TECTONIC PLATES MODULE 1

The Earth, the third planet from the Sun, is entirely covered with soil that is part of the outermost
compositional layer called the crust. However, its topography exhibits depressions that allow water to be
contained that forms the ocean, lakes and other bodies of water. For this reason, if you look at the surface of
the Earth, 70% is composed of water and the remaining 30% is the dry land.
The Earth is a dynamic planet that harbors 4 major sub-systems. This feature is due to the atmospheric gases
that is suitable to cater life and other systems. The four major sub-systems are the following: 1. Atmosphere
(air), 2. Lithosphere (land), 3. Hydrosphere (water), and 4. Biosphere (living organisms).

1. Atmosphere – contains all the air in the Earth’s system. It is composed mainly of Nitrogen (78%),
Oxygen (21%), Argon (0.93%), Carbon Dioxide (0.038%), Trace gases such as neon, methane, helium,
krypton and hydrogen (0.01%) and water vapor (0.0-4.0%). It covers from the Earth’s surface up to
about 10,000 km above. It is divided into several strata in which various layers protect living organisms
from harmful UV rays. However, detailed discussion on the unique features of each atmospheric layer
will not be included in this chapter. On the other hand, it is responsible for the creation of ocean
surface currents, waves and other oceanic movements. The difference atmospheric pressure will
trigger several natural occurrences such as typhoon and tornados to form.

2. Hydrosphere – All bodies of water and water involved in the cycle are part of the hydrosphere. If you
think of water, the first thing that comes in your mind is the liquid form. However, icebergs (solid form)
in the Arctic and Antarctic as well as the vapor (gas form) and clouds are other forms of water that
makes up the hydrosphere. Earth’s water is group into two based on their chemical characteristics, the
freshwater group that contains no salt and the seawater group that contains high level of salt.

Water plays a significant role when it comes to the Earth’s climate. We can observe the ocean as it is
but its circulation regulates the temperature of the Earth. Warm water from the tropics will be carried
up to the Arctic Region to be cooled down. In contrast, the cold water from the Arctic Region will travel
down near the equator to replace the warm water. Through this process, the water temperature is
regulated. Scientists believed that when the ocean circulation stops, the next Ice Age will commence.
The photo below shows the route of the oceanic water. The red line indicates the warm water and cold
water is represented by the blue line.

3. Lithosphere – the cross section of the Earth will reveal its layers that are mostly solid but a portion is in
semi-liquid state. This includes the lava below the surface. Lithosphere is basically the composition of
the cold, hard solid land of the planet’s crust, the semi-solid land underneath the crust and the liquid
near the center of the Earth. It is in this sub-system that rich minerals are found such as gold, silver,
diamond, iron, magnesium and many more. In addition, lithosphere also hosts the other sub-system,
the biosphere.

4. Biosphere – All living things on this planet belongs to the biosphere. This sub-system is highly
dependent on other sub-systems for which they source their air to breathe (atmosphere), land to step
on (lithosphere) and water to drink (hydrosphere). Biosphere is unique to Earth only and is absent to
 other planets in the solar system. It is composed of wide variety of species from the smallest bacteria
to the biggest whale and redwoods. Human beings belong also to the biosphere.

Tectonic Plates
It was hypothesized that approximately 225 million years ago there is one major island on Earth, Pangaea, and
one ocean called the Panthalassa. The Pangaea broke up into two islands namely the Laurasia (the present
North America, Greenland and Eurasia minus India) and Gondwana or Gondwanaland (the present South
America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia) from which the current 7 continents originated.
Laurasia was situated on the northern part of the planet while the Gondwana on the southern part. The
movement of the super island was caused by a phenomenon called the tectonic plate movement. The
movement of the plates caused the breaking up of island. On Tectonic Plate Theory, seven major plates were
identified and these are the following: African Plate, Antarctic Plate, Eurasian Plate, Indo-Australian Plate,
North American Plate, Pacific Plate, and South American Plate. The boundaries of these plates were clearly
documented and identified to be found below the ocean surface though some boundaries are found on the
dry land.

Continental Drift Theory

Alfred Wegener proposed the Continental Drift Theory when he noticed that the shape of the continents fit
like a puzzle. However, he proposed that only the dry land is moving without taking note of the plates below
the ocean. At first, his theory was not fully accepted by the science world but he successfully provided
evidences that prove the legitimacy of his theory. The following evidences are the following:
1. Shapes of the Continents
2. Fossils
3. Rocks
4. Glacial Scars

VOLCANOES MODULE 2
A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a reservoir of molten rocks called magma below the surface
of Earth. They differ from most mountains because they have vents where molten rock escapes to the Earth’s
surface during volcanic eruptions. Volcanic landforms are controlled by the geological processes that formed
them and act on them even after they have formed.
There are more than 1,500 volcanoes on Earth that have the potential to become active, as they have already
erupted within the past 10,000 years. Where can we find the majority of these volcanoes? Mountains can be
found in all continents and in every country. However, their characteristics vary depending on their location
on the planet. Hence, it is possible that you will be seeing a mountain on your chosen destination. However,
the probability of seeing a volcano, especially as it erupts, is quite slim because volcanoes are not randomly
distributed over Earth’s surface.
Most volcanoes can be found only on designated narrow bands which are suitable for the completion of the
stages of volcano’s life cycle. These three stages are invasion of magma, building pressure and eruption. About
95% of the world’s volcanoes are located near the boundaries of tectonic plates while the remaining 5% are
thought to be associated with mantle plumes and hot spots.
Hotspots and mantle plumes were first observed in the 1960s. During this period, geologists were set on
various explorations to either prove or disapprove the theory of moving plates. During his visit in Hawaii, John
Tuzo Wilson, a Canadian geophysicist and one of the founders of the theory of plate tectonics, noticed some
interesting features about the ocean islands.
He found three linear chains of volcanoes and submarine volcanoes (seamounts) which are separated by
thousand miles from each other. When he studied the reports and recorded the age of each island, Wilson
found and interesting pattern – the islands become progressively younger to the southeast. At the end of each
chain, at the extreme southeast, he found active volcanoes. Of the three, the Hawaii Emperor seamount was
the most famous and at the same time, progressively younger. His theory states that volcanic chains like the
Hawaiian Islands result from the slow movement of the tectonic plate across a fixed hotspot. This theory gave
support to the Plate Tectonic Theory. In 1971, Wilson’s theory further developed by an American geophysicist,
William Jason Morgan. Morgan explained hotspots when he proposed for the existence of roughly cylindrical
convective upwellings in Earth’s mantle. Morgan applied the concept to the Hawaiian Islands and many other
hotspots. Like Wilson, he also associated the increasing age of the seamounts of Hawaii Emperor chain with
the increasing distance from the current hotspot location.
Mantle plumes are areas or columns where heat or rocks in the mantle are rising toward Earth’s surface. They
can be located underneath continental or oceanic crust or along plate boundaries. They are thought to spread
out laterally at the base of a continent that allowed an increase in pressure that stretches the crust, resulting
to uplift, fracture, or rift.
Hotspots are locations on Earth’s surface that has experienced active volcanic activities for a long period of
time. Hotspots are thought to be caused by the convection of hot mantle at the mantle plume. This region is
fed by the underlying mantle from which heat rises as a thermal plume inside the earth. Rocks within a
hotspot melt and become magma due to high temperature and lower pressure at the base of the tectonic
plate. This hot magma will then rises through crack and erupt to form volcanoes. As the tectonic plate moves
over the stationary hotspot, the volcanoes are steady succession of new volcanoes that move along with the
plate. There are about 40-50 identified hotspots in the world. Geologists have identified the Galapagos Islands,
Hawaii, Iceland, Reunion, and Yellowstone as some of the most active hotspots at present.

Active volcanism occurs in four principal settings:

1. Along divergent plate boundaries such as Oceanic Ridges or spreading centers. One location where an
oceanic ridge reaches above sea level is the Thingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland. It is a Mid-Atlantic
Ridge between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plate.

2. In areas of continental extension that may become divergent plate boundaries in the future. One good
example is the East African Rift Valley where the African plate is undergoing extensional deformation because
the underlying mantle is rising from below and stretching the overlying continental crust.
3. Along converging plate boundaries where subduction occurs. Approximately 75% of the world’s active
volcanoes can be found along the Pacific Ring of Fire. This volcanic band that coincides with the edges of the
Pacific Plate is a home to over 450 volcanoes, most of which have recorded tremendous devastation and
fatalities (e.g. Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and Mount Saint Helens in Washington, U.S.A.)

4. In areas called “hotspots” that are usually located in the interior of plates, away from the plate margin (e.g.
Hawaiian Emperor Seamount chain, Louisville hotspot)

Volcanism refers to the process and phenomena associated with the surficial discharge of molten rock and
other materials into the surface of Earth and other heavenly bodies such as the moon and other planets in the
solar system.
Divergent- nagbulag, bulag ug direksyon
Converge- nagsugat, nagtagbo ang direksyon

EARTHQUAKES MODULE 3
Anatomy of an Earthquake
An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the ground caused by the shifting of rocks deep underneath the
earth’s surface. Earthquakes can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.
Epicenter vs. Hypocenter (Focus)
The epicenter is the point at the surface of the Earth above the focus or hypocenter. On the other hand,
hypocenter is the point within the Earth where an earthquake rupture starts.
Hypocenter is categorized based on the depth it happened. When the hypocenter occurs 0 km (land surface)
down to 70km deep, it is considered to be Shallow-Focus, Intermediate-Focus if it occurs 71 km to 300 km
deep and Deep-Focus when the hypocenter happened 301 km and deeper. Shallow-Focus is more destructive
and damaging compare to Intermediate- and Deep-Focus.

Faults
Fault is a crack across which the rocks have been offset first. Their sizes range from micrometers to thousands
of kilometers in length and tens of kilometers in depth. A fault has four parts. The first part is the area where
the fault occurs, called the fault plane. This surface is the area may be sloping or vertical. The second part is
the fault trace, a line that may be visible or not, which occurs on Earth’s surface. The remaining two parts are
the hanging wall, which refers to the block of crust above the fault and the footwall, which is the block of crust
below the fault. Faults are classified according to their angle of dip and their relative displacement.
1. Normal Fault – a fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall as a result of
extension. These are the most common faults (e.g. Cabrillo Fault)
2. Reverse Fault – also called thrust fault. A fault in which the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall as
a result of compression (e.g. Sumatra earthquake fault in 2004)
3. Strike-Slip Fault – a fault in which two blocks of crust slide past each other on the same plane. The motion
experienced is right or left lateral instead of up and down (e.g. San Andreas Fault).

Body Waves vs. Surface Waves

Body waves travel through the interior of the Earth. On the other hand, surface waves propagate only at the
interface between two different media, like the interface between Earth and atmosphere (i.e. the surface of
the Earth).

Types of Earthquakes
1. Tectonic Earthquake - is one that occurs when the earth's crust breaks due to geological forces on rocks and
adjoining plates that cause physical and chemical changes.
2. Volcanic Earthquake - is any earthquake that results from tectonic forces which occur in conjunction with
volcanic activity.
3. Explosive Earthquake – an earthquake that is the result of the detonation of a nuclear and/or chemical
device.
4. Collapse Earthquake - are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that are caused by seismic
waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface

Why do earthquakes happen?

Earthquakes happen when there is a release of energy that causes the ground to be disturbed. In the case for
tectonic earthquake, there is tension between two plates. By the time that the tension point snaps, it will
release an energy that will be felt on the land surface though the hypocenter or focus is kilometers below. On
the other hand, the source of energy from the explosive earthquake comes from the chemicals or nuclear that
detonates.

Effects of Earthquake --Tsunamis and Floods

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet
(30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore
(www.nationalgeographic.com). Tsunami only occurs when the epicenter of an earthquake happened on the
ocean floor. If the epicenter occurs on the dry land, the possibility of tsunami occurrence is zero. The Flood is
just the effect of tsunami when the displaced water invades the dry land. The force of the water will cause the
destruction and damage of properties. Many lives were also claimed by these events -- tsunami and flood.