The Structure of the

Earth and Plate

Tectonics
Structure of the Earth
Mantle
The Earth is made up of
3 main layers:
◦ Core Outer core

◦ Mantle Inner core

◦ Crust

Crust
 The Crust
This is where we live!
The Earth’s crust is made of:

Continental Crust Oceanic Crust

 thick (10-70km)  thin (~7 km)
 buoyant (less dense  dense (sinks under
than oceanic crust) continental crust)
 mostly old  young
How do we know what the Earth is made
of?
Geophysical surveys: seismic, gravity, magnetics, electrical,
geodesy
◦ Acquisition: land, air, sea and satellite
◦ Geological surveys: fieldwork, boreholes, mines
What is Plate Tectonics?
Plate Movement
The continents are slowly moving along the surface of the Earth.
Evidence of Plate Movement
Sir Francis Bacon—noticed that Africa and S. America seem to fit together like
a puzzle.
Edward Seuss—noticed that the Southern continents, Africa and S. America,
had similar plant fossils
Continental Drift and Alfred Wegener
Proposed the idea of a supercontinent “Pangea” and the idea of “Panthalassa”
First proposed the idea that continents move
Evidence of Wegener’s Theory
Fossil Similarities—
Mesosaurus-- found in Africa and S. America
Glossopteris—found in S. America, S. Africa, Australia, India and Antarctica
Paleo-climatic Evidence
Ancient climates
Glacial deposits at the Equator
Coral reefs in Antarctica
Paleo-magnetism
Polar Wander—the
apparent movement of
the poles recorded in
the rock record
Caused by continental
movement
Mountain Ranges

Reassemble Pangea “all

earth” and there is a long
continuous mountain chain.
Plate Tectonics
The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major plates
which are moved in various directions.
This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart,
or scrape against each other.
Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set
of Earth structures or “tectonic” features.
The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of the
crust as a consequence of plate interaction.
World Plates
 What are tectonic plates made of?
Plates are made of rigid
lithosphere.
The lithosphere is made
up of the crust and the
upper part of the mantle.
What is the Lithosphere?
The crust and part of the upper mantle =
lithosphere
100 km thick
Less dense than the material below it so it
“floats”
What lies beneath the tectonic plates?

Below the lithosphere

(which makes up the
tectonic plates) is the
asthenosphere.
 What is the Asthenoshere?
The plastic layer below the lithosphere =
asthenosphere
The plates of the lithosphere float on the
asthenosphere
Plate Movement
“Plates” of lithosphere are moved around by the
underlying hot mantle convection cells
What happens at
tectonic plate
boundaries?
 Three types of plate boundary
Divergent

Convergent

Transform
Divergent Boundaries
Boundary between two plates that are
moving apart or rifting

RIFTING causes SEAFLOOR SPREADING
 Divergent Boundaries

Spreading ridges
◦ As plates move apart new material is erupted to fill the
gap
Features of Divergent Boundaries
Mid-ocean ridges and fissure volcanoes
Rift valleys
Mid-Ocean Ridges
Evidence of sea floor spreading
The driving force of continental drift theory

Creates fissure volcanoes

Linear oriented volcano formation
Age of Oceanic Crust
 Iceland: An example of continental rifting
Iceland has a divergent plate
boundary running through its
middle
 Geothermal Energy

Used in tectonically active areas to generate

electricity
Iceland uses 85% geothermal energy
San Francisco uses 10-15% geothermal energy

Warm water pumped from Earth into power

plant, heat is converted, cool water pumped
back into Earth to warm back up
Convergent Boundaries
Boundaries between two plates that are
colliding
 
There are 3 types…
 Convergent Boundaries
There are three styles of convergent plate
boundaries
Continent-continent collision
Continent-oceanic crust collision
Ocean-ocean collision
Type 1
A continental plate colliding with another
continental plate
Have Collision Zones:
a place where folded and thrust faulted mountains form.
 Continent-Continent Collision
Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, Himalayas
Himalayas
Type 2
Ocean plate colliding with a less dense
continental plate
Subduction Zone: where the less dense
plate slides under the more dense plate
VOLCANOES occur at subduction zones
Continent-Oceanic Crust Collision
Called SUBDUCTION—means to be carried under
Only occurs to oceanic crust
Subduction

Oceanic lithosphere subducts

underneath the continental
lithosphere
Oceanic lithosphere heats and
dehydrates as it subsides
The melt rises forming volcanism
E.g. The Andes
Andes Mountains, South America
 Type 3
When two oceanic plates collide, one runs over the other which causes it to sink
into the mantle forming a subduction zone.
The subducting plate is bent downward to form a very deep depression in the
ocean floor called a trench.
The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are found along trenches.
◦ E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
 Transform Boundaries
Where plates slide past each other
 Transform Fault Boundaries
Boundary between two plates that are sliding past each other
EARTHQUAKES along faults

Above: View of the San Andreas

transform fault
To Summarize:
Effects of Plate Tectonics
Landforms caused by plate tectonics:
rift valleys (divergent boundaries)
mountain ranges (continental-continental convergent boundaries)
volcanoes (oceanic-continental convergent boundaries)
faults (transform boundaries)
 Volcanoes and Plate
Tectonics…

…WHAT ’S THE CONNECTION?

Volcanoes are formed by:
- Subduction - Rifting - Hotspots
Pacific Ring of Fire

Hotspot
volcanoes

Volcanism is mostly focused

at plate margins
Cinder Cone Volcano
A hill of tephra (volcanic debris) that forms downwind from from a volcanoes vent
Forms at the base of shield or composite volcanoes
Shield Volcanoes
Are large volcanoes that have very thick lava
Creates large dome like structures or shields
Some of the world’s largest volcanoes
Key example…Hawaii
Mauna Loa
Composite Volcanoes
Also known as
Stratavolcanoes

These volcanoes resemble mountains

Made up of many layers of eruptions
Hence the name “strata” means layers
So…where is the largest active volcano?
Mauna Loa in Hawaii
13,677 feet above sea level
And that’s only half of it! Most of the volcano lies under the sea…on the ocean floor

But…why is it so large???
 What are Hotspot Volcanoes?
Hot mantle plumes breaching the surface in the middle of a tectonic
plate

The Hawaiian island chain are

examples of hotspot volcanoes.
The tectonic plate moves over a fixed hotspot forming a chain of volcanoes.

The volcanoes get younger from one end to the other.

 Volcanoes
Eruptive style and hazard depends on:
 Tectonic setting
 Depth of magma formation
 Rate of magma movement to the surface
 Percent and type of volatiles (gases) Pyro flows

Lahars

Disease,
etc.
Tephra
falls
Others

Unknown
2 Types of Lava
FELSIC LAVAS—FOUND AT SUBDUCTION
ZONES
From continental volcanoes
Cooler in temperature
Thicker in consistency
Explosive due to how thick the lava is
Traps in gases: high gas pressure
High SiO2
Viscous lava (3 m/s)
MAFIC LAVAS—FOUND AT OCEANIC RIDGES
AND HOTSPOTS
From oceanic volcanoes
Very hot
Very thin flowing like water
Quiet eruptions due to how thin the lava is
Allows gases to escape: low gas pressure
Low SiO2
Fluid lava (10 m/s)
Basaltic lava flows
Basaltic eruptions are very fluid and will flow
great distances from the vent or rift. The photo
above is taken from the Kilauea rift zone on the Big
Island of Hawaii.
Hazards - property burnt and buried by lava “Aa” (blocky lava) flow, Hawaii

Few fatalities are typically associated with

basaltic lava eruptions, as neighborhoods, such as
the one shown here, can be evacuated. Buildings
and other human-made structures are not so
lucky!
Pyroclastic Flow
Gravitational force pulls hot gas and
pyroclastic debris down slope from the initial
vertical eruption.
Fluidized mixture of rock fragments and hot
gases
Moves like an avalanche
Very hot and toxic
Most deadly of all volcanic phenomenon
Destruction is total to any living organism or
structure within the pathway.
Montserrat, 1997
Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines
1991
May reach 100 miles per hour
Burns or suffocates anything in its path
Ruins of St. Pierre, Martinique.
Pyroclastic flow (>700°C; ~200 km/h) from
Mt. Pelée in 1902 killed 30 000 people; 2
survived.
Lahar—Volcanic Mudflows
Mudflow or debris flow
Caused by ice/snow on top of the volcano that melts
and mixes in with the debris
Acts like a cement when it stops…instant
solidification
Remobilized ash, rock and debris by water
Water source needed: rain, snow melt
Eruptive--“volcanic rain” (e.g. Herculaneum)
melting of summit snow/ice--(e.g. Nevado del Ruiz)
Post-eruptive-- intense rainstorms (e.g. Hurricane
Mitch)
Mt. Rainier: lahars from the last 5600 years
Lahar flow
from Mt.
Pinotubo.
 Volcanic Ash
Mixture of shattered rock, glass, and minerals
Endangers lungs of any living thing
Causes average temperature to decrease
Clogs machinery, covers vegetation, irritates lungs and eyes
(e.g. the BA 747 that lost all 4 engines and dropped 4 km after encountering an ash cloud
over Indonesia in 1982).
Acts as an abrasive

Yakima, WA (May, 1980)

Photomicrograph of ash from the Mt.
Some flights rerouted or cancelled in Australia
Tehama eruption (Lassen Peak)

Ash deposited associated with the eruption of the Long Valley Caldera in
California, ash from eruption was found as far east as Nebraska
Volcanic Gases
Sometimes gas release is
concentrated and toxic to vegetation
and people
Toxic gases effect health of
environment and in high enough
quantities…changes climate
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulfur,
carbon monoxide, chlorine
 Carbon dioxide leaked out of Lake Nyos,
Africa suffocating 1700 people and all
animal life.

Horseshoe Lake near

Mammoth, California
Understanding Volcanic Hazards
Past history
How often
Types of hazards
Extent of hazards
Location of past events
Identifying High Risk Volcanoes
Frequency and nature of past eruptions
Distribution and nature of eruptive products
Population density and property value in
vicinity of volcano
Major volcanic eruptions since AD1600 (>8000
deaths)
Event Date Deaths Hazard type

Laki, Iceland 1783 9000 Starvation

Unzen, Japan 1792 14300 70% by cone collapse;

30% by tsunami
Tambora, Indonesia 1815 92000 90% by starvation

Krakatoa, Indonesia 1883 36000 90% by starvation;

<10% pyro. flows and tephra
Mt. PelŽe, Martinique 1902 29000 Pyroclastic flows

Nevada del Ruiz, 1985 25000 Lahars

Colombia
 Earthquakes and Plate
Tectonics…

…WHAT ’S THE CONNECTION?

As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not randomly
distributed over the globe

Figure showing the

distribution of
earthquakes
around the globe

At the boundaries between plates, friction causes

them to stick together. When built up energy causes
them to break, earthquakes occur.
 The Focus and Epicenter of an Earthquake

The point within Earth where faulting begins is the focus

or hypocenter
The point directly above the focus on the surface is the epicenter
What is the Elastic Rebound Theory?
Explains how energy is stored in rocks
Rocks bend until the strength of the rock is exceeded
Rupture occurs and the rocks quickly rebound to an un-deformed shape
Energy is released in waves that radiate outward from the fault
Stresses that cause Earthquakes
Stress causes rock to change shape or volume of rock.
There are 3 types
Compression
Tension
Shearing
Compression
squeezes the rocks of the crust causing the rocks to take up less space and become
denser
 Tension
pulls rocks causing them to stretch over a larger area.
 The ends of the rock end up being thicker and the middle is stretched out and becomes thinner.
Shearing
when rock of the crust pushes in two opposite directions and usually results in a simple bend or
break.
Normal Faults
Occur when tensional forces act in opposite directions and cause one slab of the rock to be
displaced up and the other down.
Reverse Faults
Develop when compressional forces exist. Compression causes some block to be pushed up and
over the other.
Strike-Slip

Vertical fault plane, so there is NO hanging or

footwall.
Lateral or horizontal forces
Carrying the sides past each other
What are Seismic Waves?
Response of material to the arrival of energy fronts released by
rupture
Two types:
Body waves
P and S
Surface waves
L
 Body Waves: P and S waves
Body waves
P or primary waves
fastest waves
travel through solids, liquids, or gases
compressional wave, material movement is in
the same direction as wave movement
S or secondary waves
slower than P waves
travel through solids only
shear waves - move material perpendicular to
wave movement
Surface Waves: L waves
Surface Waves
Travel just below or along the ground’s surface
Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-side movement
Especially damaging to buildings
How is an Earthquake’s Epicenter Located?
 Seismic wave behavior
P waves arrive first, then S waves, then L
Average speeds for all these waves is known
After an earthquake, the difference in arrival times at a seismograph station can be used to calculate
the distance from the seismograph to the epicenter.
How is an Earthquake’s Epicenter Located?

Time-distance graph showing the average

travel times for P- and S-waves. The
farther away a seismograph is from the
focus of an earthquake, the longer the
interval between the arrivals of the P- and
S- waves
How is an Earthquake’s Epicenter Located?
Three seismograph stations are
needed to locate the epicenter of an
earthquake
A circle where the radius equals the
distance to the epicenter is drawn
The intersection of the circles
locates the epicenter
 How are the Size and Strength of an Earthquake
Measured?

Intensity
subjective measure of the kind of
damage done and people’s reactions to
it
Iso-seismal lines identify areas of equal
intensity
Modified Mercalli Intensity Map
1994 Northridge, CA earthquake,
magnitude 6.7
The Mercalli Scale
What did you feel?
Assigns an intensity or rating to measure an earthquake at a particular
location (qualitative)
I (not felt) to XII (buildings nearly destroyed)
Measures the destructive effect
Intensity is a function of:
Energy released by fault
Geology of the location
Surface substrate: can magnify shock waves e.g. Mexico City (1985) and San
Francisco (1989)
 How are the Size and Strength of an Earthquake
Measured?
Magnitude
Richter scale measures total amount of
energy released by an earthquake;
independent of intensity
Amplitude of the largest wave
produced by an event is corrected for
distance and assigned a value on an
open-ended logarithmic scale
Magnitude
Measured using the Richter Scale
 Measures the energy released by fault movement
 related to the maximum amplitude of the S wave measured from the
seismogram
 Logarithmic-scale; quantitative measure
 For each whole number there is a 31.5 times increase in energy
 eg. an increase from 5 to 7 on the Richter scale = an increase in energy of 992 times!!
 Where Do Earthquakes Occur and How Often?

~80% of all earthquakes occur in the

circum-Pacific belt
most of these result from convergent
margin activity
~15% occur in the Mediterranean-
Asiatic belt
remaining 5% occur in the interiors of
plates and on spreading ridge centers
more than 150,000 quakes strong
enough to be felt are recorded each
year
The Economics and Societal Impacts
of EQs
 Building collapse
 Fire
 Tsunami
 Ground failure Damage in Oakland, CA, 1989
Can Earthquakes be Predicted?

Earthquake Precursors
changes in elevation or tilting of land surface,
fluctuations in groundwater levels, magnetic
field, electrical resistance of the ground
seismic gaps
 Can Earthquakes be Predicted?
Earthquake Prediction Programs
include laboratory and field studies of rocks before, during, and after earthquakes
monitor activity along major faults
produce risk assessments
Short-term predictions
 Precursor phenomena (<1 year to days)
 Foreshocks: usually increase in magnitude
 Ground deformation
 Fluctuations in water well levels
 Changes in local radio wave characteristics
 Anomalous animal behavior???
Earthquake risk and prediction
Long-term methods Real-time 24 Hour
seismic hazard maps Forecast
probability analysis based on:
historical EQ records
geologic EQ records
slip-rate on active faults
frequency and magnitude of recent EQ's
Plate Tectonics Summary
The Earth is made up of 3 main layers (core, mantle,
crust)
On the surface of the Earth are tectonic plates that
slowly move around the globe
Plates are made of crust and upper mantle
(lithosphere)
There are 2 types of plate
There are 3 types of plate boundaries
Volcanoes and Earthquakes are closely linked to the
margins of the tectonic plates