Plate Tectonics Nature Program 2018 Plate Tectonics Plate

Plate Tectonics Nature Program 2018

Plate Tectonics • Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large-scale motion of Earth's lithosphere. • The lithosphere is the outer rigid layer of the earth and it is divided into “plates” that move around on the earth’s surface relative to each other. • The movement of these plates occur do to convection currents and other forces. The movement of these plates has formed the many different landscapes that we see across the globe today such as mountains. • This theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift which was developed during the first few decades of the 20 th century by a scientist named Alfred Wegener. • Alfred Wegener was a German geophysicist and meteorologist.

Plate Tectonics: Objectives • Understand how Earth is dynamic and how moving plates form ocean basins, mountain ranges, islands, volcanoes, and earthquakes • Identify the three general categories of plate boundaries recognized by scientists: convergent, divergent, and transform • Use acquired knowledge to identify several types of modern volcanic eruptions around the world and to understand why we have different types of landscapes around the world.

Plate Tectonics: Does anyone know why? • Why is Hawaii is at the end of a thousand mile long chain of seamounts and what’s happening today in that region? • Why is Yellowstone a region in the middle of the US so important? • Why are the movements of these plates and the geological processes that take place in earth’s crust so important to life on Earth?

Why is Hawaii is at the end of a thousand mile long chain of seamounts and what’s happening today in that region? • The Hawaiian Emperor seamount chain is a well-known example of a large seamount and island chain created by hot-spot volcanism. • Each island or submerged seamount in the chain is successively older toward the northwest. Near Hawaii, the age progression from island to island can be used to calculate the motion of the Pacific Oceanic plate toward the northwest. • The youngest seamount of the Hawaiian chain is Loihi, which presently is erupting from its summit at a depth of 1000 meters. Image courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey.

Source https: //oceanservice. noaa. gov/facts/hawaii. html • The Earth’s outer crust is made up of a series of tectonic plates that move over the surface of the planet. In areas where the plates come together, sometimes volcanoes will form. Volcanoes can also form in the middle of a plate, where magma rises upward until it erupts on the seafloor, at what is called a “hot spot. ” • The Hawaiian Islands were formed by such a hot spot occurring in the middle of the Pacific Plate. While the hot spot itself is fixed, the plate is moving. So, as the plate moved over the hot spot, the string of islands that make up the Hawaiian Island chain were formed. • The Hawaiian Islands form an archipelago that extends over a vast area of the North Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is made up of 132 islands, atolls, reefs, shallow banks, shoals, and seamounts stretching over 1, 500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the southeast to Kure Atoll in the northwest.

Why is Hawaii is at the end of a thousand mile long chain of seamounts and what’s happening today in that region? • https: //www. cbsnews. com/news/hawaii-kilauea-volcano-eruptionlava-blue-flames-red-warning-ashfall-usgs-today-2018 -05 -15/ • https: //volcanoes. usgs. gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_videos. ht ml • https: //www. cbsnews. com/pictures/volcanic-eruption-in-hawaiikilauea-volcano/

Why is Yellowstone a region in the middle of the US so important? • Its major geological features are a result of its lying on a volcano caldera. Throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, many different geologic processes are occurring at the same time, in different proportions. While these mountains and canyons may appear to change very little during our lifetime, they are still highly dynamic and variable. • Yellowstone National Park’s landscape has been and is being created by various geological processes. Some of the Earth’s most active volcanic, hydrothermal (water + heat), and earthquake systems make this national park a priceless treasure. • In fact, Yellowstone was established as the world’s first national park primarily because of its extraordinary geysers, hot springs, mudpots and steam vents, as well as other wonders such as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Picture of Yellowstone https: //www. nps. gov/yell/learn/nature/volcanoqa. htm

Why is Yellowstone a region in the middle of the US so important? • The Earth’s crust and upper mantle (lithosphere) is divided into many plates, which are in constant motion. Where plate edges meet and one plate may slide past another, one plate may be driven beneath another (subduction). • Upwelling volcanic material pushes plates apart at mid-ocean ridges. Continental plates are made of less dense rocks (granites) that are thicker than oceanic plates (basalts) and thus, “ride” higher than oceanic plates. • Many theories have been proposed to explain crustal plate movement. Currently, most scientific evidence supports theory that convection currents in the partially molten asthenosphere (the zone of mantle beneath the lithosphere) move the rigid crustal plates above. • The volcanism that has so greatly shaped today’s Yellowstone is a product of plate movement combined with upwellings of molten rock. Source https: //www. nps. gov/yell/learn/nature/volcanoqa. htm

Why is Yellowstone a region in the middle of the US so important? • Is Yellowstone a volcano? Yes. Within the past two million years, episodic volcanic eruptions have occurred in the Yellowstone area—three of them major. • What is the caldera shown on the park map? The Yellowstone Caldera was created by a massive volcanic eruption approximately 640, 000 years ago. Subsequent lava flows filled in much of the caldera, and it is now measured at 30 x 45 miles. Its rim can best be seen from the Washburn Hot Springs overlook, south of Dunraven Pass. Gibbon Falls, Lewis Falls, Lake Butte, and Flat Mountain Arm of Yellowstone Lake are part of the rim. • When did the Yellowstone volcano last erupt? An eruption approximately 174, 000 years ago created what is now the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. The last lava flow was about 70, 000 years ago. • Is the volcano still active? Yes. The park’s many hydrothermal features attest to the heat still beneath this area. Earthquakes— 1, 000 to 3, 000 per year—also reveal activity below ground. The University of Utah Seismograph Station tracks this activity closely. • What is Yellowstone National Park doing to prevent an eruption? Nothing can be done to prevent an eruption. The temperatures, pressures, physical characteristics of partially molten rock, and immensity of the magma chamber are beyond human ability to impact—much less control. • What is a supervolcano? Some scientists consider Yellowstone to be a "supervolcano, " which refers to volcano capable of an eruption of more than 240 cubic miles of magma. Two of Yellowstone’s three major eruptions met the criteria. • https: //www. nps. gov/yell/learn/nature/volcanoqa. htm Will the Yellowstone volcano erupt soon? Current geologic activity at Yellowstone has remained relatively constant since scientists first started monitoring more than 30 years ago. Another caldera-forming eruption is theoretically possible, but it is very unlikely in the next thousand or even 10, 000 years. Scientists have also found no indication of an imminent smaller eruption of lava. If Old Faithful Geyser quits, is that a sign the volcano is about to erupt? All geysers are highly dynamic, including Old Faithful. We expect Old Faithful to change in response to the ongoing geologic processes associated with mineral deposition and earthquakes. Thus, a change in Old Faithful Geyser will not necessarily indicate a change in volcanic activity.

Why are the movements of these plates and the geological processes that take place in earth’s crust so important to life on Earth? • Several billion years ago, the surface of our Earth began forming into puzzle pieces called plates. • This process trapped our atmospheric carbon dioxide into rocks and stabilized our climate, making Earth habitable. (source: http: //beyondpenguins. ehe. osu. edu/issue/earths-changing-surface/the-forces-that-change-the-face-of-earth)

Cultural Connection & Plate Tectonics • The Pacific Northwest traditions speak of shaking and flooding from the sea by referring to a struggle between the Thunderbird and the Whale. • The Thunderbird and Whale in the Native American stories are creatures of supernatural size and power. Although native myths vary between tribes, the acts and personalities of these supernatural beings in the stories generally describe the effects of earthquake and/or tsunami. • Thunderbirds are usually said to bring storms and rain in the native stories. They create thunder by flapping their wings and shoot lightning bolts out of their eyes. To the Pacific Northwest Indian, the Thunderbird is the most powerful of all spirits. The thunderbird is a regular fixture on top of totem poles of native tribes in the Northwest. Source https: //pnsn. org/outreach/native-american-stories/thunderbird-and-whale-overview

Cultural Connection & Plate Tectonics https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=QM 2 KTWcx. NII (4. 24 minutes about the thunderbird)

Cultural Connection & Plate Tectonics • The Thunderbird is a widespread figure in Native American mythology, particularly among Midwestern, Plains, and Northwest Coast tribes. • Thunderbird is described as an enormous bird (according to many Northwestern tribes, large enough to carry a killer whale in its talons as an eagle carries a fish) who is responsible for the sound of thunder (and in some cases lightning as well. ) Different Native American communities had different traditions regarding the Thunderbird. • In some tribes, Thunderbirds are considered extremely sacred forces of nature, while in others, they are treated like powerful but otherwise ordinary members of the animal kingdom. In Gros Ventre tradition, it was Thunderbird (Bha'a) who gave the sacred pipe to the people. • Some Plains tribes associated thunderbirds with the summer season (in Arapaho mythology, Thunderbird was the opposing force to White Owl, who represented winter. ) • Thunderbirds are also used as clan animals in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Thunderbird Clans include the Kwakiutl and Ho-Chunk tribes of Wisconsin. (nativelanguages. org) Source http: //www. native-languages. org/thunderbird. htm

Cultural Connection & Plate Tectonics • “There is a relationship between climate change and the geological development of the Great Plains as it has been influenced by major geological events both outside and within the region. These events include movements of the earth's rigid lithosphere plates with attendant mountain formation and volcanism, cyclic changes in sea level and glaciation, broad uplifts and down warps of the continents, the evolution of new environment changing organisms, and meteorite impacts”. • So as you can see, plate tectonics has played a major role in the development of the plains region of the United States and has had an impact in how the Native people of the Plains lived. (Nomadic/Agriculture) (source: https: //digitalcommons. unl. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1590&context=greatplainsquarterly)

Plate Tectonics Background Information: Activity • Click on this link: Interactives. Dynamic Earth's Structure: Plate Tectonics • Procedure: Go to “Introduction” and go through the entire simulation with the students. • Students go to this site https: //www. learner. org/interactives/dynamicearth/structure/ • This will take some time which may vary between sites. • You will learn how plate tectonics works and how it has developed earth’s landscape through earthquakes, tsunami’s, and volcanism.

Activity I: Earthquakes • How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes? • The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? • They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was. • A short wiggly line that doesn’t wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. • The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip. (source: http: //www. kfvs 12. com/story/307729/make-your-own-seismograph)

The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake. http: //www. kfvs 12. com/story/307729/make-your-own-seismograph

Earthquake Magnitude Scale Magnitude Earthquake Effects 2. 5 or less Usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph. 900, 000 2. 5 to 5. 4 Often felt, but only causes minor damage. 30, 000 5. 5 to 6. 0 Slight damage to buildings and other structures. 500 6. 1 to 6. 9 May cause a lot of damage in very populated areas. 100 7. 0 to 7. 9 Major earthquake. Serious damage. 8. 0 or greater Great earthquake. Can totally destroy communities One every 5 to 10 years near the epicenter. Source http: //www. geo. mtu. edu/UPSeis/magnitude. html Estimated Number Each Year 20

Activity I: Make Your Own Seismograph • A seismograph is an instrument used by scientists to measure the motions of the Earth's surface. • A seismograph is a simple pendulum. When the ground shakes, the base and frame of the instrument move with it, but the pendulum bob in place. It will then appear to move, relative to the shaking ground. • As it moves it records the pendulum displacements as they change with time, tracing out a record called a seismogram. Source http: //www. kfvs 12. com/story/307729/make-your-own-seismograph

Activity II: Tsunami’s • What is a Tsunami? • A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by an underwater earthquakes, landslides, or volcanic eruptions. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean. • These waves can reach heights of over 100 ft. • Tsunamis can travel at speeds of about 600 miles or 805 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as a jet plane. • (3 minute video) https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=o. Wzdg. BNfh. QU Go through notes on the next slide then **Please handout STUDENT worksheet with questions to the students and let them solve the following scenario.

Activity II: Tsunami’s • A wave is transmission of energy through matter • As energy travels through matter, the energy is transmitted to adjacent matter. • As energy moves through matter, the matter moves and then returns to its original position. • Some important features of a wave • The major parts of a wave are the crest (the highest point), the trough (the lowest point), the height (distance from trough to crest), the wavelength (distance between identical points on two waves, typically crest to crest) and period (the time it takes for the same spot on two consecutive waves to pass the same point). • The ratio of a wave’s height to wavelength (H: L ratio) can tell us some information about the wave, for example if it is about to break.

Activity II: Tsunami’s • There is more than one type of wave • Two major wave types to know are shallow-water waves and deepwater waves. • These waves are defined by their wavelength compared to the depth of the water in which they occur. • A deepwater wave occurs when water depth is greater than or equal to 1/2 of its wavelength. • A shallow-water wave occurs when water depth is less than or equal to 1/20 of its wavelength. • How does a wave break? • As waves move from deep water to shallow water, they come into contact with the ocean floor. This causes the wavelength to decrease and wave height to increase. • Once the H: L ratio surpasses 1: 7, the wave breaks.

Activity II: Tsunami’s • Why is it important to know so many details about waves? • Waves, especially tsunamis, can be very destructive. • A tsunami is a shallow-water wave triggered by displacement of a large amount of water • Understanding wave physics has helped scientists learn how to identify disturbances that can trigger tsunamis and predict when associated waves will reach affected locations.

Activity IIA: Tsunami’s • A. Lesson: Understanding Waves-you will need calculators. • Introduce the lesson by showing the video named “Animation of September 29, 2009 tsunami” at the link below: • Click on link below then click on the picture! • https: //nctr. pmel. noaa. gov/samoa 200 90929/ • Please go to activity II A and proceed with activity: Can You Outrun a Tsunami (Student Worksheet) Can You Outrun a Tsunami • Knowing information about wave physics can save lives. You may have seen videos of the terrible destructive power of tsunamis. • These shallow-water waves happen when large amounts of water are displaced, for example by earthquakes, icebergs falling into the ocean or even a volcanic eruption. • When scientists detect these disturbances, they can figure out how fast the tsunami is traveling, where it will hit and when. In this way, they can do their best to evacuate people before the tsunami hits and save lives. Today, that is your job! • You and your team members are scientists working for NOAA and you have received information about a disturbance in the ocean. Unfortunately, all your hightech computing systems have shut down. How are you going to figure out where and when the tsunami will strike?

Activity IIB: Tsunami’s • B. Build a Tsunami: Live video on youtube showing a sample simulation of a Tusnami. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=DZZFPCY 6 Rl. E • Go to Activity II B and proceed with activity.

Activity III: Volcanoes • A volcano is simply an area where magma, or molten rock, from the earth’s mantle reaches the earth’s surface, becoming lava. • Most volcanoes occur at plate boundaries, where two plates are moving away (diverging) or together (converging). • Volcanic eruptions may be explosive (violent) or effusive (passive), depending on the lava chemistry (amounts of silica and dissolved gases).

Activity III: Volcanoes are classified into four types, based on their lava chemistry and shape. • Shield Volcano: A shield volcano has low levels of dissolved gas and silica in its magma. Its eruptions are effusive, and the very fluid lava moves quickly away from the vent, forming a gently sloping volcano. Mauna Loa in Hawaii is an example. • Cinder Cone Volcano: A cinder cone volcano has low silica levels and high levels of dissolved gas, resulting in fluid lava that erupts explosively as a result of the immense pressure built in the magma chamber. A cinder cone volcano erupts by shooting fountains of fiery lava high in the air, which cools and forms a steepsided conical structure. Lava Butte in Oregon is an example • Lava Dome Volcano: A lava dome volcano has high silica levels and low dissolved gases in its magma. This results in effusive, viscous lava that forms a rounded, steep-sided mound. Lava domes are often created after an explosive eruption, which released much of the dissolved gas in the magma. The lava slowly continues to flow out of the volcano, forming a rounded, steep-sided mound. Since the 1981 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, a lava dome has been forming inside the crater of the volcano. • Composite Volcano: A composite volcano has high levels of dissolved gas and silica and erupts explosively. Composite volcanoes often resemble steep-sided mountains before erupting. During violent eruptions, it can seem as if the whole top of the mountain has been blown off. Eruptions often include pyroclastic material (ash and lava fragments), leaving the volcano to collapse inward and form a crater. Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier in Washington are examples. Souce http: //beyondpenguins. ehe. osu. edu/issue/earths-changing-surface/the-forces-that-change-the-face-of-earth

Activity III: Volcanoes • STOP: Go to Activity III and proceed with activity on “How to Make a Lava Volcano”

Wrap It Up: Fun Facts & Terminology => Jeopardy Challenge *Please go through each of the Fun Facts & Plate Tectonics Worksheet with the students before you play jeopardy! • A. Plate Tectonics: Terminology Worksheet • B. Fun Facts: Tsunami’s, Volcanoes & Earthquakes Source http: //glencoe. mheducation. com/sites/0078768365/student_view 0/self-check_quizzes. html

Plate Tectonics Worksheet: Give each student handout worksheet. Students please define the following terminology **you may use the computer, HINT: these will be helpful for jeopardy. • Density- • Seismogram- • Which is more dense the continental plate or the oceanic plate? • Seismograph- • Plate tectonics theory- • Vent- • Alfred Wegener- • Lava- • Convection currents • Focus- • Tsunami- • Magma • Mantel • Core- • Epicenter- • Crust- • Slip-strike faults- • Hotspot- • Shearing force- • **Instructor please see answer sheet. • Tension • Compression-

Fun Facts: Tsunami’s • • • Japanese word pronounced: soo - nah – me means “wave in the harbor” misnamed as “tidal waves” Tsunami traveling in deep water and open Ocean cause no damage and are hardly noticeable. Tsunami traveling in shallow water can batter coastlines with waves as high as 100 feet, causing considerable damage. A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption or meteors. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean. These waves can reach heights of over 100 ft. About 80% of tsunamis happen within the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire. ” The first wave of a tsunami is usually not the strongest, successive waves get bigger and stronger. Tsunamis can travel at speeds of about 600 miles or 805 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as a jet plane.

Fun Facts: Earthquakes • Natural events such as volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts can cause earthquakes, but the majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are triggered by movement of the earth's plates. • The earth's surface consists of 20 constantly moving plates. The pressure increase from shifting plates can cause the crust to break. This break allows stress to be released as energy, which moves through the earth in the form of waves (aka earthquakes). • Normally, it's not the shaking ground itself that claims lives during an earthquake. It's the associated destruction of man-made structures and the instigation of other natural disasters such as tsunamis, avalanches and landslides. Not only is it important to have a plan for yourself in the case of an earthquake, but your pets need a disaster plan as well. Create an earthquake plan for the animals around so if disaster strikes, you’ll be prepared. • The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) records an average of 20, 000 earthquakes every year (about 50 a day) around the world. There are, however, millions of earthquakes estimated to occur every year that are too weak to be recorded.

Fun Facts: Volcanoes • There about 1, 900 active volcanoes on the earth. . • Most of the earth's volcanoes are in the Pacific Ocean, in an area called the Ring of Fire. • The word “volcano” comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. • Volcanoes are openings in the Earth’s surface. When they are active they can let ash, gas and hot magma escape in sometimes violent and spectacular eruptions. • While most volcanoes form near tectonic boundaries, they can also form in areas that contain abnormally hot rock inside the Earth. Known as mantle plumes, these hotspots are found at a number of locations around the globe with the most notable being in Hawaii. • Hot liquid rock under the Earth’s surface is known as magma, it is called lava after it comes out of a volcano. • Some famous volcanic eruptions of modern times include Mount Krakatoa in 1883, Novarupta in 1912, Mount St Helens in 1980 and Mt Pinatubo in 1991. • Most people think of volcanoes as large cone shaped mountains but that is just one type, others feature wide plateaus, fissure vents (cracks were lava emerges) and bulging dome shapes. • There also volcanoes found on the ocean floor and even under icecaps, such as those found in Iceland. • Common volcanic gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen sulfide. • Volcanic eruptions can send ash high into the air, over 30 km (17 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

Jeopardy Challenge: Now let’s PLAY Jeopardy *How much do you remember from today’s lesson? • Rules: • NO notes, put everything away, let’s see how much you have learned • Divide the class into (2) groups • Decide which team goes first • Each team will choose a topic and they will have only (15 seconds) to give an answer • Click on the slide to show the answer: if the team gets it right they get to choose another category and they keep on going until they get a wrong answer or if they do not answer in the allotted time • The next team will do the same • After all of the categories have been completed, add up the scores • Final Jeopardy Question: • Each team will decide how much they are willing to wager and place it on a sheet of paper • You will have 20 seconds to write down your answer on the sheet that you placed you wager on • Collect the sheets immediately after the 20 seconds • Click on the slide to reveal the answer and add up the scores • The team with the highest score wins!!

Let’s Play Jeopardy! Please go to the Jeopardy power point.

References: • • • Image courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey. Source https: //oceanservice. noaa. gov/facts/hawaii. html https: //www. nps. gov/yell/learn/nature/volcanoqa. htm (source: http: //beyondpenguins. ehe. osu. edu/issue/earths-changing-surface/the-forces-that-change-the-face-of-earth Source https: //pnsn. org/outreach/native-american-stories/thunderbird-and-whale-overview Source http: //www. native-languages. org/thunderbird. htm (source: https: //digitalcommons. unl. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1590&context=greatplainsquarterly) (source: http: //www. kfvs 12. com/story/307729/make-your-own-seismograph Source http: //www. geo. mtu. edu/UPSeis/magnitude. html Souce http: //beyondpenguins. ehe. osu. edu/issue/earths-changing-surface/the-forces-that-change-the-face-of-earth Source http: //glencoe. mheducation. com/sites/0078768365/student_view 0/self-check_quizzes. html