464 464 Chapter 17 Plate Tectonics BIG Idea Most geologic activity occurs at the boundaries between plates. Chapter 18 Volcanism BIG Idea Volcanoes develop from magma moving upward from deep within Earth. Chapter 19 Earthquakes BIG Idea Earthquakes are natu- ral vibrations of the ground, some of which are caused by movement along fractures in Earth’s crust. Chapter 20 Mountain Building BIG Idea Mountains form through dynamic processes which crumple, fold, and create faults in Earth’s crust. CAREERS IN EARTH SCIENCE Volcanologist This volcanologist is monitoring volcanic activity to help forecast an eruption. Volcanologists spend much of their time in the field, collecting samples and measuring changes in the shape of a volcano. Earth Science Visit glencoe.com to learn more about the work of volcanologists. Then write a short newspaper article about how volcanologists predicted a recent eruption. The Dynamic Earth
Transcript
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Chapter 17Plate TectonicsBIG Idea Most geologic activity
occurs at the boundaries between plates.
Chapter 18VolcanismBIG Idea Volcanoes develop
from magma moving upward from deep within Earth.
Chapter 19EarthquakesBIG Idea Earthquakes are natu-
ral vibrations of the ground, some of which are caused by movement along fractures in Earth’s crust.
Chapter 20Mountain BuildingBIG Idea Mountains form
through dynamic processes which crumple, fold, and create faults in Earth’s crust.
CAREERS IN EARTH SCIENCEVolcanologist This volcanologist is monitoring volcanic activity to help forecast an eruption. Volcanologists spend much of their time in the field, collecting samples and measuring changes in the shape of a volcano.
Earth Science Visit glencoe.com to learn more about the work of volcanologists. Then write a short newspaper article about how volcanologists predicted a recent eruption.
access Web Links for more information, projects, and activities;
review content with the Interactive Tutor and take Self-Check Quizzes.
Chapter 17 • Plate Tectonics 467
Is California moving?Southwestern California is separated from the rest of the state by a system of cracks along which move-ment takes place. These cracks are called faults. One of these, as you might know, is the San Andreas Fault. Movement along this fault is carrying southwestern California to the Northwest in relation to the rest of North America at a rate of about 5 cm/y.
Procedure 1. Read and complete the lab safety form.2. Use a metric ruler and the map scale to
determine the actual distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
3. At the current rate of movement, when will these two cities be next to each other?
Analysis1. Infer what might be causing the motion of
these large pieces of land.2. Calculate How far will southwestern
California move in a 15-year period?
LLAAUUNCH NCH LabLab Plate Boundaries Make this Foldable to compare the types of plate boundaries and their features.
STEP 1 Fold up the bottom edge of a legal-sized sheet of paper about 3 cm and crease.
STEP 2 Fold the sheet into thirds.
STEP 3 Glue or sta-ple to make three pock-ets. Label the pockets Divergent, Convergent, and Transform.
FOLDABLES Use this Foldable with Section 17.3. As you read this section, summarize on index cards or quarter sheets of paper the geologic charac-teristics of each type of boundary and the pro-cesses associated with it.
◗ Identify the lines of evidence that led Wegener to suggest that Earth’s continents have moved.
◗ Discuss how evidence of ancient climates supported continental drift.
◗ Explain why continental drift was not accepted when it was first proposed.
Review Vocabularyhypothesis: testable explanation of a situation
New Vocabularycontinental driftPangaea
Drifting Continents
MAIN Idea The shape and geology of the continents suggests that they were once joined together.
Real-World Reading Link When you put together a jigsaw puzzle, what fea-tures of the puzzle pieces do you use to find matching pieces? Scientists used features such as shape and position to help them piece together the way the continents were arranged millions of years ago.
Early ObservationsWith the exception of events such as earthquakes, volcanic erup-tions, and landslides, most of Earth’s surface appears to remain rel-atively unchanged during the course of a human lifetime. On the geologic time scale, however, Earth’s surface has changed dramati-cally. Some of the first people to suggest that Earth’s major features might have changed were early cartographers. In the late 1500s, Abraham Ortelius (or TEE lee us), a Dutch cartographer, noticed the apparent fit of continents on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. He proposed that North America and South America had been separated from Europe and Africa by earthquakes and floods. During the next 300 years, many scientists and writers noticed and commented on the matching coastlines. Figure 17.1 shows a pro-posed map by a nineteenth-century cartographer.
The first time that the idea of moving continents was proposed as a scientific hypothesis was in the early 1900s. In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener (VAY guh nur) presented his ideas about continental movement to the scientific community.
Reading Check Infer why cartographers were among the first to suggest that the continents were once joined together.
■ Figure 17.1 Many early car-tographers, such as Antonio Snider-Pelligrini, the author of these 1858 maps, noticed the apparent fit of the continents. Before separation After separation
Continental DriftWegener developed an idea that he called continental drift, which proposed that Earth’s continents had once been joined as a single landmass that broke apart and sent the continents adrift. He called this supercontinent Pangaea (pan JEE uh), a Greek word that means all the earth, and suggested that Pangaea began to break apart about 200 mya. Since that time, he reasoned, the continents have continued to slowly move to their present positions, as shown in Figure 17.2.
Of the many people who had suggested that continents had moved around, Wegener was the first to base his ideas on more than just the puzzlelike fit of continental coastlines on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. For Wegener, these gigantic puzzle pieces were just the beginning. He also collected and organized rock, cli-matic, and fossil data to support his hypothesis. Interactive Figure To see an animation of the
breakup of Pangaea, visit glencoe.com.
■ Figure 17.2 Wegener hypothesized that all the continents were once joined together. He proposed that it took 200 million years of con-tinental drift for the continents to move to their present positions. Locate the parts of Pangaea that became North and South America. When were they joined? When were they separated?
200 mya: All the continents assembled in a single landmass that Wegener named Pangaea.
180 mya: Continental rifting breaks Pangaea into several landmasses. The North Atlantic Ocean starts to form.
135 mya: Africa and South America begin to separate.
65 mya: India moves north toward Asia.
Present: India has collided with Asia to form the Himalayas and Australia has separated from Antarctica. A rift valley is forming in East Africa. Continents continue to move over Earth’s surface.
CynognathusGlossopterisLystrosaurusMesosaurusSimilar rock typesMatching mountain ranges
Africa
Australia
Antarctica
SouthAmerica
NorthAmerica
Equator
EuropeAsia
India
Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
470 Chapter 17 • Plate Tectonics
Evidence from rock formations Wegener reasoned that when Pangaea began to break apart, large geologic structures, such as mountain ranges, fractured as the continents separated. Using this reasoning, Wegener thought that there should be areas of simi-lar rock types on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. He observed that many layers of rocks in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States were identical to layers of rocks in similar mountains in Greenland and Europe. These similar groups of rocks, older than 200 million years, supported Wegener’s idea that the continents had once been joined. Some of the locations where matching groups of rock have been found are indicated in Figure 17.3.
Evidence from fossils Wegener also gathered evidence of the existence of Pangaea from fossils. Similar fossils of several different animals and plants that once lived on or near land had been found on widely separated continents, as shown in Figure 17.3. Wegener reasoned that the land-dwelling animals, such as Cynognathus(sin ug NATH us) and Lystrasaurus (lihs truh SORE us) could not have swum the great distances that now exist between continents. Wegener also argued that because fossils of Mesosaurus (meh zoh SORE us), an aquatic reptile, had been found in only freshwater rocks, it was unlikely that this species could have crossed the oceans. The ages of these different fossils also predated Wegener’s time frame for the breakup of Pangaea, and thus supported his hypothesis.
■ Figure 17.3 Alfred Wegener used the similarity of rock layers and fossils on oppo-site sides of the Atlantic Ocean as evidence that Earth’s continents were once joined.Identify groupings that suggest that there was once a single landmass.
Climatic evidence Because he had a strong background in meteorology, Wegener recognized clues about ancient climates from the fossils he stud-ied. One fossil that Wegener used to support conti-nental drift was Glossopteris (glahs AHP tur us), a seed fern that resembled low shrubs, shown in Figure 17.3. Fossils of this plant had been found on many parts of Earth, including South America, Antarctica, and India. Wegener reasoned that the area separating these fossils was too large to have had a single climate. Wegener also argued that because Glossopteris grew in temperate climates, the places where these fossils had been found were once closer to the equator. This led him to conclude that the rocks containing these fossil ferns had once been joined.
Reading Check Infer how Wegener’s background in meteorology helped him to support his idea of continental drift.
Coal deposits Recall from Chapter 6 that sedimen-tary rocks provide clues to past environments and cli-mates. Wegener found evidence in these rocks that the climates of some continents had changed mark-edly. For example, Figure 17.4 shows a coal deposit found in Antarctica. Coal forms from the compac tion and decomposition of accumulations of ancient swamp plants. The existence of coal beds in Antarctica indicated that this frozen land once had a tropical climate. Wegener used this evidence to con-clude that Antarctica must have been much closer to the equator sometime in the geologic past.
Glacial deposits Another piece of climatic evi-dence came from glacial deposits found in parts of Africa, India, Australia, and South America. The presence of these 290-million-year-old deposits sug-gested to Wegener that these areas were once covered by a thick ice cap similar to the one that covers Antarctica today. Because the traces of the ancient ice cap are found in regions where it is too warm for them to develop, Wegener proposed that they were once located near the south pole, as shown in Figure 17.5. Wegener suggested two possibilities to explain the deposits. Either the south pole had shifted its position, or these landmasses had once been closer to the south pole. Wegener argued that it was more likely that the landmasses had drifted apart rather than Earth changing its axis.
■ Figure 17.4 A coal deposit in Antarctica indicates that swamp plants once thrived in this area.Explain How did coal, which forms from ancient swamp material, end up in Antarctica?
■ Figure 17.5 Glacial deposits nearly 300 million years old on several continents led Wegener to propose that these landmasses might have once been joined and covered with ice. The extent of the ice is shown in white.
A Rejected NotionIn the early 1900s, many people in the scientific community con-sidered the continents and ocean basins to be fixed features on Earth’s surface. For the rest of his life, Wegener continued travel-ling to remote regions to gather evidence in support of continen-tal drift. Figure 17.6 shows him in Greenland on his last expedition. Although he had compiled an impressive collection of data, the theory of continental drift was never accepted by the scientific community.
Continental drift had two major flaws that prevented it from being widely accepted. First, it did not satisfactorily explain what force could be strong enough to push such large masses over such great distances. Wegener thought that the rotation of Earth might be responsible, but physicists were able to show that this force was not nearly enough to move continents.
Second, scientists questioned how the continents were mov-ing. Wegener had proposed that the continents were plowing through a stationary ocean f loor, but it was known that Earth’s mantle below the crust was solid. So, how could continents move through something solid? These two unanswered questions — what forces could cause the movement and how continents could move through solids — were the main reasons that continental drift was rejected. It was not until the early 1960s that new tech-nology revealed more evidence about how continents move that scientists began to reconsider Wegener’s ideas. Advances in sea-floor mapping and in understanding Earth’s magnetic field pro-vided the necessary evidence to show how continents move, and the source of the forces involved.
■ Figure 17.6 Wegener collected further evidence for his theory on a 1930 expedition to Greenland. He died during this expedition, many years before his data became the basis for the theory of plate tectonics.
Section 117.7.11 AssessmentSection Summary◗◗ The matching coastlines of conti-
nents on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean suggest that the con-tinents were once joined.
◗◗ Continental drift was the idea that continents move around on Earth’s surface.
◗◗ Wegener collected evidence from rocks, fossils, and ancient climates to support his theory.
◗◗ Continental drift was not accepted because there was no explanation for how the continents moved or what caused their motion.
Understand Main Ideas1. MAIN Idea Draw how the continents were once adjoined as Pangaea.
2. Explain how ancient glacial deposits in Africa, India, Australia, and South America support the idea of continental drift.
3. Summarize how rocks, fossils, and climate provided evidence of continental drift.
4. Infer what the climate in ancient North America must have been like as a part of Pangaea.
Think Critically5. Interpret Examine Figure 17.5. Oil deposits that are approximately 200 million
years old have been discovered in Brazil. Where might geologists find oil deposits of a similar age?
6. Evaluate this statement: The town where I live has always been in the same place.
Earth Science
7. Compose a letter to the editor from a scientist in the early 1900s arguing against continental drift.
◗ Summarize the evidence that led to the discovery of seafloor spreading.
◗ Explain the significance of mag-netic patterns on the seafloor.
◗ Explain the process of seafloor spreading.
Review Vocabularybasalt: a dark-gray to black fine-grained igneous rock
New Vocabularymagnetometermagnetic reversal paleomagnetismisochronseafloor spreading
Section 1177..22
Seafloor Spreading
MAIN Idea Oceanic crust forms at ocean ridges and becomes part of the seafloor.
Real-World Reading Link Have you ever counted the rings on a tree stump to find the age of the tree? Scientists can study similar patterns on the ocean floor to determine its age.
Mapping the Ocean FloorUntil the mid-1900s, most people, including many scientists, thought that the ocean floors were essentially flat. Many people also had misconceptions that oceanic crust was unchanging and was much older than continental crust. However, advances in tech-nology during the 1940s and 1950s showed that all of these widely accepted ideas were incorrect.
One technological advance that was used to study the ocean floor was the magnetometer. A magnetometer (mag nuh TAH muh tur), such as the one shown in Figure 17.7, is a device that can detect small changes in magnetic fields. Towed behind a ship, it can record the magnetic field generated by ocean floor rocks. You will learn more about magnetism and how it supports continental drift later in this section.
Another advancement that allowed scientists to study the ocean floor in great detail was the development of echo-sounding meth-ods. One type of echo sounding is sonar. Recall from Chapter 15 that sonar uses sound waves to measure distance by measuring the time it takes for sound waves sent from the ship to bounce off the seafloor and return to the ship. Developments in sonar technology enabled scientists to measure water depth and map the topography of the ocean floor.
■ Figure 17.7 Magnetometers are devices that can detect small changes in magnetic fields. The data collected using magnetometers lowered into the ocean furthered scientists’ understanding of rocks underlying the ocean floor.
Ocean-Floor TopographyThe maps made from data collected by sonar and magnetometers surprised many scientists. They discovered that vast, underwater mountain chains called ocean ridges run along the ocean floors around Earth much like seams on a baseball. These ocean floor features, shown in Figure 17.8, form the longest continuous mountain range on Earth. When they were first discovered, ocean ridges generated much discussion because of their enormous length and height—they are more than 80,000 km long and up to 3 km above the ocean floor. Later, scientists discovered that earth-quakes and volcanism are common along the ridges.
Reading Check Describe Where are the longest continuous moun-tain ranges on Earth?
Maps generated with sonar data also revealed that underwater mountain chains had counterparts called deep-sea trenches, which are also shown on the map in Figure 17.8. Recall from Chapter 16 that a deep-sea trench is a narrow, elongated depression in the sea-floor. Trenches can be thousands of kilometers long and many kilo-meters deep. The deepest trench, called the Marianas Trench, is in the Pacific Ocean and is more than 11 km deep. Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, stands at 9 km above sea level, and could fit inside the Marianas Trench with six Empire State buildings stacked on top.
These two topographic features of the ocean floor — ocean ridges and deep-sea trenches— puzzled geologists for more than a decade after their discovery. What could have formed an under-water mountain range that extended around Earth? What is the source of the volcanism associated with these mountains? What forces could depress Earth’s crust enough to create trenches nearly 6 times as deep as the Grand Canyon? You will find out the answers to these questions later in this chapter.
■ Figure 17.8 Sonar data revealed ocean ridges and deep-sea trenches. Earthquakes and volcanism are com-mon along ridges and trenches.
VOCABULARYSCIENCE USAGE V. COMMON USAGE
DepressScience usage: to cause to sink to a lower position
Ocean Rocks and SedimentsIn addition to making maps, scientists collected samples of deep-sea sediments and the underlying oceanic crust. Analysis of the rocks and sediments led to two important discoveries. First, the ages of the rocks that make up the seafloor varies across the ocean floor, and these variations are predictable. Rock samples taken from areas near ocean ridges were found to be younger than samples taken from areas near deep-sea trenches. The samples showed that the age of oceanic crust consistently increases with distance from a ridge, as shown in Figure 17.9. This trend was symmetric across the ocean ridges. Scientists also discovered from the rock samples that even the oldest parts of the seafloor are geologically young — about 180 mil-lion years old. Why are ocean-floor rocks so young compared to continental rocks, some of which are at least 3.8 billion years old? Geologists knew that oceans had existed for more than 180 million years so they wondered why there was no trace of older oceanic crust.
The second discovery involved the sediments on the ocean floor. Measurements showed that ocean-floor sediments are typically a few hundred meters thick. Large areas of continents, on the other hand, are blanketed with sedimentary rocks that are as much as 20 km thick. Scientists knew that erosion and deposition occur in Earth’s oceans but did not understand why seafloor sediments were not as thick as their continental counterparts. Scientists hypothe-sized that the relatively thin layer of ocean sediments was related to the age of the ocean crust. Observations of ocean-floor sediments revealed that the thickness of the sediments increases with distance from an ocean ridge, as shown in Figure 17.9. The pattern of thickness across the ocean floor was symmetrical across the ocean ridges.
Careers In Earth Science
Marine geologist Earth scientists who study the ocean floor to understand geologic processes such as plate tectonics are marine geologists. To learn more about Earth science careers, visit glencoe.com.
■ Figure 17.9 The ages of ocean crust and the thicknesses of ocean-floor sediments increase with distance from the ridge.
Magnetism Earth has a magnetic field generated by the flow of molten iron in the outer core. This field is what causes a compass needle to point to the North. A magnetic reversal happens when the flow in the outer core changes, and Earth’s magnetic field changes direction. This would cause compasses to point to the South. Magnetic rever-sals have occurred many times in Earth’s history. As shown in Figure 17.10, a magnetic field that has the same orientation as Earth’s present field is said to have normal polarity. A magnetic field that is opposite to the present field has reversed polarity.
Magnetic polarity time scale Paleomagnetism is the study of the history of Earth’s magnetic field. When lava solidifies, iron-bearing minerals such as magnetite crystallize. As they crys-tallize, these minerals behave like tiny compasses and align with Earth’s magnetic field. Data gathered from paleomagnetic studies of continental lava flows allowed scientists to construct a magnetic polarity time scale, as shown in Figure 17.11.
Magnetic symmetry Scientists knew that oceanic crust is mostly basaltic rock, which contains large amounts of iron-bearing minerals of volcanic origin. They hypothesized that the rocks on the ocean floor would show a record of magnetic reversals. When scien-tists towed magnetometers behind ships to measure the magnetic orientation of the rocks of the ocean floor, a surprising pattern emerged. The regions with normal and reverse polarity formed a series of stripes across the floor parallel to the ocean ridges. The sci-entists were doubly surprised to discover that the ages and widths of the stripes matched from one side of the ridges to the other. Compare the magnetic pattern on opposite sides of the ocean ridge shown in Figure 17.12.
■ Figure 17.11 Periods of normal polarity alternate with periods of reversed polarity. Long-term changes in Earth’s magnetic field, called epochs, are named as shown here. Short-term changes are called events.
■ Figure 17.10 Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the flow of molten iron in the liquid outer core. The polarity of the field changes over time from nor-mal to reversed.
■ Figure 17.12 Reversals in the polarity of Earth’s magnetic field are recorded in the rocks that make up the ocean floor. Identify the polarity of the most recently produced basalt at the ocean ridge.
By matching the patterns on the seafloor with the known pat-tern of reversals on land, scientists were able to determine the age of the ocean floor from magnetic recording. This method enabled scientists to quickly create isochron (I suh krahn) maps of the ocean floor. An isochron is an imaginary line on a map that shows points that have the same age—that is, they formed at the same time. In the isochron map shown in Figure 17.13, note that rela-tively young ocean-floor crust is near ocean ridges, while older ocean crust is found along deep-sea trenches.
■ Figure 17.13 Each colored band on this isochron map of the ocean floor represents the age of that strip of the crust. Observe What pattern do you observe?
Brun
hes
Brun
hes
Age of crust (millions of years)0.7 0 0.72.5 2.53.3 3.35.0 5.0
To explore more about seafloor spreading, visit glencoe.com.
Visualizing Seafloor Spreading
Figure 17.14 Data from topographic, sedimentary, and paleomagnetic research led scientists to propose seafloor spreading. Seafloor spreading is the process by which new oceanic crust forms at ocean ridges, and slowly moves away from the spreading center until it is subducted and recycled at deep-sea trenches.
Magma intrudes into the ocean floor along a ridge and fills the gap that is created. When the molten material solidifies, it becomes new oceanic crust.
The continuous spreading and intrusion of magma result in the addition of new oceanic crust. Two halves of the oceanic crust spread apart slowly, and move apart like a conveyor belt.
The far edges of the oceanic crust sink beneath continental crust. As it descends, water in the minerals causes the oceanic crust to melt, forming magma. The magma rises and forms part of the continental crust.
Seafloor SpreadingUsing all the topographic, sedimentary, and paleomagnetic data from the seafloor, seafloor spreading was proposed. Seafloor spreading is the theory that explains how new ocean crust is formed at ocean ridges and destroyed at deep-sea trenches. Figure 17.14 illustrates how seafloor spreading occurs.
During seafloor spreading, magma, which is hotter and less dense than surrounding mantle material, is forced toward the sur-face of the crust along an ocean ridge. As the two sides of the ridge spread apart, the rising magma fills the gap that is created. When the magma solidifies, a small amount of new ocean floor is added to Earth’s surface. As spreading along a ridge continues, more magma is forced upward and solidifies. This cycle of spreading and the intrusion of magma continues the formation of ocean floor, which slowly moves away from the ridge. Of course, seafloor spreading mostly happens under the sea, but in Iceland, a portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises above sea level. Figure 17.15 shows lava erupting along the ridge.
Recall that while Wegener collected many data to support the idea that the continents are drifting across Earth’s surface, he could not explain what caused the landmasses to move or how they moved. Seafloor spreading was the missing link that Wegener needed to complete his model of continental drift. Continents are not pushing through ocean crust, as Wegener proposed. In fact, continents are more like passengers that ride along while ocean crust slowly moves away from ocean ridges. Seafloor spreading led to a new understanding of how Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle move. This will be explored in the next sections.
■ Figure 17.15 The entire island of Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic ocean spreading center. Because the seafloor is spreading, Iceland is growing larger. In 1783, more than 12 km3 of lava erupt-ed — enough to pave the entire U.S. inter-state freeway system to a depth of 10 m.
Section 1177..22 AssessmentSection Summary◗ ◗ Studies of the seafloor provided evi-
dence that the ocean floor is not flat and unchanging.
◗ ◗ Oceanic crust is geologically young.
◗ ◗ New oceanic crust forms as magma rises at ridges and solidifies.
◗ ◗ As new oceanic crust forms, the older crust moves away from the ridges.
Understand Main Ideas1. MAIN Idea Describe why seafloor spreading is like a moving conveyor belt.
2. Explain how ocean-floor rocks and sediments provided evidence of seafloor spreading.
3. Differentiate between the terms reversed polarity and normal polarity.
4. Describe the topography of the seafloor.
Think Critically5. Explain how an isochron map of the ocean floor supports the theory of seafloor
spreading.
6. Analyze Why are magnetic bands in the eastern Pacific Ocean so far apart compared to the magnetic bands along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
Earth ScienceMATH in7. Analyze Figure 17.11. What percentage of the last 5 million years has been spent
◗ Describe how Earth’s tectonic plates result in many geologic features.
◗ Compare and contrast the three types of plate boundaries and the features associated with each .
◗ Generalize the processes associ-ated with subduction zones.
Review Vocabularymid-ocean ridge: a major feature along the ocean floor consisting of an elevated region with a central valley
New Vocabularytectonic platedivergent boundaryrift valleyconvergent boundarysubductiontransform boundary
Plate Boundaries
MAIN Idea Volcanoes, mountains, and deep-sea trenches form at the boundaries between the plates.
Real-World Reading Link Imagine a pot of soup that has been allowed to cool in a refrigerator. Fats in the soup have solidified into a hard surface, but if you tilt the pot back and forth, you will see the rigid surface bending and crack-ing. This is similar to the relationship between different layers of Earth.
Theory of Plate TectonicsThe evidence for seafloor spreading suggested that continental and oceanic crust move as enormous slabs, which geologists describe as tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are huge pieces of crust and rigid upper mantle that fit together at their edges to cover Earth’s surface. As illustrated in Figure 17.16, there are about 12 major plates and several smaller ones. These plates move very slowly—only a few cen-timeters each year—which is similar to the rate at which fingernails grow. Plate tectonics is the theory that describes how tectonic plates move and shape Earth’s surface. They move in different directions and at differ ent rates relative to one another and they interact with one another at their boundaries. Each type of boundary has certain geologic characteristics and processes associated with it. A divergent boundary occurs where tectonic plates move away from each other. A convergent boundary occurs where tectonic plates move toward each other. A transform boundary occurs where tectonic plates move horizontally past each other.
NazcaPlate
NorthAmerican
Plate
NorthAmerican
PlateEurasian Plate
ArabianPlate
African Plate
Antarctic Plate
SouthAmerican
Plate
Scotia Plate
PacificPlate
Pacific Plate
PhilippinePlateCocos
Plate
CaribbeanPlate
Juande Fuca
Plate
Indo-AustralianPlate
■ Figure 17.16 Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle are broken into enormous slabs called tectonic plates that interact at their boundaries.
Divergent boundaries Regions where two tectonic plates are moving apart are called divergent boundaries. Most divergent boundaries are found along the seafloor, where they form mid-ocean ridges, as shown in Figure 17.17. The actual plate boundary is located in a fault-bounded valley called a rift, which forms along a ridge. It is in this central rift that the process of seafloor spreading begins. The formation of new ocean crust at most divergent boundaries accounts for the high heat flow, volcanism, and earthquakes associated with these boundaries.
Reading Check Identify the cause of volcanism and earthquakes associated with mid-ocean ridges.
Throughout millions of years, the process of sea-floor spreading along a divergent boundary can cause an ocean basin to grow wider. Although most diver-gent boundaries form ridges on the ocean floor, some divergent boundaries form on continents. When conti-nental crust begins to separate, the stretched crust forms a long, narrow depression called a rift valley. Figure 17.17 shows the rift valley that is currently forming in East Africa. The rifting might eventually lead to the formation of a new ocean basin.
Riftvalley
■ Figure 17.17 Divergent boundaries are places where plates separate. An ocean ridge is a divergent boundary on the ocean floor. In East Africa, a divergent boundary has also created a rift valley.
Divergent boundary
Model Ocean-Basin FormationHow did a divergent boundary form the South Atlantic Ocean? Around 150 mya, a divergent boundary split an ancient continent. Over time, new crust was added along the boundary, widening the rift between Africa and South America.
Procedure1. Read and complete the lab safety form.2. Use a world map to create paper templates of South America and Africa.3. Place the two continental templates in the center of a large piece of paper, and fit them together
along their Atlantic coastlines.4. Carefully trace around the templates with a pencil. Remove the templates and label the diagram
150 mya.5. Use an average spreading rate of 4 cm/y and a map scale of 1 cm = 500 km to create six maps that
show the development of the Atlantic Ocean at 30-million-year intervals, beginning 150 mya.
Analyze and Conclude1. Compare your last map with a world map. Is the actual width of the South Atlantic Ocean the
same on both maps?2. Consider why there might be differences between the width in your model and the actual width
■ Figure 17.18 Oceanic plates are mostly basalt. Continental plates are mostly granite with a thin cover of sedimentary rock, both of which are less dense than basalt.
482 Chapter 17 • Plate Tectonics
Convergent boundaries At convergent boundaries, two tectonic plates are moving toward each other. When two plates collide, the denser plate eventually descends below the other, less-dense plate in a process called subduction. There are three types of convergent boundaries, classified according to the type of crust involved. Recall from Chapter 1 that oceanic crust is made mostly of minerals that are high in iron and magnesium, which form dense, dark-colored basaltic rocks, such as the basalt shown in Figure 17.18. Continental crust is com-posed mostly of minerals such as feldspar and quartz, which form less-dense, lighter-colored gra-nitic rocks. The differences in density of the crustal material affects how they converge. The three types of tectonic boundaries and their associated land-forms are shown in Table 17.1.
Oceanic-oceanic In the oceanic-oceanic conver-gent boundary shown in Table 17.1, a subduction zone is formed when one oceanic plate, which is denser as a result of cooling, descends below another oceanic plate. The process of subduction creates a deep-sea trench. The subducted plate descends into the mantle, thereby recycling oceanic crust formed at the ridge. Water carried into Earth by the subducting plate changes the melting temperature of the plate, causing it to melt. The molten material, called magma, is less dense so it rises back to the surface, where it often erupts and forms an arc of volcanic islands that parallel the trench. Some examples of trenches and island arcs are the Marianas Trench and Marianas Islands in the West Pacific Ocean and the Aleutian Trench and Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. A volcanic peak in the Aleutian Island arc is shown in Table 17.1.
Oceanic-continental Subduction zones are also found where an oceanic plate converges with a conti-nental plate, as shown in Table 17.1. Note that it is the denser oceanic plate that is subducted. Oceanic-continental convergence also produces a trench and volcanic arc. However, instead of forming an arc of volcanic islands, oceanic-continental convergence results in a chain of volcanoes along the edge of the continental plate. The result of this type of subduc-tion is a mountain range with many volcanoes. The Peru-Chile Trench and the Andes mountain range, which are located along the western coast of South America, formed in this way.
Basalt
VOCABULARYACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Parallel (PAIR uh lel)extending in the same direction, everywhere equidistant, and not meetingThe commuter train runs parallel to the freeway for many kilometers.
Granite
(t)Joyce Photographics/Photo Researchers, (b)Andrew J. Martinez/Photo Researchers
Continental-continental The third type of convergent boundary forms when two continental plates collide. Continental-continental boundaries form long after an oceanic plate has converged with a con-tinental plate. Recall that continents are often carried along attached to oceanic crust. Over time, an oceanic plate can be completely sub-ducted, dragging an attached continent behind it toward the subduc-tion zone. As a result of its denser composition, oceanic crust descends beneath the continental crust at the subduction zone. The continental crust that it pulls behind it cannot descend because continental rocks are less dense, and will not sink into the mantle. As a result, the edges of both continents collide, and become crumpled, folded, and uplifted. This forms a vast mountain range, such as the Himalayas, as shown in Table 17.1.
Transform boundaries A region where two plates slide horizontally past each other is a transform boundary, as shown in Figure 17.19. Transform boundaries are characterized by long faults, sometimes hundreds of kilometers in length, and by shallow earthquakes. Transform boundaries were named for the way Earth’s crust changes, or transforms, its relative direction and velocity from one side of the boundary to the other. Recall that new crust is formed at divergent boundaries and destroyed at convergent boundaries. Crust is only deformed or fractured somewhat along transform boundaries.
How does plate motion change along a trans-form boundary? The figure at the right shows the Gibbs Fracture Zone, which is a segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge located south of Iceland and west of the British Isles. Copy this figure.
Analysis1. Draw arrows on your copy to indicate the
direction of seafloor movement at locations A, B, C, D, E, and F.
2. Compare the direction of motion for the following pairs of locations: A and D, B and E, and C and F.
Think Critically3. Differentiate Which three locations are on
the North American Plate?4. Indicate the portion of the fracture zone
that is the boundary between North America and Europe.
5. Assess Which two locations represent the oldest crust?
Most transform boundaries offset sections of ocean ridges, as you observed in the Problem-Solving Lab. Sometimes transform bound-aries occur on continents. The San Andreas Fault is probably the best-known example. Recall from the Launch Lab at the beginning of this chapter that the San Andreas Fault system is part of a trans-form boundary that separates southwestern California from the rest of the state. Movements along this transform boundary create situa-tions like the one shown in Figure 17.19 and are responsible for most of the earthquakes that strike California every year.
■ Figure 17.19 Plates move horizontally past each other along a trans-form plate boundary. The bend in these train tracks resulted from the trans-form boundary running through parts of Southern California.
Section 1177..33 AssessmentSection Summary◗◗ Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle
are broken into large slabs of rock called tectonic plates.
◗◗ Plates move in different directions and at different rates over Earth’s surface.
◗◗ At divergent plate boundaries, plates move apart. At convergent boundar-ies, plates come together. At trans-form boundaries, plates slide horizontally past each other.
◗◗ Each type of boundary is character-ized by certain geologic features.
Understand Main Ideas1. MAIN Idea Describe how plate tectonics results in the development of Earth’s
major geologic features.
2. Summarize the processes of convergence that formed the Himalayan mountains.
3. List the geologic features associated with each type of convergent boundary.
4. Identify the type of location where transform boundaries most commonly occur.
Think Critically5. Choose three plate boundaries in Figure 17.16, and predict what will happen
over time at each boundary.
6. Describe how two portions of newly formed crust move between parts of a ridge that are offset by a transform boundary.
Earth Science
7. Write a news report on the tectonic activity that is occurring at the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
◗ Explain the process of convection.◗ Summarize how convection in the
mantle is related to the movements of tectonic plates.
◗ Compare and contrast the pro-cesses of ridge push and slab pull.
Review Vocabularyconvection: the circulatory motion that occurs in a fluid at a nonuniform temperature owing to the variation of its density and the action of gravity
New Vocabularyridge pushslab pull
Causes of Plate Motions
MAIN Idea Convection currents in the mantle cause plates to move.
Real-World Reading Link You probably know a lava lamp does not contain real lava, but the materials inside a lava lamp behave much like the molten rock within Earth.
ConvectionOne of the main questions about the theory of plate tectonics has remained unanswered since Alfred Wegener first proposed conti-nental drift. What force or forces cause tectonic plates to move? Many scientists now think that large-scale motion in the man-tle — Earth’s interior between the crust and the core — is the mech-anism that drives the movement of tectonic plates.
Convection currents Recall from Chapter 11 that convection is the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated material from one place to another. As in a lava lamp, the cooling of matter causes it to contract slightly and increase in density. The cooled matter then sinks as a result of gravity. Warmed matter is then dis-placed and forced to rise. This up-and-down flow produces a pat-tern of motion called a convection current. Convection currents aid in the transfer of thermal energy from warmer regions of mat-ter to cooler regions. A convection current can be observed in the series of photographs shown in Figure 17.20. Earth’s mantle is composed of partially molten material that is heated unevenly by radioactive decay from both the mantle itself and the core beneath it. Radioactive decay heats up the molten material in the mantle and causes enormous convection currents to move material throughout the mantle.
■ Figure 17.20 Water cooled by the ice cube sinks to the bottom where it is warmed by the burner and rises. The process continues as the ice cube cools the water again. Infer what will happen to the ice cube due to convection currents.
■ Figure 17.21 Convection currents develop in the mantle, moving the crust and outermost part of the mantle, and transferring thermal energy from the Earth’s interior to its exterior.
Section 4 • Causes of Plate Motions 487
Convection in the mantle Convection currents in the mantle, illustrated in Figure 17.21, are thought to be the driving mechanism of plate movements. Recall that even though the mantle is a solid, much of it moves like a soft, pliable plastic. The part of the mantle that is too cold and stiff to flow lies beneath the crust and is attached to it, moving as a part of tectonic plates. In the convection currents of the mantle, cooler mantle material is denser than hot mantle material. Mantle that has cooled at the base of tectonic plates slowly sinks downward toward the center of Earth. Heated mantle material near the core is then displaced, and like the wax warmed in a lava lamp, it rises. Convection currents in the mantle are sustained by this rise and fall of material which results in a transfer of energy between Earth’s hot interior and its cooler exterior. Although convection currents can be thousands of kilometers across, they flow at rates of only a few centimeters per year. Scientists think that these convection currents are set in motion by subducting slabs.
Reading Check Discuss Which causes a convection current to flow: the rising of hot material, or the sinking of cold material?
Plate movement How are convergent and divergent move-ments of tectonic plates related to mantle convection? The rising material in the convection current spreads out as it reaches the upper mantle and causes both upward and sideways forces. These forces lift and split the lithosphere at divergent plate boundaries. As the plates separate, material rising from the mantle supplies the magma that hardens to form new ocean crust. The downward part of a convection current occurs where a sinking force pulls tectonic plates downward at convergent boundaries.
Push and PullScientists hypothesize that there are several processes that determine how mantle convection affects the movement of tectonic plates. Study Figure 17.22. As oceanic crust cools and moves away from a divergent boundary, it becomes denser and sinks compared to the newer, less-dense oceanic crust. As the older portion of the seafloor sinks, the weight of the uplifted ridge is thought to push the oceanic plate toward the trench formed at the subduction zone in a process called ridge push.
A second and possibly more significant process that determines the movement of tectonic plates is called slab pull. In slab pull, the weight of a subducting plate pulls the trailing slab into the subduc-tion zone much like a tablecloth slipping off the table can pull articles off with it. It is likely that combination of mechanisms such as these are involved in plate motions at subduction zones.
Section 1177..44 AssessmentSection Summary◗◗ Convection is the transfer of energy
via the movement of heated matter.
◗◗ Convection currents in the mantle result in an energy transfer between Earth’s hot interior and cooler exterior.
◗◗ Plate movement results from the pro-cesses called ridge push and slab pull.
Understand Main Ideas1. MAIN Idea Draw a diagram comparing convection in a pot of water with con-
vection in Earth’s mantle. Relate the process of convection to plate movement.
2. Restate the relationships among mantle convection, ocean ridges, and subduction zones.
3. Make a model that illustrates the tectonic processes of ridge push and slab pull.
Think Critically4. Evaluate this statement: Convection currents only move oceanic crust.
5. Summarize how convection is responsible for the arrangement of continents on Earth’s surface.
Earth Science
6. Write dictionary definitions for ridge push and slab pull without using those terms.
Interactive Figure To see an animation of ridge push and slab pull, visit glencoe.com.
■ Figure 17.22 Ridge push and slab pull are two of the processes that move tec-tonic plates over the surface of Earth.
The American Samoan Islands are part of an island chain in the South Pacific Ocean. Recent exploration at the edge of the island chain has revealed how tectonic processes can result in new and completely unique environments.
Discovery of a volcano In 1999, Vailulu’u (vah EEL ool oo oo), an active volcanic sea-mount, was discovered when oceanographers first mapped the area using remote sonar methods. The map revealed the outline of a massive volcano hollowed by a caldera. The ocean is about 5 km deep, and the ringlike ridges of the caldera come within 600 m from the ocean surface. The 1999 map showed that the caldera floor was generally flat—about 1 km below sea level. Scientists knew that the volcano was produced from a hot spot, a region of heated magma in the mantle below.
Vailulu’u revisited In 2005, a team of scientists returned to study Vailulu’u using deep-sea sub-mersibles. Before diving, they remapped the sea-mount, and discovered that the floor of the caldera had changed dramatically. Sometime in the past six years, volcanic activity had developed a lava cone 300 m high, roughly the height of the Empire State Building. The cone was soon named Nafanua (nah fah NOO ah), after the Samoan goddess of war. The scientists made sev-eral trips in the submersible and discovered how tectonic activity had caused completely new eco-systems to develop.
Eel City At the top of Nafanua, they encoun-tered 30-cm-long eels so numerous that they nicknamed the area Eel City. The top of the cone is too deep for sunlight to permit the growth of plants, so the scientists were puz-zled about the eels’ food source. Investigations revealed that the seamount had changed the local currents, depositing waves of shrimp above Nafanua.
Moat of death Hydrothermal vents on the floor of the caldera emitted toxic chemicals, including clouds of a murky oil-like liquid con-taining carbon dioxide. Some of the vents released water that was a scalding 85˚C. The same currents that brought shrimp to the eels were carrying fish down into the toxic environ-ment of the caldera, which was nicknamed the moat of death. Yet, some life-forms were thriv-ing. Much of the caldera floor was covered by a 1-m-thick mat of microbes, and bright red bris-tleworms abounded around the fish carcasses.
Birth of an island Nafanua is expected to con-tinue growing. At its present rate, it will reach the ocean surface within a few decades and become the newest island in the Samoan chain. Earth scientists will continue to monitor the growth of Nafanua, and learn how tectonic events can help shape entire ecosystems.
Vailulu’u Seamount
Earth Science
Investigate the biological activity and unique habitats discovered on Vailulu’u seamount. Write a newspaper article that describes the organisms and conditions on the seamount. To learn more about the Vailulu’u seamount, visit glencoe.com.
When you compare the two images, you can see the appearance of the Nafanua cone in the center of the caldera.
Background: Isochron maps of the ocean floor were first developed using data from oceanic rocks and sediment. Isochrons are imaginary lines on a map that show the parts of Earth’s surface that are the same age. When geologists first analyzed iso-chron maps of the ocean floor, they discovered that Earth’s crust is formed along ocean ridges and recy-cled at the edge of oceanic crust. This discovery led to the theory known as plate tectonics. Geologists continue using maps to study the motion of tectonic plates.
Question: Can you determine the age of the crust and type of plate boundaries?
Procedure1. Read and complete the lab safety form.2. Figure 1 shows Plate B surrounded by Plate A. Trace
the plates onto a separate sheet of paper and cut them out.
3. The arrow shows the movement of Plate B relative to Plate A. Move Plate A as shown in each part of Figure 1.
4. Use the symbols shown in the legend to indicate the type of plate boundary and the relative motion across the boundary for each part of Figure 1.
5. Figure 2 shows two plates, A and B, separated by two ocean ridges and a transform boundary. Plates A and B are moving apart at 2 cm/y. Convert the speed 2 cm/y to km/y.
6. Trace Figure 2 onto a separate sheet of paper. Assume the geometry of the boundaries in Figure 2 has not changed over time. Draw isochrons on 10, 20, 30, and 40 million years.
7. Color the crust based on its age: 0–10 million years old red, 10–20 million years old yellow, 20–30 million years old green, and 30–40 million years old blue.
Analyze and Conclude1. Determine the plate shape and motion that causes
all the boundaries of the plate to be transform boundaries.
2. Apply From your map of isochrons, what is the easiest way to identify the location of transform boundaries?
3. Interpret Look at Figure 3. From the pattern of isochrons on the ocean floor, identify the divergent plate boundaries along the Atlantic Ocean and along the Pacific Ocean.
4. Differentiate Which ocean is marked by wider iso-chrons? Based on the amount of oceanic crust pro-duced in a given period of time, along which plate boundary is divergence happening more rapidly?
5. Infer The spreading center in the Pacific Ocean is not centered in the same manner as the Atlantic Ocean. Explain how this indicates the presence of convergent plate boundaries.
Earth Science Write a Letter Alfred Wegener never convinced the sci-entific community of continental drift. He died shortly before the ocean floors were mapped. Imagine you could send a message to the past. Explain to Wegener what ocean floor mapping revealed, and how plate tectonics was discovered.
MAIN Idea Oceanic crust forms at ocean ridges and becomes part of the seafloor.
• Studies of the seafloor provided evidence that the ocean floor is not flat and unchanging.
• Oceanic crust is geologically young.• New oceanic crust forms as magma rises at ridges and solidifies.• As new oceanic crust forms, the older crust moves away from the ridges.
MAIN Idea Volcanoes, mountains, and deep-sea trenches form at the bound-aries between the plates.
• Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle are broken into large slabs of rock called tectonic plates.
• Plates move in different directions and at different rates over Earth’s surface.
• At divergent plate boundaries, plates move apart. At convergent bound-aries, plates come together. At transform boundaries, plates slide hori-zontally past each other.
• Each type of boundary is characterized by certain geologic features.
Section 17.4Section 17.4 Causes of Plate Motions
• ridge push (p. 488)• slab pull (p. 488)
MAIN Idea Convection currents in the mantle cause plate motions.• Convection is the transfer of energy via the movement of heated matter.• Convection currents in the mantle result in an energy transfer between
Earth’s hot interior and cooler exterior.• Plate movement results from the processes called ridge push and slab
pull.
Vocabulary PuzzleMaker glencoe.com
BIG Idea Most geologic activity occurs at the boundaries between plates.
Download quizzes, key terms, and flash cards from glencoe.com.
Chapter 17 • Assessment 493Chapter Test glencoe.com
Vocabulary Review
Replace each italicized word with the correct vocabu-lary term from the Study Guide.
1. Plate tectonics is the name given to the single con-tinent that existed 200 mya.
2. Continental fracture is the idea that continents now separated by an ocean were once attached.
3. The process in which tectonic plates sink back into the mantle is called divergence.
4. A boundary where two plates come together is a transform boundary.
5. A divergent boundary within a continent forms a trench.
Match each of the following phrases with a vocabulary term from the Study Guide.
6. a line on a map that denotes crust that formed at the same time
7. the process that creates new ocean crust by the upwelling of magma at ocean ridges
8. the study of the history of Earth’s magnetic field
9. a device that measures magnetism
Define the following vocabulary terms in complete sentences.
10. tectonic plate
11. ridge push
12. slab pull
Use what you know about the vocabulary terms on the Study Guide to describe what the terms in each pair have in common.
13. divergent boundary, transform boundary
14. subduction, convergent boundary
15. continental drift, plate tectonics
16. seafloor spreading, magnetic reversal
Understand Key Concepts
17. Which suggested to early cartographers that the continents were once joined?A. ocean depthB. position of south poleC. shape of continentsD. size of Atlantic Ocean
18. What was Wegener’s hypothesis called?A. seafloor spreadingB. plate tectonicsC. continental driftD. slab pull
Use the figure below to answer Questions 19 and 20.
19. What type of boundary is shown?A. an ocean ridgeB. a continental-continental boundaryC. a transform boundaryD. an oceanic-continental boundary
20. Which feature forms along this type of boundary?A. subduction zonesB. oceanic trenchesC. island arcsD. folded mountains
21. The weight of a subducting plate helps pull it into a subduction zone in which process?A. slab pull C. slab pushB. ridge push D. ridge pull
22. Which is a convergent boundary that does not have a subduction zone?A. oceanic-oceanicB. oceanic- continentalC. continental-continentalD. transform
494 Chapter 17 • Assessment Chapter Test glencoe.com
Use the figure below to answer Questions 23 and 24.
23. Approximately how long did the Gauss epoch last?A. 5 million yearsB. 3 million yearsC. 1 million yearsD. 100,000 years
24. Which epoch saw the most fluctuations between normal and reverse polarity?A. GaussB. MatuyamaC. GilbertD. Brunhes
25. Generally, what is the age of oceanic crust?A. the same age as the continental crustB. younger than the continental crustC. older than the continental crustD. science has never determined its age
26. Which observation was not instrumental in formu-lating the hypothesis of seafloor spreading?A. magnetization of the oceanic crustB. depth of the oceanC. thickness of seafloor sedimentsD. identifying the location of glacial deposits
27. How fast do plates move relative to each other?A. millimeters per dayB. centimeters per yearC. meters per yearD. centimeters per day
28. What process creates deep-sea trenches?A. subductionB. magnetismC. earthquakesD. transform boundaries
Use the photo below to answer Questions 29 and 30.
29. As shown, which direction does the icy water move?A. upB. downC. remains in the same placeD. sideways
30. Which is modeled by the water movement?A. subductionB. continental drift C. magnetic reversalD. mantle convection
31. Which is not a force causing plates to move?A. ridge pushB. slab pullC. volcanismD. convection
Constructed Response
32. Summarize What observations led to the pro-posal of continental drift?
33. Careers in Earth Science Explain why oceanographers have found that the thickness of seafloor sediments increases with increasing dis-tance from the ocean ridge.
34. Differentiate between the magnetic field gener-ated in Earth’s core and the magnetization pre-served in the oceanic crust.
35. Analyze why there are differences between continental-continental convergent boundaries and oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries.
36. Summarize Why was the idea of moving conti-nents more widely accepted after seafloor spread-ing was proposed?
Chapter 17 • Assessment 495Chapter Test glencoe.com
Think Critically .
Use the map below to answer Question 37.
37. Infer If 200 million-year-old oil deposits were discovered in Namibia, where might geologists also expect to find oil deposits of a similar age? Explain.
38. Compare and contrast ridge push and slab pull.
39. Summarize How have satellite monitoring sys-tems such as GPS made it much easier and cheaper to study the motion of tectonic plates?
40. Consider Do plates always stay the same shape and size? Explain.
41. Critique this statement: There are two kinds of tectonic plates—continental plates and oceanic plates.
Concept Mapping
42. Create a concept map using the following terms: convergent, rift valley, divergent, transform, island arc, shallow earthquakes, mountain range, and plate boundary. Refer to the Skillbuilder Handbook for more information.
Challenge Question
43. Predict Assuming that Earth’s tectonic plates will continue moving in the directions shown in Figure 17.2, sketch a globe showing the relative positions of the continents in 60 million years.
Additional Assessment
44. Earth Science Imagine you are on a sailboat anchored off the coast of Chile. You hear loud rumbling. Then GPS data indicates a part of the coast shifted up by about 1.5 m. Write a journal entry to describe the geologic phenom-ena you are seeing and experiencing.
Document–Based QuestionsData obtained from: Seismicity of the Central United States: 1990–2000. USGS National Earthquake Information Center.
Most earthquakes occur at plate boundaries as plates slide by each other. This map shows the location and depth of earthquakes between 1990 and 2000 in Alaska.
45. Identify which plate is subducting and provide evidence from the figure to support your answer.
46. Compare this map to Figure 17.15, which shows the location of plate boundaries. Why do parts of the plate boundaries have few or no earthquakes?
Cumulative Review
47. How do Landsat satellites collect and analyze data to map Earth’s surface? (Chapter 2)
48. How can scientists use glaciers to study Earth’s past? (Chapter 8)
49. Describe the major parameters used in the Köppen Classification System. (Chapter 14)
Africa
Australia
Antarctica
SouthAmerica
Namibia
NorthAmerica
Equator
EuropeAsia
India
PacificOcean
AtlanticOcean
IndianOcean
PacificOcean
USGS Andrew J. Martinez/Photo Researchers Kevin Schafer/CORBIS
1. How does the building of jetties negatively effect coastlines? A. They fill in anchorage used to harbor boats with
sediment.B. They hinder breakwater from moving sediments
away from the area.C. They reflect energy back toward beaches,
increasing erosion.D. They deprive beaches down the coast from the
jetty of sand.
Use the diagram below to answer Questions 2 and 3.
2. What type of plate boundary is shown? A. ocean ridgeB. continental-continental boundaryC. transform boundaryD. oceanic-continental boundary
3. Which feature forms along this type of boundary? A. subduction zonesB. oceanic trenchesC. island arcsD. folded mountains
4. What is the best way to get out of a rip current? A. swim parallel to the shoreB. swim with the rip currentC. swim against the rip currentD. swim under the rip current
5. The smooth parts of the ocean floor located 5 to 6 km below sea level are called the A. mid-ocean ridgesB. deep-sea trenchesC. abyssal plainsD. continental rises
Use the table below to answer Questions 6–8.
6. The table shows heart rates before and after a 10-min session. Which statement best summarizes the data? A. There is no relationship between heart rate and
exercise.B. Exercise increased the heart rate of the
participants.C. Heart rate increased as exercise became more
strenuous.D. Ten minutes of exercise was not enough to
increase heart rate.
7. According to the data, which subject appears to be in the best shape and why? A. Subject 1 because the subject had the lowest rest-
ing heart rateB. Subject 4 because the subject had the lowest
heart rate during a slow jogC. Subject 5 because the subject had the fastest rest-
ing heart rateD. This cannot be determined from the table
because not enough information is given about each of the subjects.
8. What would be the best graph to use in order to present the data found? A. bar graphB. line graphC. circle graphD. a model
Use the illustration below to answer Questions 9–11.
9. As the Moon moves to create a right angle along with the Sun and Earth, what occurs with the ocean’s tides?
10. Describe how tides are affected when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are aligned.
11. How do lunar tides differ from solar tides?
12. What negative impact might a major storm have on a barrier island?
13. How do atmosphere and large bodies of water affect climate in various regions?
14. How did a temperature decrease of only 5°C during the ice ages cause major changes?
Seafloor Maps
In 2005, the U.S. nuclear submarine San Francisco crashed into an uncharted underwater mountain in the South Pacific, killing one submariner and injur-ing dozens of others. The incident highlights a troubling nautical reality—we might know more about the geography of the Moon than that of the ocean floor. Estimates vary, but the amount of cor-rectly mapped seafloor in the public domain is likely around 2 or 3 percent.
Although survey ships equipped with sound-based systems can accurately map the seafloor by drop-ping a “beam” below the ship, this method can be used to map only narrow sections at a time. Mapping all the oceans this way might take a thou-sand years and cost billions of U.S. dollars. However, such maps could be critical for tsunami-preparation efforts. No matter how deep the ocean, a tsunami moves along the bottom, and its path is influenced by the features of the ocean floor. Thus, understanding the location of trenches, seamounts, and other features is essential to calculations of how a tsunami will move and where and in what force it will come ashore. Other studies that could benefit from mapping include marine animal habitat and ocean mixing rates, which are essential to absorp-tion of greenhouse gases. All are dependent on more detailed knowledge of the other 70 percent of Earth’s surface.Article obtained from: Handwerk, B. Seafloor still about 90 percent unknown, experts say. National Geographic News. February 17, 2003.
15. What can be inferred from this passage? A. It is important for ships and submarines to use
sonar so that they do not run into underwater mountains.
B. Mapping the seafloor is too expensive and not important enough to humans.
C. Very little is known about the seafloor, and by improving this knowledge, both humans and animals will benefit.
D. Many marine animals’ lives will be disrupted if scientists continue to map the ocean floor.
16. How would knowing what is on the seafloor help an oceanographer track a tsunami?
