Subduction Essays

Subduction zones can create beautiful landscapes such as mountains; however, they are also dangerous regions. Subduction zones occur because one of the plates that collide with other, in convergent plate boundaries, is of higher density. Hence it sinks into the earth back to the mantle (lecture 3, slide 24-26). When such phenomenon occurs, natural hazards such as earthquakes or tsunamis would occur, making these regions dangerous. Nevertheless, it does not limit traveling. Buying an insurance policy

The Samoan earthquake was located around the northern terminus of the Tonga volcanic arc where the trench has a sharp bend going west. The earthquake happened just east of this trench. The Pacific plate entered the subduction zone and made a steep descent downward, as the subduction is quite dense and old. This then resulted in faults near the Tongan Trench

volcanoes are responsible for every bit of land on this planet. Tsunamis A tsunami is also another natural disaster that can cause a lot of damage. It can be caused by an earthquake, landslide or a volcano. Tsunamis are mainly found in subduction zones. In a subduction zone the two plates meet and build pressure eventually the oceanic plate which is the heavier plate slides under the continental plate causing an earthquake. The earthquake shifts part of the ocean floor creating waves, however, gravity

PLATES TECTONICS Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the motion of the Earth’s lithosphere that have formed the landscape the landscape features we see cross the globe. The theory of the plates tectonics state that the lithosphere of the earth is build up from single plates that are broken down into dozen massive and tiny particles of solid rock. These pieces of plates move near each other on the peak of the earth more fluid lower mantle to produce various type of plates

different velocities over the mantle, with much of the Earth’s seismic and volcanic activity occurring when these different plates interact at plate boundaries. Volcanic activity, therefore, occurs at two types of plate boundaries: mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones. Plate tectonics also influence the evolution of the

Subduction is the process when in which one tectonic plate moves under the other, sinking into the mantle as the plates converge. Regions where subduction takes place are known as subduction zones. Subduction zones tend to have very high rates of earthquakes, volcanism, and mountain building. Some examples of volcanoes that are located above subduction zones would be Mount St. Helens, Mount Etna, and Mount Fuji. Furthermore

the process of subduction. When the two plates converge, the denser and thinner oceanic plate gets bent, or subducted, beneath the lighter and thicker continental plate. The magma rises, becoming lava when it reaches the Earth’s surface. When the lava cools, it forms rock. Over time, after several eruptions in which magma explodes to the surface when pressure in the Earth is released, the rock builds up and Aerial volcano is formed. The area where this happens is called the subduction zone. The crust

On September 29 2009, a devastating natural disaster hit the islands of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. An earthquake of magnitude 8.3 caused a massive tsunami to damage the surrounding islands. Key Stage 1 What was the cause of the tsunami? A tsunami is a set of waves that is triggered by the displacement of water on the ocean floor [1]. On September 29th 2009, two particularly strong earthquakes caused a massive tsunami to hit the islands of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga [2]. An earthquake

2015). Volcanism is prominent at two types of plate boundaries, convergent and divergent. At convergent plate boundaries, two plates move towards each other, causing a slab of oceanic crust to descend below the continental plate into the mantle (Subduction), which will create a deep ocean trench. As shown in figure 2.1, this slab of crust drives deeper into the mantle, there will be an increase in temperature and pressure causing the material (water and carbon dioxide) within the slab to reach melting

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to discuss 2010-2011 New Zealand earthquakes and the aftershocks, geological reasons of earthquake and various terminologies related to earthquake. The article also describes the Geology of New Zealand and how the geographical location makes the country Vulnerable to such disasters. Majorly the article discuss, the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and 2011 Christchurch earthquake, its Impact on Social and Economic structures of the country and its impact on the

2. Literature Review 2.1 Theoretical Background 2.1.1 The Earth and its Atmosphere In the early twentieth century, a young German scientist named Alfred Wegener, His theory was motivated by the observation that the continents, particularly South America and Africa, seemed to be pieces of a global jig-saw puzzle that had somehow been pulled apart (Asrat, 2006). He reasoned that all land masses were once connected in a gigantic supercontinent he named "Pangaea". The northern part of Pangea is commonly

Alfred Wegener and Continental drift It was 1912, and one man named Alfred Wegener was studying a map. He believed that the world looked as though it were one big puzzle, and that the continents could fit together. Then he thought that maybe, a very long time ago, they did. He hatched up a hypothesis. Simply put, his hypothesis proposed that the continents had once been joined, and over time had drifted apart. When the continents were together, he called the supercontinent Pangea. In order

Yosemite is one of the top ten most visited national parks which was established on October 1, 1890, making it the third national park in the United States. Since then over four million visitors come to the Yosemite Valley annually according to national geographic. Yosemite is sought to be a place for the people because it caters for many different types like hikers, photographers, adventurers and much more. Yosemite went through two geological stages, first off metamorphic rocks went through deformation

Convection Currents The Alaskan Way Viaduct will collapse if an earthquake happens. Tectonic plates rubbing together causes an earthquake. What causes them to rub together? An earthquake happens through a sequence of cause and effect. Altogether, temperature, density, and convection currents work together to cause an earthquake. The layer of the Earth are made up of the lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, and the core. In the lithosphere, there is the upper rigid mantle, oceanic crust, and continental

I. Introduction I will discuss the geologic paradigms of uniformitarianism and catastrophism. Both theories shape the Earth’s surface, but are compared in different ways. Uniformitarianism theory details how things happen on and to the earth. Catastrophism theory believed that all things happen and change on earth due to major catastrophes such as meteorites impacting earth. The main question I will answer is how and when these two theories came about, and what makes these two theories different

EARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC ZONES Japan has always had a history of experiencing tectonic movements and volcanic activities. The movements that were taking place during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and even during the Tertiary times are still proceeding today. Earthquakes are too felt across the country at each and every part, as they accompany movements along the fault lines and volcanic activities. The conditions of seismicity in the Japanese Arc System are very intricately linked to the Plate Boundary

According to the textbook, Alfred Wegner proposed the idea that the continents were drifting across the globe. He called this idea the continental drift. He had the idea that the continents were once together forming one big landmass named Pangaea. As Pangaea developed it caused the continent to break apart, and drift to their present locations. To be able to prove this idea however, he had to have evidence to show it was true. If I could travel back in time to help Wegner prove his idea to be true

Earthquakes are caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. Most earthquakes occur along the edge of the oceanic and continental plates. Due to stress they shift and cause the earthquake. that zone is more subject to seismic disasters. Tectonic, volcanic, collapse and explosion, are the four different types of earthquakes. A tectonic

Physics Lab Report Name – Shaurya A Singhal I.D – 13229 Grade – 12 Investigating the effect of the angle of incidence on the diameter of a Crater formed by a falling object Introduction When a bob is dropped into sand, a circular crater is formed due to the impact of the ball. The size of the crater varies with numerous factors, Mass of falling object Angle of incidence Velocity of object Rigidity and Tensile Strength of surface on which object falls Background Theory When a high-speed object

The other part of the Earth consists of rigid plates which is called the lithosphere plates. They are moving relatively to each other. The moving of lithosphere plates is called plate tectonics. The idea of plate tectonics begin in 1600. Little significance was given to this notion till 1915 when Alfred Wegener, Germany meteorologist and geophysicist wrote a book entitled The Origins of Continents and Oceans. He had read about the similarities in the American and European fossils and become interested