Double Degree MSc Programme GEO-INFORMATION FOR SPATIAL PLANNING AND DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Graduate School Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta Phone/Fax. (0274) 564239 Website http://www.geo.ugm.ac.id, www.geoinfopasca.ugm.ac.id and http://www.itc.nl/pub/study/programmes/joint-educations

UGM

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

MODUL A GEOSCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATION

LECTURER: PROF. DR. SUTIKNO.

By: MUHAMMAD ATHTHAAR NAZIM (13/357422/PMU/08061)

SEPTEMBER 2013

1. What are the differences between oceanic crust and continental crust, and mention the effect of the differences? Their main differences are in thickness, composition, density and age. Characteristic Thickness Composition Density Age Oceanic Crust 5-10 km Iron and magnesium (mafic minerals) 3.0 gr/cm3 Over 200 million years Continental Crust 20-70 km Aluminum and silica (Felsic minerals) 2.7 gr/cm3 Exceed 3 billion years

This density difference is what allows the continents to float on the upper mantle for billions of years. The oceanic crust on the other hand, can barely float on the mantle. As the oceanic crust gets older, it builds up a heavy under layer of cooled mantle rock which results in a two-layer structure causing it to eventually sink into the mantle from its own weight. As it sinks, it is melted down and recycled. Due to this recycling process, the age of the oceanic crust is never older than 200 million years.
http://moonphases.info/the-earths-crust.html http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10j.html

2. What is the asthenosphere, why is it important? The asthenosphere is the highly viscous, mechanically weak and ductilely-deforming region of the upper mantle of the Earth. This layer lies below the lithosphere, between 100 and 200 km below the surface, but perhaps extending as deep as 700 km (430 mi). It is considered the source region of midocean ridge basalt.

It is semi solid molten metal that causing the movement of tectonic plates, where magma is ejected from this layer during volcano. Thats way its involved in plate tectonic movement and isostatic adjustments. Rocks in the asthenosphere are "plastic", meaning that they can flow in response to deformation. Even though it can flow, the asthenosphere is still made of solid (not liquid) rock. Some observers also described the asthenosphere as the 'lubricating oil' that permits the movement of plates in the lithosphere
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Asthenosphere.html

3. What would Earth be like without solar heating? The creation and sustenance of life are depend on Solar Energy that life on Earth would not be possible without it, because of (a) the food we eat exists with sunlight falling on green plants, and the fuel we burn comes either from such plants, or was accumulated by them (in the forms of coal, oil and natural gas) long ago and (b) the Earth would probably not be fit for life. Life as we know it needs liquid water, and Earth is the only planet to have it: without the Sun, Earth would be an icy rock in space. It was been estimated that 1,000 times more energy reaches the earth surface from the sun every single year than could be produced by burning all the fossil fuels mined and extracted during that same year.

http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Sun1lite.htm

4. What facts make it probable that Earths core is composed of mostly iron? During the formation of the planet, when earth was still a hot ball of liquid rock and minerals; the most dense materials would make their way to the bottom, while less dense materials (like liquid rock) would "float" on the top of this growing ball of liquid metal. As iron was (and is) plentiful, and quite a dense mineral, it makes up the majority of the Earth's core. Based on the estimations of the density, the existence and composition of iron meteorites, and the presence of a magnetic field on Earth possibly that the core must be made up mostly of iron.
http://nineplanets.org/earth.html http://web.crc.losrios.edu/~jacksoh/classes/phys_geol/homework/hw1.html

5. Make comparison between continental drift theory, sea floor spreading theory and plate tectonic theory. Continental Drift Theory The continents move freely over Earths surface, changing their positions relative to one another Sea Floor Spreading Theory Hypothesis that the sea floor forms at the crest of the mid oceanic ridge, then moves horizontally away from the ridge crest to ward an oceanic trench Based on concepts of continental drift and convection cells within the mantle Plate Tectonic Theory The ocean floor began to spread and that the continents existed on plates that moved in response to the changing ocean floor. Incorporates concepts from Continental drift, Seafloor spreading and information of global seismicity

Definition

The Idea

Evidence

Supercontinent, called Pangea that break up into smaller continents that drifted apart through the superocean Panthalassa about 200 million years ago (1) Continent Shapes, that they would fit together nicely, like a jigsaw puzzle. (2) Rock Formations, on different continents that match up beautifully when the continents are put back together. (3) Fossils, found on different continents that would also match up nicely.

(1) age of seafloor (crust) increases regularly with distance from the ridge axis. (2) Formation and melting of ice on land (Ice Ages). (3) Change in the volume of the ocean basins

(1) concentration of "tectonic" activity along plate boundaries. (2) subduction: or destruction of old oceanic lithosphere in subduction zones. (3) sea floor spreading: or generation of new oceanic crust at mid-oceanic ridges

Module No A (core 1) Geo-sciences and its application (Prof. Dr. Sutikno) www.science.marshall.edu http://www.platetectonics.com/article.asp?a=18

6. Explain how plate tectonic can account for the existence of the mid oceanic ridge and its associated rift valley, earthquake, high heat flow and basaltic flow?

Earth's outer shell, the lithosphere, long thought to be a continuous, unbroken, crust is actually a fluid mosaic of many irregular rigid segments, or plates. There are nine large plates and a number of smaller plates. Of the nine major plates, six are named for the continents embedded in them: the North American, South American, Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, and Antarctic. The other three are oceanic plates: the Pacific, Nazca, and Cocos. The driving force behind the process of plate tectonics is heat generated deep inside the earths core by radioactive decay. This heat reaches the surface primarily along the Mid-Ocean Ridge. It is a continuous range of undersea mountains more than 12,000 feet high and 1,200 miles wide winding through 40,000 miles of the worlds oceans. It is here, at Mid-Ocean Ridges, that new sea-floor crust is produced and much of the earths internal heat is released. At Mid-Ocean Ridges, two plates are pulling apart from each other as hot magma (liquid rock) emerges from the mantle and oozes forth as lava to fill the crack continuously created by plate separation. The lava cools and attaches itself to the trailing edge of each plate, forming new ocean floor crust in a process commonly known as sea-floor spreading.
http://www.platetectonics.com/

7. What geologic processes might cause the forces that can hold a region out of isostatic equilibrium? Gravitational equilibrium would raised an isostatic equilibrium or balance, between blocks of crust and the underlying mantle. There are many natural ways on Earth that would prevent a loss of isostatic equilibrium, i.e. mountains erode over time making them less heavy, and the particles from that erosion often end up on the sea floor, it is a continuous cycle.

The area to be out of equilibrium in the isostatik region should get or lose a large amount of mass sooner or faster that the earth can put it back into balance. For instant if at any time the ice going ice would cause the continents to sink a bit if the continent's melting ice will rise. If the ice is melting faster than the earth can push land upward land mass would be out of equilibrium until it naturally regained it. Continental collisions can also cause a region to not be in isostatic equilibrium, other potential factors would include a large amount of mass from space hitting the Earth, such as an asteroid.
http://www.askipedia.com/what-geologic-process-might-cause-the-forces-that-canhold-a-region-out-of-isostatic-equilibrium/ http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/geology/inside-the-earth/isostatic-equilibrium

8. Why are there no earthquakes deeper than 670 km? Earthquakes are relatively abundant in the first 300 kilometers (180 miles) of a subduction zone, are scarce from 300 to 450 kilometers (180 to 270 miles), and then increase slightly again from 450 to 670 kilometers (270 to 400 miles). It is possible that these deepest quakes are related to sudden mineral transformations and resultant energy releases or volume changes. It has been theorized that earthquakes do not occur at depths greater than 670 kilometers because the subducting plate is not brittle anymore and has become hot enough to flow plastically. Or in the other word the rocks are hot enough that they behave like plastic, and cannot build up enough stress to create an earthquake.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/geology/earthquakes/earthquakes-and-platetectonics http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090929070156AAO2UQB

9. Explain the spatial distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes in the world, and in Indonesia. The Earth's crust is broken up into pieces called plates. Heat rising and falling inside the mantle creates convection currents generated by radioactive decay in the core. The movement of the plates, and the activity inside the Earth, is called plate tectonics. Plate tectonics cause earthquakes and volcanoes. The point where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to occur either on or near plate boundaries. There are three major ways that plates interact along boundaries: (1) they can move away from each other (diverge), (2) they can move toward each other (converge), or (3) they can move past each other, parallel to the boundary (transform). Each of these interactions produces a different and characteristic pattern of earthquakes, volcanic activity, and topography.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/tectonic_plate s_rev2.shtml http://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Earth-Science/6/Plates-Plate-Boundariesand-Driving-Forces/66

Indonesia is an area that has an interesting geological conditions. Interesting because cluster kepulauannya formed by the collision of tectonic plates-plate. Indonesia is a major tectonic plate 3 meetings, namely the Indo-Australia plate and the Pacific, Eurasia. The collision of the Eurasian plate and the India-Australia Plate affected the western part of Indonesia (off the coast of Sumatra, Java and Nusatenggara), whereas in the eastern Indonesia (Maluku, North Maluku and North), two tectonic plates was struck again by The Pacific Ocean from the East.

Plate-tectonic plates meeting in Indonesia that produces a wide range of natural phenomena. One example happened in Indonesia is a meeting between the Indo-Australia and the Eurasian plate. The second meeting of the plate produces a line of penunjaman in the South of the island of Java, active volcanoes that line at any time will metelus along the West coast of Sumatra, southern Java to the Lesser Sunda and the formation of the various basins such as North Sumatra Basin, central Sumatra, South Sumatra and North Java Basin.
http://hanageoedu.blogspot.com/2011/12/keberadaan-dan-pengaruh-lempeng.html Module No A (core 1) Geo-sciences and its application (Prof. Dr. Sutikno)

10. Which one is more dangerous between earthquakes disaster and volcanic disaster, why? Earthquakes and volcanoes cause damage not only to humans and their structures, but to the environment and wildlife. Earthquakes can cause damage by shaking, tsunamis, and landslides. Volcanoes can cause damage by ash flows, release of gases, mudflows, lava flows, and landslides Earthquakes probably the most wide spread around the world and the most terrifying considering its massive effects. Seismic waves shake the earths surface when two land plates collide or shift. The earthquake in itself isnt deathly, but the aftermath effects are, to a high degree. Depending on its magnitude, it can cause other catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, fires and explosions. The damages are unimaginable and the degree of lives lost is one of the highest, for example Indian Ocean Tsunami that have cost the lives of over hundred thounsand and billion of privat and public property.
http://msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/pt/hazards/5/pth5_1a.html http://landarchs.com/top-10-natural-disasters/