Earth and Life Science ABM

ENDOGENIC PROCESSES
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

Objectives:
 explain how the continents drift
 cite evidence that support continental drift

Continent accretion theory (J.D) Dana)

- The continents have always been stationary, with the gradual addition of new material around a
central nucleus
Continental assimilation hypothesis
- Explained how the ocean areas accumulated the denser elements then subsided to form basins
Expanding Earth hypothesis
- Stated that the present continents split apart with the expansion of Earth and that the continents
combined could cover half of the current Earth’s surface area.

Continental drift
 The gradual movement of the continents overtime.
 The upper layer of the crust is broken down into large slabs called plates, which sit on a fluid
level of molten rock.
 The movement of this lower molten layer, called plate tectonics, causes the plates to shift.
 Scientists estimate that the continents move anywhere from one centimetre to several inches per
year.
Alfred Wegener
- In 1912, he proposed the first complete continental drift theory.
- He theorized that the continents once existed as a single land mass, which he called Pangaea.
- At some point between 275 and 175 million years ago, Pangaea began to separate.
- The slow process of fragmentation and drifting continued until the continents eventually reached
their current positions.

Evidences:
 The fit of continental shorelines
 Distribution of glacial sediments
 Paleoclimate
 Distribution of Fossil fossils
 Distribution of Rocks
 Paleomagnetism

SEAFLOOR SPREADING

Objective: Explain how seafloor spreads.

What is seafloor spreading?

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Seafloor spreading is a geologic process in which tectonic plates split apart from each other as a
result of mantle convection.

What is mantle convection? Convection current?

- Mantle convection is the slow, churning motion of Earth's mantle.
- Concurrent currents carry heat from the lower mantle and core to the lithosphere.
- it also recyclelithospheric materials back to the mantle.

Where does seafloor spreading happen?

Seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries. As tectonic plates slowly move away
each other, heat from the mantle's convection currents makes the crust more plastic and less
dense.

What happens to the less dense material?

- rises, often forming a mountain or elevated area of the seafloor

What are formed in divergent plate boundaries?

- the crust cracks
- hot magma fueled by mantle convection bubbles up
- fill fractures and spills onto crust
- bubbled magma is cooled by rigid seawater
- form igneous rock
- The rock (basalt) becomes a new part of Earth's crust.
Seafloor spreading occurs along mid-ocean ridges.
What are mid-ocean ridges?
- Mid-ocean ridges are large mountain ranges rising froom the ocean floor
Ex.
mid-atlantic ridge – separeates north American plate from Eurasian plate
– south american plate from african plate
- slow spreading center( 2-5 cm every year) and forms an ocean trench (Grand canyon
size)
East Pacific Rise – Pacific plate from North American plate, cocos plate, Nazca plate and
Antarctic plate
- on the other hand, West Pacific rise is a fast spreading center (6-16 centimemters every
year.
- No ocean trench because the seafloor spreading is too rapid for one to develop
Southeast Indian Ridge – southern Indo-Australain plate forms a divergent boundary with the
Antarctic plate
o Basalt, the once-molten rock that makes up most new oceanic crust, is fairly
magnetic substance.
 Scientists began using magnetometers to measure the magnetism of the ocean floor in the
1950s. (Hess)
 They discovered the the magnetism of the ocean floor arund mid-ocean ridges was
divided into matching “stripes” on eitherside of the ridge.
 The speicific magnetism of basalt rock is determined by the Earth's magnetic field whent
the magma is cooling.
 Scientists deterined that the same process formed the perfectly symmetrical stripes on
both sides of a mid-ocean ridge.
 The continual process of seafloor spreading separated the stripes in an orderly pattern.
 Oceanic crust slowly moves away from mid-0cean ridges and sites of seafloor spreading.
 As it moves, it becomes cooler, denser, and thicker.
 Eventually, older oceanic crust encounters a tectonic boundary with continental crust.
 New geographic features can be created through seafloor spreading.
 Example: The Red Sea was created as the African plate and the Arabian plate tore away
each other.
 “Today, only the Sainai Peninsula connects the Middle East (Asia) with

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North Afric Eventually, geologists predict, seafloor spreading will

completely separate the two continents and join the Red and
Mediterranean Seas.”
 Seafloor spreading creates new crust – the older crust move away fro the mid-atlantic
ridge being replaced by new materials.

How are seafloor spreading and subduction related to each other?

- Seafloor spreading creates new crust. Subduction destroys old crust. The two forces roughly
balance each other, so the shape and diameter of the Earth remain constant.

Wilson Cycle
- refers to the sequence of events leading to the formation, expansion, contracting and eventual
elimination of ocean basins.
1. A continent rifts when it breaks up
2. As spreading continues as ocean opens, passive margin cools and sediments accumulate
3. Convergence begins; an oceanic subducts, creating a volcanic chain at an active margin
4. Terrain accretion-from the sedimentary wedge welds material to the continent
5. As two continents collide orogeny thich=kens the crust and building mountain
6. The continents erodes, thinning the crust

DEFORMATION OF CRUST

Objectives:
 describe how rocks behave under different types of stress such as compression, pulling
apart, and shearing

Deformation
o Stress is the amount of force per unit area on any given material.
o When plates move, rocks layers on Earth receive stress.
o Rocks react differently with stress, sometimes they bend other times they break.
o Deformation is the process in which rocks change shape in response to stress

Folding
 Bending rock due to stress is called folding
 Scientists assume that all rock layers started horizontally
Anticlines
- An anticline is a fold which the oldest rock layers are in the center of the fold.
- Many times the rocks fold in the center and form an arch.
Syncline

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- A syncline is a fold which the youngest rock layers are in the center of the fold.
- Many times the rocks fold in the center and form a “U” Shape.
 Folds do not always have symmetrical bends (look the same on both sides).
 Sometimes Asymmetrical bends occur (look different)
 Folds may also be turned on their side, called a recumbent fold.

Faulting
 When a rock has so much stress that it can no longer bend or stretch it will break.
 The surface along the break is called a fault.
 The broken crusts at the fault are called fault blocks.
 Faults are sometimes vertical
 Sometimes a fault block is not vertical.
 The fault will contain two different fault blocks. A foot wall and a hanging wall.
A) Continental-Continental Collision
B) Normal Fault
C) Strike-Slip Fault
D) Reverse Fault

Orogenesis
- Mountain formation

Folded Mountains
- When rocks are squeezed together and pushed upward, folded mountains form.
- This occurs at convergent boundaries
Fault-Block
- When tension on the earth’s crust causes it to break into many faults Fault-Block
mountains form.
- The layers of the crust break and drop in elevation compared to surrounding layers.
Volcanic Mountains
- Occur when molten rock erupts onto the Earth’s surface.
- Most volcanic mountains occur around convergent boundaries.
- Occur on land and in the sea.

HISTORY OF EARTH

 Uniformitarianism – an idea which states that

the present is the key to the past
Relative dating
- is used to determine whether an object or
event is older or younger than other objects or
events.
- Sedimentary rocks forming those landforms
are useful in relative dating.
- Sedimentary Rocks are useful in relative dating because:
o formed from fragments of other types of rocks
o new rock layers are almost always flat
o fossils are deposited in these layers of rocks

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Laws in Deducing Geological History of

Earth
Law of Original Horizontally
- Sedimentary rocks are originally
formed in horizontal layers.
- This can be seen in any river or
lake where sediment will settle to
the bottom in layers.
Law of Superposition
- This states that in any undisturbed
sequence of layers of rock.
- The oldest or first-deposited layer
would be on the bottom and the
youngest would be on the top.
Principle of Crosscutting Relations
- This states that any rock or fault
that cuts across other rocks is
younger than those it cuts across.
Idea of Unconformities
- New layer will form in regions of
separation
- Unconformities can occur because of wind, water, or friction when other rocks scrape
along them, like when a glacier slides over the landform

GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

The Precambrian or Cryptozoic Era (4.6 Ga – 540 Ma)

a. Represents 80% of Earth’s history
b. Eon of “Hidden Life” – fossil record obscure. Ask the students why there is very
little record of life
during the Precambrain
Hadean Eon (4.56 -3.8 Ga)
a. From “Haedes” Greek god of the underworld
b. Chaotic time, lots of meteorite bombardment
c. Atmosphere reducing (Methane, Ammonia, CO2)
d. Start of the hydrologic cycle and the formation of the world oceans
e. Life emerged in this “hostile” environment
Archean Eon (3.8 – 2.5 Ga)
a. Anaerobic (lack of oxygen)
b. No Ozone
c. Photosynthetic prokaryotes (blue green algae) emerged and started releasing
oxygen to the
atmosphere
d. Life forms still limited to single celled organisms without a nucleus
(prokaryotes) until 2.7 Ga when Eukaryotes emerged.
Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga to 540 Ma)
a. Oxygen level reaches ~ 3% of the atmosphere
b. Rise of multicellular organisms represented by the Vendian Fauna
c. Formation of the protective Ozone Layer
Phanerozoic Eon (540 Ma to Present)
a. Eon of “visible life”

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b. Diversification of life. Many life forms represented in the fossil record

c. Life forms with preservable hard parts
Paleozoic Era (540 – 245)
d. Age of “Ancient Life”
e. Rapid diversification of life as represented by the Cambrian Fauna (Cambrian Explosion)
f. Dominance of marine invertebrates
g. Plants colonize land by 480 ma
h. Animals colonize land by 450 ma
i. Oxygen level in the Atmosphere approaches present day concentration
j. Massive Extinction at the end (End of Permian Extinction)
Mesozoic Era (245 – 65 Ma)
a. Age of Reptiles
b. Dominance of reptiles and dinosaurs
c. Pangea starts to break-apart by 200 ma
d. Early mammals (220 mya)!
e. First birds (150 ma)!
f. First flowering plants (130 ma)!
g. Mass Extinction at the end of the Cretaceous (65 ma)
Cenozoic Era (65 ma to present)
a. Age of Mammals
b. Radiation of modern birds
c. Early Primates 60 ma!
d. Continents near present-day positions (40 ma)!
e. First hominids (5.2 ma)
f. Modern humans (0.2 ma)
g. Global ice ages begin (2 Ma)!