Geology and Tectonics Flashcards

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Tectonic plates

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A block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle that move by convection currents.

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Paleomagnetism

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The study of the alignment of magnetic minerals in rock, specifically as it relates to the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles; also the magnetic properties that rock acquires during formation.

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Continental drift

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The gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time.

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Sea-floor spreading

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The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies.

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Divergent boundary

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The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.

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Convergent boundary

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A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other.

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Transform boundary

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The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally.

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Subduction zone

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In tectonic plates, the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.

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Wegener

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Proposed the theory of continental drift.

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Holmes

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Proposed the convection theory.