EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

The structure of the earth

• The earth is made up of 3 zones:
• The crust
• The mantle
• The core
The structure of the earth
Structure of the earth
The crust
Continental crust
• It is outer zone of the earth.
• At its deepest part the continental crust is approximately 70 km thick.
• made of two main minerals which are silica and aluminium so it is also called SIAL.
• It is granitic in nature.
• Rocks found in this zone are very low density.
Oceanic crust
• It is a zone found just below the continental crust.
• At its thickest points it is between 6-10 km.
• Rich in minerals silica and magnesium so it is also called SIMA.
• It is basaltic in composition.
• Rocks in this zone are denser than those forming continental crust.
The mantle
• This is a thick layer of molten rock where convection currents occur
due to radio activity.
• The outer part of the mantle is called asthenosphere.
• The crust floats on the asthenosphere.
The core
• The core is made of the outer core and inner core.
• The core is rich in nickel and iron so it is also called NIFE zone.
• The outer core is semi-molten because of high temperature.
• The inner core is solid because of high pressure.
Plate tectonics

Tectonic plate
• this is a section of the earth’s surface which floats on the
mantle, for example, continental plate and oceanic plate.
Continental plate
• it is a section of the crust which consists of land masses such
as Africa, N. America, S America etc
Oceanic plate
• it is a section of the crust which is covered by oceans such as
Pacific.
Tectonic plates
Theory of plate tectonics
• This is a set of ideas that describe and explain the global distribution of
earthquakes, volcanoes, fold mountains and rift valleys due to movement of
plates.
• The convection currents in the mantle drag the plates apart or cause them to
collide.
• The movements occur because the earth’s interior consist of semi-molten
material (magma) and the crust or plates float on the magma.
• There are seven large plates (five of which carry continents) and a number of
smaller plates.
• The main plates are the Pacific, Indo-Australian, Antarctic, N-American, S-
American, African and Eurasian plates.
• Smaller plates include the Caribbean, Iranian, Arabian, Cocos and Juan de Fuca
plates.
• These move relative to one another and when they collide or diverge, they create
tectonic activity and landforms.
Plate tectonics
Plate boundaries/margins

• These are edges of tectonic plates or lines separating two

plates.
1 Divergent/constructive plate margin
• Two plates move apart from each other due to convection
currents causing sea floor spreading.
• When plates move apart, a gap is created and magma rises
forming volcanoes and mid oceanic ridges eg Mid – Atlantic
Ridge (where the Eurasian plate is moving away from N-
American plate)
Divergent/constructive plate margin
2 Convergent plate margins

(a) Destructive plate margin (continental plate and oceanic plate)

• The oceanic crust moves towards the continental crust and sinks
beneath it due to its greater density.
• Deep sea trenches are formed, the continental crust is squeezed and
uplifted into fold mountains, volcanoes are also common eg Nazca
plate sinks below S-American plate forming the Andes fold mountains.
• Volcanoes are formed because when the oceanic plate subducts
under the continental plate, melting of the crust occurs creating
magma. The build up of magma increases pressure so that magma is
forced up through lines of weaknesses forming volcanoes.
(a) Destructive plate margin (continental plate and oceanic plate)
(b) Destructive plate margin ( two oceanic plates colliding)

• Two ocean plates collide.

• The longer or older oceanic plate is subducted leading
to formation of volcanoes called island arcs and ocean
trenches.
• Examples of oceanic plates colliding are Philippines
plate colliding with Pacific plate as well as Japan plate
colliding with Pacific plate.
(c) Collision plate margin

• Two continental plates move towards each other.

• This creates pressure or compression.
• No subduction occurs as the rocks are of the same density.
• Rocks are squeezed and uplifted.
• The uplifting leads to formation of fold mountains eg the
Indo-Australian plate collided with the Eurasian plate to form
the Himalayas.
(c) Collision plate margin
Problems caused by fold mountains

• Communication lines such as roads are difficult to

construct.
• Steep slopes make it difficult to do farming.
• The mountains experience very cold temperatures.
• It is expensive to construct buildings on steep slopes.
• Avalanches or rock falls may occur.
3.Conservative/passive plate margin

• Two plates slip sideways past each other but land is neither destroyed nor
created but fault lines are created eg San Andreas fault in California where
the Pacific and North American plates are both moving to the north west
but at different speed.
• Here, earthquakes occur because friction occurs when plates slide past
each other.
• This leads to build up of pressure.
• Sudden movement or jerking of plates releases the pressure causing
vibrations.
• At this plate margin plates may move towards the same direction or in
opposite directions as shown on the diagrams below.
3.Conservative/passive plate margin
Earthquakes
• Earthquakes: are sudden movements or vibrations that occur in
the earth’s crust.
• Focus : refers to the place beneath the ground where the
earthquake originates.
• Deep-focus earthquakes are associated with subduction zones.
• Shallow focus earthquakes are generally located along
constructive boundaries and along conservative plate boundaries.
• Epicentre: is the point on the surface immediately above the
focus.
Earthquake features
Causes of earthquakes

• Earthquakes are caused by movement of tectonic

plates.
• They are caused by destructive, collision, constructive
and conservative plate margins due to intense friction
which leads to build up of pressure at plate margins.
• When the pressure is released, shockwaves or
vibrations are spread through the earth’s crust.
Distribution of earthquakes
Distribution of earthquakes

• earthquakes are mostly found along plate margins which are regions of crustal
instability and tectonic activity.
• They are found at destructive plate margins where continental and oceanic plates
converge eg the Pacific Ring of Fire which encircles the whole of the Pacific ocean
including places like Japan, South America (eg Kobe earthquake in Japan).
• Earthquakes are also common at constructive plate margins eg along the entire length
of the mid-Atlantic Ocean.
• They are also found at collision plate margins where continental plates converge eg
the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.
• Earthquakes occur at conservative plate margins or transform faults where plates slide
past each other eg North American plate and Pacific plate (eg San Francisco
earthquake)
• Some earthquakes are also located along the East African rift valley
• NB: Earthquakes occur at plate margins because the movement of plates causes
friction. Friction leads to build up of pressure. Jerking movements releases the
pressure sending out shock waves.
Assessing earthquakes

• The Richter scale: this measures the magnitude or force of

earthquake or total amount of energy released by the earthquake. It
was developed in 1935 by Charles Richter of the California Institute of
Technology. Measurement is done on a seismometer and shown on a
seismograph. The Richter scale stretches from 1 to 9. Powerful
earthquakes have Richter values between 5 and 9. An increase of 1 on
the scale means that the energy released increases by about 30 times.
• The Mercalli Scale: this assesses the effects of earthquakes by relating
ground movement to things noticed happening around. Its advantage
is that it allows ordinary eyewitnesses to provide information on the
strength of the earthquake. The scale has 12 points as shown on the
table below:
The Mercalli scale
Factors influencing damage caused by earthquakes

• Distance from the epicentre: places near the epicentre have more
damage than places far away from the epicentre.
• Depth of focus: earthquake with a shallower focus is more destructive
than the one with a deep focus because shock waves from a
shallower focus reach the surface faster so they will be intense.
• Magnitude of the earthquake on a Richter scale: generally higher
magnitude earthquakes cause more damage than lower magnitude
earthquakes if all other factors are kept constant.
• Rock type: if earthquake occurs in areas with solid granite rock, there
is less damage compared to areas with weak rocks such as clay.
Factors influencing damage caused by earthquakes
• Nature of buildings in the area: this refers to the quality of building
materials as well as architectural designs of the buildings. If buildings
are put up using cheap unfired bricks with no steel reinforcements, they
are liable to collapse easily during an earthquake. Concrete with steel
reinforcement can be used to construct structures which are
earthquake proof.
• Population density in the area: loss of life after an earthquake generally
depends on the population density of the area. Densely populated
areas record more deaths than sparsely populated areas.
• Wealth of the country: wealthy countries are generally better prepared
to reduce deaths and injuries caused by an earthquake. Their buildings
are better designed. They have better prepared emergency teams. They
have reserves of food, clothes and medicines.
• Time of the day : more people die if an earthquake occurs at night but
Earthquake hazards
• A hazard is an event that causes damage to property or disruption to
normal life and may cause loss of life.
• Primary hazards: ground shaking, surface faulting.
• Secondary hazards: landslides, rockfalls, debris flows, mudflows,
tsunamis.
• NB. A tsunami is a giant ocean wave that is generated by an earthquake
when there is movement of the seabed. The wave is magnified as it
travels into shallower water. It can travel across oceans and can cause
devastating effects on coastal lowlands, especially when they are
densely populated. The tsunami caused by an earthquake at Banda
Aceh, Indonesia on 26 December 2004 resulted in in 289 601 deaths in
12 countries around the Indian ocean. A tsunami can take hours to
Impacts/effects of earthquakes
• There is total or partial destruction of buildings.
• water supplies are interrupted.
• There is breakage of sewage disposal systems.
• public utilities such as electricity and gas are lost.
• collapse of dams leads to flooding.
• Fires occur.
• There is spread of chronic illnesses.
• lives are lost due to collapsing buildings eg Kobe earthquake in Japan
killed more than 5000 people.
• lines of communication such as roads are broken down.
Measures to reduce effects of earthquakes
• Setting up emergency rescue teams eg fire fighters
• Conducting drills on action to take in the event of an earthquake
• Better forecasting and early warning systems
• Provision of aid in form of food, clean water, drugs and shelter.
• Building structures with deep foundations.
• Construct buildings using concrete and steel reinforcements.
• Using shatterproof glass on buildings.
• Building stronger or flexible bridges.
• Constructing pyramid shape buildings.
• Avoid building high rise buildings.
• Putting in place evacuation routes.
Case study : Kobe earthquake (Japan) 1995
The earthquake which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale occurred at
5:46 am on 17 January 1995. The epicentre was 20 km south of Kobe in
Osaka bay.
Causes of the earthquake
The Kobe earthquake was caused by
sudden movement of tectonic plates at a destructive plate margin. The
Pacific oceanic plate which is denser subducted under the Eurasian
continental plate and the plates locked leading to build up of pressure
due to friction. The plates then jolted suddenly and it is this sudden
movement that released the pressure. The release of pressure sent
shock waves through the crust. When these shock waves hit the earth’
s surface, they made the ground to vibrate or move causing the
earthquake.
Impacts of the earthquake
The earthquake caused collapse of elevated roads and bridges
eg 630m stretch of Hanshin expressway collapsed. 103 500
buildings collapsed due to very intense vibrations. Only 20% of
the buildings were usable after the earthquake. Ruptured
pipes and poles stopped the city”s gas and electricity. 6500
deaths and 35 000 injuries were recorded due to collapsing
buildings and fires. There were 300 fires in the city after gas
pipes raptured. 300 000 people were immediately homeless
because their houses had collapsed. About 20 000 people lost
their jobs because many work places were destroyed.
Reasons why people continue to live in
earthquake prone areas
In Kobe, Japan, local people still live there despite the glaring threat
posed by earthquakes because of the following:
Some people
have invested large sums of money in the establishment of electronic
industries such as Panasonic and Mitsubish- leaving the area means
loss of investments. People working in these factories also do not want
to lose their jobs so they remain in the area. The Japanese government
has invested large sums of money into prediction and early warning
systems on earthquakes and tsunamis so that people are willing to take
the risk. The Japanese government has put in place some earthquake
drills to direct people how to respond to natural disasters. In Japan
some areas are densely populated so people have nowhere else to go.
It is also very expensive for some people to relocate.
Volcanoes

A volcano is a hole or crack in the ground through which

gases, lava (liquid) and pyroclastic material (solid) are erupted.

Active volcanoes: these are volcanoes which

have erupted in recent times and could erupt again eg Mt
Pinatubo in 1991.
Dormant volcanoes: are
volcanoes that have not erupted for many centuries but may
erupt again eg Mt Rainer in the USA.
Extinct
volcanoes: these are volcanoes which are not expected to
Distribution of volcanoes
• They occur along constructive plate margins where plates
move away from each other creating a gap through which
magma rises and solidifies forming a volcanic mountain.
Volcanoes are on the Mid Atlantic Ocean eg in Iceland.
• Volcanoes are also found in in southern Europe, east
Africa and the mid-Pacific Ocean.
• Volcanoes are located along destructive plate margins
where oceanic plates converge with continental plates at
subduction zones. The oceanic plate which is denser
sinks and it remelts to produce magma which rises to the
surface and solidifies forming a volcanic mountain eg in
the Pacific Ring of Fire which is shown below.
Distribution of volcanoes
Types of volcanoes

1 Shield volcanoes
• Shield volcanoes are formed in oceans in oceans-often at constructive
plate margins.
• have gentle upper slopes and steeper lower slopes.
• usually have an oval shape and cover a wide area.
• composed entirely of thin lava flows
NB The lava making this landform has low silica content and this makes
it very fluid or less viscous. The lava does not solidify easily so that it
flows to cover large areas before it solidifies.
Label features Y and X on the diagram below
Composite or strato volcanoes

• have steep slopes and narrow bases

• steep slopes result from very viscous lava flows which do not travel
very far from the vent.
• have alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material.
Strato volcano
Differences between shield and strato volcanoes

• strato has a narrower base than shield.

• strato has steeper sides than shield.
• strato has secondary vent and cone but shield does
not.
• strato has alternate layers of lava and pyroclastic
materials while shield has lava layers only.
• Strato is usually higher than shield volcano.
Features of volcanoes

• Crater: a circular depression at the summit of a volcano formed by the

explosive ejection of material from the central vent.
• Caldera: a huge crater caused when a volcanic cone collapses into a
partly empty magma chamber after a powerful eruption eg
Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania.
• Parasitic cones: these are cones which develop on the sides of a
bigger volcano.
• Lava domes: are features which often grow on the sides of strato
volcanoes. They form from acid lava which is very viscous and cannot
flow very far before solidifying.
Volcanic hazards

• Lava flows: this is hot molten material which flows down the sides of
the volcano.
• Ash falls: fine ash is blasted into the atmosphere, where it can stay in
suspension for many months.
• Pyroclastic flows: very hot solid materials which can travel rapidly
down valleys and slopes.
• Mudflows (lahars): these form when ash mixes with water and travels
down valleys.
• Volcanic gases: carbon dioxide causes suffocation. Other gases that
are poisonous can burn or cause lung cancer.
• Tsunami: a volcanic eruption in the sea can cause a tsunami.
• Acid rain: Because of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide released,
very large eruptions cause acid rainfall.
Impacts of volcanic hazards

1 Social impacts
• People lose their lives.
• Homes are destroyed leaving people homeless
• People are injured
• there is hunger and starvation
2 Economic impacts

• Buildings are destroyed

• communication is disrupted.
• Infrastructure is destroyed eg roads, airstrips and port facilities
• farmlands are destroyed.
3 Environmental impacts
• forests are destroyed.
• The air is polluted by sulphur dioxide and ash.
• Animal habitats are destroyed
Measures to reduce the impacts of volcanic hazards

• Lava flow diversion: lava flows are channelled away from buildings.
• Mudflow barriers: these are walls built across valleys to trap
mudflows
• Building design: stronger roofs can be built to stop them collapsing
when covered with ash.
• Volcano monitoring: volcanoes can be monitored to give early
warning of future eruptions. This usually involves measuring features
that happen before an eruption-such as small earthquakes, ground
deformation (ground tends to swell before an eruption) and gas
emissions.
• Remote sensing: monitoring the location of ash clouds from satellites
is useful for warning aircraft.
Measures to reduce the impacts of volcanic hazards

• People should be evacuated from the area.

• Tourist access to the volcano should be restriced.
• Lava should be sprayed with water.
• People should be educated about how to respond or prepare
that is emergency drills.
• Emergency services such as healthcare should be in place.
• Short term aid such as food and tents should be in place.
Advantages brought about by volcanoes

• Although people know that volcanoes are dangerous, they perceive that the
risk is worth taking because of the following benefits:
• Volcanic areas may provide cheap and reliable geo-thermal power eg Iceland
gets 25% of its energy from geo-thermal sources.
• Hot water from the ground can be used directly in central heating systems
and even in swimming pools.
• Volcanoes provide fertile soils which promote high crop yields eg in Italy , the
yield of grapes on the slopes of Vesuvius is 3 times than other sides.
• When safe volcanoes tend to attract tourists. This has helped the economy in
places such as Iceland and creates jobs eg for tour guides and hotel workers.
• Minerals are mined from around active volcanoes eg sulfur.
• Building materials are also obtained from volcanoes.
• Volcanoes may also have religious or cultural significance.
Case study: Mt Pinatubo volcano in Philippines (1991)

Mt Pinatubo is on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about 200 km

northwest of the capital, Manila.
Causes of the
eruption
Mt Pinatubo erupted in June 1991 because it sits on a
destructive pate margin. On this margin, the Philippines oceanic plate
collided with Eurasian continental plate. Since an oceanic plate is denser,
the Philippines plate subducted under the Eurasian plate. The sinking
part of the plate melted leading to creation of new magma. This batch of
new magma was injected into an already filled magma chamber leading
to build up of pressure. The pressure caused by injection of new magma
forced some of the magma in the chamber to move up the pipe and
erupted at the surface in form of pyroclastic flows and ash.
Hazards of the eruption

• On 2 April the mountain experienced steam explosions.

Three weeks later, there were some frequent earthquakes.
An 8 hour eruption with pyroclastic flow then occurred on 9
June. A week later, an eruption of ash went 40 kilometres
high and there were pyroclastic flows at a speed of 80 km
per hour. The heavy rainfall caused by typhoon Yunya which
occurred during that time caused mudflows or lahars which
buried settlements and people.
Impacts of the eruption
The eruption of Mt Pinatubo had severe effects. Mudflows affected
houses in towns such as Bocolor. leading to 1.2 million people losing
their homes. About 847 people died, 300 were killed by collapsing roofs
while 100 were killed by lahars. Contaminated environments caused
measles, respiratory and gastric diseases. More than 650 000 people
lost their jobs because their work places were destroyed by ash and
lahar. About 80 000 hectares of cropland were destroyed by mudflows.
1 million farm animals died. There was no electricity for 3 weeks since
power lines collapsed. There was $700 million loss of roads, water and
telecommunications. Ash caused global cooling of 0.5 degrees.
Why people continue to live near Mt Pinatubo
Mt Pinatubo is a tourist attraction feature so the tourism industry has
grown in its vicinity. Many people are employed as tour guides and at
hotels such as Clark Marriot Hotel. Population pressure has also forced
natives such as the Aeta tribe with mountain life because they have
nowhere to go. Their ancestors have also lived near the mountain for
years so these people’s attachment to the area dates back to ancient
times. Relocation is quite an expense for the majority of these people.
Agriculture has also flourished around the because of the fertile
volcanic soils which have promoted growing of cereals, vegetables and
fruits. People in towns such as Bocolor, now have faith in precautions
that are being put in place by government to minimise casualties in
case of another eruption.