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These pages, from PBS Online, demonstrate how plate tectonics affect the Earth's surface. It includes a brief introduction to the four main boundary types (convergent, divergent, collisional, and transform), a series of pages with information about related people and discoveries, such as pioneer geologists Hess, Wegener, and Holmes, and an interactive activity illustrating plate movement.
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In this activity, students simulate deformational effects on Earth's crust using peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These common sandwich components are used to model geologic features such as synclines, anticlines, and monoclines, and to demonstrate the effects of stresses and strains.
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Educational standards associated with this resource:
Other: Read
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Available
on
this
site
is
a
host
of
images,
maps,
and
animations
derived
from
bathymetric
and
topographic
data.
Static
images
and
maps
include
those
of
estimated
seafloor
topography
from
satellite
altimetry,
total
sediment
thickness
of
the
ocean
floor,
Great
Lakes
bathymetry,
world
crustal
ages,
and
coastal
relief.
Of
particular
note
is
an
interactive
surface
map
of
the
Earth,
which
is
composed
of
...
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This
article
discusses
the
idea
of
'hot
spot'
volcanoes,
those
not
associated
with
plate
tectonic
boundaries,
but
rather
with
relatively
stationary
sources
of
heat
energy
(thermal
plumes)
in
the
mantle.
Topics
include
the
development
of
the
theory
by
Canadian
geophysicist
J.
Tuzo
Wilson;
the
mechanics
of
volcanism
over
a
hot
spot
as
seen
in
the
Hawaiian
Islands;
ancient
Hawaiian
observations
of
the
...
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This resource is part of :
This Dynamic Planet: World Map of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics -
http:/
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This
activity
is
designed
to
familiarize
the
learner
with
the
concepts
of
strike
and
dip,
to
make
further
studies
of
faults
and
fault
models
easier.
It
also
introduces
learners
to
a
few
key
elements
of
seismology,
which
will
be
seen
again
later
in
much
greater
detail.
Knowledge
of
how
to
solve
basic
trigonometric
equations
is
needed
for
this
activity.
To
describe
a
fault
plane
in
simple
terms,
geologists
...
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This
is
a
short
lesson
about
scarp
formation.
The
answer
is
provided
as
an
animated
GIF.
This
example
points
out
a
general
rule
of
fault-related
geology:
the
apparent
offset
of
a
feature
(in
this
case,
level
ground
offset
vertically)
is
not
always
an
indication
of
the
actual
displacement
(horizontal
cutting
of
a
pre-existing
scarp)
along
a
fault.
This
is
one
of
the
more
extreme
examples
of
that
rule.
...
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This
activity
has
two
parts:
the
first
part
will
demonstrate
the
weaknesses
of
simple
fault
models
(like
block
diagrams)
in
depicting
the
process
of
fault
rupture
accurately;
and
the
second
part
is
centered
around
a
fairly
simple
animation
of
rupture
propagation,
seen
by
an
oblique
map
view,
that
attempts
to
show
more
accurately
what
we
should
envision
when
we
think
about
fault
rupture.
This
activity
...
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When
plate
tectonics
causes
part
of
the
Earth's
crust
to
compress,
as
in
a
zone
of
collision,
or
to
extend,
as
in
a
zone
of
rifting,
faults
must
form
to
help
accomplish
this
task.
While
the
deeper
layers
of
rock,
due
to
extreme
heat
and
pressure,
can
fairly
easily
deform
to
accommodate
the
stretching
of
rifting
or
the
compression
of
collision,
the
brittle
rock
of
the
uppermost
crust
must
break
and
...
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Some
faults
experience
appreciable
amounts
of
dip
slip
and
strike
slip
simultaneously,
and
the
nomenclature
of
these
faults
reflects
this.
This
is
an
exercise
regarding
the
nomenclature
of
faults
that
experience
appreciable
amounts
of
dip
slip
and
strike
slip
simultaneously.
In
this
activity,
learners
view
animations
of
these
faults
and
attempt
to
correctly
interpret
the
sense
of
motion.
Clicking
...
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The orientation and sense of slip of faults in an area is largely dependent upon the tectonic forces present in that area. In this exercise learners are shown several idealized fault-block models and asked to interpret the sense of movement along certain fault planes within a given tectonic environment. Clicking on the images provides the correct answers.
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