributed globally by prevailing high-altitude winds. The ash and gas reflect the solar radiant energy back to space before it can reach the lower atmosphere or the planet's surface, thus resulting in cooling the Earth called the albedo effect. This cooling may last, as in the case of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, for several years. In 1815, the volcano Tambura erupted in the East Indies, producing the so-called "year without a summer" in parts of the Northern Hemisphere such as New England, where snow fell in July, and much of western Europe, where crops failed.
Do volcanic eruptions have long-term effects? Pinatubo's eruptive volume was estimated at 9 billion cubic yards (yd^3).
We will study the effects of the eruption in 1991 to determine if it played a role in changing weather patterns or inspiring global climate change.
Some Useful Conversions:
1 yd^3 = 0.76 m^3
1 ton = 2000 lb
1 metric ton (tonne) = 1000 kg = 2200 lbs
1 kg = 1000 g = 2.2 lb
454 g = 1 lb
The link for Question 23 is here.
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics (Questions 24 through 27)
In 1912, Alfred Wegener proposed that continental drift has provided a mechanism for the diversification of life on the planet and provides an explanation for the similarities between species on continents completely separated by oceans.
According to the theory of plate tectonics, large plates under the Earth's surface drifted away from one another at a rate of 2 cm/year and are still moving away from one another. The original supercontinent, Pangaea, gradually broke apart into pieces as the plates drifted, caused by degassing of the Earth's hot magma interior. The movement of plates has led to the
further understanding of speciation and biogeography, the geographical distribution of flora and fauna.
Support for Wegener's hypothesis is found in the location of marsupials (ex/ kangaroos) as far away from Australia as the United States (ex/ opossum). As well, lungfishes are found in three continents suggested that they rose from a common
ancestor on Pangaea.
Continental Drift Timeline:
ERA TIME (MYA) ACTION RESULT
Cenozoic 65 Modern continents begin to separate Formation of 5 continents
Australia continues to move south
Mesozoic 180 Pangaea begins to separate Gondwanaland in the south and
Laurasia in the north
Paleozic 543 Pangaea is a single continent Migration and movement of species
between temperate and tropical climates
For Question 27:
Explore the animation below to identify several species that evolved during each or the primary eras described above. Then view the animation at the second link below to help you visualize how the geology of the surface of Earth changed during specific time periods. Use this information to explain how continental drift may have contributed to the specific diversity or change that defined each species.
Deep Time & Speciation
Continental Drift Animation
(Clicking Refresh will replay the animation.)
Primary Waves (P)
Secondary Waves (S)
Surface Waves (L)
OR
Go to THIS SITE and observe P-waves, S-waves, Rayleigh-waves, and L-waves
Look carefully over the eight seismograms from the seismic stations around the world at the following link:
Seismograms From a Recent Earthquake
Volcanic Eruptions & Weather/Climate Change (Questions 17 through 23)
Though environmental scientists argue that global warming is a real phenomena causing significant reaching effects on a variety of global systems, outspoken skeptics argue that climate change is a fabrication and fallacy.
Media personality Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly asserted his opinion that "natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions emit pollutants in volumes that dwarf those produced by human activity, thus proving that fears of global climate
change are fabricated."
More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface--above and below sea level--is of volcanic origin. Gas emissions from volcanic vents over hundreds of millions of years formed the Earth's earliest oceans and atmosphere, which supplied the ingredients vital to evolve and sustain life. Over geologic eons, countless volcanic eruptions have produced mountains, plateaus, and plains, which subsequent erosion and weathering have sculpted into majestic landscapes and formed fertile soils. But, although there are hundreds of active volcanoes worldwide, most erupt only intermittently. A few erupt often, such as Hawaii's Mauna Loa, but most erupt only once every few decades to once in several centuries. A few massive eruptions have occurred during the past several thousand years, e.g., Mt. Mazama in Oregon, whose remains make up Crater
Lake National Park. And once every few hundred thousand years, a truly gigantic eruption occurs, producing deposits such as California's Bishop Tuff and having profound local and regional effects on climate and life.
Within the past few centuries, several volcanic eruptions have had well-documented temporary effects on terrestrial climate. One such event occurred in the late 1880's, the eruption of Krakatau in what is presently Indonesia. Such eruptions are so powerful that they blast vast quantities off ash and gas into the stratosphere (upper atmosphere)
above the zone of atmospheric turbulence. This ash and gas layer stays in the atmosphere for up to several years and is distributed globally by prevailing high-altitude winds. The ash and gas reflect the solar radiant energy back to space before it can reach the lower atmosphere or the planet's surface, thus resulting in cooling the Earth called the albedo effect. This cooling may last, as in the case of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, for several years. In 1815, the volcano Tambura erupted in the East Indies, producing the so-called "year without a summer" in parts of the Northern Hemisphere such as New England, where snow fell in July, and much of western Europe, where crops failed.
Do volcanic eruptions have long-term effects? Pinatubo's eruptive volume was estimated at 9 billion cubic yards (yd^3).
We will study the effects of the eruption in 1991 to determine if it played a role in changing weather patterns or inspiring global climate change.
Some Useful Conversions:
1 yd^3 = 0.76 m^3
1 ton = 2000 lb
1 metric ton (tonne) = 1000 kg = 2200 lbs
1 kg = 1000 g = 2.2 lb
454 g = 1 lb
The link for Question 23 is here.
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics (Questions 24 through 27)
In 1912, Alfred Wegener proposed that continental drift has provided a mechanism for the diversification of life on the planet and provides an explanation for the similarities between species on continents completely separated by oceans.
According to the theory of plate tectonics, large plates under the Earth's surface drifted away from one another at a rate of 2 cm/year and are still moving away from one another. The original supercontinent, Pangaea, gradually broke apart into pieces as the plates drifted, caused by degassing of the Earth's hot magma interior. The movement of plates has led to the
further understanding of speciation and biogeography, the geographical distribution of flora and fauna.
Support for Wegener's hypothesis is found in the location of marsupials (ex/ kangaroos) as far away from Australia as the United States (ex/ opossum). As well, lungfishes are found in three continents suggested that they rose from a common
ancestor on Pangaea.
Continental Drift Timeline:
ERA TIME (MYA) ACTION RESULT
Cenozoic 65 Modern continents begin to separate Formation of 5 continents
Australia continues to move south
Mesozoic 180 Pangaea begins to separate Gondwanaland in the south and
Laurasia in the north
Paleozic 543 Pangaea is a single continent Migration and movement of species
between temperate and tropical climates
For Question 27:
Explore the animation below to identify several species that evolved during each or the primary eras described above. Then view the animation at the second link below to help you visualize how the geology of the surface of Earth changed during specific time periods. Use this information to explain how continental drift may have contributed to the specific diversity or change that defined each species.
Deep Time & Speciation
Continental Drift Animation
(Clicking Refresh will replay the animation.)