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Lecture 14 Tectonic Plates and Earths Internal Structure CSS PMS General Science and Ability

The document discusses plate tectonics and earthquakes. It describes how the Earth's lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move and interact along boundaries. The three main types of plate boundaries are divergent where plates separate, convergent where they collide, and transform where they slide past each other. Earthquakes occur primarily at plate boundaries due to the buildup and sudden release of energy. Different types of seismic waves transmit earthquake energy outward from the hypocenter or focus of fault rupture.

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Asif Sardar
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129 views

Lecture 14 Tectonic Plates and Earths Internal Structure CSS PMS General Science and Ability

The document discusses plate tectonics and earthquakes. It describes how the Earth's lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move and interact along boundaries. The three main types of plate boundaries are divergent where plates separate, convergent where they collide, and transform where they slide past each other. Earthquakes occur primarily at plate boundaries due to the buildup and sudden release of energy. Different types of seismic waves transmit earthquake energy outward from the hypocenter or focus of fault rupture.

Uploaded by

Asif Sardar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Structure of

the Earth and


Plate Tectonics

General Science & Ability


Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth's
crust and uppermost mantle, together
referred to as the lithosphere. The
plates are around 100 km (62 mi)
thick
 Ifyou look at a map of the world, you
may notice that some of the continents
could fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
 About 250 million years
ago
 Platemovements
formed the
supercontinent
Pangaea.
 Many extinctions
occurred,
allowing survivors
to diversify.
Pangea
Pangaea or Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the
late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from earlier
continental units approximately 300 million years ago, and it began
to break apart about 175 million years ago
Plate Tectonics
 The Earth’s Lithosphere is divided into 7
major plates which are moved in various
directions.
 This plate motion causes them to collide,
pull apart, or scrape against each other.
 Each type of interaction causes a
characteristic set of Earth structures or
“tectonic” features.
 The word, tectonic, refers to the
deformation of the crust as a consequence
of plate interaction.
World Plates
What are tectonic plates made of?
 Plates are made of rigid
lithosphere.

The lithosphere is
made up of the
crust and the upper
part of the mantle.

 Below the lithosphere


(which makes up the
tectonic plates) is
the asthenosphere.
Plate Movement
 “Plates”of lithosphere are moving around
by the underlying hot mantle convection
cells
What happens at tectonic
plate boundaries?
Three types of plate boundary
 Divergent

 Convergent

 Transform
Divergent Boundaries
 As plates move apart new material is erupted to fill the gap
Convergent Boundaries
There are three styles of
convergent plate boundaries
Continent-continent collision
Continent-oceanic crust collision
Ocean-ocean collision
Continent-Continent Collision
 Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, Himalayas
Continent-Oceanic Crust Collision
 Called SUBDUCTION
Subduction  Oceanic lithosphere subducts
underneath the continental lithosphere
 Oceanic lithosphere heats and
dehydrates as it subsides
 The melt rises forming volcanism
 E.g. The Andes
Ocean-Ocean Plate Collision
 When two oceanic plates collide, one runs
over the other which causes it to sink into
the mantle forming a subduction zone.
 The subducting plate is bent downward to
form a very deep depression in the ocean
floor called a trench.
 The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are
found along trenches.
 E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!
Ocean-Ocean Plate Collision
Transform Boundaries
 Where plates slide past each other

Above: View of the San Andreas


transform fault
Volcanoes and Plate
Tectonics
What’s the
connection?

The name
"volcano" has its
origin from the
name of Vulcan,
a god of fire in
Roman
mythology.
Pacific Ring of Fire

Volcanism is
mostly
focused at
plate
margins
Volcanoes are formed by:
- Subduction - Rifting - Hotspots
Hot Spot Volcano

Hotspot
volcanoes
What are Hotspot Volcanoes?
 Hot mantle plumes breaching the surface in the middle of a tectonic
plate

The Hawaiian island chain are


examples of hotspot volcanoes.
Photo: Tom Pfeiffer / www.volcanodiscovery.com
The tectonic plate moves over a fixed hotspot
forming a chain of volcanoes.

The volcanoes get younger from one end to the other.


Types of Volcanoes
Types of Volcanoes
Types of Volcanoes
Parts of Volcano
Earthquakes and Plate
Tectonics…

…what’s the connection?


What are Earthquakes?
 The shaking or trembling caused by the
sudden release of energy
 Usuallyassociated with faulting or
breaking of rocks
 Continuing adjustment of position
results in aftershocks
Where do earthquakes form?
Figure showing the tectonic setting of earthquakes
What is the Elastic Rebound Theory?

 Explains how energy is


stored in rocks
 Rocks bend until the
strength of the rock
is exceeded
 Rupture occurs and
the rocks quickly
rebound to an
undeformed shape
 Energy is released in
waves that radiate
outward from the
fault
The Focus and Epicenter of an Earthquake

• The point within Earth


where faulting begins is
the focus, or hypocenter
• The point directly above
the focus on the surface
is the epicenter
Seismographs record
earthquake events

At convergent boundaries,
focal depth increases
along a dipping seismic
zone called a Benioff
zone
How are the Size and Strength of an Earthquake Measured?

 Magnitude
 Richter scale
measures total amount
of energy released by
an earthquake;
independent of
intensity
 Amplitude of the
largest wave produced
by an event is
corrected for distance
and assigned a value
on an open-ended
logarithmic scale
Where Do Earthquakes Occur and How Often?

~80%of all earthquakes occur in


the circum-Pacific belt
 most of these result from
convergent margin activity
 ~15% occur in the
Mediterranean-Asiatic belt
 remaining 5% occur in the
interiors of plates and on
spreading ridge centers
 more than 150,000 quakes
strong enough to be felt are
recorded each year
What are the Destructive Effects of Earthquakes?

 Ground Shaking
 amplitude, duration, and damage increases in poorly
consolidated rocks
The Economics and Societal Impacts of EQs

• Building collapse
• Fire
• Tsunami
• Ground failure
What are Seismic Waves?

 Response of material to the


arrival of energy fronts
released by rupture
 Two types:
 Body waves
P and S
 Surface waves
R and L
Body Waves: P and S waves
 Body waves
 P or primary waves
 fastest waves
 travel through solids,
liquids, or gases
 compressional wave,
material movement is
in the same direction
as wave movement
 S or secondary waves
 slower than P waves
 travel through solids
only
 shear waves - move
material
perpendicular to
wave movement
Surface Waves: R and L waves

 Surface Waves
 Travel just below or along the ground’s surface
 Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-side
movement
 Especially damaging to buildings
Can Earthquakes be Predicted?
Earthquake Precursors
 changes in elevation or tilting of land surface,
fluctuations in groundwater levels, magnetic field,
electrical resistance of the ground
 seismic dilatancy model
 seismic gaps

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