Exam 3: Plate Tectonics: a Unifying Theory

Which mechanism provides heat to Earth's interior?

The temperature at which iron-bearing minerals gain their magnetic property is called their ____________________.

Illustrate the effects of intraplate hot spots with specific examples. What do hot spots indicate about the movement of oceanic plates?

Discuss the use of magnetic anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean to understand the separation of the supercontinent Pangaea and the formation of the present continents. How can we determine the rate of plate movement in the Atlantic Ocean?

The process of subduction creates new oceanic crust.

Who was the first person to suggest that all of the continents had originally been joined together as the supercontinent Pangaea?

A volcanic island arc is caused by the collision of two continental masses (e.g. a continental-continental convergent plate boundary).

Continental drift and plate tectonics refer to the same geological process.

What is/are the major driver(s) of plate motion?

Who proposed the concept of continental drift-a precursor to plate tectonics?

What surface feature is present on Earth above the rising limb of a mantle convection cell?

One gravity-driven mechanism for plate movement is _______________________, which is caused by the higher elevation of ocean ridges in comparison to surrounding crust.

Using examples, discuss how orogenesis can influence speciation and the distribution of life.

The study of paleomagnetism is possible because ____.

Rift valleys are associated with ____ plate boundaries.

Convergent plate boundaries are characterized by formation of new oceanic crust.

The three types of convergent plate boundaries are ____________________, ____________________, and ____________________.

Earth's magnetic field reverses on a regular and predictable basis.

Continents have the best puzzle-like fit when placed together along their continental slopes.

What is happening in the mantle beneath a subduction zone?