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Divergent boundaries can create massive fault zones in the oceanic ridge system. Spreading is generally not uniform, so where spreading rates of adjacent ridge blocks are different, massive transform faults occur. These are the fracture zones, many bearing names, that are a major source of submarine earthquakes.
This paradoxically results in divergence which was only incorporated in the theory of plate tectonics in 1970, but still results in net destruction when summed over major plate boundaries. [2] Divergent boundaries are areas where plates move away from each other, forming either mid-ocean ridges or rift valleys. These are also known as ...
Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthquakes are the planet's most powerful, with moment magnitudes (M w) that can exceed 9.0.
Because earthquakes can occur only when a rock is deforming in a brittle fashion, subduction zones can cause large earthquakes. If such a quake causes rapid deformation of the sea floor, there is potential for tsunamis. The largest tsunami ever recorded happened due to a mega-thrust earthquake on December 26, 2004. The earthquake was caused by ...
Plate boundaries are where geological events occur, such as earthquakes and the creation of topographic features such as mountains, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and oceanic trenches. The vast majority of the world's active volcanoes occur along plate boundaries, with the Pacific plate's Ring of Fire being the
An interplate earthquake occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates. Earthquakes of this type account for more than 90 percent of the total seismic energy released around the world. [1] If one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until sufficient stress builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other.
[47] [48] Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains. [49] With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo, and Tehran in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single earthquake may claim the lives of up to three million people. [50]
Megathrust earthquakes are the most powerful earthquakes known to occur, and can exceed magnitude 9.0, which releases 1,000 times more energy than magnitude 7.0 and 1 million times more energy than a magnitude 5.0. [18] [19] [20] They occur when enough energy (stress) has accumulated in the "locked" zone of the fault to cause a rupture. The ...