11/4/2013

Plate Tectonics II

How fast do the plates move?

A few centimeters per year. A slow plate moves about as fast as your fingernail grows and a fast plate about as fast as your hair grows.

magma

magma

At divergent boundaries, lithospheric plates move away from one another. Magma rises from the asthenosphere to fill in the gap that would otherwise form. This magma cools and crystallizes to form new oceanic lithosphere. A large valley forms where the plates are separating and this valley is referred to as a rift valley.

Divergent plate boundaries are also called spreading centers.

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Convergent plate boundaries There are 3 types of convergent plate boundaries. A key concept to understanding the 3 types is realizing that only lithosphere with oceanic crust can subduct. Lithosphere with continental crust (continental lithosphere) is too buoyant to subduct because of its low density.

volcanic activity

zone of melting

subduction zone

oceanic lithosphere continental lithosphere

Another important aspect of convergent boundaries is that where oceanic crust is sinking, the zone of sinking is referred to as a subduction zone. Where the plate is about 100 km below the surface, heat creates a zone of melting. The magma that is generated rises toward the surface and causes volcanic activity.

The 3 types of convergent plate boundaries are defined by the type of crust on the lithosphere of the converging plates. A) oceanic-oceanic B) oceanic-continental C) continental-continental
Diagram of an oceanic-oceanic convergent boundary. Notice that the subducting lithosphere has oceanic crust as does the over -riding plate. The volcanoes created above the melting zone create a series of islands known as a volcanic island arc. Also notice the trench, which is a deep furrow in the ocean floor where the subducting plate bends downward. Trenches are the location of the deepest parts of the ocean, up to 7 miles deep.

Aleutian Islands

An excellent example of a volcanic island arc is the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska.

An excellent example of a volcanic island arc is the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska.

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Diagram of an oceanic-continental convergent boundary. Notice that the subducting lithosphere has oceanic crust, whereas the over -riding plate has continental crust. The volcanoes created above the melting zone create a continental island arc.

An excellent example of a continental volcanic arc is the Andes Mountains of South America.

Andes Mtns.

The final type of convergent boundary is the continental-continental convergent boundary. Here, both lithospheric plates contain continental crust. Because continental crust will not subduct, the plates collide to form a high mountain range without volcanic activity.

An excellent example of a continental-continental convergent boundary is where India connects to Asia. The continental crust of India collided with Asia to create the Himilaya Mountains.

An excellent example of a continental-continental convergent boundary is where India connects to Asia. The continental crust of India collided with Asia to create the Himilaya Mountains.

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India had been moving northward toward Eurasia for millions of years before the collision. The two continental masses moved toward one another because of a subduction zone shown in the upper diagram.

Hot Spot Theory

Photograph of the San Andreas fault from an airplane. Notice how the stream has been offset by movement along the fault.

This map shows the location of active* volcanoes of the world. Notice that most of them are located at plate boundaries, where they are associated with divergent or convergent plate boundaries. However, not all of the active volcanoes are at plate boundaries, for example Hawaii. Something must be happening to explain these volcanoes.
*an active volcano is one that has erupted in the recent past and is considered likely to erupt in the future

Hawaii is an excellent example of a volcanic center not associated with a plate boundary. To understand the volcanism at Hawaii, one needs to realize that the Hawaiian volcanic chain extends thousands of miles as shown in the map above.

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According to this theory, there is a mantle plume that is constantly bringing hot mantle rock toward the surface of the Earth. Near the surface, the hot plume rock creates melting and much of this magma rises to the surface to cause volcanism. The island of Hawaii is on one of these plumes.

Furthermore, when the age of the islands is examined, it is known that the islands are older as one moves away from the south-easternmost island of Hawaii. The island of Hawaii has an eruption going on today. Geologists explain the Hawaiian Island chain with the hot spot theory.

Meanwhile, the plate above the plume is constantly moving, so the volcanoes that are created slowly shift off the location of the hot spot and a new volcano is created. This explains why there is a long chain of volcanoes in the Hawaiian chain and why the volcanoes become older as one moves away from the hot spot.

The diagram above shows the location of about 50 proposed hot spots. Hot spots that are producing the most magma are shown as large red dots, the least producing are shown as small green dots, and intermediate producers are shown with yellow.