PLATE TECTONICS

BY: NIDAIME PANDA

 PLATE TECTONICS
• FROM THE LATE LATIN TECTONICUS AND
GREEK TECTONIKOS “ PERTAINING TO
BUILDING”
• IT IS A SCIENTIFIC THEORY EXPLAINING THE
STRUCTURE OF EARTH’S CRUST AND MANY
ASSOCIATED PHENOMENA AS RESULTING
FROM THE INTERACTION OF RIGID
LITHOSPHERIC PLATES THAT MOVE SLOWLY
OVER THE UNDERLYING MANTLE.
 THE CRUST

Continental crust
Oceanic crust

Mantle
 THE CRUST
• MADE UP OF A VARIETY OF SOLID ROCKS,
LIKE SEDIMENTARY, METAMORPHIC, AND
IGNEOUS ROCKS.
• IT HAS AN AVERAGE DENSITY OF 2.8 g/cm3
• AND IT HAS THICKNESS RANGES FROM 5 km
TO 50 km
• THE CRUST IS THICKEST IN A PART WHERE A
RELATIVELY YOUNG MOUNTAIN IS PRESENT
AND THINNEST AMONG THE OCEAN FLOOR
 2 KINDS OF CRUST
• THE THICKER BUT LESS DENSE CALLED
CONTINENTAL CRUST
• RELATIVELY THINNER BUT DENSER THAN
CONTINENTAL CRUST CALLED OCEANIC
CRUST
 TECTONICS/ PLATE TECTONICS
• TECTONICS – THE MOVEMENT OF EACH
PLATE ( THE MOVEMENT IS VERY SLOWLY
BUT CONSTANTLY).
• PLATE TECTONICS – MOVING
LITHOSPHERE PLATES.
• PLATES - BASE FROM PLATE TECTONICS
MODEL, THE ENTIRE LITHOSPHERE OF THE
EARTH IS BROKEN INTO NUMEROUS
SEGMENTS
 3 TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES
• P – WAVES ( PRIMARY WAVES)
• S – WAVES ( SECONDARY WAVES)
• L – WAVES ( LONG SURFACE WAVES)
 SEISMIC WAVES
• THE FIRST TWO TRAVEL INTO THE EARTH’S
INTERIOR WHILE THE LAST ONE ON THE
SURFACE.
• THESE WAVES TRAVEL FROM THE DIFFERENT
VELOCITIES; THUS THEY NOT ARRIVE AT THE
SEISMIC RECORDING AT THE SAME TIME.
 SEISMIC WAVES
• THE FARTHER THE RECORDING INSTRUMENT IS
FROM THE FOCUS, THE GREATER THE TIME
ARRIVAL DIFFERENCE OF THE FIRST P – WAVE
COMPARED TO THE FIRST S – WAVE.
• THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ARRIVAL TIME WILL
TELL US THE DISTANCE OF THE EARTHQUAKE’S
FOCUS FROM THE SEISMIC RECORDING STATION.
HOWEVER IT DOES NOT TELL IN WHICH
DIRECTION IT CAME FROM.
 TRIANGULATION METHOD
• IS A METHOD USED BY THE EXPERTS TO
DETERMINE THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE
EARTHQUAKE’S EPICENTER.
• IN ORDER TO LOCATE THE EPICENTER (RED
CIRCLE) OF AN EARTHQUAKE, WE NEED TO
DETERMINE THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN
THE ARRIVAL OF THE P AND S WAVES ON THE
SEISMOGRAPH FROM THREE DIFFERENT
STATIONS.
 TRIANGULATION FORMULA

d = Td / 8 seconds ( 100km)

WHERE
d = DISTANCE
Td = TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN 2
WAVES
TRIANGULATION METHOD
EARTHQUAKE
EPICENTER
SEISMIC STATION 1

SEISMIC
STATION 2

SEISMIC STATION 3