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The plates meet with each other, and if rough spots cause the movement to stop at the edges, the motion of the plates continue. When the rough spots can no longer hold, the sudden release of the built-up motion releases, and the sudden movement under the sea floor causes a submarine earthquake.
The epicentre was close to the Santa Cruz Islands within Temotu Province at the boundaries of the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, causing local evacuations, a tsunami of 11 m (36 ft) and killing at least ten people.
A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas. On April 1, 1946, the 8.6 M w Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). It generated a tsunami which inundated Hilo on the island of Hawaii with a 14-metre high (46 ft) surge. Between 165 and 173 were killed.
A tsunami hitting a coastline. This article lists notable tsunamis, which are sorted by the date and location that they occurred.. Because of seismic and volcanic activity associated with tectonic plate boundaries along the Pacific Ring of Fire, tsunamis occur most frequently in the Pacific Ocean, [1] but are a worldwide natural phenomenon.
Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This causes the oceanic plate to buckle and usually results in a new mid-ocean ridge forming and turning the obduction into subduction. [citation needed]
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.
Tsunami earthquakes have also been linked to the presence of a thin layer of subducted sedimentary rock along the uppermost part of the plate interface, as is thought to be present in areas of significant topography at the top of the oceanic crust, and where propagation was in an up-dip direction, possibly reaching the seafloor. [3]
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes may manifest themselves by a shaking or displacement of the ground and sometimes cause tsunamis, which may lead to loss of life and destruction of property. An earthquake is caused by tectonic plates (sections of the Earth's crust) getting stuck and putting a strain on the ground.