Science 10
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
In 1915, Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist and geophysicist
- hypothesized and suggested that the landmasses of Earth were once merged
into a supercontinent known as Pangaea. About 250 million years ago, this
supercontinent began to break apart and formed smaller fragments of landmasses.
PLATE TECTONIC THEORY
Plate tectonics theory - states that Earth's lithosphere is composed of
fragments or plates that move around and interact with one another.
The term "tectonic" (from the Latin word tectonicus or the Greek word tektonikos,
which means "to build") has been coined to give rise to the idea of the formation or
sculpting of Earth's lithosphere.
Lithosphere - is the outermost layer of earth composed of the upper part of
the mantle and the crust. It extends to about 80km deep.
Crust - is made of various types of rocks and sediments floating on top of the
malleable upper mantle that extends from the surface to about 50 km deep.
It has a density of around 2.6 g/cm³.
Earth's crust has two types:
-Continental crust -Oceanic crust
The continental crust is thicker and less dense, which makes it "float" over a denser
and relatively thinner oceanic crust.
The plate tectonics theory suggests that the lithosphere is divided into fragments
known as plates. These plates are divided into large plates and small plates.
MAJOR PLATES
-North American, South American, Eurasian, Pacific, Indo-Australian, African, and
Antarctic Plates
INTERMEDIATE PLATES
-Philippine, Caribbean, Cocos, Nazca, Scotia, Juan de Fuca, and Arabian Plates.
Each of these plates moves in a slow and constant motion.
The Pacific Plate moves at a rate of approximately 8 cm (3 inches) per year,
whereas the North American plate is moving at approximately 3 cm (1 inch) per
year.
EARTHQUAKE DISTRIBUTION
Majority of these earthquake centers or areas are located along plate margins.
The strengths of earthquakes can range from shallow to destructive. These
earthquakes can be due to collisions, rifting, or slipping between or among the
plates.
Around 90% of earthquakes are felt along the plate margins. Earthquakes felt in
areas within the plate are mostly due to stress buildup in some continental rifting
zones or due to the transfer of energy from other regions.
Earthquakes release different types of seismic waves.
-primary waves -secondary waves -long surface waves -Rayleigh waves
The primary (P waves) and secondary waves (S waves) - travel within
the interior of Earth, and are responsible for the detection on the epicenter of
an earthquake.
The epicenter - is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above
where an earthquake starts, called the focus or hypocenter.
Long surface waves and Rayleigh waves
Long surface waves - which move along the Earth's surface and not
through its interior, are slow but powerful, causing most of the damage
during an earthquake due to their significant shaking.
Rayleigh waves - exhibit a rolling motion similar to ocean waves, with both
up-and-down and side-to-side movements, effectively transferring energy
across the surface and causing structures to shake.
VOLCANIC DISTRIBUTION
The distribution of volcanoes is mostly found along plate margins, which
can be in an either destructive or constructive boundary.
Constructive plate boundaries - are when there are two plates moving
apart from each other. This forms volcanoes and eventually new crust.
Destructive plate boundaries - are when an oceanic plate is forced under
a continental plate. This can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Volcanoes - are also found in areas where there is subduction of plates.
These volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct
Subduction - is a process where one tectonic plate is forced down into the
Earth's mantle beneath another plate.
Active: Currently erupting or likely to erupt soon.
Dormant: Not currently erupting but could erupt in the future.
Extinct: No longer active and unlikely to erupt again.
Volcano arc (also known as a magmatic arc) - is a belt of volcanoes formed
above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, with the belt arranged in an arc
shape as seen from above.
Most of these volcano arcs are found around the region of what is called the
Pacific Ring of Fire.
The Pacific Ring of Fire - is a major area in the Pacific Ocean where many
earthquakes and volcanoes occur.
MOUNTAIN RANGES
Mountains - have been formed due to the movement of plates, either apart
or toward each other.
Some are formed underwater or on the seabed, whereas others are formed on top
of the continental crust.
Alfred Wegener (German Meteorologist and Geophysicist) - known as the
Father of the Plate Tectonics Theory which is the modern version of
continental drift theory that he first proposed.
Continental Drift Theory - proposed by Alfred Wegener in who postulated
that a single supercontinent, which he called Pangea, fragmented late in the
Triassic Period (approximately 250- 200 million years ago) and that the parts
began to move away from one another.
Lithosphere - the brittle, solid part of the Earth; made up of the crust and
the upper mantle.
Crust is divided into:
-Oceanic Crust - Continental Crust
Continental crust - with a density of 2.7gm/cm³ and thickness of about 35-
70km. Its primary composition is granite, which is a low-density, light-colored,
coarse- grained, felsic igneous rock.
Oceanic crust - with a density of 3.0gm/cm³ and thickness of about 7-10km.
Its primary rock composition is basalt, a high density, dark colored, fine
grained, mafic, igneous rock.
Due to the differences in the densities of the two crustal features of the lithosphere,
when the internal driving force from Earth causes the surface to move, it results in
different geologic phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanic activities.
It also results in the formation of different surface features such as mountain
ranges, trenches and underwater volcanoes and seamounts.
Asthenosphere - ductile layer under the solid lithosphere.
- It is primarily composed of rocks that are partly molten due to high
temperature and pressure under the lithosphere. It does not mean that the
rocks are entirely liquid, however.
The surface of the Earth is divided into plates, where the continents sit. These
plates move due to the convection of the fluid under the lithosphere. (Convection
Currents)
The movement of each tectonic plate is slow and constant relative to one another.
This movement creates the different crustal features, and all major interactions
happen along the plate margins.
Plate margins - also known as plate boundaries,
-are the area where two tectonic plates meet. These boundaries are where most of
Earth's geological activity occurs.
THREE TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARY:
Divergent Convergent Transform
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES - are plate boundaries where the plates
move apart from each other, resulting in the production of a new seafloor.
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES - are plate boundaries where the
plates move toward each other. The collisions of two plates are of three
types:
-Oceanic-continental convergence -Oceanic-oceanic convergence
-Continental-continental convergence
Oceanic-Continental Convergence - a type of collision between an
oceanic crust and a continental crust. In this type of collision, the denser
oceanic crust moves beneath the lighter continental crust.
-The process at which the oceanic crust sinks down the continental crust and
moves back to the mantle is called subduction.
At the subduction zone, the sinking oceanic crust moves back to the mantle and
undergoes partial melting. At the continental crust, volcanoes are formed parallel to
the subduction zone. These chains of volcanoes parallel to the subduction zone are
commonly called continental volcanic arcs.
Trenches are also formed in the intersection of the oceanic crust and the
continental crust.
A trench is a deep, narrow depression on the ocean seafloor caused by
collision and/or subduction of plates.
Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence - a type of collision between two oceanic
crustal plates.
-It also causes one plate to subduct from the other. Although both oceanic
crustal plates have the same average density, the one that subducts is
usually the older plate. The older crust is cooler compared to the new crust,
and tends to move down as a result.
Continental-Continental Convergence - the two continental crustal plates
move toward one another. In this case, the folding parts of the continental
lithosphere happens.
-A thickening of the portion where the two continental crust plates meet up
occurs, causing the formation of mountains, and part of the continental crust
descends to the other continental crust but not toward the mantle.
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARIES - the plates slide past horizontally to
each other without destroying the lithospheric plate. This means that the
movement of one plate is opposite the movement of the other.
Earthquakes are the shaking of the ground caused by tremendous release of
energy due to the pressure in Earth’s crust.
Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's
crust, resulting in seismic waves.
This energy release is typically due to, tectonic plate movements, volcanic
activity, or man-made explosions
Type of seismic waves
-body waves -surface wave
Body Waves
Primary Waves (P-Waves) or Compressional waves: Travel through the
Earth's interior, and through solid and fluid materials.
They are the fastest seismic waves.
The motion of P-wave is longitudinal
Secondary Waves (S-Waves) or Transverse waves: Travel through solid
materials only within the Earth’s interior.
They are slower than P-Waves
Surface Waves
Love waves or L-waves sweep the surface in a side to side movement
similar to how a snake moves on the ground. The motion of an L-wave is
transverse
Rayleigh waves or R-waves shake the ground in an up-and-down
movement, similar to the wave that you see in the ocean
PARTS OF AN EARTHQUAKES
Epicenter: The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus.
Focus (Hypocenter): The location where the earthquake begins
underground.
Fault: A fracture in the Earth's crust along which movement has
occurred
SEISMOGRAPH – The instrument that detects and measures seismic waves.
The internal part of a seismograph is called the seismometer.
The seismometer works as a pendulum that swings back and forth which is
attached to a barrel that rotates and makes prints of the ground shaking
Measuring Earthquakes:
The magnitude of earthquakes is measured using the Richter scale, while the
intensity is assessed with the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale.
Magnitude of an earthquake is the quantitative measure of the amount of energy
released by an earthquake. It is measured by using a seismograph.
The Richter Scale is the most common scale for the magnitude of an earthquake. It
is sometimes called the local magnitude (ML ). It’s a logarithmic scale of the wave
amplitude of an earthquake
Other scales that express the magnitude of earthquakes are surface-wave
magnitude, bodywave magnitude and moment magnitude
Intensity refers to the strength of ground shaking during an earthquake and the
amount of damage caused.
Unlike magnitude, which is a single measurement, intensity can vary in different
areas based on the distance from the earthquake's epicenter. Each location may
experience different levels of shaking and damage.
The first scale to measure earthquake intensity was the Rossi-Forel Intensity Scale.
This scale served as the foundation for the development of the widely-used Modified
Mercalli Intensity Scale, which is now commonly used to assess the impact of
earthquakes in various locations.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has
developed an intensity scale specifically for the Philippines to determine the extent
of the effects of earthquakes.
This scale ranges from scarcely perceptible to extremely devastating, making it
suitable for the Philippines because the country lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an
area with significant active plate movement.
The PHIVOLCS scale is tailored to accurately assess and describe the impact of
earthquakes in the region.
EFFECTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE
• Infrastructure Damage: Severe earthquakes can destroy buildings, roads, and
bridges. They can also disrupt utilities such as water, electricity, and gas lines.
• Human Casualties: Earthquakes can cause significant loss of life and injuries due
to collapsed structures and secondary effects like fires.
• Secondary Effects: Includes tsunamis, landslides, and soil liquefaction, which can
cause further damage and loss of life
Aside from the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan are countries that have the most
number of earthquakes. This is because they are also located in the Pacific Ring of
Fire
SAFETY MEASURES BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE
❑Preparation:
Advance preparation is crucial.
• Prepare an emergency kit with essentials: water, nonperishable food, flashlights,
batteries, first-aid kits, hygiene supplies, extra clothes, and important documents.
• Store the emergency kit in an easily accessible place.
❑During an Earthquake:
Follow the "Drop, Cover, and Hold" rule:
• Drop to your hands and knees. Cover your head and neck.
• Hold on to something stable.
• Do not panic and wait until the shaking stops before moving
to a safer area
❑After an Earthquake:
• Do not immediately re-enter buildings.
• Check for injuries and administer first aid.
•Be aware of possible aftershocks and stay in a safe
area for a few minutes before moving to an evacuation area