Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes / Edited by John P
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ISBN 978-1-61530-106-5 Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.) in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010. Copyright © 2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2011 Rosen Educational Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services. For a listing of additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles, call toll free (800) 237-9932. First Edition Britannica Educational Publishing Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor J. E. Luebering: Senior Manager Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition John P. Rafferty: Associate Editor, Earth Sciences Rosen Educational Services Alexandra Hanson-Harding: Editor Nelson Sá: Art Director Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager Nicole Russo: Designer Matthew Cauli: Cover Design Introduction by Therese Shea Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes / edited by John P. Rafferty. p. cm.—(Dynamic Earth) “In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.” Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61530-187-4 ( eBook) 1. Plate tectonics. 2. Volcanoes. 3. Earthquakes. 4. Geodynamics. I. Rafferty, John P. QE511.4.P585 2010 551.8—dc22 2009042303 Cover, pp. 12, 82, 302 © www.istockphoto.com/Julien Grondin; p. 22 © www.istockphoto.com/ Árni Torfason; pp. 23, 307 © www.istockphoto.com; pp. 202, 305 © www.istockphoto.com/ Yali Shi 24 CONTENTS Introduction 12 Chapter 1: Earth’s Dynamic Interior 23 The Process of Plate Tectonics 24 Principles of Plate Tectonics 26 29 Continental and Oceanic Crust 27 Plate Boundaries 28 Hot Spots 38 Plate Motion 40 The Development of Tectonic Theory 42 The Precursors of Modern Thinking 43 Alfred Wegener and the Concept of Continental Drift 44 37 The Renewed Interest in Continental Drift 48 Toward a Unifying Theory 54 Dissenting Opinions and Unanswered Questions 58 Plate Tectonics and the Geologic Past 62 The Wilson Cycle 62 The Supercontinent Cycle 65 Continental Reconstructions 66 39 The Interaction of Tectonics with Other Systems 67 89 Earth’s Oceans 68 Life 69 Earth’s Climate 72 Other Concepts Related to Plate Tectonics 74 Continental Drift 74 Diastrophism 78 Isostasy 78 Orogeny 81 Tectonics 81 90 Chapter 2: Volcanoes and Volcanism 82 Volcanic Eruptions 86 Lava, Gas, and Other Hazards 86 Six Types of Eruptions 100 Two 20th-Century Eruptions 104 The Four Worst Eruptions in History 111 Volcano Forecasting and Warning 113 107 Major Volcanoes of the World 114 Signifi cant Volcanoes of the World 128 Mount Agung 128 Askja 128 Mount Aso 129 Mount Cameroon 130 Cotopaxi 131 Mount Etna 132 Mount Fuji 134 130 Mount Hekla 135 Mount Hood 137 Irazú Volcano 138 141 Izalco Volcano 139 Kilauea 139 Klyuchevskaya Volcano 142 Krakatoa 143 Lassen Peak 145 Mauna Loa 146 Mayon Volcano 148 Mount Unzen 148 Mount Nyamulagira 149 Mount Nyiragongo 150 153 Ol Doinyo Lengai 150 Paricutín 151 Pavlof Volcano 151 Mount Pelée 152 Volcano Pico de Orizaba 153 Mount Pinatubo 154 Popocatépetl 154 Mount Rainier 155 Mount Ruapehu 157 Mount Ruiz 159 Mount Saint Helens 159 158 Tajumulco Volcano 164 Mount Tambora 164 Teide Peak 165 Vesuvius 166 Volcanic Landforms 169 The Major Types of Volcanic Landforms 169 The Determinants of Size and Shape 179 Hot Springs and Geysers 182 Cross Section of a 161 Geyser and Hot Spring 184 Volcanism and Tectonic Activity 186 Volcanoes Related to 188 Plate Boundaries 186 Volcanic Activity and the Earth’s Tectonic Plates 188 Intraplate Volcanism 190 Volcanoes and Geothermal Energy 191 Related Concepts 193 Bomb 193 Fumarole 194 Kimberlite Eruption 194 Magma 196 203 Mofette 197 Volcanic Winter 197 Volcanism 199 Volcanology 201 Chapter 3: Earthquakes 202 The Nature of Earthquakes 203 The Causes of Earthquakes 204 The Eff ects of Earthquakes 210 The Intensity and Magnitude 212 of Earthquakes 214 Modifi ed Mercalli Scale of Earthquake Intensity 215 The Occurrence of Earthquakes 220 Notable Earthquakes in History 224 Signifi cant Earthquakes 231 The Aleppo Earthquake of 1138 232 The Shaanxi Province Earthquake of 1556 232 The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 233 235 The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811–12 234 The Messina Earthquake and Tsunami 236 The Tokyo-Yokohama Earthquake of 1923 236 The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 237 The Chile Earthquake of 1960 238 The Alaska 237 Earthquake of 1964 238 The Ancash Earthquake of 1970 239 The Tangshan Earthquake of 1976 240 The Mexico City Earthquake of 1985 240 The San Francisco–Oakland Earthquake of 1989 240 The Northridge Earthquake of 1994 241 The Ko-be Earthquake 245 of 1995 243 · The Izmit Earthquake of 1999 246 The Taiwan Earthquake of 1999 247 The Bhuj Earthquake of 2001 247 The Kashmir Earthquake 248 The Sichuan Earthquake of 2008 248 The Haiti Earthquake Of 2010 249 The Study of Earthquakes 250 Seismic Waves 251 268 The Observation of Earthquakes 259 Earthquake Prediction 263 The Exploration of Earth’s Interior with Seismic Waves 270 Extraterrestrial Seismic Phenomena 278 Related Concepts 279 Circum-Pacifi c Belt 279 Fault 280 275 Types of Faulting in Tectonic Earthquakes 281 Richter Scale 283 Richter Scale of Earthquake Magnitude 284 Seismic Belt 285 Seismic Survey 285 Seismograph 286 Noted Thinkers 294 Beno Gutenberg 294 Sir Harold Jeff reys 295 Augustus Edward 281 Hough Love 296 John Michell 297 John Milne 298 Harry Fielding Reid 299 Charles F. Richter 299 The Scope of Tectonic Forces 300 Glossary 302 For Further Reading 305 Index 307 295 INTRODUCTION 7 Introduction 7 umans live on unsteady ground. This fact was H made abruptly apparent on January 12, 2010, when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. Because many buildings in this impoverished country were poorly constructed, they could not withstand the shaking and collapsed en masse, particularly in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, 15 miles from the quake’s epicenter. Rescue workers des- perately combed through rubble, hunting for survivors. By early February, Haiti’s prime minister estimated that more than 200,000 people had been killed by the earthquake’s effects. This type of earthquake, caused by two separate sections, or plates, of the Earth’s crust sliding against each other is known as a strike-slip earthquake. It is just one example of the restlessness of Earth’s surface. This book will show how the movement of rock within the Earth is explained by the theory of plate tectonics, the idea that Earth’s outer layer is broken into moving pieces. It will show how Earth adds and subtracts land over time. In addition, it will explain how and why volca- noes erupt and earthquakes shake the ground we live on. As early as 1620, scholars noticed that the outlines of continents could fi t together like puzzle pieces. In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener fi rst explained the concept of “continental drift.” He postulated that a single supercontinent, which he called Pangea, once existed, but broke apart into several pieces over geologic time.Wegener cited the existence of similar types of rocks and fossils found from separate continents as proof. He also used continental drift to explain the evidence of major climate and biological changes. A volcano erupts on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. © www. istockphoto.com/Julien Grondin 13 7 Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes 7 By the late 1960s, scientists had pieced together the “how” of plate tectonics. Earth’s crust—the top layer of the lithosphere—is broken into pieces called plates. The plates rest on and slide over a layer of plastic and molten rock. As the plates move, they shape the features of Earth’s surface above, including continents and oceans. Movement takes time—a mere 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) per year in some places, less in others. Hundreds of millions of years have passed since Pangea began to separate into the land masses we know today. The surface of each tectonic plate is made up of continental crust and oceanic crust. The continental crust is less dense and thus floats higher than oceanic crust. It is also about 40 km (25 miles) thick. While oceanic crust averages about 6.4 km (4 miles) thick. Tectonic plates interact at convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. When the boundary of oceanic crust meets, or con- verges with, continental crust, the more buoyant continental crust stays afloat while the oceanic crust is forced beneath it—a process called subduction. The subducting crust melts under the pressure and heat of Earth’s mantle, and the process offers an explanation of why continental crust is generally older than oceanic crust. When two oceanic plates meet, the older plate subducts under the younger one. In contrast, when two continental crusts meet, neither gives way. Instead, the earth is forced up, creating mountains. The thickness of the crust aids this process. The Himalayas were formed when the plate under India and the plate under Asia met. They are still applying enough pressure to cause the Himalayas to grow taller each year. Two plates slide past each other at transform bound- ries. These plate interactions neither create nor destroy crust. Most transform boundries lie beneath the ocean: 14 7 Introduction 7 however, some, such as the San Andreas Fault in California, occur on land. Faults associated with convergent and transform boundries appear as two huge masses of rock tensely locked in place. When the plates build up enough pressure to overcome the friction holding them, the releasing energy causes the ground to shake—an earthquake.