Notes 1-12 Earth Systems and Resources

APES 2024

Formation of the Earth and Solar System

Formation of the Earth and Solar System

The processes that formed Earth 4.6 billion years ago determined the distribution and abundance of elements & minerals today

Core

The innermost zone of Earth’s interior; composed of mostly iron and nickel, includes a liquid outer and solid inner layer

Mantle

The layer of Earth above the core, containing magma

Magma

Molten rock

Asthenosphere

The layer of Earth located in the outer part of the mantle, composed of semi-molten rock

Lithosphere

The outermost layer of Earth including the mantle and crust

Crust

The chemically distinct outermost layer of the lithosphere

Plate Tectonics

The theory that the lithosphere of Earth is divided into plates, most of which are in constant motion

Why are most tectonic plates in constant motion

The high temperature of Earth’s outercore and mantle is thought to be the result of radioactive decay of various isotopes, the heat causes plumes of hot magma to well upward from the mantle and produce hot-spots

Hot-spot

A plane where molten material from Earth’s mantle reaches the lithosphere

Convergent boundary

An area where tectonic plates move toward one another and collide →←

Convergent boundaries can result in

• Mountains

• Island arcs

• Earthquakes

• Volcanoes

Subduction

The process of one crustal plate crossing another ex. The Pacific Coast of South America

Oceanic-Continental

Denser oceanic will subduct under the continental (convergent)

Continental-Continental

Crust will push up (convergent) ex. Himilayas

The Pacific Coast of South America

The pacific plate converges with with the South American plate, the pacific plate is pushed down and the South American plate is pushed up creating the Andes Mountains

Divergent Boundary

An area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other ←→, ex. Mid-Atlantic Ridge & East Africa Rift Valley

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Middle of the Atlantic Ocean, pushes North America away from Europe

East Africa Rift Valley

In Ethiopia and Kenya

Divergent boundaries can result in

• Seafloor Spreading

• Rift Valleys

• Volcanoes

• Earthquakes

Seafloor Spreading

The formation of new ocean crust as a result of magma pushing upward

Transform boundary

An area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other ←

→

ex. San Andreas Fault - off the California Coast

Transform boundaries can result in

• Earthquakes

Earthquake

Occurs when stress overcomes a locked fault releasing stored energy