Assignment 1

Geo 205
Faculty: SZR
Submitted by:MD Shariful Islam
ID:1530429030
Section:9
Datej:21 july 2020
Ans.1
The earth is made up of three different layers: the crust, the mantle and the core.

1.Crust: crust has two different layers. Ones called oceanic and another called continental layer.
They are known as sima and sial.

Sima: Sima is full of rich in silica, and magnesium. Sima has average thickness that is
about 6 to 10 km wide

Sial: Sial is formed with rich in silica and aluminum. Average 35–40 km in thickness, but
can be up to 70 km thick under mountain range.

2.Mantle: The boundary between the crust and the mantle is known as the ‘Moho’. This is the
zone within the Earth’s interior ranging from 25 to 70 km below the surface, to a depth of ~2,900
km. It is composed mainly of silicate rocks, rich in iron and magnesium.

3.The Core: The core is the center of the earth and is made up of two parts: the liquid outer core
and solid inner core. The outer core is made of nickel, iron and molten rock. Temperatures here
can reach up to 50,000 C.

2
Ans2
Earthquakes: Earthquake is the sudden release of pressure, which was formed very slowly
inside the rock of the Earth’s crust layer. The release energy was like shockwaves. Which called
as seismic waves. which lose energy as they radiate outwards from the center of the
earthquake.
Earthquake features: There are three main stages to an earthquake
1.Foreshocks: This relate to the initial shattering of obstructions or bonds along the failure
plane.
2.Principal shock: It is the most severe shock. It may last from just a few seconds to a
couple of minutes.
3.Aftershocks: This recur as the shockwaves travel around the Earth. They generally
decrease in frequency and intensity over time, but may occur over a period of several days to
several months. They have great potential to cause damage, as structures have already been
weakened by the principal shock.

3
Ans3
Tsunamis: The term "tsunami" is a borrowing from the Japanese tsunami. meaning "harbour
wave". Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves. These are huge ‘tidal waves’ caused
by the displacement of the sea bed. This displacement is occurring because of earthquake. but
may also be caused by the slumping of sediments around the coast, or especially near to deep-sea
trenches.

Volcanoes: Volcanoes are Earth's geologic architects. They've created more than 80 percent of
our planet's surface, laying the foundation that has allowed life to thrive. Their explosive force
crafts mountains as well as craters. Lava rivers spread into bleak landscapes.

The majority of volcanoes in the world form along the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates
massive expanses of our planet's lithosphere that continually shift, bumping into one another.
When tectonic plates collide, one often plunges deep below the other in what's known as a
subduction zone.

Some 75 percent of the world's active volcanoes are positioned around the ring of fire, a 25,000-
mile long, horseshoe-shaped zone that stretches from the southern tip of South America across
the West Coast of North America, through the Bering Sea to Japan, and on to New Zealand.

Ans4
1. Discuss how the initial ideas of continental drift evolved into the comprehensive theory of
plate tectonics.

Ans:

Though first proposed by American geologist Frank Bursley Taylor in a lecture in 1908, the
first detailed theory of continental drift was put forth by German meteorologist and

4
geophysicist Alfred Wegener in 1912. On the basis of geology, biology, climatology, and the
alignment of the continental shelf rather than the coastline, he believed that during the late
Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, about 275 to 175 million years ago, all the continents
were united into a vast supercontinent, which he called Pangaea. Later, Pangaea broke into
two super continental masses—Laurasia to the north, and Gondwanaland to the south. The
present continents began to split apart in the latter Mesozoic era about 100 million years ago,
drifting to their present positions.

2. Illustrate and explain the different plate boundaries and provide examples of where each
occurs in the world
Ans:

5
There are three main types of plate boundaries:

1. Convergent boundaries: where two plates are colliding.

Subduction zones occur when one or both of the tectonic plates are composed of oceanic
crust. The denser plate is subducted underneath the less dense plate. The plate being forced
under is eventually melted and destroyed.

i. Where oceanic crust meets ocean crust

Island arcs and oceanic trenches occur when both of the plates are made of oceanic crust.
Zones of active seafloor spreading can also occur behind the island arc, known as back-arc
basins. These are often associated with submarine volcanoes.

ii. Where oceanic crust meets continental crust

6
The denser oceanic plate is subducted, often forming a mountain range on the continent. The
Andes is an example of this type of collision.

iii. Where continental crust meets continental crust

Both continental crusts are too light to subduct so a continent-continent collision occurs,
creating especially large mountain ranges. The most spectacular example of this is the
Himalayas.

2. Divergent boundaries – where two plates are moving apart.

The space created can also fill with new crustal material sourced from molten magma that
forms below. Divergent boundaries can form within continents but will eventually open up
and become ocean basins.

i. On land

Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which produce rift valleys.

ii. Under the sea

The most active divergent plate boundaries are between oceanic plates and are often called
mid-oceanic ridges.

3. Transform boundaries – where plates slide passed each other.

The relative motion of the plates is horizontal. They can occur underwater or on land, and
crust is neither destroyed nor created.

Because of friction, the plates cannot simply glide past each other. Rather, stress builds up in
both plates and when it exceeds the threshold of the rocks, the energy is released – causing
earthquakes

4. Volcanoes: good or bad? Discuss.

Ans:

Pros:

7
 1. They can create new land on oceanic crust
2. They can thicken continental crust
3. Volcanic soils are extremely fertile
4. They (along with a few other factors) created the Earth’s atmosphere
5. The study of volcanoes (volcanology) has revealed an enormous amount about the
structure, formation and mechanics of our planet

Cons:

6. Mega-scale eruptions can cause globally detrimental climate shifts

7. Living near one can be hazardous or deadly
8. Large-scale explosive eruptions at oceanic volcanoes can cause tsunamis

Finally, we never can’t write down that volcanoes are bad, natural structure is architected for
the earth, within a long process of geography, we found this beautiful earth. So volcanoes is
good for us.