EVSC 2800 Study Guide - Final Guide: Water Cycle, Ophiolite, Supercontinent Cycle

• School: University of Virginia
• Department: Environmental Sciences
• Course: EVSC 2800
• Professor: Herman Janet

Document Summary

A melange happens when two continents approach each other, a heterogeneous mixture of rock materials metaphorphose under high temperatures and high pressures. Caught in the collision of two continents are continental shelf and deep-water sediments that become metamorphosed, ophiolite fragments, and magmatic intrusions shot throughout. An accreted terrane is a smaller block of rock that contrasts sharply with its surroundings and may be fragments of continental material that originated elsewhere and became attached through collision. The wilson cycle describes the cycle of opening and closing of ocean basins. The appalachians include rocks from the precambrian to the cenozoic. The tectonic history of repeated convergence and divergence resulted in structures and rock types. Water is the predominant transport agent for sediments, generally moving sediments from high to low elevations. The uplands serve as a sediment source (moving water is eroding the landscape) >> sediment is transported by moving water >> slowly moving water deposits its sediment load.