Layers of the Earth Using a laser pointer, briefly highlight and describe the layers of the earth’s interior. Also highlight the fact that the earth has oceanic and continental crust.

CRUST/LITHOSPHERE _________ layer __________ on mantle is cool and ________ between ______ km thick __________ on mantle Oceanic Crust: ________ thick Continental Crust ~ ________ thick

Mantle/Athenosphere average thickness is about _________km solid but ________ behaves like ________, flowing and circulating slowly without breaking

Core radius ~ ________ km half of the Earth’s diameter metallic - made of _____ and ________ outer core - ________ inner core -________

Supercontinent Pangea – _______ Similar _____ and ______ _____ forests _____ deposits Discuss the theory of Pangea and show animation (click on link). Tens of Millions of years ago!

Pangaea ___________ revived the early idea of _____________, contending that all of the present-day continents were connected, side-by-side, as long ago as the Carboniferous (~300 Myr). He called the supercontinental mass ___________, Greek for ‘all lands’.

Today’s Continents As soon as maps of the globe became available, people wondered about the arrangement of the continents and oceans. Hundreds of years later, valid explanations were constructed.

The crust and lithosphere are broken up into 25 ________ USGS

Movement of the Plates: _________________ Evidence How it works

Continental Drift: Fossil Evidence Mesosaurus: _________________ Glossopteris: _______________________________________

Continental Drift: Rock Ages Rock ages showed strong correlation across the ___________, as did mountain ranges of similar age.

Continental Drift: Geometry evidence shape of the continents eg. the shape of the west coast of _________ and the east coast of ______________ are remarkably similar and were perhaps once joined

More Evidence:Mantle Convection Materials that can flow tend to lose _____________ by the convection process. This explains circulation in a pot of water that is being heated from below in the same way it describes the ________________ in the Earth’s mantle.

Where convection rises ________________ takes place. Mantle Convection Giant convection cells within the upper mantle drag the plates along laterally. Where convection rises ________________ takes place. Where the convection cells descend they drag crust down, causing ______________

How does it work? _________ – pieces of the lithosphere Plates fit closely together along cracks called _______________ Convection Currents  ______________ Explain that the lithosphere is broken into pieces called plates. The place where the pieces fit together are the boundaries. Using a laser pointer, explain the theory that plate movement is caused by convection currents in the mantle.

Here is another version of the Rock Cycle http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Metrocks/Metrocks2.html

Mechanisms of Plate Tectonics:

Mechanisms of Plate Tectonics: 2 Ridge-Push 1 Mantle 3 drag convective flow of mantle

Sea Floor Spreading Hot material rose at the ______________, thus explaining the high heat flow and volcanic activity, and why the ocean floor is bulged up at the ridges. The logical next step is that where continent and ocean meet, at the __________, ocean crust is being returned to the mantle at the same rate it is being generated at the ridges.

Types of Boundaries __________ Define each term. Have the students as a class mimic the movement of divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries using their hands. Use the hyperlinks as visuals while discussing each type of plate boundary.

To summarize……

C Sliding B Convergent A Divergent plates are __________ new crust is created ______ is coming to the surface plates are ___________ crust is returning to the __________ plates are __________ each other crust is not ________ or __________

C Sliding B Convergent A Divergent Plates move against each other Stress builds up Stress is released ____________ 2 continental plates  __________________ Continental crust  ___________ Oceanic crust  ___________________ C Sliding B Convergent A Divergent 2 oceanic plates or oceanic + continental _________

DIVERGENCE: Sea Floor Spreading Sea floor spreading, leads to _________________ *This hypothesis makes a number of testable predictions.*

* Taking magnetic stratigraphy back in time is paleomagnetism. * Magnetic Reversals Interestingly, the polarity of the magnetic field shifts every 0.5 - 1.0 Myr. That means rocks formed over time will record either ‘_________’ magnetic orientation (like today), or ‘_________’. This leads to alternating bands of normal and reversed magnetism. We are apparently headed into a polarity reversal, to be complete in ~3000 yr. * Taking magnetic stratigraphy back in time is paleomagnetism. *

Paleomagnetism and Sea Floor Spreading The _____________ as products of steady creation of ____ ocean crust over geologic time.

Oceanic Ridges

The ridge is a ___________ Plate Margin and divergence takes place by __________________. From http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/glossary/s_u/sea_flr_spread.html New crust is added from upwelling __________ (molten rock) from the upper ___________. Older crust is pushed laterally away from the ridge axis – so that the sea floor spreads away from the ridge axis.

CONVERGENCE: Oceanic Crust – Continental Crust The __________ oceanic crust descends beneath lighter continental crust. __________________ develop due to compressive forces and volcanics (e.g., the Andes of South America). Magma material rises from descending slab and builds _____________ in the rising mountains.

CONVERGENCE: Oceanic Crust-Oceanic Crust The ________, _________ crust normally descends beneath the younger crust. ______________ develop at the surface of the over-riding crust (forming Island Arcs) - e.g ___________

Continental Crust-Continental Crust CONVERGENCE: Continental Crust-Continental Crust Neither plate __________ (both too light). Compressive forces driving plates fold and thrust the continental margins forming an _______________________ belt (e.g., the Himalayan Mountains).

SLIDING: Slip-Strike Faults Plate __________ along which the plates slip by each other. Termed: Slip-Strike Faults/Transform Faults On either side of a fault plate motions are in __________ directions.

The Big Picture Remind students to look for their assigned boundaries and write down information to describe them.