Tuesday December 4, 2012

1. TuesdayDecember 4, 2012 (Video Worksheet - Plate Tectonics, Volcanism, and Earthquakes)

2. The Launch Pad Tuesday, 12/4/12 In 1915, Alfred Wegener first proposed the continental drift hypothesis, which states that a supercontinent called Pangaea began breaking apart about 200 million years ago. He said that the continents “drifted” to their present positions. List 5 pieces of evidence cited by Wegener that supported his hypothesis. • the fit of South America and Africa • fossils match across the seas • rock types and structures match across the seas • similar mountain ranges on different continents • similar ancient climates evidence matches on present-day continents

3. Announcements Happy December!

5. Recent Events in Science Have Venusian Volcanoes Been Caught in the Act? Read All About It! Six years of observations by the European Space Agency's Venus Express have shown large changes in the sulfur dioxide content of the planet's atmosphere, and one intriguing possible explanation is volcanic eruptions. The thick atmosphere of Venus contains over a million times as much sulfur dioxide as Earth's, where almost all of the toxic gas is generated by volcanic activity. Most of the sulfur dioxide on Venus is hidden below the planet's dense upper cloud deck, because the gas is readily destroyed by sunlight. That means any sulfur dioxide detected in Venus' upper atmosphere above the cloud deck must have been recently supplied from below. Venus is covered in hundreds of volcanoes, but whether they remain active today is much debated, providing an important scientific goal for Venus Express. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121203081838.htm

6. Figure 7.A The Breakup of Pangaea Due to Tectonic Plate Movement

7. Video Worksheet Plate Tectonics, Volcanism, and Earthquakes