Earthguide - Demo

Supercontinents and the Wilson Cycle

Animation by Earthguide
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Introduce vocabular and locate tectonic features and processes. Check
Vocabulary - Have students distinguish between lithosphere and crust
Dimensional thinking - Have students make the connection between horizonal block diagrams in their textbook with location on a sphere
Process - Show students the process of seafloor spreading
Process - Show students the process of subduction
Process - Show students how one ocean opens while another closes (Wilson Cycle), even when both oceans are still producing new seafloor.

Which changes shape on this diagram - oceanic or contintal areas?
[While not entirely true, the overall areas of the continents have not changed very much compared with oceans that grow and disappear entirely.]
Why is ther no subduction along Atlantic continental margins? Even relatively young oceanic crust subducts into the Peru-Chile Trench?
How many plates are displayed in the animation?



	Supercontinents and the Wilson Cycle Back Home Animation by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography Using this illustration to explain Introduce vocabular and locate tectonic features and processes. Check Vocabulary - Have students distinguish between lithosphere and crust Dimensional thinking - Have students make the connection between horizonal block diagrams in their textbook with location on a sphere Process - Show students the process of seafloor spreading Process - Show students the process of subduction Process - Show students how one ocean opens while another closes (Wilson Cycle), even when both oceans are still producing new seafloor. Questions for thought Which changes shape on this diagram - oceanic or contintal areas? [While not entirely true, the overall areas of the continents have not changed very much compared with oceans that grow and disappear entirely.] Why is ther no subduction along Atlantic continental margins? Even relatively young oceanic crust subducts into the Peru-Chile Trench? How many plates are displayed in the animation? © 2007 Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All rights reserved.