Conversations with the Earth Tom Burbine [e-mail]

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Conversations with the EarthTom
Burbinetburbine_at_framingham.edu
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Next week

• No class

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Midterm

• March 24
• You can bring in a sheet of paper with anything
  written on it
• You can bring in your hand-written mineral sheets

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Rocks on the Surface

• If you can see rocks on the surface that comes
  from the interior, you can study them

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• Rocks can deform and flow
• Easier for rock to deform and flow when it is
  warmer

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Lithosphere

• Lithosphere is a planets outer layer of cool and
  relatively rigid rock
• Asthenosphere is the region in the upper mantle
  characterized by low-density, semiplastic (or
  partially molten) rock material chemically
  similar to the overlying lithosphere

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Heating of Planet
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How does the planetary interior cool off?

• Heat is transported outward

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How does the planetary interior cool off?
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Plate Tectonics

• Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions
  of Earth's lithosphere.

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Pangea

• Pangea - One large supercontinent

http//geology.csupomona.edu/drjessey/class/Gsc101
/pangea.gif
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• Principles of Plate Tectonics
• 1. The surface of the Earth is composed of
  lithospheric plates that are in constant motion.
• The plates move in response to plastic flow in
  the athenosphere.
• Motion in the asthenosphere is caused by
  convection driven by the Earths internal heat.
• The internal heat comes from radioactive decay
  and the latent heat from the Earths formation.

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Three Types of Plate Tectonic Boundaries

• Divergent plates move apart, space is filled
  with molten magma
• Convergent plates collide
• Transform plates slide horizontally past each
  other

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Divergent plate boundary
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Convergent Plate Boundary
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Hot spots
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Transform Boundaries
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Any Questions?