Exam 5: The Tectonic Cycle

The Atlantic Ocean margins of the Americas, Africa, and Europe are examples of __________ continental margins.

As the plates of a transform fault grind past one another their edges may grab and lock, forcing the rocks on both sides to flex and bend.

Assume there is a mountain range with a deep root of low-density continental rock extending into the underlying asthenosphere. Would this produce a negative or positive gravity anomaly?

An __________ marks the place where oceanic-capped lithosphere sinks into the asthenosphere.

The highest temperature at which magnetic material can retain permanent magnetization is called the

Earth is like a giant magnet, surrounded by an invisible __________ that permeates everything placed in the field.

The mesosaurus is an extinct reptile who lived over 200 million years ago. Its fossil remains have been found in Southern Africa and Eastern South America, but nowhere else. Today, we know that these two regions of the Earth are vastly different in terms of climatology, flora, and fauna. How does the discovery of the mesosaurus fossil support the concept of Continental Drift (and subsequently Plate Tectonics)?

When two plates capped by dense oceanic crust converge, one of the plates will subduct beneath the other plate.

Divergent plate margins start in continents and become oceans.

Using the concepts of hot spots and plate tectonics, explain how each of the islands of the Hawaiian Island chain vary in age.

__________ has emerged as a unifying theory that explains hundreds of years of independent observations of Earth's topographic features.

Studies of rock paleomagnetism have revealed the ancient positions of Earth's magnetic poles.

How do hot spots and plate tectonics account for the islands of the Hawaiian Island chain varying in age?

__________ suggested __________ , in which all of the world's landmasses were once connected together in a huge supercontinent called __________ .

What is a subduction zone?

What type of plate boundary created Japan?

Gases from __________ continue to play an important role in the climate and the long-term composition of the atmosphere.

A typical rate of seafloor spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is

Subduction zones can generally lead to

__________ has influenced virtually every part of the Earth system over the history of planet Earth.