Stop the Continent, I Want to Get Off! Plate Tectonics 1

Stop the Continent, Stop the Continent, I Want to Get Off!I Want to Get Off!

Plate Tectonics 1

Alfred WegenerAlfred Wegener

GlossopterisGlossopteris

Continental DriftContinental Drift

• Pangea Laurasia Gondwanaland

Mountain RangesMountain Ranges

PaleomagnetismPaleomagnetism

• Magnetite - Fe3O4

MagnetismMagnetism

MOR = Mid-Oceanic MOR = Mid-Oceanic RidgeRidge

Iceland – The MOR Rises Iceland – The MOR Rises Above the SeaAbove the Sea

“Hot spots” are places in the mantle that are hotter than the surrounding material. They are something like a lava lamp, and it is speculated that they may function to release heat from the core. They are fixed in place for millions of years, so they form chains of volcanoes as the moving plates pass over them. Because they are fixed in place, sometimes they are on the edges of a plate, but other times they are far from the edges.

Hot SpotsHot Spots

Hot SpotsHot Spots

The Hawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands

The Yellowstone Hot The Yellowstone Hot SpotSpot

Convection in the mantleConvection in the mantledrives the plate motiondrives the plate motion

3 Types of Plate 3 Types of Plate BoundariesBoundaries

• A) Divergent = moving away from each other

• B) Convergent = moving toward each other

• C) Transform = sliding past each other

Next Week:

Living on the EdgeLiving on the EdgePlate Tectonics 2Plate Tectonics 2

We will discuss the three types of boundaries and the processes and

landforms that occur there.