DAY 1 (Monday)

Science, Filipino, English

Alexa Borge
 Reviewer in Science
Plate Tectonics
Geosphere – portion of Earth that includes the interior structure, rocks, and the
processes that shape the surface of the Earth.
Tectonic plates / lithospheric plates - massive, irregular slabs of solid rock that
envelope the surface of Earth; they fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle;
movement is 1 to more than 15 cm per year.
Plates - numerous broken segments that makes up the entire lithosphere

Earth is generally composed of 58 crustal plates (has 15 major tectonic plates)

Primary plates (major continents) are the African Plate, Eurasian Plate, Indo-
Australian Plate, North American Plate, Pacific Plate, and the South American
Plate with the Nazca Plate.
Secondary plates are the Arabian Plate, Caribbean Plate, Cocos Plate, Indian
Plate, Juan de Duca Plate, Philippine Sea Plate, and Scotia Plate.

Seismic tomography – is a technique of inverting seismological data to retrieve a

three-dimensional image of the anomalies in seismic wave velocity.

Types of tectonic plates

Continental lithosphere - consists of the continental crust and, typically, some non-
convecting part of the underlying upper mantle.
Oceanic lithosphere - consists mainly of mafic crust and ultramafic mantle.
Types of crusts
Continental crust – it is the solid ground where you stand upon; formed through
volcanic eruption; is made of light-colored rocks called andesite and granite;
formed by magma; does not subduct.
Oceanic crust – is generally composed of dark-colored rocks called basalt and
gabbro; is thinner and denser than continental crust; formed by magma; does
subducts.

Cratons – formed when platforms are connected with basement rocks.

Continental margins – located at the edges of the cratons; when they are moved,
natural landforms are created.

Plate Tectonics theory

states that Earth’s outermost layer is fragmented on tectonic plates that are
moving on another while riding atop the asthenosphere.
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum – an atlas published by Abraham Ortelius in 1596.

Raisin theory
Earth is likened to a grape that contracted into a raisin due to a cooling process
that occurred after the Big Bang.
Isostacy – proposed by Clarence Edward Dutton in 1889; states that wherever
equilibrium exists on Earth’s surface, equal mass must underlie equal surface
areas.

Continental drift theory

proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1915.
During the late Triassic Period, Pangaea (meaning “All Earth”) began to break
up into two smaller supercontinents called Laurasia (northern component) and
Gondwanaland (southern component).

Mantle convection theory

According to Arthur Holmes in 1929, as the mantle becomes heated, its density
decreases and eventually rises up.
Heat can be transferred from one place to another through convection.
The pressure of the heated magma broke the continents apart forcing the pieces
to drift in opposite directions.
When the material sinks, the continents will be brought back together again.
Slab pull theory
states that the mantle convection is not the cause of plate tectonics, but rather, it
is a product of subduction.
The gravity and the plates themselves are the ones responsible for the plate
tectonics through subduction process.
Subduction zones – exist at the outer edges of plates; in these zones, rocks are
older, cooler, and denser compared to those located at the inner layers.

Plate Boundaries
Evidence of plate movement
Paleontological evidence
- Pellegrini proposed used identical plant fossils found in coal beds of Europe
and US to support his idea that all continents were once connected during
the Pennsylvanian Period.
Evidence from glaciation
- The glacial till deposits indicate erratic glacier motion, but when they were
fitted together like jigsaw puzzle, continents reveal a much more streamlined
motion of the glacier from Southern Africa and Northern Australia outward.

Evidence from structure and rock type

- The coastlines of several of the present-day continents perfectly fits
together, particularly Africa and South America.
- The presence of various geologic features which sharply terminate at the
coast of one continent and appear on the facing continents across the Atlantic
were noticed.

Evidence from Paleoclimates

- Wegener reconstructed old climatic zones using the distribution of specific
rock types to determine the distribution of climates in ancient times.
- Paleoclimatology is the study of the extended climatic conditions of past
geologic ages.
Trench - long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that form at the boundary of
tectonic plates where one plate is pushed, or subducts, beneath another.
Seafloor spreading theory – first proposed by Harry Hess in 1960’s; seafloor was
created as mid-ocean ridges, spreading in both directions from the ridge system.
Boundary – the border between two tectonic plates.

Types of plate boundaries

Convergent (colliding / destructive) – two plates are pushing toward each other; the
crust is destroyed and recycled back into the interior of Earth, while one plate
dives under another.
- has three types:
1. Oceanic-to-oceanic convergence occurs when two oceanic plates meet and
one oceanic plate is pushed underneath the other.
2. Ocean-to-continental convergence occurs when an oceanic plate pushes into
and moves underneath a continental plate.
3. Continental-to-continental convergence occurs when two continents meet
head on.
- Subduction zones are the regions where a portion of the tectonic plates are
diving beneath other plates into Earth’s interior

Divergent (spreading / constructive) – two plates are move apart from each other; is
marked by a mid-ocean ridge.

Transform fault (lateral / conservative) – two plates slide horizontally past one
another; neither creates nor destroys a crust.
- can connect convergent and divergent plate boundaries in three ways:
1. Ridge-ridge transform fault – connects two segments of a divergent plate
boundary; most abundant.
 2. Ridge-trench transform fault – connects a ridge and a trench; much less
common.
3. Trench-trench transform fault – couple trenches at two different convergent
plate boundaries.

Triple junction – a point where three plate boundaries meet; one of the three
types (ridge, trench or transform) are involved.
RRR - three plates are moving apart.
TTT - three plates are pushing together.
FFF - impossible to occur.

Earth Materials
Our planet is 4.6 billion years old (1/3 of the age of the universe).
Life on Earth is possible because of its major parts: atmosphere, hydrosphere,
geosphere.
Rheology - study of the flow of matter primarily in the liquid state.
Mechanically, Earth is divided into five layers: lithosphere, asthenosphere,
mesospheric mantle, outer core, and inner core.
Chemically, Earth is divided into five layers: crust, upper mantle, .ower mantle,
outer core, and inner core.

Lithosphere – outer solid part of the planet including Earth’s crust.

Crust - outermost layer of Earth; thinnest layer.
Mantle - largest layer
- Upper Mantle (rigid) is the uppermost part of the mantle; highly viscous
layer; part of the lithosphere.
- Upper Mantle (flowing) is the lower part of the upper mantle that exhibits
plastic properties; located below the lithosphere.
- Lower Mantle (Semi Rigid) is the deepest part of the mantle, just above the
core.
- Mohorovicic discontinuity separates the crust and upper mantle.
Core – last and innermost layer
- Outer core represents about 4% of the mantle-crust mass; the molten iron-
nickel layer that surrounds the inner core
- Inner core is found at the deepest region of the planet; the solid iron-nickel
center of the Earth that is very hot and under great pressure.

Due to convection by heat radiating from the core together with the rotation of
the Earth in its axis, the liquid iron moves in a rotational pattern.

Seismic Waves
Seismic waves – are shock waves
Seismograph - records seismic waves from an earthquake.
Seismogram - a graph output by a seismograph.

2 Types of body waves (travel below the surface of Earth):

P (primary) – travel faster and are the first to arrive at a recording seismograph;
pass through all types of matter; are the sounds we hear from the ground during
an earthquake.
S (secondary) – travel more slowly; can only travel through solids; are the ones
shaking the ground perpendicularly.

2 Types of surface waves (can only travel along the surface)

Love waves – move transverse to the direction of the propagation but with no
vertical motion.
Rayleigh waves – cause rock particles to move upward up, backward, and down.
 Landforms
Geomorphology - the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic
features created by physical or biological processes.
Topography – the study of the current terrain features of a region and the graphic
presentation of a particular landform on map.
Landforms – natural physical features on the surface of the Earth.

Aeolian landforms
are formed by the chemical and mechanical action of wind; came from the
Greek word Aeolus, god of wind.
examples:
1. Dunes - mounds or small hills made up of sand.

2. Loess – silt-sized sediment formed by accumulation of windblown dust.

3. Mushroom rock – also called as rock pedestal; formed by earthquake or glacial

action.

Erosional landforms
are created from exclusively erosional and weathering activities.
examples:
1. Mesas – elevated areas of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep
cliffs.
2. Butte – similar to mesas; formed in arid to semi-arid conditions.

3. Canyons- also called as gorge; deep ravine between cliffs that is often curved
from the landscape.

Mountainous landforms
those that rise higher than the rest of their surroundings.
examples:
1. Volcanoes – has an opening on top called vent.
2. Hills – are elevated portions of land that are formed by geologic activities such
as faulting.
3. Valley – also called as dale, are low-lying area of land situated between hills or
mountains.
4. Glacial landforms – results of the actions of the glaciers; are huge slow-moving
bodies of ice; has two main types:
- Alpine (formed in high mountains)
- Continental (formed in cold polar regions)
 Fluvial and Coastal Landforms
are those that underwent sedimentation, erosion or deposition on the river bed.
examples:
1. Delta – low-lying triangular area located at the mouth of rivers.
2. Alluvium – sediment that has accumulated due to the interaction of delta.
3. Peninsula – also called byland or biland; projects into a body of water and is
connected with the mainland by an isthmus.
4. Meander - is a bend in a sinuous watercourse of river.
5. Sea cliffs – are high rocky coast that plunge down to the edge of the sea.

Plains
are flat and broad land areas that have no great changes in elevation when
measured with the sea level.

Plateaus
are portion of lands elevated thousands of feet above their surroundings.

Earthquakes
Earthquakes are not randomly distributed over the globe. Friction causes them
to stick together. When built-up energy causes them to break, earthquakes
occur.
Earthquakes happen where the plates meet.
Earthquakes are caused by the release of massive amount of energy at Earth’s
crust that allows seismic waves to propagate through Earth’s surface.
Magnitude – measure of earthquake size and remains unchanged with distance
from the earthquake.
Intensity – describes the degree of shaking caused by an earthquake at a given
place
Fault – is a crack across which rocks have been offset first.
Fault plane – the plane along which break between two plates occur.
Fault line – the line in the surface of the Earth caused by the fault plane.
Fault trace – a line which may be visible or not that occurs on Earth’s surface.
Hanging wall – the plate that moves during earthquake.
Foot wall – the plate that doesn’t move during an earthquake.
Richter scale – is based in the energy released as measured by maximum wave
amplitude on a seismograph.
Classification of faults
Normal fault – the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall as a result
of extension.
Reverse fault – also called thrust fault; hanging wall moves up relative to the
footwall as a result of compression.
Strike-slip fault - two blocks of crusts slide past each other on the same plane.

Locations of earthquakes
1. Mid ocean ridges
2. Four types of seismic zones
3. Shallow focus
4. Subduction between continental and oceanic plates
5. Boundaries of continental plates

Types of earthquakes
Tectonic Earthquake – happens when the shifting of Earth’s plates is driven by
the sudden release of energy.
Volcanic Earthquake – often occurs in volcanic regions.
Collapse Earthquake – small earthquakes located underground and in mines
caused by disintegration.
Explosion Earthquake – results from denotation of chemicals.
 Volcanoes
Volcano – a mountain or hill typically conical having a crater or vent through
which molten rock, rock fragments, hot vapor and gas have been erupted.

What causes the magma to escape the mantle and come up through the crust of Earth?
Subduction Zone Volcanoes – subduction happens at convergent plates.
Divergent Zone Volcanoes – results in ridges.
Hotspots - location on the earth’s surface that has experienced active volcanism
for a long period of time.

Mantle Plumes – are areas or columns where heat or rocks in the mantle are
rising toward Earth’s surface; allow an increase in pressure that stretches the
crust.

Volcanoes give signs:

Very small earthquakes, slight inflations or swelling, increased emission of heat
and gas.
Deformation monitoring (tiltmeters are used to measure the deformation of the
volcanoes.)
Gas monitoring

How and why do volcanoes erupt?

Magma is buoyant and rises up to the crust to erupt on the surface.
When magma reaches the surface, it depends on how easily it flows (viscosity)
and the amount of gas it has in it as to how it erupts.
Why do volcanoes stop erupting?
There is no sufficient pressure to drive the magma out of the Earth.
Enough heat is lost, so the magma cools and is no longer buoyant.

Juan de Fuca – only significant fault line on the Ring of Fire not to have
experienced a major earthquake in the last 50 years.

Mountain Ranges
Geomorphology – study of mountains.
Orogeny – refers to the forces and events that lead to a large structural
deformation of Earth’s lithosphere (oros = mountain; genesis = creation).
Orogens or orogenic belts - formed during orogenesis; the end product is a
landmass or mountain.
Intrusion - pushes up magma below moving up and feeling spaces between rock
layers may cause the surface to bulge.

Stages of mountain building

1. Accumulation of sediments
2. Orogenic period of rock deformation and crustal uplift
3. Crustal uplift caused by isostatic rebound and block-faulting

Mountain range - a succession of many closely spaces mountains; consists of

several valleys and river channels formed by water rushing down from melting
glacier; has a high altitude and hold a vast amount of water
Famous mountain ranges in the world
Himalayas – highest mountain range in the world
Andes - longest mountain range in the world
Appalachians – oldest mountain range in North America
Alps – largest mountain system in Europe
Rocky Mountains – major mountain range in Western North America
Great Dividing Range - forms a water shed