DUMMY
Wilson Cycle Lab Through numerous reading summary exercises this semester, you have been introduced to one of the most comprehensive ideas in the geosciences – the concept of Plate Tectonics. This overarching concept explains numerous phenomena, including the dissipation of earth’s internal heat over time, the current modification of the earth’s surface through lithospheric movement, the separation and convergence of supercontinents, the opening and closing of ocean basins, as well as long-term climatic fluctuations. The repeated cyclicity of ocean basin formation and destruction, along with continental growth and fragmentation, is captured in the tectonic sub-concept of the Wilson Cycle, named after the geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson. Use the links provided below to further explore this concept and create a visual comparison of modern and/or ancient examples of the stages of this tectonic cycle. The resulting Word document should be saved with an appropriate title and submitted to our Canvas site by the specified due date. Background Information: https://polarpedia.eu/en/wilson-cycle/ https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/470/1/1/tab-figures-data You may need to perform your own web searches to gather information beyond the sites above. Make certain to cite your sources where you use them in the document you create. Resource Tools: Google Earth - Download and install Google Earth Pro for Desktop (Do not use web or mobile version) https://www.google.com/earth/versions/ - Download KMZ file, open in Google Earth Pro to see plate boundaries and motion direction https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/plate-boundaries-kmz-file USGS Latest Earthquakes Map - https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=10.57422,-148.44727&extent=58.53959,-41.57227 Lab Exercise: Follow the steps below to collect, display, and interpret information for each of the six stages of the Wilson Cycle (as presented on the Polarpedia site). Label each section of your lab with the appropriate stage name as a heading, and then label all images as captions. Give APA citations for all sources used within each section, including the sites provided if used. 1. Locate two modern examples or both a modern example and an ancient example of each stage of the cycle, visible at the surface of the earth. 2. In Google Earth, navigate to the site of each example and adjust the viewing altitude and angle to properly display the surface features of the area. Use the snipping tool or print screen function to capture and crop an image of the example location and paste it into your Word document in the appropriate stage section. Label the image. 3. In the USGS Latest Earthquakes map, navigate to the site of each example and adjust the viewing altitude to properly display the surface features of the area. Be sure to turn on the Ocean or Terrain overlay to show the greatest surface detail. Also select the 30 Days, All Magnitudes data display to show the greatest amount of recent earthquake activity possible in the area. Capture the image and paste and label it in your Word document as in Step 2 above. 4. For each image, in each example, in each stage, describe the surface topography in the caption, in your own words. Also note the frequency and intensity of seismic activity in the area in the last 30 days, even if there is none. 5. In a set of summary statements, define and describe the stage of the cycle being displayed. Then, for each pair of modern and/or modern and ancient examples, compare the level of current seismic activity. Is the ancient example completely inactive at the present? Which modern example is more active? Does this level of activity fit with the surficial development of this feature? 6. Give APA citations for all sources used within each section, including the sites provided if used. To be clear, each of the six stages will contain the following: A heading Four labeled images with captions A set of summary/comparative statements APA citations