Plate Tectonic Analysis

There are three different types of plate boundaries. The first type of plate boundaries is, the spreading boundary. A spreading boundary is when two plates move apart. The spreading boundary is also known as a divergent boundary. The second type of plate boundary is a colliding boundary. A colliding boundary is when two plates come together, or collide. It is also known as convergent boundary. The third is, a sliding boundary. A sliding boundary is when two plates slip past each other moving in opposite directions. It is also known as transform boundary. Those were the three different types of plate

II: Plate tectonics shows the features and movement of the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics says that the outer shell of the earth is broken down into pieces often called plates (Korenaga). These plates hover over the mantle creating movement (Marshak). With plate tectonics you can determine the earth’s features without actually seeing it.

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s lithosphere (top layer of the Earth’s crust) is split up into rigid sections called plates that are moving relative to one another as they move on top of the underlying semi-molten mantle. These plates are either continental, The North American Plate, or oceanic, The Nazca Plate.

There are three distinct types of plate boundaries existing, which are supported by geological observation, geophysical data, and theoretical considerations. Their names and categories are based on if adjacent plates move apart from each other (divergent plate margins), toward one another (convergent plate margins), or slip past one another in a direction parallel to their common boundary (transform plate margins) (Pitman, W.C., 2007).

The youngest of these rocks are dated at about 220,000 years ago. Rhyodacties and quartz latites in the modern caldera area extruded from about 320,000 years ago to 260,000 years ago, and then silica-rich rhyolites at Glass Mountain northeast of the caldera erupted from about 210,000 years ago to 80,000 years ago. The scattered distribution of the initial mafic eruptions indicates that they were erupted from the mantle, while the slightly younger domes and flows were from a deep-crustal source. The youngest rhyolite eruptions erupted at the northeast rim of the caldera at Glass Mountain and were the first activity of the silicic Long Valley magma chamber (Bailey, et. al., 1989).

Copper-zinc (VMS-type?) mineralized zones were discovered in Archean volcanic rocks in the southern part of North Williams Township by Metron Explorations Limited in 1970. The mineralized zone and surrounding area were evaluated with a HLEM survey and drilled with 2 DDHs (totaling 61.3 m) that did not intercept significantly mineralized rocks (Willars, 1971).

The conditions present in the Pacific Ring of Fire are conducive to forming hydrothermal mineral deposits. These conditions include the presence of hot water, fractures or veins in the rocks, a place for the deposits to settle, and a chemical reaction that results in a mineral deposit. If I was looking for a deposit of copper I would focus my attention on a place where all of the conditions are present and favorable for hydrothermal mineral deposits to be formed. Then I would conduct rock and plant analysis to confirm the presence of copper.

The Slave Structural Province is a unique and distinctive Archean craton in the northwest Canadian Shied, which is indicated by its rock types, deposits and structures (Padgham,1992). The Slave province covers much smaller than (1/10) that of Superior Province, which is about 213 000 km2. The supracrustals (33% of Slave province) consist of 70-80% of greywacke- mudstone and approximately 20% of volcanic rocks, which is high in SiO2 (felsic to intermediate) (Padgham,1992). There are abundant mineral deposits in the Slave Province: gold deposits, rare-element-rich pegmatite and zinc-lead-silver-concentrated volcanogenic massive sulfides (VMS), which differ from the high contents of copper-zinc-gold in the Superior Province (Padgham & Fyson, 1992).

12. List the three types of plate boundaries and describe the relative motion at each of them.

Historic data analysis, 3D models, interpretations of geophysical data, prospecting results and a mineral potential map of the Virginia Horn (VH) project are presented. Comparison of data from the VH to analog gold-hosting rocks in Canada suggest that future exploration should focus on identifying Au-bearing veins in the Midway sequence, within 300 meters of the Pike River fault (PRF). Specifically, exploration drilling should be conducted in the buried area north of the Jola and Sopp excavation pit, where the PRF is inferred to have experienced compressional bending and a silicified/arsenopyrite-rich metasediment (?) boulder has been discovered. A high-resolution aeromagnetic (or electromagnetic) survey would enhance a geologic interpretation of the VH, but may not be necessary as currently available data justify further exploration in the high-potential area outlined in this report.

Refer to the images above. Discuss in detail the two pieces of additional evidence that supported Wegener’s theory, now known as the theory of plate tectonics.

Kundo, 1982). The basalts have become under saturated that is moving toward a nepheline compositions. The andesites become less abundant that moving toward silica-rich, high alumina, and K20, Pyroxenes, and hornblende. Cat Hills is going through crystal fractionation and also crustal contamination that explains the observed trends (Albert M. Kundo, 1982). The basalt compositions are that are being controlled by the intersection of the Jemez lineament with the Rio Grande Rift and cause magma to be a trap in the mantle diapir below the rift. Cat hills have an existence of a high alumina alkali basalt that is over 40 km south of the transverse zone. This indicates that deep trapping of the magma has occurred away from the zone (Albert M. Kundo, 1982). The shallow origins indicated in the south of low-alkali olivine tholeiite and high-k andesites at Albuquerque and Los Lunas. The low-alkali olivine in Albuquerque volcanoes that is abnormal. The geothermal gradient is most of the basaltic magma, which is generated deeper below the zone that has high-alumina alkali basalts are formed (Albert M. Kundo,

At the beginning of the ADI silica lab, we were asked the question “Which “magma” leads to more explosive eruptions and is potentially more dangerous to humans?” . We would soon experiment with “silica” and liquid to determine how the silica content affects its viscosity and relates to potential dangers of a volcanic eruptions. For this experiment to be successful, you must know some key background information. Silica is a solid compound which is present in magma and influences its properties, viscosity is what we call a fluid's resistance to flow. These two core idea’s work together; high silica equals high viscosity, which traps more gases, and leads to a more explosive volcanic eruption. On the other hand,

The meteor is thought to have flash melted the crust which proceeded to differentiate into a granophyre and a leuconorite to norite composition. The granophyre makes up 60% of the complex and the leuconorite and norite make up the remaining 40% (Figure 1b)(Barnes et. al., 2005). About 50% of the ore is found in the sublayer norite and the breccia that is associated with the norite. This ore is mainly disseminated sulphides. The massive sulphides are located in the center

The beginnings of human history date back to over 20,000 years ago. However, the beginning of complex life on Earth began long before. Millions of years back in time, when the dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth, the planet consisted of only one supercontinent: Pangea. How do we know this? Alfred Wegener, a famous geographer, proposed a theory called Plate Tectonics that would explain why certain patterns of fossils of the same species were discovered on lands oceans away. This was due to continental drift, or the gradual movement of continents across the surface of the Earth over millions of years. If you fast-forward about few hundred million years to the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, you can see that humans have adapted away from hunting