Posted: September 10th, 2021

OCE1001 – Plate Tectonics Assignment Paper

MOVEMENT ON THE OCEAN FLOOR The plate tectonics theory is the accepted idea in the scientific community about how the Earth works. It explains geologic phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building. It took decades of careful observations, interpretations, arguing, modifying ideas, etc., to develop this idea. You will spend some time evaluating the lines of evidence that were used to develop the idea that we now know as plate tectonics. For this assignment, you will compare several lines of evidence that support the ideas of continental drift and plate tectonics. You will study the maps and answer questions about the reading, maps, and spatial patterns among the data.

QUESTIONS Answer the following questions. Submit a MS Word document or *.pdf file with your responses to the assignment dropbox. All answers should be in your own words (do not copy and paste definitions). Answer each question in at least one complete sentence; some answers may require more explanation than others. Each question is worth 2 points unless otherwise indicated.

Evidence For Continental Drift What does ‘continental drift’ mean? When was this idea of continental drift proposed? What did Wegener observe about the shapes of continental coastlines? Give one example of a pair of continents that were used to support the existence of Pangaea. What is a fossil? What was observed about the location of fossils that supported the existence of Pangaea? What types of fossils were observed? How did characteristics (e.g. location, chemical composition, age, etc.,) of certain rocks and mountain ranges support the existence of Pangaea? What is a glacier? Which environmental conditions are necessary for glaciers to form? What is a glacial deposit? What does the presence of glacial deposits tell scientists about the past climate in a particular area? How did glacial deposits provide evidence that Pangaea had existed? Why wasn’t Wegener’s idea of continental drift accepted by the scientific community? Evidence For Plate Tectonics The Theory of Plate Tectonics
 is
 a 
modified
 version
 of
continental
 drift.
 Scientists
 made
 several
 observations
 that
 provided
 evidence
 for
 plate 
tectonics.

 To facilitate your understanding of these three lines of evidence, you will review four world maps. Look for patterns shared between the four maps.

The red, orange, and yellow color map illustrates the age of the seafloor. https://bconline.broward.edu/content/Courses/Oceanography/OCE1001/assignments/plate-tech/1.age-of-seafloor.png?_&d2lSessionVal=OVJPD3BYqmM5WH9ktx6ghzF8q

The second map illustrates sediment thickness on the ocean floor. https://bconline.broward.edu/content/Courses/Oceanography/OCE1001/assignments/plate-tech/2.sediment-thickness.png?_&d2lSessionVal=OVJPD3BYqmM5WH9ktx6ghzF8q

The top black and white map illustrates the location of mid ocean ridges. https://bconline.broward.edu/content/Courses/Oceanography/OCE1001/assignments/plate-tech/3.mid-ocean-ridges.png?_&d2lSessionVal=OVJPD3BYqmM5WH9ktx6ghzF8q

The lower black and white map illustrates the location of plate boundaries. https://bconline.broward.edu/content/Courses/Oceanography/OCE1001/assignments/plate-tech/4.plate-bound.png?_&d2lSessionVal=OVJPD3BYqmM5WH9ktx6ghzF8q

Answer the following questions:

Is the ocean floor completely flat? No, of course it is not! List four physical features found on the ocean floor and briefly describe what each looks like. Which rock is the seafloor (oceanic crust) made of? Fill-in-the-blank: The approximate age of the oldest oceanic crust is _____. (1 point) Fill-in-the-blank: The approximate age of the youngest oceanic crust is _____. (1 point) Generally, where is the oldest oceanic crust found? Generally, where is the youngest oceanic crust found? Where does sediment on the bottom of the ocean come from? Generally, where are the thickest layers of marine sediment found? Generally, where are the thinnest layers of marine sediment found?

Link to chapter: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/learning/player/lesson01.html

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