Tectonic Hazards Flashcards
Oceanic crust
Quite thin (5-10km thick), very dense, subducts, so it’s continually destroyed
Continental crust
Very thick(30-50km thick), not very dense, never subducts, so can’t be destroyed
Tectonic plate
It’s slab of rock made up of Earth’s lithosphere
Earthquake
It’s sudden or violent movement within Earth’s crust followed by series of shocks
Volcano
It’s opening in Earth’s crust from which lava, gases + ash erupt from
Plate Margins/Boundaries
They’re place where tectonic plates meet
Crust
It’s Earth’s outermost layer, consists of tectonic plates, upper part of lithosphere + lies above mantle
Mantle
It’s layer of silicate rock between crust + outer core, it’s largest layer + upper mantle is bottom part of lithosphere
Convection Currents
It’s movement of magma within Earth’s mantle caused by heat of core + it causes hot magma to rise as it’s less dense + then fall, currents flow beneath lithosphere, which builds up lateral pressure + carries plates with them
Ridge Push
It happens at constructive margins, oceans ridges form above ocean floor, magma heated by core rises, rising magma reaches lithosphere + cools down to form plate material, as it cools, it forms new plate material, which forces plates apart
Slab Pull
At destructive margins, denser oceanic plate subducts into mantle due to gravity, which pulls rest of plate behind it
Outer core
It’s made up of liquid iron + nickel, it surrounds inner core + it’s below mantle
Inner core
It’s Earth’s innermost layer, it’s extremely hot (it can reach temperatures of up to 5500ºC) + is made up of solid iron + nickel
Destructive boundary
It’s when tectonic plates move towards each other, denser oceanic plate subducts beneath continental plate, friction builds up between them, causing very strong earthquakes, as oceanic plate moves downwards, it melts, creating magma, which is thicker than at constructive boundary + breaks through surface, forming steep-sided composite volcanoes (stratovolcanoes) e.g Pacific + Eurasian Plate
Pyroclastic flow
It’s flow with mixture of steam, ash, rock + dust
Constructive boundary
It’s when tectonic plates move away from each other, magma forces it’s way through overlying crust to surface + breaks through it, causing very small, non-violent earthquakes, magma is very hot + fluid, so lava erupting from broad + flat volcanoes, with gentle but frequent volcanic eruptions, will flow long way before cooling + tectonic plates move apart by ridge push e.g South American Plate + African Plate
Conservative boundary
Plates move past each other or parallel to each other at different speeds, friction between moving plates causes destructive earthquakes, which are released when plates slip + shift, they happen along conservative boundaries as stresses build up over many years e.g Pacific + North American Plate
Distribution of earthquakes + volcanoes
Most happen at plate boundaries (constructive, destructive + conservative)
Focus
Place inside Earth’s crust where pressure is released from earthquake
Epicentre
Point of Earth’s surface directly above focus
Magnitude
Strength of earthquake