Plate Tectonics-1 Lecture

Plate Tectonics 1: Structure of the Earth and
Introduction to Tectonic Plates.

Plate Tectonics: Learning Outcomes
After this class, you will be able to:
1. Describe the various layers of the earth along with their phases and
general composition.
2. Explain what is lithosphere and Asthenosphere and state the
difference in their physical phases.
3. Explain the term Plate Tectonics, both as a theory and as a process.
4. Describe heat-generated convection currents in the mantle and know
that they are the major driving force in plate tectonics.
5. State that earth crust is generated at divergent boundaries in ocean

ridges and absorbed into the mantle at convergent boundaries in
ocean trenches.
6. State the names of and identify on the map the three main plates
meeting near the Anatolian block.
7. Name and identify on a map the two main faults in the Anatolian
block; the Northern Anatolian and the East Anatolian faults.
8. Identify, by looking at a map with arrows showing direction of

relative motion of adjacent plates which type of boundary exits where.
9. Identify, by looking at a map with arrows showing direction of
relative motion of adjacent plates points where crust is generated,
points where crust is destroyed and points where it is conserved.
10. Describe the mechanism of formation/non-formation of volcanos
at various boundaries.
11. State what type of boundaries lead to formation of island arcs,
volcanic mountain chains…etc.
12. State the boundary types where volcanos are not likely to erupt
stating the reason.
13.Differentiate between a boundary, a fracture and a fault.
14. Explain why earthquakes, especially the stronger ones happen at
the part of the surface with hard brittle rocks and not down in the
hotter regions where the rock is ductile.
15. Looking at a photo or a cartoon, state the type of the fault and
describe the direction of the deforming stress.
16.Explain the mechanism of energy build up and sudden release in
faults that lead to earthquakes.
17. Identify the fact that locking of the plates across a fault is what
causes energy to be stored, and in an eartquake the two sides slide
along the fault leading to displacement.
18. Explain the key terms of the module, for example:
Lithospher, Asthenosphere, mantle, crust, boundary,fault, trench,
oceanic ridge, subduction zone, elatic energy, ductile, brittle, magma,
fault zone…etc.
Plate Tectonics: The Earth’s Layers
• The Earth of three main layers with
some layers composed of sublayers :
Crust, Mantle and Core.
• Some layers are in the solid phase,

others are in the fluid phase with
various viscosities.
• The Crust:
- Thickness: 3 km at some oceanic
ridges to about 70 km in continents.
It is thicker under continents than it is
under Oceans.
- Phase: Solid ( apart from water).
- Composition:
Continents: surface rocks and
soil, water, granitic layer, basaltic
layer.
Oceans: water, Basaltic Layer.
• The Mantle:
- Thickness: 2800-2900 km.
- Composition: iron and magnesium
silicate minerals, mainly Peridotite.
- Phase:
Upper most: solid
Upper: Plastic like
Lower: Solid
• Lithosphere and Asthenosphere
• Lithosphere: upper most mantle + crust
- Thickness: 10-120 km.
- Phase: solid (brittle)
• Asthenosphere: upper mantle below
The lithosphere.
-Thickness: 550-650 km
-Phase: plastic like (ductile) .
• Lithosphere flows on the Asthenosphere
• Lithosphere / Tectonic Plates
• Lithosphere flows on the Asthenosphere
- Composed of many
pieces: Tectonic Plates
- These are in continuous
motion.
-Very slow :Few cm/year
-Animation
• The Core
• Outer core:
- Thickness: 2200 km.
-Composition: mainly iron.
-Phase: Fluid.
• Inner core:
- Thickness: 1300 km.
-Composition: Iron +Nikcle.
-Phase: Solid (near melting point).
• The Temperature of the Earth
( Geothermal Gradient):
• Temperature of the Earth varies
between
0°C at the surface to about 7000°C
• It is too hot down there !!!
• How come that the inner core does
not melt?
• It is the vast Pressure!
Plate Tectonics: Plates and Boundaries
• Plate Tectonics: The term refers to both the Theory and
the Process (Like Evolution).
• Theory: Set of ideas, supported by evidence, on moving
and colliding surface plates, that explain the earth’s surface
phenomena, e.g. mountains, earthquakes, volcanos and
the change of the shape of the surface.
• Process: The gliding of lithosphere plates over
asthenosphere and their collisions at the boundaries.
• Driving Force: The Convection Currents caused by heat
Transfer from the core outwards is the major driving force
that sets plates into motion.
• Where mantle is moving upward,
new lithosphere forms
(at ocean ridges), and the
plates move apart (diverge).
• Where two plates are converging

(and the convective flow is downward),
one plate will be subducted
(pushed down) into the mantle
beneath the other.
• Crust Size Conservation (Recycling the Crust):
- Creation of crust: Divergent boundaries
in oceans – Ocean Ridges.
- Destruction of crust: Converging

boundaries- Ocean Trenches.
• Main plates
and their relative
motion
• Anatolia: The “Blessings” of Geography !!
• Anatolia lays at the place of
intersection of THREE major
plates:
- The African, the Arabian
- and the Eurasian plates.
• An American news site reporting on the February 6th, 2023
Kahramanmaras earthquakes goes as :
What happened to Turkey and Syria is,
unfortunately, just a factor of their
geography. The country of Turkey
lies on the Anatolian Plate, a
conversion point between the
African, Arabian and Eurasian
plates.
• General Notes about Boundaries:
• There is no spaces between plates!. They are

stuck to one other.
• The same plate can move at different rates at
different places.
-Reason: Rotational Motion.
• Three major types of boundaries:
A. Divergent Boundaries
B. Convergent Boundaries
C. Transform Boundaries.
A. Divergent/Constructive boundaries:
A.1: Oceanic divergent boundaries:

- These are the most common divergent boundaries.
- The plates move away from each other.
- Happen mainly at the oceanic ridges.
- Create new crust, mainly basalt.
A. Diverging boundaries:
A.2: Within Continent divergent boundaries:
- These are called Rift Zones .
- Create new crust, mainly basalt.
- Example, the East African Rift Zone.
- It is thought that Africa and S.America
were split this way.
- See min. 8:33 of the video
B. Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
• The plates move toward each other.
- Three types:
- Ocean-Ocean,
- Ocean-Continent, and
- Continent-Continent.
- Crust dives into mantle most of the time ,
thus the name Destructive.
B.1: Ocean-Ocean Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
-The older and colder plate that is denser

subducts beneath the younger and
hotter plate.
-There is commonly an ocean trench
along the boundary.
-The subducted lithosphere descends

into the hot mantle.
-The water within the rocks of the subducting material is released as the
subducting crust is heated.
-It mixes with the overlying mantle, and the addition of water to the hot
mantle lowers the crust’s melting point and leads to the formation of
magma (flux melting).
-This leads to formation of magma that rises through the mantle and the
overlying oceanic crust to the ocean floor where it creates a chain of
volcanic islands known as an island arc (e.g. Indonesia and Japan).
-Earthquakes take place close to the boundary between the subducting
crust and the overriding crust.
-The largest earthquakes occur near the surface where the subducting plate
is still cold and strong (brittle).
- What is an Earthquake and
how and where it happens?
B.2: Ocean-Continent Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
-The oceanic plate that is denser (due to Basalt) subducts beneath the
continental plate.
-Compression leads to thrusting
within the continental plate.
B.2: Ocean-Continent Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
-Magma rises to the base of the continental crust and leads to partial
melting of the crustal rock. The resulting magma ascends through the crust,
producing a mountain chain with many volcanoes (e.g The Andes mountains)
-Strong and shallow
Earthquakes happen at
the boundary and at the
faults.
-
B.3: Continent-Continent Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
-A continent collides with another continent.
- The colliding continental material

(Crust + Granitic layer ) will not be
subducted because it is too light.
B.3: Continent-Continent Convergent/Destructive boundaries:
The basaltic bed root will eventually See min. 5:42 of the video
break off and sink into the mantle.
- Deformation of the pre-existing

continental rocks creates
Mountains ( e.g. Himalayas)
-No volcanos!
C: Transform/Conservative boundaries:
- One plate slides past another without production or destruction of crustal
material.
- Most transform faults connect segments of mid-ocean ridges and are thus
ocean-ocean plate boundaries.
C: Transform boundaries:
- Some transform faults connect continental parts
of plates.
- Examples:
- the San Andreas Fault in California
- Some transform faults connect continental parts
of plates.
- Examples:
- North and East Anatolian
faults!
• The faults are not a single boundary, rather a complex network of faults
called Fault Zones.
• See the North and East Anatolian
fault zones in the figure.
See min. 4:16 of the video

WATCH this video too.
Plate Tectonics: What is an earthquake?
• Earthquake: are the result of sudden movement along faults within the
Earth. The movement releases stored-up 'elastic strain' energy in the form
of seismic waves, which propagate through the Earth and cause the
ground surface to shake.
• How is elastic strain energy stored and where?
- In the rocks as they are deformed , just like elastic energy stored in a
spring.
• What causes a rock to deform?
- The stress resulting from the
movement of the plates.
• What is a fault?
- A fracture in a plane of rocks that has its sides in relative motion due to
Stress.
- There are three types of faults.
• How is elastic energy stored in a fault?
- Due to friction, the sides of a fault do NOT move under stress. They get
LOCKED. Rock at the interface is deformed and elastic energy is stored.
- This is just what we call
friction!
• How is elastic energy stored released?
- As stress persists, it overcomes the friction or breaks the rocks at the
boundary. This leads to a sudden violent movement: An ERATHQUAKE !
• For how long does the elastic energy builds up before it gets released?
- In large earthquakes, the elastic energy build up can continue for
HUNDREDS of years. This is why geologists expect an increase in the
probability of happening of an earthquake on a fault that has been
sleeping for a while!
• How large is the rupture on a fault?
- It varies, and the magnitude of the earthquake increases with the size of
the rupture.
- February 6, 2023 earthquakes of Kahramanmaraş: The moment magnitude
(Mw) 7.8 main shock ruptured a 310 km-long segment of the left-lateral
East Anatolian Fault, The Mw 7.6 aftershock involved nearby left-lateral
strike-slip faults of the East Anatolian Fault Zone, causing a 150 km-long
rupture
• What are the Aftershocks?
- The energy released from the initial rupture increases the stress on other
locked parts of the fault or nearby faults ( this is refereed to as energy
transfer) leading to new ruptures that lead to
other aftershocks and so on. Domino Effect!!
- Most of these are of lower magnitude and
their number might be in hundreds.
- Check this map, too
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Plate Tectonics 1: Structure of the Earth and

Introduction to Tectonic Plates.

5. State that earth crust is generated at divergent boundaries in ocean

8. Identify, by looking at a map with arrows showing direction of

• Some layers are in the solid phase,

• Where two plates are converging

- Destruction of crust: Converging

• There is no spaces between plates!. They are

A.1: Oceanic divergent boundaries:

-The older and colder plate that is denser

-The subducted lithosphere descends

-A continent collides with another continent.

- The colliding continental material

- Deformation of the pre-existing

See min. 4:16 of the video

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