Lithosphere

- The lithosphere is the solid outer part of the

earth. Basically it includes the brittle upper
portion of the mantle and the crust
- The outermost layers of the earth’s structure.
- It is above the asthenosphere bounded by the
atmosphere

TECTONIC PLATES:
- The tectonic plate theory builds on the concept of “continental drift”

→ Continental Drift was a theory suggested by Alfred Wegener where it was thought:
● over millions of years, Pangaea(the super continent) separated into pieces that
moved away from one another. These pieces slowly assumed their positions as
the continents we know today
● The problem with this theory was that it was lacking. The question of “why did the
continents drift and what patterns did they follow??” went around.
● We know that it's not just the continents that move, so the more correct term is
plate tectonics
● From the technological advancements due to warfare, seismometers and
magnetometers were created
❖ Seismometers: used to monitor ground shaking caused by nuclear testing
❖ Magnetometers: to detect submarines and study the seafloor
>> With the seismometers scientists were able to discover that earthquakes dont just
happen all over the earth but rather occur in specific places. Magnetometers helped find
evidences of magnetic variations of deep sea ridges.

With the help of this, the theory of tectonic plates was built upon continental drift .

- Its a scientific theory that explains how major landforms were created as a result of the
earth’s subterranean movements
- “According to this theory, Earth’s crust is broken into roughly 15-20 sections called
tectonic plates on which the continents ride.
When these plates press together and then move suddenly, energy is released in the
form of earthquakes. That is why earthquakes do not occur everywhere on Earth
 —they’re clustered around the boundaries of tectonic plates. Plate tectonics also
explains the stripes of rock on the seafloor with alternating magnetic properties: As
buoyant, molten rock rises up from deep within Earth, it emerges from the space
between spreading tectonic plates and hardens, creating a ridge.”
- Plate tectonics explains with the help of plate boundaries as to how the continents
are moving → compared to continental drift where it does not.
>> plate boundaries are known as the boundaries where the tectonic plates meet. The
different boundaries help support the theory of plate tectonics.

TYPES OF LITHOSPHERIC PLATES:

- Oceanic crust
- Continental crust

CONTINENTAL OCEANIC

AGE Older Younger

*lower density so it doesn’t *this is because the oceanic

subduct crust is is recycled into the
mantle via subduction*

THICKNESS Thicker Thinner

(25 - 70 km) (7-10 Km)

DENSITY Less dense Denser

ROCK TYPE Granite Basalt

*basalt contains higher

proportions of heavier
elements → its properties like
iron and magnesium make it
denser

** basically a tectonic plate (also knowns

as a lithospheric plate) can be composed
of both oceanic and continental
lithosphere/plates

PRIMARY: Major plates tend to be greater

than 20 million km2 in area.
- Pacific plate
- North American plate
- Eurasian plate
 - African plate
- Antarctic plate
- Australian plate
- South American plate
SECONDARY: Minor plates are less than 20 million km2 in size but greater than one
million km2.
- Juan de fuca plate
- Nazcas plate
- Cocos plate
- Philippines plate
- Caribbean plate
- Arabian plate
- Indian plate
- Scotia plate

TERTIARY: Plates that are smaller than one million km2 are known as microplates.

PLATE BOUNDARIES:
- Plate boundaries are the places where the tectonic plates meet.
- Plate boundaries are important because they are often associated with earthquakes and
volcanoes.
- When Earth’s tectonic plates grind past one another, enormous amounts of energy can
be released in the form of earthquakes.
- Volcanoes are also often found near plate boundaries because molten rock from deep
within Earth—called magma—can travel upward at these intersections between plates.
Types:
- Convergent
** three types and depends on the types of lithospheres that meet
● Continental - Continental (collision occurs)
➢ No volcanoes form → Neither plate is pushed / forced downwards to the
mantle of the earth (the crust is generally too thick for the magma to get
through)
➢ No subduction occurs here, basically the plates just collide with one
another
Both plates are low in density and not one is denser than the other, so
generally no subduction can occur.
➢ Due to this, the light continental material present within the plates collides
and piles up to form MOUNTAIN RANGES. The Himalayan MR, are
formed by continent-continent convergence.
➢ Earthquakes form from the tremendous collision of the two plates
 ● Oceanic - continental (subduction occurs)
➢ Where oceanic and continental plates collide, the former subducts
beneath the latter because ocean crust – rich in iron and magnesium – is
denser than continental rock.
➢ A subduction zone occurs once again
➢ When the dense oceanic plate subducts, the rising magma causes
volcanic arcs which will be
called continental arcs →
mountain ranges near the
coast of the continent
These are volcanoes on a
continental plate. They form
on a continent above the
subducting oceanic plate.

● Oceanic - oceanic (subduction occurs)

➢ Done by two plates that are part of the oceanic lithosphere
➢ When they run into each other, the older plate (denser and cooler) dives
beneath the other plate, or in other words subducts
➢ The formation of trenches and ocean arcs are present.
The trenches show the locations of
where the plate pushed down into the
mantle
The line of volcanoes that are formed
are called ocean arcs.

** In convergent, basically old oceanic crust is destroyed

During subductions: the denser plate is pushed / sinks into the mantle and is heated. Due
to the heat, plumes of molten magma rise up towards the top plate
>> basically what happens is, the subducting plate melts as it re-enters the mantle
causing the magma to rise and most likely end up erupting.
- Divergent
 ● Plates move away from one another, Along these boundaries, earthquakes are
common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface,
solidifying to create new oceanic crust.
(can be observed in vallies & mid atlantic ridge)
● New crust is formed
- Transform
● This is when two plates slide past each other in the opposite and horizontal
direction, this is called the transform plate boundary
● Transform faults are at the site of massive earthquakes. plates do not slide past
each other easily. These plate boundaries experience massive earthquakes.
● Here crust is neither created nor destroyed
Tectonic earthquakes are produced by sudden movement along faults and plate boundaries.
Earthquakes induced by rising lava or magma beneath active volcanoes are called volcanic
earthquakes.

SEISMIC WAVES FROM EARTHQUAKES

**firstly theres the FOCUS or the HYPOCENTER and
EPICENTER
> the focus is known as the point as to where the earthquake
had started
> the epicenter is located on the surface above the focus,
which helps us locate where the earthquake had occurred.

ENERGY FROM THE EARTHQUAKE IS CARRIED AWAY

FROM THE FOCUS THROUGH SEISMIC WAVES.
Types of seismic waves:
- S & P waves (body waves)
-
- L & R waves (surface waves)
● They travel slower than the body waves
producing more ground movement. The longer it takes to come, the longer it will
likewise take to pass
(they have a stronger vibration)

P WAVES:
- Primary waves
- Fastest seismic wave usually arriving at the recording stations first
- It moves in a compressional motion, meaning the energy travels in teh same direction
the wave travels
- Can travel through solids and liquids
S WAVES:
- Secondary waves
- Can only travel through solids
 - They are otherwise called shear waves and move up and down
- Energy is perpendicular to the direction the wave travels
L WAVES:
- Love waves.
- It produces an entirely horizontal motion
- They shake their surface from side to side
R WAVES:
- Otherwise known as the rayleigh waves,
- It basically rolls
- Moves the ground down and up while going forward, then eventually back. The waves
have a circular like motion
- The look like the s waves but are actually moving in a circle.
- Upward motion then backward

READING SEISMOGRAMS

So a Seismogram is just a ball on a thread, and the ball moves when an earthquake happens.
The lines represent how the ball moves. The larger the line, the more the ball moves, the
stronger the wave is.

The Primary Wave is the first big line to the left. It is not that strong, but it’s a first.
The Secondary wave would come right after the P Wave.
The rest of the bumps are Surface Waves (L or R wave) they’re strong.

The earthquake ends when the lines are straight again (UNLIKE ANDI)
TRIANGULATION

With the S-P interval (time between P wave and S wave) that a seismogram got, you can locate
where the earthquake happened. The further a seismogram is from the site of the earthquake,
the bigger the S-P interval is.

Use this equation to find the distance between the seismogram and the earthquake: (td/8) * 100
[td is S-P interval].

Do that a bunch of times with other seismograms,

their intersection is where the earthquake
happened

403 × 310