Geology


 * [[image:geology-dictionary.gif height="112"]] || * Geology  is the study of **the solid earth, its interior and the history of the earth.** We will begin our study of geology with an in depth study of the __Theory of Plate Tectonics.__

__Plate Tectonics [|Jeopardy] Interior, Continental Drift, Seafloor Spreading, Plate Tectonics__ ||
 * [|Gelogy Dictionary: Geology and Earth Science Terms and Definitions] ||  ||

**Introduction to the Theory of Plate Tectonics** **Choose a headi ng and click on it to bring you to the correct location on this page. **  Earth's Layered Structure, Seismic Waves, Heat Transfer and Movement in the Asthenosphere Lab, The Theory of Continental Drift, The Theory of Sea floor Spreading, The Theory of Plate Tectonics
 * I. Interior of the Earth **

**What Does the The Inside of Earth Look Like?**
 * **Earth's Interior ** || T he earth is NOT homogeneous. Instead it is heterogeneously layered. ||
 * **What are the Layers of the Earth? ** || [[image:exp5_interior_earth.gif width="342" height="227"]] ||
 * **Why is the Earth Layered? **

What do the liquid layers have in common with the interior of the Earth? Click here and here to discover the answer! || Image Courtesy[| http://geoscience.stevekluge.com] || Earth's Internal Structure
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">What is Density? ** ||  ||
 * [[image:diagram_of_the_earths_interior.jpg width="250" height="153" link="http://www.rocksandminerals4u.com/earths_interior.html"]] || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Background Resources on

Earth's Structure [|http://mediatheek.thinkquest.nl/~ll125/en/struct.htm]

The Structure of the Earth [|http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/animations/hellscrust]

[|/main.html]Earth's Structure e notes[|http://www.enotes.com/earth-science/earth-interior-structureThe Dynamic Eart]h [|http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.htm]

Layers of the Earth[|http://www.cnn.com/interactive/nature/9903/earth.layers/]

[|frameset.exclude.html]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Images and Animations Inside Planet Earth Animation []

Outer Layers of the Earth [] ||
 * ~ <span style="background-color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;"> How Do We Know the Earth is Layered? ||
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">[|What are Seismic Waves?] ** || **__S__**<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">**__eismic waves__** are the waves of energy caused by an earthquake (the breaking of rock) within Earth's Lithosphere.

<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">There are two main types of seismic waves, __**surface**__ and __**body waves.**__ We will focus **__only on the body waves__** for our discovery of earth's interior because these waves can travel directly through the planet. The behavior of body waves as they travel through Earth allows scientists to make inferences about the planet's interior.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Body Waves: **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">~ P Waves - primary waves <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">~S Waves - secondary waves

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%; line-height: 23px;">Gather Background on P and S Waves [|here] <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;"> Click [|here]to discover haw P and S Waves move particles of rock as they travel through the planet. ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">How do Body Waves Travel through the Earth? ** || [[image:seiamic_waves.gif height="158" align="center" link="http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es1009/es1009page01.cfm"]] ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">[|P & S Wave Simulation]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">[|Seismic Wave Simulation Lesso]n || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Visualizing P and S waves moving through Earth ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">[|The Slinky and the Rope] ||  ||
 * ~  ||~ <span style="background-color: #0000ff; border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 31px;">How and Why Does the Upper Mantle or Asthenosphere Flow? ||
 * ~  ||~ <span style="background-color: #0000ff; border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 31px;">How and Why Does the Upper Mantle or Asthenosphere Flow? ||

[|What is Heat Transfer?] Click the link above and take an interactive journey to discover the answer to this question. || Heat is transferred from hotter objects to colder objects! There are three forms of heat transfer:
 * [[image:heat-transmittance-means1-e1262975907353.jpg]]

~Radiation - the transfer of heat through empty space (sunlight and heat from a fire)

~Conduction- the transfer of heat by direct contact between a hot object to a colder object. ( heat from a boiling pot of soup to a metal spoon placed in the soup)

~Convection- the transfer of heat by the movement of a heated fluid (heat transferring from warmer fluids to colder fluids like in a lava lamp) ||
 * LAB: Movement in the Upper Mantle or Asthenosphere Click the document below to open a template for the lab.
 * LAB: Movement in the Upper Mantle or Asthenosphere Click the document below to open a template for the lab.



Template in Word Pad:

Click the document below to open in Word Pad. The jar images will not load, so you must draw them as they appear in your lab notebook. The image for the apply and infer section is on your hard copy, so refer to this to answer questions 1-8.



Lab Rubric download

What affect do convection currents in the Asthenosphere have on the Lithosphere above it? Play the simulation below to find out! [|Convection Currents in the Earth's Mantle Simulation]

How does temperature affect the density of a fluid? Check out this link for a great visual || Open the template to the left and save it to your computer/flashdrive by naming it yourname_convection_lab

Type all information beneath each heading using a 12 font and double space your typing. You are allowed to change the font and add color if you like! Write in complete sentences and use the information in your lab notebook, textbook and the lab report rubric as a guide. Do not forget to save your work as you type.

Use Chapter 5 Section 2 : Convection and the Mantle or pages 134-135 to help you answer the conclusion and application questions!

You may also refer to the lava lamp explanation as a model to help you! The process is the same!!!

Due Dates: Periods:

Is this the process you observed in the lab?

|| Meteorologist and Climatologist **Who was Alfred Wegener?** Click on the links below to view short video clips about Wegener, the **//"Father of Modern Geology//** and his Theory of Continental Drift:"
 * ~ II.The Theory of Continental Drift - (1912) States that between 250-300 millions of years ago the continents were once joined in a single supercontinent named Pangaea, which means "all earth" or "all lands" in ancient Greek. This super continent slowly rifted (split) apart into today's land masses and drifted to their present locations.  ||
 * Meet the scientist who proposed the Theory of Continental Drift!
 * []
 * @http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/ess05_vid_wegener1/


 * What Evidence did Wegener use **
 * to Support his Theory? **

**1. Jig-saw Puzzle fit** of the continents along the continental shelf edges was Wegener's initial (first) piece of evidence.
 * 2. Identical rock sequences ** of the **same type and age** are found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Wegener reasoned that the rocks formed side-by-side at the same time and that the land had since moved apart.


 * 3.Climate Clues** i ndicate that areas that are warmer today were once much cooler and closer to the South Pole.
 * Glacial Deposits (Till) and Glacial Grooving (scratches) on continents of Africa, South America and India and Australia indicate that they were connected and were covered by a large continental ice sheet located in the South Pole with Antarctica. These landmasses are located in warm climates zones today and could never be covered by ice so this is evidence used to support Wegener's theory.

>
 * Similar Coal Deposits found in cold climates indicate that these areas were much warmer because coal only forms from decaying plant matter in warm tropical conditions. Click here to learn about how coal forms.

|| Watch the Break up of Pangaea



View Additional Animations Below:


 * []
 * http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/
 * visualizations/es0806/es0806page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization




 * 4.Fossils ** of the same species of extinct plants and animals are found in rocks of the same age, but on continents that are now widely separated.

Wegener believed that the organisms would not have been able to travel across the oceans. __** Examples: **__


 * Glossopteris was a large fern that grew in a warm tropical environment with seeds too heavy to be carried across the oceans by the wind. The presence of glossopteris fossil remains in a cool climate (Antarctica) also gives evidence that Antarctica must have been in a warmer hemisphere in the past.


 * Mesosaurus was a **small s**wimming reptile, but could only swi[[image:mesosaurus.jpg align="left"]]m in fresh water. Fossil remains are found in Africa and South America.

Cynognathus fossils are found in rock of the same age and type in Africa and South America. Lystrosaurus fossils are found in Africa, India and Antarctica.
 * //Cynognathus// and //Lystrosaurus// were l**and reptiles** and were unable to swim but fossils are found on land masses separated by vast oceans.

Wegener stated that the land was together when each organism lived and that they drifted (with the continents) once they were dead and fossilized.

__** 5. Matching Mountain Ranges **__ with the same rock type, structures and ages are found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. .

Ex: The Appalachians of eastern United States and Canada are just like mountain ranges in eastern Greenland, Ireland, Great Britain, and Norway. Wegener concluded that they formed as a single mountain range that was separated as the continents drifted. || With all of this valid and supportive evidence, Wegener's theory was still rejected.
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: center;">EXRA! EXTRA!



__** What was the weakness of the Theory of Continental Drift? **__

The fatal weakness to Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift is that he **__ could not explain a reason for How or Why __** the continents were moving. Although today we theorize that convection in the Asthenosphere is the driving force behind the motion of tectonic plates which carry the continents on them, we did not have the necessary technology in the 1900's to make these inferences.

|| Pangaea did not break apart into pieces that moved to their current locations instantly. Continental rifting and motion is an extremely slow process and occurred (and is still occurring) over millions of years. Currently the plates which carry the continents are drifting apart at an average rate of 2-4 cm/year. Evidence suggests that initial rifting of the super continent created two large land masses about 200 million years ago. Continental Crack-up! A Scene from the movie Ice Age: Continental Drift coming to theaters this July 20102 media type="custom" key="11285622" width="120" height="120" ||  || **Earth Revealed**: The Theory of Seafloor Spreading video Watch a video clip about his great discovery here!
 * ** Want to Learn More? **
 * In the Northern hemisphere was **Laurasia** **,** which consisted of the present day land masses of North America, Greenland, Asia and Europe.
 * The Southern hemisphere was home to **Gondwanaland,** which was composed of South America, Africa, India, Antarctica and Australia. || [[image:laurasiagondwana.jpg width="498" height="340"]] ||
 * ** Just for Fun: **
 * ** III. The Theory of Seafloor Spreading (1960) ** - ** states that the seafloor spreads apart along both sides of a mid oceanic ridge as new crust is added. As a result the ocean floors move like conveyor belts, carrying the continents with them. ** ||
 * Meet the scientist ** who proposed the Theory of Seafloor Spreading : [[image:harry_hess.jpg width="619" height="467"]]

ALVIN Submersible and Seafloor Spreading media type="youtube" key="f9o5BV1aotM" width="560" height="315"

__** Supporting Evidence for Seafloor Spreading **__

** __1. Molten Material__ - ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> **__<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">2. Magnetic Striping in Rock - __** <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">
 * __<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">3. Age of Drilling Samples - __**

**__<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Map showing the Age of the Ocean Floor __**

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Seafloor basalt is <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">youngest at mid-ocean ridges <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> (dark red) and <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">oldest adjacent to continents and/or near trenches <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> (dark blue). Map source: NOAA. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">[|Plate tectonic online Lesson] [|Interactives: Our Dynamic Earth] [|How Are Earthquakes Related to Plate Tectonics?]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">c AGreat Lesson

<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">[|Rock Lesson] http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson01.html

|| ** Sonar and Mapping the Ocean Floor **

media type="custom" key="24662762"


 * What Does the Seafloor look lIke? **




 * Mid Ocean Ridges are __underwater volcanic mountains__ that wrap around the Earth. New seafloor is created at all mid-ocean ridges. **


 * The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest singe mid -ocean **** ridge. ** It runs 10,000 miles or (16,000 km) long.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Watch Birth of a New Ocean Video ** media type="custom" key="11374604" align="left"

media type="youtube" key="EU05MW9zJBA" width="448" height="251" align="left"
 * Mid Ocean Ridge Simulation **

= Seafloor Spreading Power Point Notes =
 * Theory of Plate Tectonics **

media type="custom" key="24468234" width="227" height="275" align="left"

__** What Moves the Seafloor? **__



Look Familiar? **__ Convection Currents __** in the Asthenosphere drag the seafloor and cause it and the continents to move!

|| <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> **Week of** Viscosity of Magma Lab template here!
 * **<span style="color: #ff002d; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;"> IV. The Theory of Plate Tectonics - ** ||  ||
 * [[image:800px-Plates_tect2_en.svg.png width="500" height="310"]] ||  ||

**Week of**

Periods 3,4,5,7,1 Complete a **Video Summary** of the National Geographic film, "Volcano."

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