Lithosphere: The rocky skin of the earth
• Solid outer part of the earth
• Includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust (outermost
layers)
• Bounded by the atmosphere and the asthenosphere
Type of Lithospheric Plates
1. Continental Plate
o Thick, found under land masses
o Old rock
o Density: 0.7 g/cm³
o Made of
2. Oceanic Plate
o Thinner, found in the ocean floor
o 7-10 km thickness
o Younger
o Density: 3.0 g/cm³
o Mainly made up of basalt
Primary and Secondary Plates
1. Primary
o Pacific
o North American
o Eurasian
o African
o Antarctic
o Australian
o South American
2. Secondary
o Juan de Fuca
o Nazca
o Cocos
o Caribbean
o Philippine
o Arabian
o Indian
o Scotian
(Geologic events and features such as earthquakes, active volcanoes, and major
mountain ranges are distributed near or along plate boundaries)
Types of Plate Boundaries
Plate Tectonic Theory – the uppermost mantle, along with the overlying crust behaves
as a strong, rigid layer, called lithosphere.
Convection Current – rising of hot magma near the core towards the surface, while
cooler magma near the crust sinks, setting up a current that causes the plates to
move
1. Convergent Boundary
o Two plates move toward each other
o Types: Oceanic – Continental, Oceanic – Oceanic, Continental –
Continental
o A destructive boundary
o The rocks experiences compression stress
• Continental-Continental
o Forms mountain/mountain ranges
o May cause earthquakes
• Continental-Oceanic
o The oceanic moves beneath the continental crust
o Forms volcanoes
• Oceanic-Oceanic
o The older oceanic plate subducts
o Forms volcanic island arc
2. Divergent Boundary
o Two plate moves away from each other creating tension
o Magma rise from the mantle to the surface
o The earth is cool enough to solidify the magma, creating a new oceanic
crust or seafloor
o Constructive Boundary
o The rocks experiences tension stress
• Oceanic-Oceanic
o May cause earthquakes and tsunamis
o Forms mid-ocean ridges
• Continental-Continental
o May cause earthquakes
o Forms rift valleys
3. Transform Boundary
o Two plates slide past each other
o Also called Strike-Slip fault
o Rocks that line the boundary split into pieces as the plates slip
o A crack is then formed creating an undersea canyon or linear fault valley
o Rocks experiences shear stress
Hotspots
Volcanic Hotspots – caused by a small amount of geologic event known as
intraplate activity
Intraplate activity – does not take place at the plate boundaries but within the plate
instead
Mantle plume – scientist suggested the this formed the hotspot
Hotspot – a surface expression of the mantle plume that forms volcanic island
chains (more common beneath oceanic crust)
o As one volcano become extinct, another develops over a hotspot and the
cycle is repeated
o The volcanic track left by the moving plate can tell the direction of motion of
the plate
Internal Layers of the Earth
Layer of the earth
• Crust
• Mantle
• Outer Core
• Inner core
Seismic Waves -
Types of Seismic Waves
• Surface Waves
o Arrive after the main P and S waves
o Confined to the outer layers of the earth
▪ Love Wave
o Named after Augustus Edward Hough Love, a British mathematician
o Made a mathematical model in 1911
o Moves the ground side to side horizontal position (like a snake)
o Causes most of the damage during earthquakes
▪ Rayleigh Wave
o Named after John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, a British mathematician
o Predicted this kind of wave in 1885
o Rolls along the ground (like ocean or lake waves)
o Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake
• Body Waves
o Travel to the inner layers of the earth
o Used to study the interior of the earth
o Has a higher frequency
▪ Primary (P) Wave
o A pulse energy that travels quickly though the earth and liquids
(solid,liquids,gases)
o Travels faster than S waves
o Also called compressional waves, travel by particles
o Move backward and forward as they compresses and expanded
• Secondary (S) waves
o Slower than P waves
o Moves as transverse waves
o Cannot travel to liquid medium
Seismic Discontinuity
1. Moho/Mohorovicic - between lower crust and upper mantle
2. Repetti – upper and lower mantle
3. Gutenburg – lower mantle and outer core
4. Lehmann – other and inner core
Continental Drift Theory
Evidence
• Jigsaw puzzle – the edge of each continent fits with the other
• Fossils – some fossils are found away from their home town
• Rocks – same aged rocks are found across the ocean
• Seafloor spreading – age of seafloor is examined
• Magnetic reversals – magnetic patterns of rocks
• Convection current – heat from the outer core to the mantle
Global Positioning System (GPS) - more stable than the earth surface, can tell if a
continent moves somewhere