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Lesson 4.14 Plate Tectonics and the Carbon Cycle

Last updated 7 months ago
15 questions
Read the article below and answer the questions about the text. This article is a popular science version of a scientific article. The embedded video shows the model that came from the research.
The actual article is
Evolution of Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt
R. Dietmar Müller, Ben Mather, Adriana Dutkiewicz, Tobias Keller, Andrew Merdith, Christopher M. Gonzalez,Weronika Gorczyk & Sabin Zahirovic
Nature volume 605, pages629–639 (2022)
1

What role do tectonic plates play in the carbon cycle?

1

How did the Cretaceous hothouse climate relate to tectonic plate movement?

1

What atmospheric COâ‚‚ level characterized the Cretaceous hothouse?

1

What significant climate transition began in the Cenozoic Era

1

Where is carbon released into the atmosphere

1

The speed that the plates move is related to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere

1

Besides volcanism, other major processes involved in cycling carbon are

1
Tectonic plates slow down when they ____________ . This process creates ______________ .
Other Answer Choices:
mountains
collide
islands
diverge
1
Formation of ______________ can push ancient ___________ carbon-rich ______________ onto the surface and expose them to ____________ . This process makes the carbon available for biological activity or ______________________ reactions that release carbon in to the atmosphere.
Other Answer Choices:
chemical
sediments
buried
mountains
erosion
sedimentation
islands
The video blow shows plate motions, carbon storage within tectonic plates and carbon degassing along mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones through time. Our carbon model shows these processes alone cannot explain global cooling in the Cenozoic Era. The effects of rock erosion, not shown here, played a key role. Arrows indicate plate motion speed.
1

In the model, the most carbon is being released at

3

How does the pattern of carbon release change as the plates move? What are three things that you noticed?

1

The areas in the model that are releasing the most carbon are colored

1

The model shows an increase in carbon stored in the oceanic plates because of

5

Summarize the model presented in the article for why atmospheric carbon dioxide decreased during the Cenezoic Era. (You should have two major mechanisms)

1
Olivine is a mineral common in the upper mantle that ____________ carbon dioxide. Minerals like olivine are thought to be how ___________ is stored in the mantle. Heating the minerals _____________ the carbon dioxide which is one explanation for why ______________ release carbon dioxide.
Other Answer Choices:
absorbs
volcanoes
releases
carbon