Major earthquakes originate along plate boundaries
Elastic Rebound Theory
- rocks behaves like elastic masses. Due to stress, rocks initially bend and when their elastic limit is reached, rupture and faulting develops which results in the release of enormous amount of stored energy in the form of shock waves. A map of the Pacific Ring of Fire Seismic Activity Megathrust Earthquake 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake – magnitude of 9.5 - Nazca is subducting beneath South American Plate
1964 Alaska Earthquake - magnitude of 9.2
- Pacific Plate subducting beneath North American
2011 Tohoku Earthquake – 9.1
- Pacific plate subducting beneath Okhotsk Plate P wave S wave Body waves and the Earth’s interior Primary Secondary wave wave First to Travel travel slower than Can pass P wave through Cannot pass solid and thru liquid liquid Seafloor spreading - occurs at the mid-ocean ridges where two plates move away from one another resulting in spreading of the sea floor. * Convection occurs * The process will gradually move the lithosphere to the direction of the convection current * Hot materials flows into the seafloor and hardens as it cools creating a new young crust. Example of Ridges Mid-Atlantic Ridge – spreads 2.5 cm every year East Pacific Rise – spreads 6-16 cm every year Trenches
Long deep depression on the sea floor
Deepest part of the ocean floor
Ex. Marianas Trench ( 11, 034 km, subduction of Pacific plate
beneath Mariana plate) Philippines Trench (10,545 km, northwestern part of Philippine Sea Plate subducts under Eurasian plate) Volcanic Arcs Cascade Volcanoes (North America) – Juan de Fuca subducts beneath North America
Andes Mountains (South America) –
Nazca and Antarctic undearneath South America Plate