Types of rocks, The structure of

the earth , Plate Tectonics,

Continental Drift
SOCIAL SCIENCE (SOC 103)

Rocks found on the
Earth's surface
actually come from
inside the Earth - so
they tell us a lot
about the Earth's
interior.
They are classified
(organised) into
three main groups:
igneous rocks,
sedimentary rocks
and metamorphic
rocks.
Biscuit = rock
Ingredients = minerals
Oven= Earths heat

Here's a chart of some of the key characteristics that can help
you identify the rocks within these three main classes.

form when molten lava (magma) cools and turns to
solid rock.
There are two types-
1. Intrusive- cools slowly inside the Earth. They
have large mineral grains
2. Extrusive- Magma that reaches the earths
surface and cools relatively quickly. The
mineral grains are small.
Note: MAGMA- inside the Earth,
LAVA- outside of the Earth
Fire Rocks
Formed
underground by
trapped, cooled
magma
Formed above
ground when
volcanoes erupt and
magma cools
Pumice
Granite
Scoria
Obsidian

These are rocks that
have changed
From the Greek
words meta and
morph which
means to change
form.
They were
originally sedimentary
or igneous rocks that
changed due to
heat and pressure
often from eh
movement of the
Earths crust.
Rocks that have changed
They were once igneous or
sedimentary
Pressure and heat changed the
rocks
Schist
Gneiss

Wind and water break down
the earth
Bits of earth settle in lakes
and rivers
composed of grains of clay,
mud, sand, and dirt.
form when sediments are
weathered and deposited as
layers into streams, oceans,
rivers, and lake.
After thousands and millions
of years the weight and
pressure of all these
sediments eventually turn
them into sedimentary rocks!


Gypsum
Sandstone
Shale
Limestone


What is magma?
A. salt crystals in sedimentary rock
B. molten rock
C. bubbles of gas
What happens to pieces of rock as they are
transported by a river?
A. They get larger and more jagged.
B. They get smaller and more rounded
C. They get smaller and more jagged

Where are the oldest layers of rock usually found in a
cliff made from sedimentary rock?
A. at the top
B. in the middle
C. at the bottom
Which type of rock never contains fossils?
A. Sedimentary
B. Igneous
C. metamorphic

Which statement about metamorphic rocks is
correct?
A. They are formed when rocks are heated until
they melt.
B. They are only formed from heated sedimentary
rocks.
C. They are formed from all types of rock.
Metamorphic rock forms as a result of
A. heat and pressure
B. the cooling of magma
C. compaction of sediments
D. the melting of rock





This is the
rock cycle.
Fill in box
A, B and C
with the
type of
rock it will
form
because
of the
processes
you see
here.
A
B C

The Earth is made
up of 3 main
layers:
Core
Mantle
Crust
Inner core
Outer core
Mantle
Crust

This is where we live!
Continental Crust
- thick (10-70km)
- buoyant (less dense
than oceanic crust)
- mostly old
Oceanic Crust
- thin (~7 km)
- dense (sinks under
continental crust)
- young
The Earths crust is made of:

Continents are large
landmasses
1. Africa
2. Antarctica
3. Australia
4. America (North)
5. America (South)
6. Asia
7. Europe
The land part is called the
Continental Crust.

o the top part of the Upper
Mantle and the Crust
together as is the
Lithosphere.
o has the composition of
the upper mantle (Iron
and Magnesium
Silicates) but is rigid like
the crust.
o Lower temperatures and
pressures allow the
Lithosphere to be rigid.


o Very thin (a couple of km) at the
Oceanic Ridge; extends to 80 km
depth beneath old oceanic crust
that is well away from the Ridge.

o Beneath the continents the lithosphere extends to up to
300 km beneath mountain ranges.
o The crust and lithosphere float on the underlying
mantle.
o Where the crust and lithosphere are thick (e.g., beneath
continental mountains) they extend deeper into the
upper mantle.
o Below the lithosphere (which makes up the tectonic
plates) is the asthenosphere -the lower, liquid part of the
Upper Mantle



USGS

Upper mantle
o near its melting
point so that it
behaves like a
plastic
o the upper mantle
material flows
under stress.
Lower mantle
o solid material, rather than plastic
Also made of two parts

o The metallic portion of the
Earth; Iron mixed with small
amounts of Nickel.
Outer Core
o probably
liquid (based
on studies of
shock wave
passage
through the
Earth).

Inner Core
o solid, made up of cooled liquid
core material.
Also made of two parts


Which part of the Earth is directly below the crust?
A. Mantle
B. Inner core
C. Outer core

Which part of the Earth is the hottest?
A. Mantle
B. Inner core
C. Outer core
D. Crust

What material makes up the mantle?
A. Iron
B. Magma
C. Nickel
D. Lava
The lithosphere includes:
A. crust and uppermost, rigid mantle
B. outer core and inner core
C. asthenosphere and mesosphere
D. outer core and lower mantle

Which region in the Earth is
about 85% iron?
A
B
C
D
Which region in the Earth
molten?
A
B
C
D

What region of the Earth takes up the greatest
volume?
A. the crust
B. the outer core
C. the inner core
D. the mantle
What do plates float on?
A. Corona
B. Upper mantle

If you look at a map of the world, you may notice that some
of the continents could fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
The Earth as we see it today was not always like it is now.
Land masses have pulled apart and joined together by the
process we call Plate Tectonics.


The Earths crust is divided into 12 major plates
which are moved in various directions.
This plate motion causes them to collide, pull
apart, or scrape against each other.
Each type of interaction causes a characteristic
set of Earth structures or tectonic features.
E.g.: mountain ranges, volcanoes and
earthquakes
The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of
the crust as a consequence of plate interaction.

Plates are made
of rigid lithosphere.
The lithosphere is
made up of the
crust and the
upper part of the
mantle.

Below the
lithosphere
(which makes
up the tectonic
plates) is the
asthenosphere.

Plates of lithosphere are moved around by the
underlying hot mantle convection cells
In the mantle hot material rises towards the lithosphere.
The hot material reaches the base of the lithosphere
where it cools and sinks back down through the mantle
The cool material is
replaced by more hot
material, and so on forming a
large convection cell This
slow but incessant movement
in the mantle causes the rigid
tectonic plates to move
(float) around the earth
surface (at an equally slow
rate).





Convergent Transform Divergent

o movement of two oceanic plates away from each
other (at a divergent plate boundary)
o results in the formation of new oceanic crust (from
magma that comes from within the Earth's mantle) along
a mid-ocean ridge.

These areas can form in the middle of continents or
on the ocean floor.
As the plates pull apart, hot molten material can rise
up this newly formed pathway to the surface - causing
volcanic activity
Where a divergent boundary forms on a continent it
is called a RIFT or CONTINENTAL RIFT, e.g. African Rift
Valley.
Where a divergent boundary forms under the ocean
it is called an OCEAN RIDGE.

From http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/glossary/s_u/sea_flr_spread.html

Iceland has a divergent plate
boundary running through its
middle
Iceland is located right on top
of a divergent boundary. In fact,
the island exists because of this
feature.
As the North American and
Eurasian plates were pulled apart
(see map) volcanic activity
occurred along the cracks and
fissures (see photographs).
With many eruptions over time
the island grew out of the sea!

An example of continental
rifting

Convergent boundaries are where
the plates move towards each
other.
There are three styles of convergent
plate boundaries
Continent-continent collision
Continent-oceanic crust collision
Ocean-ocean collision

Forms mountains, e.g. European
Alps, Himalayas
Continent-Continent
Collision
Neither side of the
boundary wants to sink
beneath the other side,
and as a result the two
plates push against each
other and the crust
buckles and cracks,
pushing up (and down
into the mantle) high
mountain ranges.
When continental crust pushes against continental crust
both sides of the convergent boundary have the same
properties.

Continent-Oceanic
Crust Collision
At a convergent boundary where continental crust pushes
against oceanic crust, the oceanic crust which is thinner
and more dense than the continental crust, sinks below
the continental crust. This is called a Subduction Zone

Oceanic lithosphere
subducts underneath the
continental lithosphere
Oceanic lithosphere
heats and dehydrates as
it subsides
The melt rises forming
volcanism
E.g. The Andes

Subduction

Continent-Oceanic
Crust Collision
When the subducting slab reaches a depth of around
100 kilometers, it dehydrates and releases water into the
overlying mantle wedge
The addition of water into the mantle wedge changes
the melting point of the molten material there forming
new melt which rises up into the overlying continental
crust forming volcanoes.
Subduction is a way of recycling the oceanic crust.
Eventually the subducting slab sinks down into the mantle
to be recycled. It is for this reason that the oceanic crust is
much younger than the continental crust which is not
recycled.

When two oceanic plates collide, one runs over
the other which causes it to sink into the mantle
forming a subduction zone.
The subducting plate is bent downward to form
a very deep depression in the ocean floor called
a trench.
The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are
found along trenches.
E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep.
Ocean-Ocean Plate
Collision
Where plates slide past each other
Above: View of the San Andreas transform fault
a transform boundary between the Pacific
plate and the North American plate.

Pacific Ring
of Fire
This map shows the
margins of the Pacific
tectonic plate and
surrounding region. The
red dots show the
location of active
volcanism. Notice how
the majority of the
volcanism is focused in
lines along the plate
boundaries

- Subduction - Rifting - Hotspots

Volcanoes can be formed in three ways:
1. Via subduction. The subducting slab dehydrates
to form new melt that will rise through the crust to
be erupted at the surface.
2. Via rifting. When two plates pull apart magma
rises, producing volcanic eruptions at the
surface.
3. At Hotspots.hotspot do not necessarily
occur along a plate boundary. So hotspot
volcanoes can form in the middle of tectonic
plates

The Hawaiian island chain are
examples of hotspot volcanoes.
A hotspot is a location on
the Earth's surface that has
experienced active
volcanism for a long period of
time.
The source of this volcanism
is a mantle plume of hot
mantle material rising up from
near the core-mantle
boundary through the crust to
the surface (see left diagram).
A mantle plume may rise at
any location in the mantle,
and this is why hotspot
volcanoes are independent
from tectonic plate
boundaries.

As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not randomly
distributed over the globe. they occur in linear patterns
associated with plate boundaries.









Figure showing the distribution of
earthquakes around the globe

At the
boundaries
between plates,
friction causes
them to stick
together. When
built up energy
causes them to
break,
earthquakes
occur.

Figure showing the tectonic setting of earthquakes

We know there are three types of plate boundaries:
Divergent, Convergent and Transform. Movement and
slipping along each of these types of boundaries can
form an earthquake.
Depending on the type of movement, the
earthquakes occur in either a shallow or deep level in
the crust.
Earthquakes may also occur in volcanic regions and
are caused there both by tectonic faults and by the
movement of magma (hot molten rock) within the
volcano. Such earthquakes can be an early warning
of volcanic eruptions.




Which type of plate is older?
A. Continental
B.Oceanic
Which type of plate is thicker?
A.Continental
B.Oceanic

What is it called when one plate is
pushed under another plate as they
collide?

A. Subduction
B. Mantle induction
What can form when two continental
plates collide?

A. Fold mountains
B. Volcanoes

A constructive or divergent plate boundary is
when:
A. plates move together.
B. plates move apart.
C. plates slide past each other causing friction.
A destructive or convergent boundary is
when:
A. plates move together.
B. plates move apart.
C. plates slide past each other

What occurrence is common along a
conservative plate boundary?
A. Volcanoes
B. Earthquakes
C. Hurricanes
The Himalayas were formed on what kind
of plate boundary?
A. divergent
B. Transorm
C. Convergent

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge or chain of volcanoes
formed underneath the Atlantic Ocean is
created by what kind of plate boundary?
A. divergent
B. Transorm
C. Convergent


A deep oceanic trench is found
A. at mid-ocean ridges
B. at subduction zones
C. at transform boundaries
D. all of the above


Volcanic activity is associated with
A. all convergent boundaries
B. all transform boundaries
C. divergent boundaries
D. all types of plate boundaries

Going from earth's surface to the interior, what
trends are found?
A. density and temperature increase
B. density and temperature decrease
C. density increases and temperature decreases
D. temperature increases and density decrease


A divergent boundary could be
recognized by
A. a high mountain belt
B. a volcanic island arc
C. a rift valley
D. all of the above


Continental drift was a theory proposed in 1912
by Alfred Wegener which postulated the
movement of continents. This theory is a part of
the concept of plate tectonics. Continents have
been drifting for hundreds of millions of years.
Cause of Continental Drift
Through convection, heat flows from the Earth's
core to its crust. As the asthenosphere is plastic,
the lithosphere floats along the convection
currents

Tight fit of
the
continents,
especially
using
continental
shelves.
Continental
Drift:
Evidence 1

Fossil
critters and
plants
Continental
Drift:
Evidence 2

Correlation
of
mountains
with nearly
identical
rocks and
structures
Continental
Drift:
Evidence 3

Glacial
features
of the same
age
restore to a
tight polar
distribution.
Continental
Drift:
Evidence 4

Lack of a suitable mechanism
crippled continental drifts widespread
acceptance.

Conflict remained unresolved
because seafloors were almost
completely unexplored.