Created by Finn Treadaway
almost 10 years ago
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Question | Answer |
Lithosphere | Uppermost layer of the earth; the crust and rock found on the surface |
Asthenosphere | Molten, upper part of the mantle which helps drive the tectonic plates |
Core | 5000 degree heat generated by radioactivity. Convection currents in mantle distribute heat. Solid inner and liquid outer core create magnetism |
Pangea | Original super-continent, all land masses together 250 million years ago |
Plate Tectonics | Movement of earths crust in sections (plates) by the mantle below. |
Mantle | Semi-solid with convection currents heated by the core beneath |
Plate boundary | The place where two plates touch (Constructive, Destructive etc) |
Constructive/Divergent Plate boundary | Where plates move apart allowing magma to rise to the surface creating new crust. Volcanoes and earthquakes occur here. e.g. Iceland |
Conservative/Transform Plate boundary | Where two plates slide past each other either in opposite direction or same direction but at different speeds. Has earthquakes but not volcanoes e.g. San Andreas fault in Cali |
Destructive/ Convergent plate boundary | Where an oceanic plate subducts beneath beneath a less dense continental plate. Fold mountains, ocean trenches, island arcs, both volcanoes and earthquakes e.g. Japan |
Collision Plate boundary | A type of destructive plate boundary where two continental plate boundaries collide and push up to form mountain ranges e.g the Himalayas |
Earthquake | The result of a build up of stress within the earths crust and a sudden release of energy that creates seismic waves. |
Focus | The location within the crust at which the earthquake occurs |
Epicentre | The point of worst effect on the earths surface directly above the focus |
Magnitude | The power and size of an earthquake or volcanic eruption |
Richter scale | Measures the strength of an earthquake, recorded using a seismometer. |
Mercalli Scale | Visual description of the damage an earthquake causes (1-12 scale) |
Fore / Aftershock | Earth tremors arriving before / after a major earthquake |
Base isolator | Shock absorbing foundations making buildings earthquake resistant. |
Hot spot | Volcano, normally in the middle of a plate above a mantle plume. E.g. Hawaii. |
Shield volcano | Gentle slopes, runny fast flowing lava, rarely dangerous. E.g. Hawaii. |
Basalt | Very runny lava from volcanoes on constructive margins & hot spots. |
Composite cone | Volcano with steep slopes, ash and lava flows, explosive. |
Pyroclastic flow | Glowing cloud of hot ash and gas sweeping down a volcano at 200km/h. |
Lahars | Rain triggered volcanic ash mudslides on steep slopes. Sets like concrete. |
VEI | Volcanic Explosivity Index – measure of an eruption’s energy. |
International aid | Countries offer expertise, resources & equipment to deal with disasters. |
Continental Crust | Relatively light but thick crust. It is never created or destroyed so is much older than oceanic crust |
Oceanic Crust | Dense but relatively thin crust, created at constructive margins and destroyed at destructive margins, so younger than continental crust. |
Convection Current | Currents generated by heat from the core – the mechanism for movement of the plates. |
Magnetosphere | Protects us from harmful radiation. Exists because of movement in the core. |
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