The Role of the Knowledge of Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics helps us to understand three main things; the
distribution of the worlds major landforms, where natural hazards such
as volcanoes and earthquakes can strike, and the distribution of
minerals and energy supplies.
There are at seven main plates composed of the narrow crust that forms
the outer shell or limosphere of the Earth. All of these plates are in
continuous motion moving in different directions. This is continental
drift and can be proven by fossil evidence, structure of continents
and climatic change. This causes to plates to meet.
Plate margins are the points at which the plates meet. There are
three different types of these, each formed by a different process and
each causing a different feature.
The Constructive plate margin is located where two plates are moving
apart. As they separate magma rises into the gap formed and creates
new land. One example of this is the mid – Atlantic ridge which was
formed as the American plate and the Eurasian plate moved away from
each other, pulled by diverging convection currents in the upper
mantle. As the plates move apart, faults form and the fractures are
widened by tension. Magma is forced up these fissures by convection
currents and reaches the surface as lava. The volcanoes that are found
on constructive boundaries are shield volcanoes, for example, Mauna
Loa in Hawaii. The magma is derived from the planet's mantle and is
quite free flowing. The lava formed from this magma, usually basalt,
and flows for some distance over the surface before it sets, this
gives the volcano a slightly sloped shape, there is als...
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.... hydrogen
sulphide. Technology is used to help the prediction, satellites can
monitor heat changes, which is of great help to LEDC’s that do not
have the money to have ground monitoring stations.
However earthquakes are harder to predict and the best people can do
is prepare, which costs money. This is where LEDC’s suffer more when
they are hit by a natural disaster. They do not have the money to
prepare sufficiently, and then do not have the money to restore
afterwards.
If we had no knowledge of how plate tectonics, how they work and what
features they create, many more people would die when disasters
strike, and the world would suffer more economically. By managing
these, we cannot prevent an earthquake, volcanic eruption or tsunami
from occurring, but we can predict when, and how badly they will
occur.
Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
Evaluating the Evidence for Continental Drift There are several pieces of evidence certifying the existence of continental drift. They include mid oceanic ridges, fitting of continents, similarities of fossils on different continents and rock matches. The mid-oceanic ridges rise 3000 meters from the ocean floor and are more than 2000 kilometres wide surpassing the Himalayas in size. The mapping of the seafloor also revealed that these huge underwater mountain ranges have a deep trench, which bisects the length of the ridges, and in places is more than 2000 meters deep. Research into the heat flow from the ocean floor during the early 1960s revealed that the greatest heat flow was centred at the crests of these mid-oceanic ridges.
When the plates mash together on a convergent boundary, they can create an earthquake. A place with a convergent boundary is New Zealand. When the plates pull apart, a divergent boundary, they create a hole in the ocean that causes molten lava to rush up and it causes a volcano to form. A place with a divergent boundary is Iceland. With about 130 volcanoes all together, it has the most volcanoes of any country in the world and is on two tectonic plates. Santorini is currently in an area of earth where the African and Eurasian plate meet, and Atlantis disappeared with a rumble that could have come from a volcano or an
On Earthquakes An earthquake is a shaking or trembling of the crust of the earth caused by underground volcanic action or by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the surface. The volcanic action and shifting rocks create strain which continues to build to a sudden release of pressure resulting in a shock wave. The vibrations produced in the crust can vary from barely noticeable to enormously destructive. Shock waves can be classified into two broad categories. Waves that send particles oscillating back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling are called primary.
The plate tectonic theory is a theory that geologists use to help explain the Earth’s surface processes and events. It explains that the sliding of these plates are either away from each other, sliding past each other, or sliding into each other and causing one of the plates to slide beneath the other. There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries. A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Magma then flows up from the mantle to fill in the space between the plates, forming a raised ridge called a mid-ocean ridge. The magma also spreads in the exterior, forming new ocean floor and new oceanic crust. A convergent boundary occurs when two plates
Tectonic Activity The continents of the world are all separated by different tectonic plates which when collide is called Tectonic Activity. There are different forms of tectonic activity and different processes and landforms, which are involved during and as a result of the collisions. As and when these collisions are going to take place we can't determine because current technology hasn't allowed us to dig as far into the earth to the point of pressures which causes the plates to collide. These pressures are believed to be eruptions of liquid magma deep inside the earth.
Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates moving in the earth's crust. They either move apart or pull together at faults. Two forms of faults are normal faulting where the hanging wall moves downward causing rocks to be pulled apart by tension and reverse faulting, which is the opposite where the hanging wall moves upward casuing rocks to be forced together by tension. These movements cause tectonic plate boundaries called divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries and transform boundaries. Each boundary is different and play a
The Magnificent North American Tectonic Plate Even though other global problems are bigger than Plate tectonics, the North American Plate took many years to form, is very divers, and is purely magnifect because a big part of our everyday life and the plate tectonic theory is one of the oldest theories known to man. There are also many different aspects to the North American Plate. There are regular basic facts about the plates, there are specific scientists that gathered and founded information about this plate and many others. There is the location of this plate and the plates surrounding it. There are multiple different types of boundaries that surround this plate.
The plate tectonic plays an important role in understanding many of the geological aspects and observations and it allows scientists to prevent disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The Africa plate is an interested plate because it bounded with many difference major plates. This report will summery the general setting of the Africa plate with highlighting the most interested geological features in the first part. This including the type of plate boundaries and a brief history of the Africa plate. While the second part will focus on the east African rift and its widely debate initial and current mechanism processes.
Exploring Seismology The study of earthquakes and the structure of the earth, by both. naturally and artificially generated seismic waves. An earthquake is defined as the vibration of the Earth’s surface by sound or shock. waves usually generated by the energy released from rocks rupturing under stress or by friction between moving rock materials or mostly.
The concurrent convective circulations in the mantle leads to some segments of the mantle moving on top of the outer core which is very hot and molten in nature. This kind of movement in different segments occurs as tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are basically seven on the earth surface as major ones, although, several small ones exist also. The plates motions are characterized by varying velocities, this variance results to sub sequential collision of two plates (leading to formation of a mountain in a convergent boundary), drift of two plates (leading to formation of rifts in a divergent boundary), or parallel movement in a transform boundary(Webcache 3).
They are the earth’s crust; they move very slowly every year. As the tectonic plates slide over each other they cause earthquakes. Earthquakes produce various damaging effects this includes damage to structures of buildings, bridges and other standing formations which then...
Today, when people want to cross over the ocean and get to another continent, they have to take plane for eight or more hours or ship for few days. However, if people were born millions of years ago, they might easily cross a boundary of tow continents by accident. Because according to the continental drift theory, ages ago, the continents today were a completed one piece and called Pangaea. (Sandner, 506-507)
Plate tectonics is the theory that landmasses on tectonic plates are in slow constant movement due to convection currents in the mantle. Plate tectonics, or the movements of plates above the lithosphere (the most upper layer of earth's crust) can cause divergent, convergent,and transform boundaries.A boundary the way two tectonic plates collide. is Continental plates are plates that the continents are formed on. Oceanic plates are plates that the ocean covers, and the oceans form on top of these plates. Convergent boundaries and divergent boundaries are ways that these oceanic and continental plates interact with each other. Landforms are formed at boundaries. The landforms formed at boundaries depends on the type of plates that collide, and
I did not have dreams of being a geologist when I was twelve. But I was sure I did not want to become an engineer or a doctor or work as bank manager. I could not see myself sitting in a room and working my whole life in front of a machine. My dream was to roam and explore new places, and have a life that involves some kind of adventure. I took up Geology initially after high school on my father’s suggestion. A subject that started out just as a suggestion, within a few years has now become my passion.