Advanced Plate Tectonics, Logic, Radioactivity, and Probability: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Advanced Plate Tectonics, Logic, Radioactivity, and Probability: AComprehensive AnalysisShow all of your work. Maximum possible points: 501.Plate Tectonics(8 pts)A new chain of islands is discovered, with a high frequency of volcanic activity. Fourhypotheses are proposed to explain the cause of the volcanic activity.H1: The islands are found on a convergent boundary.H2: The islands are found on a divergent boundary.H3: The islands are found on a transform boundary.H4: The islands are found on a hotspot.a.(2 pts)Which of the four hypotheses could be ruled out immediately as thecause of the volcanic activity? Why?The hypothesis that could be ruled out immediately isH3: The islands are found on a transformboundary.Transform boundaries are characterized by plates sliding past each other horizontally. These boundariesdo not typically generate volcanic activity since there is no subduction (where oneplate is forced belowanother) or magma generation associated with them. The lack of convergence or divergence means thatvolcanic activity is unlikely to occur along transform boundaries.b.(6 pts)For each of the other three hypotheses, find one other piece of physicalevidence(earthquake,elevation, volcanic,age of ocean floor, or other) thatcould be used as evidence to support the hypothesis above the remaininghypotheses. Explain your answers.•H1: The islands are found on a convergent boundary.Evidence:Earthquake activity and deepocean trenches.oAt convergent boundaries, one tectonic plate is forced under another, leading tosubduction zones. These subduction zones generate frequent and sometimes deepearthquakes. Additionally, the formation of deep ocean trenches is a characteristicfeature of convergent boundaries. These features could be used to support thehypothesis that the volcanic activity is occurring along a convergent boundary.

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•H2: The islands are found on a divergentboundary.Evidence:Age of the ocean floor and thepresence of a mid-ocean ridge.oDivergent boundaries are typically associated with mid-ocean ridges, where twotectonic plates move apart, creating new oceanic crust. The age of the ocean floor canbe used to determine if the islands are located near a divergent boundary, as the furtheraway from the ridge, the older the oceanic crust. Newer oceanic crust near the ridgewould support the hypothesis of volcanic activity occurring along a divergent boundary.•H4: The islands are found on a hotspot.Evidence:Volcanic activity and the age of the islands.oHotspots are locations where hot mantle plumes rise from deep within the Earth andcause volcanic activity on the surface, even in the middle of tectonic plates. A key pieceof evidence for a hotspot is a chain of volcanic islands where the volcanoes decrease inage as you move away from the current active hotspot location. This is seen in hotspotslike the Hawaiian Islands, where older islands are found further from the hotspot andnewer islands are located closer to it.2.Logic, Plate Tectonicsand Radioactivity(22 pts)Are the following statements true or false? If it is true, explain. If it is false,provide acounterexample (i.e. a specific examplewhich shows the statement to be false). Thisquestionmayinvolve research beyond the course notes.a.If a boundary has deep earthquakes, then it is a convergent boundary.False.•Deep earthquakes occur in subduction zones, which are typically found at convergentboundaries. However, deep earthquakes can also occur in other tectonic settings, such as in thecase of transform faults that cause stress in the Earth's crust at greater depths.•Example:The Japan Trench is a subduction zone with deep earthquakes, supporting this as anexample of a convergent boundary. However, earthquakes also occur along mid-ocean ridges indivergent boundaries at greater depths.b.If a boundary is convergent, then it has deep earthquakes.True.•Convergent boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another (subduction),commonly experience deep earthquakes due to the interaction between the plates and theresulting strain at these depths.

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•Example:The Peru-Chile Trench at the subduction zone along the Pacific Plate has deepearthquakes associated with it.c.If a boundary is in the ocean, then it is divergent.False.•Oceanic boundaries can be either divergent, convergent, or transform.•Example:The mid-Atlantic ridge is a divergent boundary found in the ocean, but the MarianaTrench is a convergent boundary in the ocean, where one oceanic plate subducts beneathanother.d.If a boundary is divergent, then it is in the ocean.False.•While many divergent boundaries occur beneath oceans (e.g., the Mid-Atlantic Ridge), divergentboundaries can also occur on land.•Example:The East African Rift is a divergent boundary between two tectonic plates that islocated on land.e.If a boundary is transform, then it has shallow earthquakes.True.•Transform boundaries, where two plates slide past each other horizontally, generally haveshallow earthquakes because the sliding motion typically does not create the deep stressassociated with other types of plate boundary interactions.•Example:The San Andreas Fault in California is a transform boundary that produces shallowearthquakes.f.If a boundary has shallow earthquakes, then it is a transform boundary.False.

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