Plate Tectonics Lecture Review

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on plate tectonics, including mechanisms of plate motion, types of plate boundaries, and supporting evidence for the theory.

Plate Tectonics

The theory explaining the structure of the Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into tectonic plates that move on the asthenosphere.

Mantle Convection

The process by which hot mantle rock rises and cools, driving tectonic plate movements.

Ridge Push

A mechanism of plate movement where the elevated position of mid-ocean ridges pushes the tectonic plates away from the ridge.

Slab Pull

A mechanism of plate motion where a denser oceanic plate sinks into the mantle, pulling the rest of the plate along with it.

Divergent Plate Boundaries

Constructive margins where tectonic plates move apart, allowing new crust to form from rising magma.

Convergent Plate Boundaries

Destructive margins where tectonic plates move towards each other, leading to subduction or mountain formation.

Transform Plate Boundaries

Boundaries where plates slide past each other, leading to friction but not the creation or destruction of the crust.

Paleomagnetism

The study of the magnetic properties of rocks to determine the historical changes in Earth's magnetic field and the movement of tectonic plates.

Hot Spot

A volcanic region thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot, forming chains of volcanoes as tectonic plates move over it.

Wilson Cycle

The cycle of ocean basin formation and closure driven by plate tectonics, affecting the Earth's geological landscape.

Buoyancy

The upward force experienced by an object in a fluid, which in the case of mantle convection, causes hot mantle rock to rise.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, that tectonic plates are composed of.

Asthenosphere

The semi-fluid layer beneath the lithosphere where convection occurs, facilitating the movement of tectonic plates.

Seafloor Spreading

The process by which new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges and moves away from them, contributing to plate tectonics.

Earthquake

A sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves, commonly found at tectonic boundaries.

Volcanic Island Arc

A chain of volcanic islands formed by the subduction of an oceanic plate beneath another oceanic plate.

Continental Volcanic Arc

A range of volcanoes formed when an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate, generating magma that rises to the surface.