LOCATING THE EPICENTER
- Graph output
Earthquake
- A seismic movement
Epicenter
- Point on the surface of the
Earth directly above the
focus
- These are the locations that
the scientists calculate
Focus
- Source of an Earthquake
- Exact location where
seismic waves are
generated by sudden
release of stored elastic
energy.
- Inside the Earth’s crust
during earthquakes
- We focus on the focus
because this is where the
movement comes from
Triangulation Method
- Uses 3 data (locations) from
3 seismic stations
- Method in which we use to
determine the epicenter of
an earthquake
Seismograph (Instrument)
- Device used to detect and
record movement during
earthquake
Seismometer
- Internal part of seismograph
- Seismograph is the
instruments as a whole but
the seismometer is a PART
of the seismograph
- Can be a pendulum or mass
mounted on a spring
Seismogram (graph)
- Where you will find the
p-wave and s-wave
P-Wave
- Primary wave
- Greater than the secondary
wave
- The first change of
movement in seismogram
S-Wave
- Secondary wave
- Comes after the p-wave
- Change of the
seismograph’s altitude from
the first wave
- Mostly higher than p-wave’s
altitude in the seismogram
Steps in Triangulation Method
1. Analyze the seismogram of
the three seismic stations.
Locate the p-wave and
s-wave.
2. Determine the interval of
the p-wave and s-wave.
3. Use the seconds from the
interval to get the distance.
4. Plot out the radius or the
distance by drawing a circle
at each station then finding
the point where the three
circles intersect and that will
be our epicenter.
BASIS IN DIVIDING -Majority of them are found
LITHOSPHERE PLATES along the edges of some
continents
- Least likely to have Volcanic
Lithosphere
Eruption: Australia and
- Includes the brittle upper
Antarctica
portion at the mantle and
Mountain Ranges
the crust
- Found in edges and centers
- The outermost layer of the
of continents
Earth
- Bounded by the
IMPT: The division of
atmospheric above the
Lithospheric Plates is based on
atmosphere (another part of
locations of mountains,
the upper mantle)
volcanoes, and earthquake
Earthquake
epicenters.
- The world’s earthquakes are
not randomly distributed
Plates
over the Earth’s surface.
- Larger pieces of the upper
They tend to be found in
few hundred kilometer of
narrow zones.
earth that move as a single
- Some are located near the
unit as it floats above the
edges of the continent,
mantle
some are mid continents
- Are in constant motion. As
- Earthquake is less like to
they interact along their
occur in:
margins, an important
- Pacific ocean
geological process takes
- Northernmost Asia
place.
- Majority of Europe
- Antarctica
- It’s important to identify
PLATE BOUNDARIES
areas that are prone to
earthquake so we can Tectonic Plate Boundary
identify the safe areas and - Border between two plates
give precautions - It moves slowly and
- The earthquake’s epicenter constantly
can also be found near Tectonic Plates
volcanoes - Large pieces of the upper
Volcanoes few kilometers (hundreds)
- Are not randomly of the Earth that move as a
distributed. single unit as it floats above
the mantle
- They are in constant motion
Converging Plate Boundaries 3. Oceanic-Oceanic
- compressional Convergent Boundary
- Plate move towards each - Occurs when two
other plates of oceanic crust
- Compression of subduction collides
zones - The older and more
- Forms mountains dense plate subducts
- Has subduction zones and under the younger
mountain building plate and as a result
Types of Convergent Boundary the crust melts and
1. Continental-Continental creates an island arc
Convergent Boundary Subduction
- Occurs when two - A geological process where
plates of a continental a plate slides underneath
crust another
- They buckle and Subduction Zones
thicken, which causes - Where Earth’s tectonic plate
mountains to form dives back to the mantle
2. Continental-Oceanic Diverging Plate Boundaries
Convergent Boundary - Extensional
- Occurs when a place - Plates move away from each
of ocean crust collides other
with a plate of - Spreading ridges
continental crust - Creates water bodies
- The ocean crust is Transform Fault / Plate
more thick and Boundaries
subducts or go - Shearing
underneath the - Plates slide past one
continental crust another
- The denser plate
(oceanic plate) goes CONVERGENT PLATE
under the less dense BOUNDARIES
plate (continental - Descending plate that is
plate) pushed down into the
- The magma from the mantle
melted oceanic crust - Overriding plate remains at
rises to the surface the Earth’s surface
and results in - Move along with each other
volcanoes
Oceanic to Continental
- Formed volcanoes and
trench
- Volcanic arc is parallel to
trench
- Has a line of volcanoes
(continental volcanic arc)
- Forms near the trench
- Plate composed of oceanic
lithosphere that turns
downward along the trench
which represents the
boundary
- The oceanic plate subduct
underneath the continental
plates
- Because of the subduction
the water melt the rocks
which turns to magma
- Geological events such as:
formation of volcanoes and
trenches, strong
earthquakes because of the
subduction
- Destructive plate because
the subducting plates melt
that’s why it gets destructed
Process:
1. Oceanic lithosphere
descends into mantle at
subduction zone
2. Earthquakes in descending
plate and along edge of
overriding plate
3. Pressure forces water from
descending plate into hot
mantle rocks of overriding
plate to cause melting
4. Magma rises to surface to
form volcanic arc
5. Force of collision raise
mountains
Examples:
● Cocos plate - Caribbean
plate
● Nazca plate - South
American plate
● Pacific plate - North
American plate
REMEMBER!
- During the convergence of
the oceanic plate slides
under the continental plate
Oceanic to Oceanic
- The older plate subducts
underneath the younger
plate
- Creates volcanic island arc
and trenches will form
- Because of subduction
there are strong
earthquakes and there is
also tsunamis
- The Philippines is a result
from oceanic to oceanic
- Resulted from the
collision of two
oceanic plates with
one of the plates
diving under the
other
 - The Philippines
mobile Belt collided
with Sundaland Block
Process:
1. Older(colder) oceanic plate
undergoes subduction
2. Earthquakes in descending
plate and along edge of
overriding plate
3. Pressure forces water from
descending plate into hot
mantle rocks of overriding
plate to cause melting
4. Magma rise to surface form
an island arc
Examples:
● Caribbean plate - North and
South American Plate
● Eurasian plate - Pacific plate
● Philippine plate - Eurasian
plate
REMEMBER!
- When 2 oceanic plate
converge they also undergo
subduction
- Strong earthquakes
- Volcanoes will form at the
surface of the younger plate
Continental to Continental
- When two continental
plates meet head-on,
neither is subducted
- The crust tends to buckle
and pushed upward
causing formation of
mountain ranges and other
highlands
Process:
1. Continental collision when
oceanic lithosphere
destroyed
2. No active subduction
a. No magma source
b. No Volcanoes
3. The Continents don’t do
subduction. Thickening of
crust
Examples:
● Indian plate - Eurasian plate
DIVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES
- Formation of rift valleys and
oceanic ridges are
indication that the crust is
spreading
- Moves away from each
other
- Constructive plate because
mountain ranges are
constructed and also there
is a new formation of crust
- Locate mostly in the ocean
Stages of Divergent Plate
Boundaries
1. Upwelling (Stress)
- A process in which
deep, cold water rises
to the surfaces
2. Continental rift (Cracks)
- Continental rifting
occurs where plate
motions produce
opposing tensional
forces that thin the
lithosphere and
promote stretching
that causes the brittle
crust to break into
large blocks that sink,
generating a rift valley
3. Rift Valley (Depression)
- Generates linear sea
such as the red sea
that eventually
becomes an ocean
Examples of Divergent Plate
Boundaries:
- Antarctic plate and
Australian plate
- South American plate and
Australian plate
- North American plate and
Antarctic plate
- Pacific plate and Antarctic
plate
- Pacific plate and Nazca
plate
Oceanic to Oceanic
- Forms underwater
volcanoes or mountain
ridges called ocean ridges
- Spreading rate may vary 2 to
20 cm per year
Mid-ocean Ridge
- Longest mountain range on
Earth
- Most extensive chains of
mountains on Earth
- Nearly 65,000 km long and
about 1000 km wide
- 90% of mountain ranges are
deep in the ocean
Convection Current
- Creates mountains
underwater
- Hot less dense material rises
while the cold denser
material sinks
- Acts as a conveyor belt
Example:
- Mid atlantic ridge
Note:
- When magma releases it
becomes lava and once it
cools it becomes the new
seafloor
- As magma rises new
lithosphere (or sea floor) is
created
- Seafloors further from
mid-ocean ridges are older
than those closer to the
mid-ocean ridges
-
Continental to Continental
- A valley is formed or a rift
valley
- - No magma
Examples of rift valley:
- East African Rift Valley
- Baikal Rift Valley
- West Antarctica Rift Valley
Red Sea
- African plate and Arabian
plate
Linear Sea
- Long narrow sea
- Similar to red sea
Ridge Push
- Magma rises and a rack
forms in the continental
crust then the magma
hardens and creates a new
crust
- Because of the stretching it
becomes thinner
REMEMBER!
- Divergent boundaries
between continental plates
are rift valley formation
which will soon develop into
linear sea; shallow
earthquake activities, and
numerous normal faults
Additional:
- Bathymetry: depth and
shape of sea floor
- Age of ocean floor present
day to 180m yrs old
TRANSFORM PLATE
BOUNDARIES
Features:
- There are major
earthquakes
- No volcanoes
- No rift valley
Examples:
● Scotia plate - Antarctic and
South American Plate
● Pacific plate - North
American Plate
1. Strike-slip:
- slide “closer” to each
other and mostly on
land
- Horizontally in
opposite directions
- Example: San Andreas
Fault, California
2. Transform:
- slide “away” from each
other and can be
located mostly on
water
 - Moving away from a
spreading ridge
- Example: Ocean Floor
The San Andreas Fault
- Sliding boundary between
the Pacific Plate and North
American Plate
REMEMBER!
- Transform boundaries are
places where plates slide
sideways past each other
- Lithosphere is neither
created nor destroyed
- Many of transform
boundaries are found on the
seafloor, where they
connect segments of
diverging mid-ocean ridges
- A strong earthquake will
happen is plates slide-past
each other
HOTSPOT
- Created as ‘plumes of
magma rise through the
earth’s mantle
- Plumes consist of an
upwelling long thin
conduit and a bulbous
head which spreads at
the base of the
lithosphere and
produces huge
volumes of magma
- The volcanoes may
eventually break through
the surface of the ocean
waters to form islands
- Hotspot stays in the same
place but because the plate
above it moves over time,
this creates a chain of
islands
- The oldest islands are the
furthest from the hotspot
and the youngest, active
volcanic islands are located
above the hotspot
- The pacific plate is moving
in a north-westward
direction over the plume at
a rate of about 10 cm per
year
- Hawaii is formed because of
hotspots
● Island of Hawaii w/o Active
Volcanoes
- Maui
- Molokai
- Oahu
- Niihau Kauai
● Islands of Hawaii with active
volcanoes
- Loihi
- Kilauea
- Mauna Loa
SEISMIC WAVES (SURFACE snake, causing the
WAVES AND BODY WAVES) ground to twist
- Carries energy from the Body Waves
focus - Travel through the Earth’s
Surface Waves interior
- Can only travel through the - Radiate from initial rupture
surface of the Earth point of an Earthquake
- Arrive after main P and S called focus
waves - Used by scientist to study
- Confined to the outer layers the Earth’s interior
of the earth - Higher frequency than
Types of Surface Waves surfaces waves
1. Rayleigh Waves Types of Body Waves
- Named after John 1. Primary Waves
William Strutt, Lord - P wave/compressional
Rayleigh, who wave
mathematically - Elastic wave causes
predicted the alternate compression
existence of this kind and expansion
of wave in 1885 - Force the ground to
- Moves with an move forward and
up-and-down rolling backward
motion like an ocean - Travels between 4 and
wave 7 km/s in the Earth’s
- Most shaking is via crust
Rayleigh Wave - Travels 8 km/s in the
2. Love Waves uppermost mantle
- Named after - Travels through solid,
Augustus Edward liquid, and gas
Hough Love (A.E.H. 2. Secondary Wave
Love), British - S wave/shear wave
Mathematician who - Pulse energy that
worked out the travels slower than a
mathematical model p-wave through solids
for this kind of wave in - Shakes the ground
1911 back and forth,
- Faster than Rayleigh perpendicular to the
wave wave direction
- Moves the ground in a - Travels 3 to 4 km/s on
side-to-side horizontal the crust
motion, like that of a - Only through solids
 - Moves as shear or
transverse waves
- Force the ground to
sway from side to side
in rolling motion
P-wave shadow zone
- Due to the liquid core
- The behavior of the p wave
as it retracts
1909
- Yugoslavian seismologist
Andrija Mohorovičić found
out the velocity of seismic
waves changes and
increases at a distance of
about 50 km below the
Earth’s surface
- Boundary is called Moho
(between crust and upper
mantle)
Gutenberg Discontinuity
- Beno Gutenberg (german
seismologist)
- Shadow zone
1936
- Inge Lehmann
- A Danish seismologist
- Discovered a new
region of seismic
reflection within the
core
- Discovered Lehmann
Boundary
Discontinuity
- Boundary between the
different layers of the Earth
Seismic Discontinuity
1. Moho/Mohorovičić
Discontinuity
- Boundary between
crust and upper
mantle
2. Repetti Discontinuity
- Boundary between
upper and lower
mantle
3. Gutenberg Discontinuity
- Boundary between
lower mantle and
outer core
4. Lehmann Discontinuity
- Boundary between
inner and outer core
5. Conrad Discontinuity
- Boundary between
upper and lower crust
LAYERS OF EARTH’S
INTERIOR
Earthquakes
- Seismic(energy) waves
travel through the Earth
Wave Paths
- Some energy bounces off
hard layers called reflection
- Some energy travels
through but gets bent,
changing the direction the
wave is travelling called
refraction
- Some energy is absorbed as
it encounters materials
called attenuation
- Influenced by density,
temperature, and the angle
at which they strike
 boundaries as they travel
through and around the
Earth
- Angle of Incidence controls
how much is reflected and
how much is absorbed
vertical arrangement of
layers – controls the
resultant direction of travel
- P-wave: 105° and 142°
- S-wave: 105°
P-wave and S-wave Shadow
Zones
- Caused by transmissive and
refractive properties of the
waves interacting with rock
and liquid
- S-wave is absorbed
- Zones of material with
distinctive characteristics
make up each layer in the
Earth
Layers of the Earth
1. Crust
- Thinnest and
outermost layer of the
Earth
- Extends from the
surface to about 32
km below
- Underneath some
mountains, the crust’s
thickness extends to
72 km
- Two types
● Continental crust:
- silicon, oxygen, aluminum,
calcium, sodium, and
potassium
- Thickness : 35-40 km
- Found under land masses
- Made of less dense rocks
(granite)
● Oceanic Crust:
- 7-10 km thick
- 8 km thick average
- Heavier than continental
crust
- Under ocean floor (basalt)
2. Asthenosphere
- Made up of hot
molten material
- Temperate: 300-800°C
- Upper 150 km of the
asthenosphere has a
temperature enough
to facilitate a small
amount of melting
and make it capable
to flow
3. Mantle
- Semi-solid (jello-like)
material underlying
the crust
- Extends to about 2900
km depth
- Mantle that is closed
to the core is heated
- Uppermost part
mantle is called
asthenosphere
- Mostly made of
silicon, oxygen, iron,
and magnesium
- Lower part mantle
consists more iron
than upper part
- Heated mantle
material rises upward
very slowly, millions of
years to move upward,
as it nears the Earth’s
 surface, mantle Earth's Magnetic Field
material liquefies - Created by the rotation of
4. Core the outer fluid ore around
- Subdivided into two the solid inner core
layers: inner and outer - Creates an electrical current
- Outer core - Generate an
- 2900 km below electromagnetic field
the Earth’s - Similar to a bar magnet with
surface a positive and negative end
- 2250 km thick Mohorovičić Discontinuity
- Temperature: - Zone of low velocity
2000°C (melts transmission of seismic
the iron and waves
nickel)
- Made of iron CONTINENTAL DRIFT
and nickel THEORY
moving around
solid inner core
Alfred Wegener
creating Earth’s
- German meteorologist and
magnetism
geophysicist
- It’s
- Wrote “The Origin of
molten/liquid
Continents and Oceans”
- Inner Core
- Set forth the basic
- Solid because of
outline of Wegener’s
pressure
hypothesis called
freezing (liquids
continental drift
subjected under
- Suggested that a single
tremendous
supercontinent of all Earth’s
pressure
landmasses once existed.
freezes)
Pangea
- Made up of solid
- Giant landmass
iron and nickel
- Existed 200M yrs ago
- Radius of
between the close of the
1300km
Palezoic and start of
- Temp: 5000°C
Mesozoic era (at the
- Iron and nickel
Permo-Triassic)
are both dense
Continental Drift
and magnetic
- Challenge the long-held
assumption that the
continents and ocean
 basins has fixed geographic
position
Gondwanaland
- Large supercontinent found
in southern hemisphere
- Continent: Antarctica, India,
Australia, South America,
and Africa
Laurasia
- Large supercontinent in
northern hemisphere
- Continents: North America,
Europe, and Asia
Tethys
- East-west trending ocean
that separated
Gondwanaland from
Laurasia
Alexander Du Toit
- South African Geologist
- “Our Wandering Continents
(1937)”
- Reformat of
Wegener’s book)
- Existence of Gondwanaland
and Laurasia
Evidences for Continental Drift
Theory
1. The Continental Jigsaw
Puzzle
- Continents “fit
together” like puzzle
pieces
- Example: South
America and Africa
- Sir Edward Bullard
and two associates
constructed a map
that places together
at the edges
2. Fossils Matching Across the
Seas
- Fossil evidence
- Fossils: are remains of
living things that lived
long ago
- Fossil Remains:
● Mesosaurus
- South America and
Southwestern Africa
- Small aquatic
freshwater reptile
● Glossopteris
- Africa, Australia, India,
and South America
- Tongue-shaped leaves
and seeds (fern)
● Lystrosaurus
- Antarctica, India, and
South Africa
- Shovel reptile
- Herbivore with stout
build
● Cynognathus
- South Africa and
South America
- Dog jaw
- Mammal-like reptile
3. Rock Types and the
Geological Features
- “Picture” must match
in the “continental
drift puzzle” is one of
rock types and
geological features
such as mountain
belts
- Age, type, feature of
rocks matters
 4. Ancient Climates SEAFLOOR SPREADING
- Paleoclimatic (paleo THEORY
= ancient, climatic = - Process that continually
climate) adds new material to ocean
- Support the idea of floor
mobile continents
- 300M ago, vast ice
sheets covered
extensive parts of the
southern hemisphere
as well as India.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The continental drift theory SONAR (Sound Navigation and
lacked a mechanism that’s Ranging) System
why it cannot be proven - Technology (192-1950)
- Wegener is not qualified to - A device that bounces
give this theory because he sound waves off underwater
is not in the field of geology objects then records the
and history of the Earth echoes of these sound
waves
MEDYO KEME LNG !!! - Allowed scientist to map the
1. Mesosaurus mid-ocean ridges
- SA, SWAF Harry Hess and Robert Dietz
2. Glossopteris - Proposed seafloor spreading
- AF,AU,IN,SA theory in 1962
3. Lystrosaurus Convection Currents
- AN,IN,SAF - Force responsible for driving
4. Cynognathus or moving the plates
- SAF,SA - Occur within the mantle of
GUIDE: the Earth when hot magma
SA: South America rises and cool magma sinks
SWAF: Southwestern Africa Mid-ocean Ridge
AF: Africa - Longest chain of mountains
AU: Australia in the world
IN: India - Typical rates of spreading
AN: Antarctica average around 5 cm(2 in.)
SAF: South Africa per year
- Slow spreading rates of 2 cm
per year are found along the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
 - Spreading rates exceeding
15 cm (6 in.) per year are
along sections of East
Pacific Rise
Seafloor Spreading
- Magma, because it is hotter
and less dense is forced up
towards the ocean floor
cooling off when it touches
water
- When magma hardens, a
small amount of new ocean
floor is added to the Earth’s
crust
- As more magma rises and
cools it pushes new seafloor
away from the ridge
- Rate of formation of new
seafloor is not always as fast
as the destruction of old
seafloor at the subduction
zone
- If subduction is faster than
seafloor spreading, ocean
shrinks
- If seafloor spreading is
greater than subduction,
ocean gets wider
Magnetic Reversal
- Also called a ‘magnetic flip’
of the Earth, it happens
when North pole is
transformed into South pole
and South pole becomes
North pole due to change in
direction of flow in the outer
core
- Earth’s magnetic field is
generated in the very hot
molten outer core, existed
since birth of our planet
- Earth’s magnetic field is a
dipole, one that has a North
and South pole
- Over the last 10M years,
there has been an average
of 4 to 5 reversals per
millions years
- New rocks are added to
ocean floor at the ridge with
approximately equal
amounts on both sides of
the oceanic ridge
- Stripes on both sides are
equal size and polarity
which seemed to be mirror
images across the
ocean-ridge
EVIDENCES OF SEAFLOOR
SPREADING
1. There are active fractures in
the lithosphere along the
ocean floor, in a pattern that
mimics the shapes of the
continental coastline.
2. The age of the seafloor rock
increases as you get further
away from the mid-ocean
ridge.
 3. The thickness of the layer of
sediments deposited on the
ocean floor increases as you
get further away from the
mid-ocean ridge.
4. Patterns of seafloor
magnetism on either side of
mid-ocean ridges match up
with one another.
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
- States that Earth’s solid
outer crust, the lithosphere
is separated into plates that
moves the asthenosphere
Earth’s Major Plates
- North American
- South American
- Pacific
- African
- Eurasian
- Australian-Indian
- Antarctic
Makes up 94% of the Earth’s
surfaces
Intermediate-sized Plates
- Caribbean
- Nazca
- Philippines
- Arabian
- Cocos
- Scotia
- Juan de Fuca
Plate Boundaries
1. Divergent plate boundaries
(constructive margin)
2. Convergent plate
boundaries (destructive
margin)
3. Transform plate boundaries
(conservative margin)
EVIDENCES OF PLATE
TECTONICS THEORY
1. Ocean drilling
- Glomar Challenger: a
drilling ship capable
of working in water,
thousands of meters
deep
- Revealed that
sediments are almost
entirely absent on the
ridge crest
- Founds rocks that the
farther away from the
ridge, the older the
rocks were
- The younger rocks
were in the center of
the ridge
2. Mantle PLumes and
Hotspot
- Age of each volcano
indicates how much
time has elapsed
3. Paleomagnetism
- Study of ancient
magnetic fields
- Uses a sensitive
instrument called
“magnetometer”
EVIDENCE OF PLATE MOVING
1. Paleontological Evidence
- Similarity of certain
fossils found on the
continents
- Alfred Wegener:
mesosaurus,
glossopteris,
lystrosaurus, and
cynognathus
 - Antonio Snider
Pellegrini: used
identical plants fossils
found in coal beds of
Europe and US,
support that
continents were once
connected
- Eduard Suess:
Australian scientist,
describes how late
Palezoic coal beds of
India, Australia, South
Africa, and South
American were all
similar
2. Evidence from Glaciation
- Glacial deposits in the
Southern Hemisphere
- Most stretched
motion on Southern
Africa and Northern
Australia
3. Evidence from the Structure
and Rock type
- Similarities on the
types and age of rocks
4. Evidence from Paleoclimate
- Paleoclimatology:
study of past climates
5. Evidence from Coastlines
Matching
- Continents fit
together like a jigsaw
puzzle
6. Evidence from distribution
of Volcanoes and
Earthquakes Epicenter