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Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
In geology, the elastic-rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is released during an earthquake. As the Earth's crust deforms, the rocks which span the opposing sides of a fault are subjected to shear stress. Slowly they deform, until their internal rigidity is exceeded.
Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. [1] Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes.
You might have learned that earthquakes are caused by the sudden movement of big, underground sheets of rock, called tectonic plates. Your teacher might have said they occur where two tectonic ...
Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal thickening (such as mountain building events), changes in the density distribution of the crust and ...
Thrust faults are characteristic of areas where the Earth's crust is being compressed by tectonic forces. [11] Megathrust faults occur where two tectonic plates collide. When one of the plates is composed of oceanic lithosphere, it dives beneath the other plate (called the overriding plate) and sinks into the Earth's mantle as a slab.
Tectonic plate boundaries, showing the directions of plate movements. Different kinds of boundaries. The different ways in which tectonic plates rub against each other under the ocean or sea floor to create submarine earthquakes. The type of friction created may be due to the characteristic of the geologic fault or the plate boundary as follows.
This allows for the detection of seismic waves refracted from sub-crustal depths and can determine continental architecture and details of plate margins. These two methods are often used together. Local earthquake tomography is used in seismically active regions with sufficient seismometer coverage. Given the proximity between source and ...