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Questions and Answers
What theory proposed that the continents were once a single landmass that drifted to their present locations?
What theory proposed that the continents were once a single landmass that drifted to their present locations?
Which process involves the very slow movement of the Earth and results in folding and faulting?
Which process involves the very slow movement of the Earth and results in folding and faulting?
What type of stress causes two plates to move towards each other, leading to the destruction of the crust?
What type of stress causes two plates to move towards each other, leading to the destruction of the crust?
Which natural phenomenon is a direct result of the Pacific Ring of Fire?
Which natural phenomenon is a direct result of the Pacific Ring of Fire?
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What is the term for fossils that show impressions revealing the behavior and movement of ancient plants and animals?
What is the term for fossils that show impressions revealing the behavior and movement of ancient plants and animals?
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In faulting, what is the orientation where the hanging wall is above the foot wall?
In faulting, what is the orientation where the hanging wall is above the foot wall?
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What type of rocks always form in horizontal patterns due to Original Horizontality principle?
What type of rocks always form in horizontal patterns due to Original Horizontality principle?
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What type of boundary results in upwelling of magma that constructs the crust?
What type of boundary results in upwelling of magma that constructs the crust?
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What kind of theories relate to the movement and dynamics of Earth's lithospheric plates?
What kind of theories relate to the movement and dynamics of Earth's lithospheric plates?
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What did Harry Hess propose with his Sea-floor Spreading theory?
What did Harry Hess propose with his Sea-floor Spreading theory?
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Study Notes
Endogenic Processes
- The internal processes of the Earth cause folding and faulting, resulting in the formation of landforms
- Diastrophism is the very slow movement of the Earth, which leads to folding and faulting
- Diastrophic processes can be further divided into orogenic (mountain-building) and epeirogenic (continental) processes
- Daily earthquakes are minor and a result of plate tectonics, where the Earth's crust is divided into plates
Theories of Plate Tectonics
- Continental Drift Theory: Abraham Ortelius (1596) proposed that the continents drifted apart
- Alfred Wegener (1911-1915) expanded on this idea, proposing that the continents used to be a single landmass (Pangaea) that broke apart and drifted to their present location
- Sea-floor Spreading: Harry Hess (1960) discovered that the seafloor slowly spreads and moves sideways away from the mid-ocean ridge
- Plate Tectonic Theory: Antonio Snider-Pellegrini (1858) proposed that the Earth's surface is divided into 7 major plates that correspond to the 7 continents
Convection Currents and Tectonic Boundaries
- Convection currents: magma is pushed upwards, cools, and then sinks, transferring heat and driving the Earth's ocean currents, atmospheric weather, and geology
- Tectonic boundaries can be convergent (destructive), divergent (constructive), or transform (sliding)
- Convergent boundaries have compression stress, resulting in subduction zones
- Divergent boundaries have tension stress, resulting in the upwelling of magma and the creation of new crust
- Transform boundaries have shearing stress, resulting in shallow earthquakes and zig-zag plate margins
Tectonic Forces and Processes
- There are three types of stress: compression (move towards), tension (move away), and shearing (move past)
- Crustal deformation can result in folding or faulting
- Folding can result in anticlines (rising sedimentary rocks) or synclines (downfolds)
- Faulting can result in dip-slip faults (normal or reverse) or strike-slip faults
Pacific Ring of Fire
- The Pacific Ring of Fire is a circle of subduction zones around the Pacific Ocean
- It is a direct result of plate tectonics, resulting in volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis
History of the Earth
- Petrology is the study of the composition, structure, and classification of rocks
- Absolute dating uses isotopes and radioactive decay to determine the age of rocks
- Relative dating uses uniformitarianism and principles such as original horizontality, superposition, crosscutting relations, and unconformities to determine the age of rocks
- Fossils can be used to determine the age of rocks, with true form fossils, mold fossils, cast fossils, and trace fossils all providing evidence of the Earth's history
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Description
Test your knowledge on the internal processes of the Earth that cause folding and faulting, leading to the formation of various landforms. Explore concepts such as diastrophism, orogenic and epeirogenic movements, plate tectonics, and the Continental Drift Theory.
