Plate Tectonics

Question	Answer
Plate tectonics	The study of the processes that cause the movement of the earth's plates and the landforms that result.
What fuels the movement of the plates?	Thermal convection currents
Diverging	Seperating
Converging	Coming together
Sea-floor spreading suggests that....	the ocean floors widen as nwe rock is formed where plates have split apart
e.g. of sea floor spreading	Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Eurasian and North American plates
Proof of sea floor spreading	Older at the boundary, younger towards the continents Magnetisms Deposits of sediment folloeing glaciation Young/old volcanic islands
Sea-floor spreading was proposed by	Harry Hess 1960s
Continental drift suggests that	The continents are transported across th planet by convection currents
Supercontinent	Pangaea
Ocean surrounding Pangaea	Panthalassa
Two main continents after Pangaea	Gondwanaland, Laurasia
Proof of continental drift	Coninents fit together like a jigsaw Fossils e.g. South America and Africa Similar mountain trends and rocks
What particular fossil helped to prove continental drift?	Mesosaurus remains
Three types of plate boundaries	Destructive/convergent Conservative/passive Constructive/divergent
e.g. of divergent plate boundary	Eurasian and North American (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
e.g. of passive plate boundary	Pacific (6cm NW per year) and North American (1cm NW per year) San Andreas fault
e.g. of destructive plate boundary (oceanic oceanic)	Pacific subducting under Philippine plate (Mariana trench)
e.g. of destructive plate (oceanic continental)	The Andes Nazca and South American Plate The Rockies Pacific and North American plates
e.g. of destructive plate (continental continental)	Eurasian and Indo-Australian plate (Himilayas)
bubbles of magma rising from the mantle	plumes
Subduction	a heavier plate sinks underneath a lighter one
e.g. of rift where plates are seperating	East African Rift Valley

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	Created by eimearkelly3 over 11 years ago