Plate boundaries, continental drift, and the tectonic processes that shape the Earth's crust.
39 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What was Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift?
Show answer
The idea that continents were once connected in a supercontinent (Pangaea) and have since drifted apart to their current positions- What key evidence supported continental drift?
Show answer
Matching fossils across continents, continental coastlines fitting together, matching rock types and mountain ranges- What is a lithospheric plate?
Show answer
A rigid slab of crust and upper mantle that moves over the asthenosphere- What is the asthenosphere?
Show answer
The hot, partially melted layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere that allows plates to move- Name the three main types of plate boundaries
Show answer
Divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries- What occurs at a divergent plate boundary?
Show answer
Plates move apart, new lithosphere is created, and magma rises to form new crust- What occurs at a convergent plate boundary?
Show answer
Plates collide, one plate is pushed beneath another (subduction) or both plates buckle upward forming mountains- What occurs at a transform plate boundary?
Show answer
Plates slide horizontally past each other, causing earthquakes but no creation or destruction of lithosphere- What is seafloor spreading?
Show answer
The process where new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges as plates move apart- Who proposed the seafloor spreading hypothesis?
Show answer
Harry Hess, in 1962- What is a mid-ocean ridge?
Show answer
An underwater mountain chain where new oceanic crust forms due to seafloor spreading- What causes magma to rise and create new crust at mid-ocean ridges?
Show answer
Decompression melting of mantle rock as the asthenosphere rises to fill the gap left by diverging plates- What is subduction?
Show answer
The process where a denser oceanic plate is forced beneath another plate into the mantle- What happens in a subduction zone?
Show answer
The descending plate heats up, releases fluids, causes melting, and triggers powerful earthquakes and volcanism- What is the Wadati-Benioff zone?
Show answer
A zone of earthquakes that dips into the Earth along a subducting plate, marking the path of the descending slab
FlashKeepers