THE EARTH’S INTERIOR

WHAT IS PLATE
TECTONICS THEORY?
The theory that proposed that the Earth’s
lithospheric plates move slowly but constantly,
changing the physical and geological features of
the Earth is known as PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
What happens to the
crust when the
tectonic plates move?
What is a Fault?
Fault is a rock fracture where the block of
rock moves with respect to another caused
by forces which may be vertical (up or
down) or horizontal (sideways) or inclined
at an angle. The surface along which fault
movement takes place is called the fault
plane
In vertical
movements,
Hanging Wall of a
fault plane is
described as the
block of rock
above the fault
plane
While the
footwall of a fault
plane is described
as the block of
rock below or
underneath the
fault plane
Fault is classified
into two types:
a. Dip-slip Faults
This type involves vertical
movement of blocks of rocks.
When the hanging wall moves
downward relative to the
footwall, the fault is described
as a normal fault. It is formed
when the crust is stretched or
pulled apart by the forces in
opposite directions
1.2. Reverse Fault
This type of fault exist when the crust is compressed,
causing the hanging wall to move upward relative to
the footwall
b. Strike-slip Faults
This type involves the horizontal movement of blocks of
rock.
Strike-slip Fault
This movements are classified into two: sinistral and
dextral.
• The motion is said to be dextral if the sideway
movement facing the fault plane goes to the right
direction, it is also called as right-lateral strike-slip
fault
• In contrast, sinistral, on the other hand shows a
leftward sideway movement, thus described a left-
lateral strike-slip fault
 How does the
movement along a
fault line generates
an Earthquake?
• Stress naturally builds up along the boundary
of moving tectonic plates, deforming rocks
and storing potential energy.
• when rocks break, the stored potential
energy is released in the form of earthquake.
• EARTHQUAKE is consist of vibrations of the
earth cause by the rapid release of energy
The point beneath the
earths’s surface where the
rock break is referred to as
the FOCUS or HYPOCENTER
of the earthquake. Vibrations
or SEISMIC WAVES originate
here and travel upward.
Directly above the focus is
the EPICENTER of the
earthquake.
 How can we
describe
Earthquake and the
Earth’s motion?
To describe earthquake, let
us start on the motion of
the hot molten material of
the earth’s mantle below
the lithosphere. The high
temperature in the mantle
gives it the ability to flow
like liquid, thereby allowing
the lithosphere above it to
somewhat float on it.
When neighboring plates
collide, the rocks are
squeezed. When they
spread apart, rocks are
stretched. It can also slide
pass each other, causing the
rock’s deformation, storing
potential energy.
Over time, the stress mounts until the rock snap,
releasing energy in the form of vibrations called the
Seismic waves.
 Surface Wave
Seismic Wave
SURFACE WAVE
• Surface waves can only travel
through the surface of the earth.
• It arrive after the main P wave
and S waves and confined to the
outer layers of the earth
 Surface Wave
Seismic Wave

Body Wave
 BODY WAVES
• Body waves can travel through the
Earth’s inner layers. With this
characteristics, scientists use it to
study the Earth’s interior
• These waves are of higher
frequency compare to the surface
waves
 Love
Surface Wave
Wave
Seismic
Wave
Body
Wave
 LOVE WAVE
• Named after A.E.H. Love, a British
Mathematician who worked for this wave
model in 1911.
• This wave move faster than the Rayleigh
Wave and it moves the ground in a side – to
– side horizontal motion, like the snakes
motion, causing the ground to twist
 Love
Surface Wave
Wave
Rayleigh
Seismic Wave
Wave
Body
Wave
 RAYLEIGH WAVE
• Named after John William Strutt
aka. Lord Rayleigh who predicted
this wave mathematically in
1885
• It rolls along the ground like
wave rolls across a lake or ocean.
 RAYLEIGH WAVE
• It moves the ground either up
or down or side – to – side
similar to the direction of the
waves movement.
• Most shaking felt from
earthquakes is due to Rayleigh
Wave
 Love
Surface Wave
Wave
Rayleigh
Seismic Wave
Wave Primary (P)
Body Wave
Wave
 PRIMARY (P) WAVE
• Is a pulse energy that travels quickly through
the earth and through liquids.
• Also known as compressional waves, travel by
particles vibrating parallel to the direction of
the wave travel, forcing the ground to move
backward and forward as they compress and
expanded.
• It can travel to solid, liquid and gases
 Love
Surface Wave
Wave
Rayleigh
Seismic Wave
Wave Primary (P)
Body Wave
Wave Secondary
(S) Wave
 SECONDARY (S) WAVE
• Also known as Shear Wave, is a pulse energy
that travels slower than P Wave through Earth
and solids.
• It moves as shear or transverse waves, and force
the ground to sway from side – to – side, in
rolling motion that shakes the ground back and
forth perpendicular to the direction of the
waves
 SECONDARY (S) WAVE
• The idea that S waves cannot travel
through any liquid medium led
seismologists to conclude that the
outer core is liquid.
• Scientist gain information by how
these waves travel through the Earth.
 How do seismic waves
provide information
about the interior of the
earth?
P waves travel
through solids and
liquids, thus changes
in its earthquake
vibration speed gives
idea to the scientists
about the physical
properties of various
depths of the earth’s
interior.
The lithosphere,
composed of the
crust and uppermost
part of the mantle is
solid, thus Seismic
waves travel fast
through this rocky
sphere
Below the
lithosphere, Seismic
waves slow down,
indicating the high
temperature that
melt rocks, making
the molten material
behave like fluid. This
region of mantle is
known as the
ASTHENOSPHERE.
Below the
asthenosphere,
seismic waves travel
fast again, indicating
that the lower mantle
is solid, probably due
to the very high
pressure that keeps it
solid in spite of the
high temperature.
Similar phenomenon
is observed in the
core. Seismic waves
travel slowly in the
outer core, indicating
that it is molten due
to extremely high
temperature. While
the inner core is solid
due to pressure
freezing…
How can we describe
Earthquake in terms
of strength and
scope of damage?
Intensity
• Refers to the effects
and damage caused by
an earthquake
• Can be determined by
actual observation or
on-site inspection of
the affected areas,
including peer
interview.
Factors that Affect Earthquake
Intensity
• Distance from the epicenter of
the earthquake
• Defective building design and
sub-standard materials
• Kind of ground (Rock, sand,
etc.) where structure was built
• Slope of land where the house
was built
Magnitude is the size of the earthquake. The shaking
that it causes has many values that vary from place to
place based on distance, type of surface material, and
other factors. It can be measured with the use of an
instrument called the seismometer or seismograph.
Magnitude is recorded in
Hindu – Arabic numerals
and interpret in terms of
Richter Scale to identify
how devastating the
earthquake is, and how
great is the scope of
damage.