Wegner's hypothesis that earth's continents were joined as a single landmass that broke apart about 200 million years ago and slowly moved to their present positions.

Ancient landmass made up of all of the continents that began to break apart about 200 million years ago

device used to map the ocean floor that detects small changes in magnetic fields

study of earth's magnetic record using data gathered from iron-bearing minerals in rocks that have recorded the orientation of Earth's magnetic field at the time of their formation

changes in Earths' magnetic field over geologic time, recorded in ocean-floor rocks and continental basalt flows.

line on a map that connects points of the same age

Hess's theory that new ocean crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and destroyed at deep-sea trenches: occurs in a continuous cycle of magma intrusion and spreading.

Theory of plate tectonics

states that the Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into plates, which are huge rock slabs that move in different directions and at different rates over Earth's surface.

place where two Earth's tectonic plates are moving apart

long, narrow depression that forms when continental crust begins to separate at a divergent boundary

place where two of Earth's tectonic plates are moving toward each other

process by which one tectonic plate slips beneath another tectonic plate

place where two tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other that is characterized by long faults and shallow earthquakes.

tectonic process associated with convection currents in Earth's mantle that occurs when the weight of an elevated ridges pushes an oceanic plate toward a subduction zone.

tectonic process associated with convection currents in Earth's mantle that occurs as the wight of the subducting plate pulls the trailing lithosphere into a subduction zone

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plate tectonics ES

plate tectonics Earth Science

Term	Definition
Continental Drift	Wegner's hypothesis that earth's continents were joined as a single landmass that broke apart about 200 million years ago and slowly moved to their present positions.
Pangaea	Ancient landmass made up of all of the continents that began to break apart about 200 million years ago
Magnetometer	device used to map the ocean floor that detects small changes in magnetic fields
Paleomagnetism	study of earth's magnetic record using data gathered from iron-bearing minerals in rocks that have recorded the orientation of Earth's magnetic field at the time of their formation
Magnetic reversal	changes in Earths' magnetic field over geologic time, recorded in ocean-floor rocks and continental basalt flows.
Isochron	line on a map that connects points of the same age
Seafloor spreading	Hess's theory that new ocean crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and destroyed at deep-sea trenches: occurs in a continuous cycle of magma intrusion and spreading.
Theory of plate tectonics	states that the Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into plates, which are huge rock slabs that move in different directions and at different rates over Earth's surface.
Divergent boundary	place where two Earth's tectonic plates are moving apart
Rift valley	long, narrow depression that forms when continental crust begins to separate at a divergent boundary
Convergent boundary	place where two of Earth's tectonic plates are moving toward each other
Subduction	process by which one tectonic plate slips beneath another tectonic plate
Transform boundary	place where two tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other that is characterized by long faults and shallow earthquakes.
Ridge push	tectonic process associated with convection currents in Earth's mantle that occurs when the weight of an elevated ridges pushes an oceanic plate toward a subduction zone.
Slab pull	tectonic process associated with convection currents in Earth's mantle that occurs as the wight of the subducting plate pulls the trailing lithosphere into a subduction zone

Created by: mrsklann

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