Plate tectonics

What hypothesis did Alfred Wegener propose regarding the movement of continents?

The hypothesis of continental drift, suggesting that the continents were once part of a supercontinent called Pangea that broke apart around 200 million years ago.

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

Convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.

What is the primary driver of plate tectonic motion?

Hot mantle convection that causes lithospheric plates to slide over the asthenosphere.

What is the composition of the Earth's crust?

The crust is primarily composed of oxygen and silicone.

What is the difference between continental and oceanic crust?

Continental crust is thicker (10-70 km), less dense, and older; oceanic crust is thinner (~7 km), more dense, and younger.

What geological feature forms at divergent plate boundaries?

Ocean ridges, where plates move apart and magma rises to create new crust.

What evidence supports the theory of seafloor spreading?

The age of ocean floor rocks, which are younger at mid-ocean ridges, and the pattern of magnetic reversals recorded in those rocks.

What are hotspots in geology?

Hotspots are fixed points in the mantle where magma flows through the crust, forming volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii.

What is the Ring of Fire?

A zone of volcanic and earthquake activity around the Pacific Plate, characterized by subduction zones.

What are abyssal plains?

Flat or gently sloping areas of the ocean floor found between the continental rise and mid-oceanic ridges.

What is a trench in oceanography?

A long, narrow topographic depression on the ocean floor formed at subduction zones, such as the Mariana Trench.

How do coral reefs form?

Coral reefs can form off the tops of volcanoes in tropical shallow waters, and include fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls.

What is the temperature of the inner core of the Earth?

Approximately 6000 degrees Celsius.

What causes tsunamis and earthquakes at plate boundaries?

The collision, subduction, and movement of tectonic plates.

What forms as a result of oceanic and continental plates interacting?

Volcanoes

What hypothesis did Alfred Wegener propose regarding the movement of continents?

The hypothesis of continental drift, suggesting that the continents were once part of a supercontinent called Pangea that broke apart around 200 million years ago.

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

Convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.

What is the primary driver of plate tectonic motion?

Hot mantle convection that causes lithospheric plates to slide over the asthenosphere.

What is the composition of the Earth's crust?

The crust is primarily composed of oxygen and silicone.

What is the difference between continental and oceanic crust?

Continental crust is thicker (10-70 km), less dense, and older; oceanic crust is thinner (~7 km), more dense, and younger.

What geological feature forms at divergent plate boundaries?

Ocean ridges, where plates move apart and magma rises to create new crust.

What evidence supports the theory of seafloor spreading?

The age of ocean floor rocks, which are younger at mid-ocean ridges, and the pattern of magnetic reversals recorded in those rocks.

What are hotspots in geology?

Hotspots are fixed points in the mantle where magma flows through the crust, forming volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii.

What is the Ring of Fire?

A zone of volcanic and earthquake activity around the Pacific Plate, characterized by subduction zones.

What are abyssal plains?

Flat or gently sloping areas of the ocean floor found between the continental rise and mid-oceanic ridges.

What is a trench in oceanography?

A long, narrow topographic depression on the ocean floor formed at subduction zones, such as the Mariana Trench.

How do coral reefs form?

Coral reefs can form off the tops of volcanoes in tropical shallow waters, and include fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls.

What is the temperature of the inner core of the Earth?

Approximately 6000 degrees Celsius.

What causes tsunamis and earthquakes at plate boundaries?

The collision, subduction, and movement of tectonic plates.

What forms as a result of oceanic and continental plates interacting?

Volcanoes, mountain ranges, and oceanic trenches.

What is subduction?

The process by which one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.

What is a mid-ocean ridge?

An underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics, where new oceanic crust is created.

What role do tectonic plates play in earthquakes?

Tectonic plates move and interact at boundaries, causing stress that can lead to earthquakes.

What is the process of plate tectonics?

The theory explaining the movement of the Earth's lithosphere on the asthenosphere due to mantle convection.

What is an earthquake's focus?

The point within the Earth where the earthquake originates.

What is the difference between elastic and plastic deformation in rocks?

Elastic deformation returns to original shape after stress is removed; plastic deformation results in permanent shape change.