Chapter 3 - 3) Plate tectonic explains many important features on the Earths sur

Question

Chapter 3 - 3) Plate tectonic explains many important features on the Earths surface.
A) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the Himalayan Mountains (the mountains in Asia north of India)?
B) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the Andes Mountains (the mountains along the west coast of South America)?
C) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the Hawaiian Islands and Emperor Seamounts (the underwater mountains and islands in the North Pacific)?
D) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the Aleutian Islands (the island chain that goes westward from Alaska)?
E) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (the underwater mountain range in the Atlantic Ocean)?
F) How does plate tectonics explain the formation of the San Andreas fault?
G) In a very general way what does plate tectonics say about the age of the Earth (old, young, very old, etc.)? Explain.
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Chapter 4 - 1) Continental margins are an important part of the ocean floor.
A) What is the difference between an active continental margin and a passive continental margin? (What makes one active and one passive?)
B) What are the parts of the continental margin from the land outward for an active continental margin?
C) What are the parts of the continental margin from the land outward for a passive continental margin?
D) Which part of the continental margin is the flattest?
E) Which part of the continental margin is the steepest?
F) Which of the 2 types of continental margin is safer? Why?

Chapter 4 - 2) The deep ocean covers a huge area of the Earth's surface.
A) What are oceanic ridges and what causes them?
B) What are hydrothermal vents and what causes them?
C) What are abyssal plains and how do they form?
D) What are volcanic seamounts and guyots and how do they form?
E) What are deep ocean trenches and what causes them?
F) Before the deep ocean floor was significantly sampled scientists expected there to be huge layers of sediment on the deep ocean floor. Is this what was found? If so, what do these sediments look like? If not, why not?

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Chapter 5 - 1) Seafloor sediments add to the ocean floor.
A) What is the type of seafloor sediment most commonly found on continental margins? Briefly describe it.
B) What is the type of seafloor sediment most commonly found on the deep ocean floor? Briefly describe it.
C) What is the type of seafloor sediment found mixed in with the two common types? Briefly describe it.
D) What is the rarest type of seafloor sediment? Briefly describe it.
E) What type of sediment produced Dover's famous white cliffs? What type of sediment are manganese nodules?

Chapter 5 - 2) Seafloor sediments add to the ocean floor.
A) What is the difference between neritic and pelagic sediments?
B) What type (of the 4 basic types) of sediments are siliceous and calcareous oozes?
C) What is the calcium carbonate compensation depth (CCD)?
D) What type of sediment is dominant above the CCD and below the CCD? Why?
E) What is the difference between how evaporate and precipitate hydrogenous sediments form?

Explanation / Answer

A: The Himalayan mountains are the result of the Indian tectonic plate pressing hard (among the fastest-moving plates in the world) northward into the Eurasian plate. The Himalayan mountains are folded mountains, as opposed to volcanoes; they are the result of the land being lifted up by the pressure between two plates.

B: Plate tectonics explain the formation of mountains by mountain chains may form where plates move together. As plates move apart, magmamay rise to the surface, forming a volcano.

The convergent boundary, the collision of the South American plate with the Nazca plate form the Andes mountain.

C: The Alaskan Islands are part of the circumpacific "ring of fire", a chain of volcanos along the subduction zones surrounding the Pacific ocean. They are not produced by hotspots, but by subduction of oceanic lithosphere.This change of direction should be expected of plate tectonics, so it's actually really exciting that we can observe such clear evidence from satellite imagery.

The Hawaiian Islands formed volcanically over several million years and are part of a larger island chain ranging from Midway Island in the central Pacific up to the Aleutian islands off the coast of Alaska. The oldest Hawaiian island is Kaua'i at 5.1 million years old. The youngest Hawaiian island with a land mass above water is the Big Island of Hawaii at less than 500,000 years old.

D:Aleutian Islands were formed from the subduction of the plate tectonics.The Aleutian Islands were invaded by the Japanese during the battle of Midway. Kiska was invaded on June 6, 1942, and Attu was invaded the next day. While initially intended as a diversion meant to draw out America's carriers so they could be ambushed by Japan's main carrier group north of Midway, they maintained their presence following the battle.There are many, many islands in the Aleutians. The most famous and well known would probably be Attu Island and Adak Island. Both of these islands played a major role in WWII and were actually the location of some of the bloodiest battles of WWII. The islands are the location of the only battles to take place on U.S. soil during WWII and for a brief time the Japanese invaded and maintained control until U.S. soldiers fought to take back control.

E:In the late 18th century Benjamin Franklin hypothesized that Africa [right] and South America [left] were once joined. We now know that he was right. Approximately 20 million years ago these two continents were one. Then a giant rift, or separation, developed between them. As the two land masses separated, the surrounding water rushed in to fill the gap between them, and the Atlantic Ocean was born. They've been drifting apart about 5 centimeters per year - for the past 20 million years!-as the Atlantic continues to widen.   

What began as a small crack in the Earth's crust is now the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a giant undersea mountain range. As magma rises to escape along this ridge new crust is formed, sea-floors spread, and continents drift around the globe.

F:TheSan Andreas faultis the most famous fault in the world. Its notoriety comes partly from the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but rather more importantly because it passes through California, a highly-populated state that is frequently in the news. And with many research institutions dedicated to studying such an accessible fault, the SAF has become a household name. But what is a fault? And what is the SAF?

The San Andreas Fault is a place where two tectonic plates touch, the North American and Pacific Plates. The plates are rigid (or almost rigid) slabs of rock that comprise the crust and upper mantle of the Earth. The SAF is about 700 miles long as the crow flies and about 800 miles long when its curves are measured. It is roughly ten miles deep, and reaches from the Salton Sea in Imperial county to Cape Mendocino in Humboldt county.

G: Young Earth

For the past several decades, the question of the age of the Earth has been a very divisive one among Christians. Many people (known as "Young-Earth Creationists") believe that the only valid interpretation of the Bible indicates that the Earth is 10,000 years old or less, and they also claim to have scientific evidence that supports this view of the Earth. At the same time, there are many others who believe that scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the claim that the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, while the Universe as a whole is 10 to 20 billion years old. Many people in this latter category affirm the intimate involvement of God in this process of creation.

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