Plate tectonics

(from the Late Latin tectonicus, from the Greek: τεκτονικός "pertaining to building") is a
scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven large plates and the movements of a
larger number of smaller plates of the Earth's lithosphere, since tectonic processes began on
Earth between 3 and 3.5 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of continental drift,
an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community
accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early
1960s.

The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet (the crust and upper
mantle), is broken into tectonic plates. The Earth's lithosphere is composed of seven or eight
major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates. Where the plates
meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary: convergent, divergent, or transform.
Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these
plate boundaries (or faults).

Notes: Convergent motion is more intense than the other motion for the reason of the
subduction. The submerged plate melts down into magma and bursting up into the surface
creating massive volcanism.

The Divergent is kind of a less intense because after the process occur, the magma
thrown up into the surface, especially in the ocean bed, cools down immediately.

• The idea was based from the works of Alfred Wegener.

Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist.

During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a
pioneer of polar research, but today he is most remembered as the originator of the theory of
continental drift by hypothesizing in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth
.His hypothesis was controversial and not widely accepted until the 1950s, when numerous
discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby
a substantial basis for today's model of plate tectonics.

• These motion activities causes Earthquakes.

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface
of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates
seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be
felt to those violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities. The seismicity, or
seismic activity, of an area is the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a
period of time. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling.

• Effects of an Earthquake

The effects of an earthquake are terrible and devastating. Many building, hospitals,
schools, etc are destroyed due to it. A lot of people get killed and injured. Many people lose their
money and property. It affects the mental health and emotional health of people.
 The environmental effects of it are that including surface faulting, tectonic uplift and
subsidence, tsunamis, soil liquefaction, ground resonance, landslides and ground failure, either
directly linked to a quake source or provoked by the ground shaking.

• How do we measure intensity of an Earthquake?

A seismometer is an instrument that measures ground motions, such as caused by

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. Records of seismic waves (seismograms) allow
seismologists to locate and measure the size of events like these, and to map the Earth's internal
structure.

A simple seismometer, sensitive to up-down motions of the Earth, is like a weight hanging
from a spring, both suspended from a frame that moves along with any motion detected. The
relative motion between the weight (called the mass) and the frame provides a measurement of
the vertical ground motion. A rotating drum is attached to the frame and a pen is attached to the
weight, thus recording any ground motion in a seismogram.

• Seismic Waves

Seismic waves are the waves of energy caused by the sudden breaking of rock within the
earth or an explosion. They are the energy that travels through the earth and is recorded on
seismographs.

There are several different kinds of seismic waves, and they all move in different ways.
The two main types of waves are body waves and surface waves. Body waves can travel through
the earth's inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like
ripples on water. Earthquakes radiate seismic energy as both body and surface waves.

 Body Waves

Traveling through the interior of the earth, body waves arrive before the surface waves
emitted by an earthquake. These waves are of a higher frequency than surface waves.

The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is the fastest kind of
seismic wave, and, consequently, the first to 'arrive' at a seismic station. The P wave can move
through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It pushes and pulls the
rock it moves through just like sound waves push and pull the air.

The second type of body wave is the S wave or secondary wave, which is the second
wave you feel in an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through
solid rock, not through any liquid medium. It is this property of S waves that led seismologists to
conclude that the Earth's outer core is a liquid. S waves move rock particles up and down, or
side-to-side--perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave
propagation).

 Surface Waves

Travelling only through the crust, surface waves are of a lower frequency than body
waves, and are easily distinguished on a seismogram as a result. Though they arrive after body
waves, it is surface waves that are almost entirely responsible for the damage and destruction
associated with earthquakes. This damage and the strength of the surface waves are reduced in
deeper earthquakes.

The first kind of surface wave is called a Love wave, named after A.E.H. Love, a British
mathematician who worked out the mathematical model for this kind of wave in 1911. It's the
fastest surface wave and moves the ground from side-to-side. Confined to the surface of the
crust, Love waves produce entirely horizontal motion.

The other kind of surface wave is the Rayleigh wave, named for John William Strutt, Lord
Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the existence of this kind of wave in 1885. A Rayleigh
wave rolls along the ground just like a wave rolls across a lake or an ocean. Because it rolls, it
moves the ground up and down, and side-to-side in the same direction that the wave is moving.
Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to the Rayleigh wave, which can be much
larger than the other waves.

• What is the famous Ring of Fire all about?

Most of the Earth's volcanoes are located around the Pacific Ring of Fire because that the
location of most of the Earth's subduction zones.

The Ring of Fire is a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions occur. In a large 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated
with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and plate
movements. It has 452 volcanoes (more than 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes).

The presence of a belt of volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean was observed in
the 19th century. "They [the Japanese Islands] are in the line of that immense circle of volcanic
development which surrounds the shores of the Pacific from Tierra del Fuego around to the
Moluccas."

About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur
along the Ring of Fire. All but three of the world's 25 largest volcanic eruptions of the last 11,700
years occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics: the movement and collisions of
lithospheric plates, especially subduction in the northern portion.

• How to resist or cope up with an unexpected incoming earthquake?

We can build earthquake-resistant structures are structures designed to protect buildings

from earthquakes. While no structure can be entirely immune to damage from earthquakes, the
goal of earthquake-resistant construction is to erect structures that fare better during seismic
activity than their conventional counterparts. According to building codes, earthquake-resistant
structures are intended to withstand the largest earthquake of a certain probability that is likely
to occur at their location. This means the loss of life should be minimized by preventing collapse
of the buildings for rare earthquakes while the loss of the functionality should be limited for more
frequent ones.
• Why Japan is prone to earthquakes?

The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where several continental and oceanic
plates meet. This is the cause of frequent earthquakes and the presence of many volcanoes and
hot springs across Japan. If earthquakes occur below or close to the ocean, they may trigger tidal
waves (tsunami).

The Earthquake Early Warning system provides advance announcement of the estimated
seismic intensities and expected arrival time of principal motion. These estimations are based on
prompt analysis of the focus and magnitude of the earthquake using wave form data observed
by seismographs near the epicenter.

• What have they developed that makes them ahead of every country around the pacific ring of
fire in terms of preparation from any incoming earthquake?

The Earthquake Early Warning is aimed at mitigating earthquake-related damage by

allowing countermeasures such as promptly slowing down trains, controlling elevators to avoid
danger and enabling people to quickly protect themselves in various environments such as
factories, offices, houses and near cliffs.

The Earthquake Early Warning system provides advance announcement of the estimated
seismic intensities and expected arrival time of principal motion.

Jonel E. Castroverde, BSCE – IV

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