Plate Tectonics and

Associated Hazards
Section 1 : Plate
Movement
Structure of the Earth
Unit
3

Tectonic
Theory
Plate Margins
Hot Spots

The Core
Approximately the size of Mars
Starts about 2900km down
Centre is 6350 km down
The most dense part of the planet
Made up of rocks rich in iron and nickel
Core temperature over 6000oC
Outer core is semi-molten/liquid (only part of the planet which is!)
Inner core is solid
The Mantle
Separated from the core by the Gutenburg discontinuity
Largely composed of silicate rocks rich in iron and magnesium
Upper mantle (close to the crust) is rigid and together with the crust forms the lithosphere
Most of the mantle (asthenosphere) acts like it is semi-motlen.
Temperatures near the core reach 5000 oC
High temperatures near the core are believed to be responsible for the generation of
convection currents.
The Crust
Thinnest, coolest and least dense layer.
Rocks are rich in silicon, oxygen, aluminium, potassium and sodium
Separated from the mantle by the Mohorovijic (Moho) discontinuity.
Varies in thickness from 5 to 70 km

Some very important terms:

Lithosphere: consists of the crust and the

rigid upper section of the mantle,
approximately 80-90km thick. Divided
into seven large plates and a number of
smaller ones.
Asthenosphere: the semi-molten mass
below the lithosphere on which the plates
float and move. Beneath the
asthenosphere is the rest of the mantle,
which is completely solid.

 What are the names for the two

types of crust that form the
lithosphere?
Use the text book to complete your
own table likeContinental
this one:Oceanic crust
crust
Thickness
Age
Density
Composition

Plate Tectonics Theory

Key questions:
- What did the Earth used to look like?
- Why does it look different today?
- How has the theory of Plate Tectonics
developed?

Supercontinents!
The Earth did not always look as it
does today.
It is believed that ~ 250 million years
ago all the continents were joined
together to form one
supercontinent called Pangaea.
Pangaea was a roughly C shaped
landmass that spread across the
Alfred Wegener put forward this theory in
equator.
1912.

Compare...

Evidence for Pangaea:

1: Continental fit
What else?
Use your text book to find out about
the other evidence that supports the
existence of Pangaea.

Geological evidence
The Appalachian Mountains of
eastern North America are thought to
link to the Caledonidesof Ireland,
Britain, Greenland, and Scandinavia
and the Anti-Atlas Range in Morroco.

Climatological evidence

Coal deposits that would have been formed in

tropical climate conditions are found in places
that do not have a tropical climate. Therefore,
they must have drifted. E.g. Antarctica

Biological evidence

Mesosaurusremains were found in southern Africa and eastern

South America, two far away places. Mesosauruswas a freshwater
animal, and could not have crossed theAtlantic Ocean, this
indicates that the two continents used to be joined together.
Marsupials are only found in Australia because it drifted away from
the main supercontinent before the predators that wiped them out
elsewhere had migrated there

So far:
Wegener had convincing evidence for
continental drift.
However, sceptics were quick to point
out that there was no explanation of
the mechanism by which continents
could move over a solid earth.
It was not until the second half of the 20 th
century that major discoveries began to
suggest how this might be possible.

 1948 A survey of
the floor of the
Atlantic Ocean
revealed a
continuous ridge
running north to
south.
1000km wide.
Heights of 2.5km
Composed of
volcanic rocks.
Similar found in
Pacific Ocean.

 Iron particles in lava erupted on the ocean

floor are aligned with the Earths magnetic
field.
As the lavas solidify, these particles
provide a permanent record of the Earths
polarity at the time of the eruption - called

palaeomagnetism.

Geomagnetic Polarity Reversals

However, the Earths polarity

reverses at regular intervals
[approx every 400,000
years].
The result is a series of
magnetic stripes with rocks
aligned alternately towards
the north and south poles.

The striped pattern (which is

mirrored exactly on either side of
a mid-oceanic ridge) suggests
that the ocean crust is slowly
spreading away from this
boundary and new rocks are
being
added
equally
on
either
This process is known as sea floor
side.
spreading.

Young
More evidence The age of
the ocean floor.

Old

Old

Surveys recorded very

young ages for places on
or near the ridges.
E.g Iceland less than 1
million years old.
Much older ages were
recorded for ocean floor
rocks nearer the
continental masses (200
million years).
Older crust is continuously
being pushed aside by
new crust.

BUT!
There is no evidence for the planet
growing in size as all of this ocean
crust accumulates.
So, what happens to all of this
oceanic crust?
This realisation led to the discovery
of huge trenches where large areas
of the ocean floor were being
subducted.

 Oceanic crust is being created in some

areas and destroyed in others.
The less dense, more buoyant
continental crust is not consumed.

One more very important

thing...
Convection currents:
1. Higher temperatures at the
Earths core and heat from
the mantle help to create
convection currents.
2. These are zones of hotter,
more liquid magma.
3. Thought to have a
continuous circulatory
motion in the
asthenosphere that causes
the plates to move.

Pull slabs of
Pull crust apart
oceanic crust back
at spreading
down into the
ridges.
mantle at
suduction zones.
The Driving Mechanism for Plate Movement

Summary...
1912 Alfred Wegener put forward a
range of evidence for the existence of
Pangaea the supercontinent.
Later 20thC major discoveries:
1. Mid-Altantic Ridge palaeomagnetism,
sea floor spreading.
2. Subduction and ocean trenches.
3. Convection currents the cause of
plate movement.

There are three main types of

plate boundary.
CONSTRUCTIVE /Divergent boundaries -- where new
crust is generated as the plates pull away from each
other.
DESTRUCTIVE /Convergent boundaries -- where crust
is destroyed as one plate moves under another.
CONSERVATIVE /Transform boundaries -- where crust
is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide
horizontally past each other.

Constructive
margins
Where plates move apart in oceanic areas
they produce mid-ocean ridges.
Where they move apart in continental crust
they produce rift valleys.
The space between the diverging plates is
filled with basaltic lava upwelling from below.
Constructive margins are some of the
youngest parts of the Earths surface, where
new crust is continuously being created.

Oceanic ridges
The longest continuous uplifted features on
the surface of the planet.
Have a total length of 60,000km.
In some parts they rise 3,000m above the
ocean floor.
Where two plates pull apart there is a
weaker zone in the crust and an increase in
heat near the surface. The hotter, expanded
crust forms a ridge.
Volcanic activity occurs along the ridge.

 If these eruptions persist, volcanoes

may develop until they reach the
surface; islands can be formed in this
way.
Iceland is the largest example, on the
Surtsey:
created
by
Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
eruptions in 1963

 These volcanoes have fairly gentle

sides because of the low viscosity of
basaltic lava.
(It can flow a long way before it cools)
Eruptions are frequent but relatively
gentle.

 As new crust forms and spreads,

transform faults occur at right angle
to the plate margin.
The parts of the spreading plates on
either side of these transform faults
may be moving at different rates,
leading to friction and ultimately to
earthquakes.
These tend to be shallow-focus
earthquakes, originating near the
surface.

Rift valleys
Occur at constructive margins in
continental areas.
The heating and updoming of the crust
leads to fracturing and rifting.
As the sides of the rift move apart, central
sections drop down to form rift valleys.

SPREADING CENTER EARTHQUAKES

RIFT VALLEYS
East African Rift runs into Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

In plate tectonic theory the

East African
Rift is a spreading center which
connects
through a triple junction with
the
spreading centers in the Gulf of
Aden
and the Red Sea.
It is a zone of extension and
the
earthquakes are created by
high
angle normal faults like at a
midocean spreading center.

Step faults

Inward facing
scarps

Fracture

Volcanic activity.
Active volcanoes are surface
evidence of volcanic activity beneath
the rift valley.

Mount
Kilimanjaro

Mount
Kenya

The rift valley might widen still further,

allowing the sea to inundate it,
possibly cutting off part of East Africa.

 The largest of these is the Great East

African Rift Valley.
4,000m long (from Mozambique to
the Red Sea)
From the Red Sea it extends north
into Jordan, a total distance of
5,500km.
50km wide
In some areas, the inward-facing
scarps are 600m above the valley
floor and often marked by a series of
parallel step faults.

Destructive
margins.
There are two types of plate, so there
are three types of
destructive/convergent margin:
1. Oceanic plate moves towards
continental plate.
2. Oceanic plate moves towards oceanic
plate.
3. Continental plate moves towards
continental plate.

Oceanic-continental convergence.
The denser oceanic plate is forced
under the lighter continental one,
into the upper mantle.
This process is known as subduction.
As the oceanic crust descends,
friction with the overlying continental
crust builds up and causes major
earthquakes.

Rocks scraped off the descending plate

and folding of the continental crust
create young fold mountain chains on
edge of the continental mass. E.g the
Andes.

Deep ocean trenches are found along

the seaward edge of destructive
margins. They mark where one plate
begins to descend beneath another and
can reach great depths. E.g. Peru-Chile
trench, 8km deep
As it is less dense
than the
surrounding
asthenosphere, the
molten material
begins to rise up
through fissures
and by burning their
way through
overlying rock.
Eventually these
reach the surface to
form volcanoes.

The lava has a viscous nature

(flows less easily). This creates
complex , composite, explosive
volcanoes. If the eruptions take
place off shore, a line of volcanic
islands known as an island arc
can appear

Benioff zone the further the rock

descends, the hotter the surroundings
become. This, together with the heat
generated from friction, begins to melt
oceanic plate into the magma.

Example:
The Peru-Chile Trench.
Also known as the Atacama
Trench.
Eastern edge of Nazca Plate
being subducted under the
South American Plate.
Max depth: 8,065m
Length: 5,900km
Width: 64km

 If the eruption of magma takes place

offshore, a line of volcanic islands
known as an island arc can appear.
Such island chains may develop over
millions of years to become major
land masses.
E.g. Japan Pacific plate subducted
beneath Eurasian plate.

Oceanic - oceanic
convergence.
Two oceanic plates moving towards
each other.
One is forced under the other and
the processes involved with
subduction begin.
The crust that is subducted may be
marginally the denser of the two
plates or is the one which is moving
more quickly.

 Ocean trenches and island arcs

are the main features, as the
interaction takes place well offshore.
E.g. Marianas trench western side of the Pacific
Ocean.
Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the
smaller Philippine plate.

Mariana Islands

Made up by the summits of 15

volcanoes.
To the west of the Mariana Trench.

Guam

U.S territory, population 178,000.

Where Americas day begins.

Continental-continental
convergence.
As continents have similar density and
thus buoyancy, they will not be subducted.
They collide with each other.
Their edges and the sediments between
them are forced up into fold mountains.
Deep roots in the lithosphere.
No volcanic activity.
Movement of the plates can trigger
shallow-focus earthquakes.

Indo-Australian Plate
Moving north and east

Himalayas

Causing Mt Everest to rise

by up to 3cm a year.

Approx. 5.8cm/year
Eurasian Plate
(rigid)

In parts the Indo-Australian plate is being pushed under to form the mountain
roots up to 70km deep.
This movement causes great stresses which are released by earthquakes.
Often extremely violent and destructive. E.g. Sichuan, 2008 China, 80,000
deaths.

350km wide
Extend for 3,000km

Conservative
margins.

Occur when two plates move parallel

or nearly parallel to each other.
There is no creation or destruction of
crust.
No subduction, therefore no
volcanic activity.
Movement of the plates creates
stresses between the plate edges. As
sections of the plates rub past each
other, the release of friction triggers

The San Andreas Fault.

California
Although both plates are moving north-west, the
Pacific plate moves faster, giving the illusion that they
are moving in opposite directions.
Los Angeles could eventually be on an island off the
Canadian coast.

San Francisco
1906

1989

Another big one predicted

before 2032!!

Task
Complete the summary table of the
different types of plate margin.

Plenary

Mark Scheme

Section 2: Vulcanicity
Volcanic Activity
Major forms of Extrusive
activity
Minor forms of Extrusive activity
Case study MEDC
Case study LEDC

Hot Spot Volcanism

These isolated areas of volcanic
activity are not associated with
plate boundaries
These volcanoes are found both
on continents and out in the
ocean
A plume of hot mantle material
rises up to the bottom of the
lithosphere
Melting occurs and magma is
created
These are called hot spots
They can last for many millions
of years

Hot Spot Volcanism

The magma works its way to the
surface over the hot spot and a
volcano is formed
Out in the ocean, the volcano
may or may not reach the
surface and form an island
In fact, few oceanic volcanoes
reach the surface

Hot Spot Volcanism

As the moving plate carries the
volcano away from the hot spot,
the volcano dies out
With time, another volcano may
form
This cycle may repeat many
times, forming a long chain of
under sea volcanoes and islands

Hot Spot Volcanism

The Hawaiian Islands are the classic example of hot
spot volcanism

Hot Spot Volcanism

Every island in the Hawaiian Island chain was created by
volcanic eruptions that occurred as the Pacific Oceanic Plate
crossed over a hot spot

Hot Spot Volcanism

In fact, the 7 main Hawaiian Islands are just the southern
most portion of two great undersea mountain ranges,
composed of hundreds of volcanoes, that runs for 6000
kilometers (4000 miles) across the floor of the Pacific Ocean

Hot Spot Volcanism

The plate has
moved to the
northwest for more
than 65 million
years
The big island of
Hawaii is now over
the hot spot

Hot Spot Volcanism

The volcanoes that formed
the Hawaiian islands are
classified as shield
volcanoes

Hot Spot Volcanism

Shield volcanoes are characterized by broad, gentle slopes
built up from repeated basaltic lava flows

Hot Spot Volcanism

Not all eruption create big islands
Molokini represents one eruption that is slowly
being reclaimed by the sea

Hot Spot Volcanism

Loihi Volcano, the youngest volcano of the Hawaiian Island
Chain, lies about 20 km off the south coast of the Big Island
Currently it rises 3500 meters above the surrounding sea
floor and its summit is about 1000 meters beneath the
surface

An example of a
hotspot: Hawaii
Describe the location of the
Hawaiian Island chain in relation to
plate boundaries. (you can use a
simple sketch map)

Why did hotspot volcanoes cause a

problem when the original theory of
plate tectonics was developed?

What is a hotspot? Draw a simple labelled diagram to explain how a

hotspot is caused and how it is responsible for forming the Hawaiian
Island chain.

Outline the stages these hotspot volcanoes go through from birth to

eventual demise.

Fold Mountain
formation

Task:
Challenge:
Draw the fold
If you finish see if you can label the plate
mountains and ocean
boundaries which help create each set of fold
trenches onto your
mountains you will need to use your plate
world map. Use pg 4 LO: To understand
boundary
how foldmap.
mountains form
with reference to examples.
to help you label

Animation of fold
mountains
Tasks:
Read the sheet
Answer the questions/diagrams
and fill in the definitions.
6/15/15

LO: To understand how fold

mountains form with reference to
examples.

Key words
Nappes - a large, sliver of rock that
has been thrusted far from its
original position by thrust faulting
during continental plate collisions.
Anticlines - an upwardly curving
fold.
Synclines - A fold in rocks in which
the rock layers dip downward.
Geosynclines - a large-scale
depression in the earth's crust

6/15/15

LO: To understand how fold

mountains form with reference to
examples.

 Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are

formed by the deposition of material at the
Earth's surface and within bodies of water
Overfolds - when one or a stack of originally flat,
level surfaces, such as sedimentary rock, are bent
or curved as a result of pressure.
Ocean trench - a long narrow steep-sided
depression in the earth's oceanic crust, usually
lying above a subduction zone

6/15/15

LO: To understand how fold

mountains form with reference to
examples.

TASK- Write an extended

paragraph explaining how
fold mountains form over time.
Success Criteria
Use geographical vocabulary accurately.
Every step of the way define each of the key
terms below.
Describe what happens at each stage and
then give reasons why.

Fold mountains, geosyncline, sedimentary rock,

syncline, anticline.

To understand the formation of

ocean ridges and associated
hazards.

Independent research task

Produce a case study about the Mid
Atlantic Ridge.
Include information about the type of
plate boundary involved and how it was
formed.
Further to your research, include
information about Iceland, more
specifically the formation of Surtsey.

Classification of volcanoes

WALT: To be able to classify a volcano

according to the shape, vent and nature
of eruption.

1.

Fissure volcano
- Occur where an elongated crack in the
crust allows lava to spill out over a large
area, forming lava plateau.
-Typically found along spreading ridges.
-Rock type: Basaltic
-Location: rifts/early constructive
margins
-Eruptions: Gentle, persistant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12662036

2.

Shield volcano
- Made of basaltic rock.
- Form gently sloping cones from layers
of less viscous lava.
-Rock type: Basaltic
-Location: hot spots and where oceanic
crust meets oceanic crust.
-Eruptions: Gentle, predictable.

Mauna Loa, Hawaii the largest

volcano in the world. Stands at
4,170m above sea level.
Extends 10,099m from the ocean
floor, making it taller than Mount
Everest.

3.

Composite volcano
-The most common type found on land.
- Created by layers of ash from initial
explosive phases of eruptions and later
layers of lava from the main eruption
phases.
-Rock type: Andesitic is of moderate
viscosity and forms thick lava flows and
domes
-Location: Destructive margins
-Eruptions: Explosive, unpredictable

Mount St Helens, USA

4.

Puy de Dome, France

Acid or dome volcano

- Steep-sided
- Formed from very viscous lava
- Lava cannot travel far
- It builds up convex cone-shaped
volcanoes
-Rock type: Rhyolitic - Rhyolitic lava has
the highest viscosity of any type of lava,
and it has the greatest content of SiO2.
Typically, the SiO2 content is greater
than 68 percent of its total composition.
It flows much slower than andesitic and
basaltic lava.
-Location: Continental crust
-Eruptions: Explosive, unpredictable

5.

Ash-cinder cone volcano

- Slightly concave sides
- Layers of fine ash and large cinders
-Rock type: Mixed
-Location: Variety
-Eruptions: Explosive

Northern Arizona

6.

Caldera volcano
- Form when gases that have built up
beneath a blocked volcanic vent result
in a catastrophic eruption that destroys
the volcano summit.
-Rock type: Andesitic
-Location: Destructive margins
-Eruptions: Very explosive,
unpredictable

Minor Volcanic forms

Geyse
r
Water
in the lower crust is heated
by rocks and turns to steam;
pressure increases and the steam
and water explode onto the
Hot
surface.
springs/boiling
Hot water mixes with mud and
mud
surface deposits.
Solfatara
Created when sulphurous gases
escape onto the surface.

Shape of Volcano
Fissure Volcano

Shield Volcano

Composite Volcano

Acid or dome volcano

Ash-cinder cone
volcano

Caldera volcano

Diagram

Rock type

Location

Type of eruption

Lava
The physical nature of lava is
linked to its chemical composition

Lava

General rules

Basaltic Lava

Phoehoe

Flood Basalts (lava plateaux)

Form from fissure eruptions
Flow over great distances
Snake River Plain USA

Acid Lava

Intrusive Volcanism
Sill
Dyke
Batholith

Plutons
Large masses of
intrusive igneous
rock. Most
commonly granite.
Plutons and
batholiths are often
used
interchangeably.

Sierra Nevada Batholith

(red).

Laccolith
Formed when an igneous intrusion
goes in between layers of rock and
bubbles up.

Dike and Sill

Geysers are
hot springs that
erupt
periodically.
Water in the
lower crust is
heated by
rocks and turns
into steam;
pressure
increases and
the steam and
water explode
onto the
surface.

The
ingredients
needed for
geyser activity
are: heat,
water, and
underground
rock hard
enough to
withstand
intense
pressures.

Extrusive Features

Other features
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of
geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust.
There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent
and even under the oceans and seas.

Boiling mud: hot water mixes with mud and surface deposits.

Lassen Volcanic Park

mudpot

A fumarole is an opening in Earth's crust, often in the

neighborhood of volcanoes, which emits steam and gases such
as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and
hydrogen sulfide.
The name solfatara is given to fumaroles that emit sulfurous
gases.
Fumaroles may occur along tiny cracks or long fissures, in
chaotic clusters or fields, and on the surfaces of lava flows and
thick deposits of pyroclastic flows. A fumarole field is an area of
thermal springs and gas vents where magma or hot igneous
rocks at shallow depth are releasing gases or interacting with
groundwater. From the perspective of groundwater, fumaroles
could be described as a hot spring that boils off all its water
before the water reaches the surface.

Hverarnd sulphuric mud pools (solfataras). The ground is unstable there and you
cannot walk everywhere. Blue-gray mud is boiling and produces small or big
(depending on water content) bubbles that burst. The ground is yellow and reddish
and the noise from an abandoned hot water well is penetrating. The smell of sulphuric
dioxide is everywhere.

EYJAFJALLAJKULL
To understand:
the nature of the volcanic hazard
the impact of the event
management of the hazard and
responses to the
event.

As the eruption
took place
beneath glacial
ice, the resulting
melt water flowed
back into the
erupting volcano
which created two
specific
phenomena:

The first
response was
that 500
farmers were
evacuated
overnight.
Some roads
were closed for
fear of flash
floods

Between 14th
and 21st April
flights in the
airspace of many
NW European
countries were
stopped.

The 6 day shut

down is
estimated to
have cost the
airlines 1.2bn

The Kenyan
flower industry
was also
impacted by the
eruption, costing
growers between
$1.5m and $2m
a day.

A royal Navy
warship collected
soldiers returning
from Afghanistan
and stranded
holiday makers
from the Spanish
port of Santander.

Vaporizing
water
increased the
explosive
power.
The lava
cooled very
rapidly
creating a
cloud of highly
abrasive, glass
rich ash which
could damage
jet engines.

The volcano was

located directly
under the polar
jet stream which
was heading NW
to SE.

A thick layer of
ash fell on farm
pastures at
Raufarfell. This
has become wet
and compact,
making it very
difficult to
continue
farming,
harvesting or
grazing
livestock.

There was some

reports of
dangers to
livestock in the
local area and
even as far as
Scotland due to
ingestion by
livestock of
fluoride from
volcanic ash on
pasture land.

Eyjafjallajkull is
one of Icelands
smaller icecaps
located in the far
south of the
island. It covers
the caldera of a
volcano 1666m in
height.

The volcanic
events started in
March 2010 are
considered to be
a single eruption
divided into
different phases.

Initially a fissure
opened up, about
150m in length
with 10 to 12
erupting lava
craters ejecting
lava at a
temperature of
about 1000c up
to 150m into the
air.

This eruption
produced a
spectacular
volcanic
Disneyland and
tourists flocked to
the site to see
amazing lava
flows. The lava
was basalt and
relatively viscous
so lava flow was
slow.

12th April.
A second volcanic
fissure opened
during an
earthquake
measuring 3.2
magnitude
beneath
Eyjafjallajkull
and many smaller
earthquakes were
recorded

1.15am 14th April.

Eyjafjallajkull
entered an
explosive phase
and ejected fine,
glass-rich ash to
over 8km into the
atmosphere over
4 days. Lava
flowed up to 3 km
from the main
vent.

The second
phases is
estimated to have
been a volcanic
explosive index
(VEI) 4 eruption,
which is large, but
not nearly the
most powerful
eruption in VEI
terms

The volcano is in
a remote corner
of Iceland. The
local, dispersed
farming
community is
home to few
people.

River levels rose

as part of the ice
cap melted this
disrupted roads
and damaged
bridges in places.
Some local gravel
roads were also
blocked by falling
ash

What made this

volcanic eruption
so hazardous was
the fact that the
ash became
disruptive to air
travel.

Type of volcano=
Cause =
Type of eruption=

Impacts

Lava type=
VEI =

What made the volcanic activity worse?

Responses

Case study: Nyiragongo

To be able to compare and contrast

two case studies of major volcanic
events.

2 mile high volcano

One of the most active volcanoes on the planet

Little research

20 years of constant Warfare

Mass migration from Rwanda

20,000 UN troops

Goma 10 Miles [16K]

Population 1 million
2 lava flows through city 1977 + 2002

1977
60 mph
Several hundreds killed

2002

14,000 homes

350,000 flee

15 million cubic yards of lava

Houses buried to the first floor

Ken Sims
US vulcanologist
University of Wyoming
Rock Climber and mountaineer
Hasnt owned a TV set for 25 years

The Players
Dario Tedesco
Italian
EU funded
Goma, is the most dangerous
city in the world.
My greatest fear is to make a big mistake
not to predict and eruption.

Fissure type eruptions

not the
classic Plinian
type

Lake 700 feet across

1800o F
Lava geysers up to 100ft

Expedition to crater lake led by Sims + Tedesco

Campsite on Terrace
Lowered to cater lake to collect zero-age sample

Every day 7000 tones of Sulphur Dioxide

Gas sniffer tests carbon dioxide
carbon monoxide
+ methane

RAD7 tests
For Radon

Why?
Volcanoes are gas driven machines

Eruption preceded by:

Increase discharged gas
Variations chemical composition

Two isotopes of radon measured by radioactive clock ratio indicates time to surface
and chemical composition can be extrapolated.

Prediction piecemeal so scientists visits essential

Volcanic observatory dilapidated one story building in Goma
Warning flags bleached and battered
Batteries from sensors looted

Meanwhile the zero-age sample from the crater lake could be the Rosetta Stone

Section 3 : Seismicity

Earthquake Activity
Tsunamis
Case study MEDC
Case study LEDC

WHAT IS AN
EARTHQUAKE?
Sudden release of energy
Creates seismic waves (similar to waves through
water)
Waves spread out spherically
Greatest damage occurs at the epicentre

P-waves
P waves (primary waves) are
compressional waves.
In solids, these waves generally travel
almost twice as fast as S waves.
P waves can travel through any type of
material.
In air, these pressure waves take the form
of sound waves.
They travel at are 330m/s in air, 1450m/s
in water and about 5000m/s in granite.
(m/s = meters per second.)

PRIMARY WAVE p-wave

Longitudinal
Sudden jolt felt as the quake hits.

S waves
S waves (secondary waves) are transverse which
means that the ground is displaced
perpendicularly (sideways) to the direction of
movement.
The ground moves alternately to one side and
then the other. (or up or down depending on
the direction of the wave.)
S waves can travel only through solids, not fluids
(liquids and gases)
Their speed is about 60% of that of P waves in a
given material.
S waves arrive second in a seismic station
because of their slower speed.
They are sometimes called shear waves.

SECONDARY WAVE s-wave

Transverse (shake at right angles to the direction of the

wave.)
Sustained shaking felt as quake hits

L wave

The particle motion of a Love wave forms a horizontal line

perpendicular to the direction of movement (i.e. are
transverse waves).
Since Love waves travel on the Earth's surface, the strength
(or amplitude) of the waves decrease exponentially with the
depth of an earthquake.
Surface waves therefore decay more slowly with distance than
do secondary waves, which travel in three dimensions.
Large earthquakes may generate Love waves that travel
around the Earth several times before dissipating.
Since they decay so slowly, Love waves are the most
destructive outside the immediate area of the focus or
epicentre of an earthquake. They are what most people feel
directly during an earthquake.

LOVE WAVE. L-wave

Lets get an overview.

Read the book pages 24 - 27
Worksheet Sheet 5 & 6

What is an earthquake?

Focus

Shock waves

Epicentre

How do we measure earthquakes?

Seismograph

The Richter Scale - Is used to measure the strength of an

earthquake.

The Mercalli Scale

- measures the
effects of an
earthquake using
a scale of I to XII

Distribution of Earthquakes
What is the distribution of
Earthquakes?
Read the section in the book then use
following statements to make a short
paragraph explaining the distribution of
Earthquakes.
The Pacific Ring of Fire
70% of Earthquake and Volcanic activity is found around
its edges
Volcanoes and Earthquakes are frequent.
Represents the destructive plate boundaries around the
edges of the plate.

Describe the distribution and comment on the relative impact of

these earthquakes. (7)

THE RICHTER SCALE

Invented by Charles Francis Richter in 1935
Measure of an earthquakes magnitude
Scale between 0 and 10(theoretically)
Logarithmic scale

Liquefaction Explained
When violently shaken, soils with high moisture content lose their mechanical strength. Moisture
is shaken to the top layers of soil, even those that seem extremely dry, and begins to behave like
liquid. Causing buildings to become unstable on their foundations, sink and or collapse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwvv
YxSZ7PI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV2W
eR670ls

Tsunami What is a Tsunami?

Tsunami -a large wave, or series of
waves, caused when an earthquake
causes massive undersea crust
movements and/or collapses which
displace the water above.
Earthquakes deform the ocean floor,
pushing the overlying water up into a
tsunami wave.

Video of Boxing Day

Tsunami
Tsunami Caught on Camera

Scale
showing the
size of the
tsunami
waves that
hit Indonesia.

Case study Boxing Day

Tsunami.
Make a 5 point PowerPoint to get the
key facts about the Tsunami across.
Use case study on page 29 to help.
Why it occurred.
Where it started.
What it effected.
Positive side effects.

Case study: Japan Tsunami

Case
study:
Haiti

What was the response?

[numbers refer to pages]

Historical influence
Piracy and conquests
True government
Dictatorship
Coup and US intervention
Import and exports

Geography
Mountains and plains
Reliance on primary
produce
Centralisation
Migration
Curtailed secondary
industry

The event
Epicentre
Magnitude
Construction
Organisation

Primary - emergency Relief

Water
Food
Search and Rescue
Shelter tarps and tents
Riots and security
Concentration at the core Logne?

Primary response POSITIVES

Medical - thousands
of life saving and
emergency
amputations
50% more water
treated
107 flights a day c.f.
7
Vaccinations against
measles, tetanus +

Mid term - Recovery

Land ownership
Aid and Debt
Corruption 130
Bilateral aid (NGOs)

Collier Plan 139

Garments Agriculture
reconstruction
Informal industry but no
reliability, sufficient income
or security
March 31 2010 led
conference as Special
envoy
No locals spoke
(secondhand 7 min
presentation) 146
Emphasis on private
money

Mid term evacuation

Prior to first summit land seized by government 9 miles out of city
- Corail Cesselesse
Ownership was undeclared
US flattened a site and tents for 7500 were put up, latrines dug
Plan originally for 50000 who would be flooded come spring
Eventual realisation land owned by Brun and Nabatec who wanted
to develop garment factory for S Korea on remainder and would
benefit from labour
Growth pole attracted informal squatter so was never built moving
to Caracol in far North.

Progress?
7 months after quake, four after donors
conference and two after Interim Haiti
Recovery Commission
2% rubble cleared, 13,000 temporary
shelter built out of 125,000 promised
203 Bill Clinton special envoys office
suggested $16.3B spent or promised.
By end of 2010 $2.43B spent by UN or
NGOs but 93% went straight back to UN or
NGOs to pay for supplies or personnel!

October 17 2010
First death from cholera in
Meille on the Artibonite river
By 30th October death toll had
passed 400
Broken latrine pipes and
sewage dumped in open pits on
the riverside discharged human
effluent . UN camp at Minustah
recently has new soldiers from
Nepal a known source region for
Vibrio Cholera bacteria. 241,26
November - first case reaches
PaP
Mid November 1000 dead, Dec
4000
By Jan 2013 7500 dead, 580k ill
(6%) epidemic spreading to
Dominican Rep

 Earthquakes dont kill people

BUILDINGS DO!!!

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Election
First round of election in December 2010 supported
Celestin, the Unity candidate who Preval saw as his
successor
Potential winner Martelly (musician) with support of
the youthful population failed to qualify, leading to
extended riots
Organisation of American States recounted suggesting
- no recount (due to cost - removal of fraudulent tally
sheets
Martelly would go through Celestin not.

Leadership
Following intervention and visit of
Hilary Clinton election continued
fairly with two horse race
Martelly secures 67.5 % of vote and
enters new phase
Duvalier and Aristide return, both
shadows of former self and Preval
fades into background.

Overall Issues
Prior to the event political and natural background had led
to the poorest country in Western World
Post quake fears of violence led to poor interaction with
locals limiting distribution of food.
NGOs concentrated in capital [at hotels and previously
known locations]
Aid was sourced inefficiently through NGOs and UN as
government perceived to be corrupt
Disorganised land ownership made the establishment of Tshelters difficult meaning permanent housing was never
established
Cholera outbreak dealt a double blow before any real
changes

HOW TO BUILD
SMALL BUILDINGS
Shear walls
Concentrate the damage
Cross Bracing
Reinforced stone wall

 Cross bracing
Construction of Pearl River Tower, China

LARGER BUILDINGS

Left: regular building

Base isolation

Right: base isolated building

 Ways of improving resistance to earthquakes

SKY SCRAPERS
Tuned Mass Damper

The tuned mass damper at the top of the Taipei 101

HAITI

A poor neighbourhood, Port-au-Prince

CHILE

Damaged building, Concepcion

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/10/earthquakes

Safe Houses
The earthquake in Haiti was a
reminder: Billions of people live in
houses that can't stand shaking. Yet
safer ones can be built cheaply
using straw, adobe, old tiresby
applying a few general principles.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/10/earthquakes-pg2

Appropriate?
In Los Angeles, Tokyo, and other rich cities in fault
zones, the added expense of making buildings
earthquake resistant has become a fact of life.
Concrete walls are reinforced with steel, for
instance, and a few buildings even rest on
elaborate shock absorbers. Strict building codes
were credited with saving thousands of lives
when a magnitude 8.8 quake hit Chile in late
February. But in less developed countries like
Haiti, where a powerful quake in January killed
some 222,500 people and left more than a million
homeless, conventional earthquake engineering
is often unaffordable. The devastation in Haiti
wouldnt happen in a developed country, says
engineer Marcial Blondet of the Catholic
University of Peru, in Lima. Yet it needn't happen
anywhere. Cheap solutions exist.

Reinforced Walls
Eucalyptus and Bamboo
structures help to
strengthen
Plastic meshes are
effective too
Need not be a metal
mesh

Blondet
Blondet has been working on ideas since 1970,
when an earthquake in Peru killed 70,000 or
more, many of whom died when their houses
crumbled around them. Heavy, brittle walls of
traditional adobecheap, sun-dried brick
cracked instantly when the ground started
bucking. Subsequent shakes brought roofs
thundering down. Blondet's research team has
found that existing adobe walls can be reinforced
with a strong plastic mesh installed under plaster;
in a quake, those walls crack but don't collapse,
allowing occupants to escape. "You rebuild your
house, but you don't bury anyone, Blondet says.
Plastic mesh could also work as a reinforcement
for concrete walls in Haiti and elsewhere.

Confined
Masonry
Brick wall framed
within concrete
uprights corner
column
And fixed horizontal
beams crowns
The box flexes on
cheap ground
absorbers made from
tyres

Lindt
Other engineers are working on methods that use
local materials. Researchers in India have
successfully tested a concrete house reinforced
with bamboo. A model house for Indonesia rests
on ground-motion dampers designed by John van
de Lindt of Colorado State University: old tires
filled with bags of sand. Such a house might be
only a third as strong as one built on more
sophisticated shock absorbers, but it would also
cost much lessand so be more likely to get built
in Indonesia. "As an engineer you ask, What level
of safety do I need? van de Lindt says. Then
you look at whats actually available and find the
solution somewhere in between."

Light walls and

gables
Lighter buildings
subject to smaller
forces
Compressed straw
bales held together
with nylon netting
Within plaster
sandwich

Donovan
In northern Pakistan, straw is
available. Traditional houses are built
of stone and mud, but straw is far
more resilient, says California
engineer Darcey Donovan, and
warmer in winter to boot. Donovan
and her colleagues started building
straw-bale houses in Pakistan after
the 2005 earthquake; so far they
have completed 17.

Small windows
Light Roofs
Concrete roofs collapse
killing, metal roofs and
wooden trusses are lighter
Smaller, regularly spaced
opening cause less stresses
In Haiti improperly reenforced walls collapsed
along with heavy roofs