TECTONIC

PLATES Team 5
Sánchez Fernández Paulina 201631757
Meléndez Arvizu Luis José 201642621
Morales Montalvo Sebastián 201632417
Fuentes Amaro Victor Gabriel 201647889
 Tectonic
Plates
Theory
■ Plate Tectonics is an unifying
theory that explains different
geological events and features.
■ It´s based on a simple model of
Earth that exposes that the rigid
lithosphere is fragmented,
forming a mosaic of pieces of
different sizes that are in
movement, called plates, wich fit
together and change in
thickness according to their
composition, whether is oceanic
crust, continental crust or a mix
Tectonic Plates Theory in the world of both.
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=608&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=QxWUXOebDMqMtgX9r
pDYCw&q=placas+tectonicas+&oq=placas+tectonicas+&gs_l=img.3..35i39l2j0l4j0i67j0l3.407008
7.4071134..4071358...0.0..0.125.926.5j4......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i5i30j0i8i30j0i24.t--zRquEqEY#i
mgrc=uIzsYdQa1R1U6M:
Map of Mexico showing five tectonic plates (AFP Photo/Lucie AUBOURG, Sophie RAMIS)
El rompecabezas de placas tectónicas
Gustavo Tolson. La Teoría de la Tectónica de Placas y la Deriva Continental. 27 de marzo de 2019, de Instituto de Geología,
UNAM. Sitio web:
http://www.geologia.unam.mx:8080/igl/index.php/difusion-y-divulgacion/temas-selectos/568-la-teoria-de-la-tectonica-de-p
lacas-y-la-deriva-continental
■ Hess wanted to explain the continental drift,
based on the topographic variations of the
oceans.
■ He proposed that as two huge masses of
the mantle separated, passively carried the
ocean floor and molten material arose that
formed a volcanic chain and that filled the
void formed but also it was necessary that
some any part of it be consumed the
material.
Types of tectonic plates limits:
Divergent limits or oceanic ridge (constructive limits).
The plates are separated from each other due to convection movements
Deep depressions such as the Great Rift Valley form on land where the plates separate.
New crust is built.
In this part the greatest Vulcanism is concentrated

Convergent limits or subduction zones (destructive limits).

Is where two plates collide because they have movement in opposite directions.
The crust is destroyed.
At the limits of collision, volcanism is scarce or null, and the seismicity is intense.
There are two types collision and subduction
orogenesis

Transformative limits or transformative breaks.

These occur when two plates slide in opposite direction, parallel to the direction of the plate
movement .

The most important earthquakes occur in the limits of intraplate

 ELASTIC BOUNCE
b)Deformation during
The mechanism created by Harry Fielding Reid works a)Resting
the increase in
as follows : blocks
tension
• In a) a block of rock at rest is shown
• In b) the tectonic forces are deforming the rocks of
the crust.
• In c) the fracture of rocks and the sudden reléase of
accumulated energy occurs. c)Moment of d)New
• In d) the system is shown in its new equilibrium. rupture balance

The waves perceived as an earthquake are produced

when the deformed rocks elastically return to their
original shape. This phenomenon is known as elastic
bounce. Most of the earthquakes are produced by
this quick release of energy at the borders of the
plates.

Lateral sliding failure

 EARTHQUAKES ORIGINS
The result of the process know as elastic bounce is the propagation of a part of the released
energy in form of seismic waves that deform the rock and the return to the state of the elastic
equilibrium of that area results in a fracture.

Considering the depth where the sismic waves were

generated, earthquakes can be classified into three
categories:
A. Superficials: correspond to the earthquakes that
ocurr in the earth´s crust, up to 70 km deep.
B. Intermediate: Are those movements that take pace
between 70 and 450 kilometers deep.
C. Deep: earthquakes whose hypocentre is beyond
the 450 km of depth.

Instituto Nacional de Prevención Sísmica

WAVE FRONT
The points in the space that are simultaneously reached by a wave is called “wavefront”. A familiar
example is the waves formed in the Surface of a lake when you drop some object, the wavefront is the
concentric circles that travel away from the source where the disturbance was originated.

Wave
fronts
Focus

Figure 1 Seismic wave propagation, image taken
from
http://misistemasolar.com/ondas-sismicas/#Co
mportamiento_de_las_Ondas_Sismicas_en_las_
Rocas
Wave types and their
behavior in the earth's
crust
What is a seismic wave??
●The Seismic Waves are a kind of wave called
elastic that is very strong in terms of the
propagation of the temporary perturbations of the
field of tensions that tend to generate minimum
movements in the Tectonic Plates.
● Seismic waves are created by telluric movements
which are produced naturally, due to the interaction
between tectonic plates, which are moved due to
the convection cycle inside the earth. The largest
can cause various damages in areas where there are
urban settlements.
● In Figure 1 You can see how a seismic wave
propagates
 Body waves

Surface wave

Body Waves and surface waves image taken

from
http://constructionanddesign.blogspot.com/20
How are Seismic Waves
Propagated?
■ When there is an earthquake, there are 3 basic types of waves that are the
ones that produce the shock that is felt and is also causing the damage
■ of which only 2 propagate in different directions inside the Earth; therefore,
they are called internal waves.

■ The fastest of these waves is the
P, whose speed tends to vary
depending on the type of rock, its
speeds range between 1,100 m /
s and 8,000 m / s.
■ The main characteristic of this
wave is that it alternately tends to
compress and expand the rock, in
the same orientation as its
trajectory. It is capable of being
propagated by means of rocks
that are solid and also of liquids;
as for example the magma or the
oceans
■ In addition, it can be transmitted
through the layer of the earth
called atmosphere; sometimes, in
the case of people and also
animals tend to perceive it as a
kind of deep and deep sound.
■ The second wave, also called
secondary or S wave, usually travels at
a lower speed compared to the P that
is normally between 500 m / s and
4,400 m / s. While it is spreading, it
tends to deform the material laterally
with respect to its trajectory.
■ For this reason, this type of wave is not
transmitted in fluids as liquids and
gases.
■ When an earthquake occurs, the first
thing is to feel, in a place at a certain
distance from the epicenter itself, the
P wave, with a boom-like effect that
vibrates all the walls and even the
windows.
■ A few seconds later is when the S wave
arrives, the movement that produces
this wave is responsible for the
damage caused to the buildings, in the
areas near the epicenter and even at
■ The third type of Seismic Waves are the superficial waves, whose main
characteristic is the power to spread by the most superficial part of the
earth's crust; as the depth increases, the amplitude of its movement
decreases. The surface waves that are generated by the earthquake can be
classified into 2 groups that are:

■ Love waves, called in this way in honor of its discoverer, the famous physicist
A.E.H. Love, which are the ones that deform the rocks similarly to the S
waves, but only in the horizontal direction.

■ Rayleigh waves, named in this way in honor of Lord Rayleigh, these are the
ones that produce a type of vertical movement, very similar to that of the
marine waves.
Below you can see the different
kinds of wave speeds in different
media:
 Behavior of the Seismic Waves in
the Rocks ■ The properties of the rocks, which tend
■ The characteristic parameters
to influence these parameters are the
of the rocks, which are following:
determined with seismic
■ the mineral content.
methods are:
■ the compaction of the material
■ The Porosity is equal to the percentage
■ The speeds of the P and S or proportion of empty space in the
pores that are in a rock.
waves
■ The fill of empty space or also means
of pores.
■ The reflection coefficient ■ The texture and structure of the rock
■ Temperature.
■ The pressure
■ The density
SITE EFFECT

Seismic waves are amplified significantly in

soft soils because they are more easy to
deform than solid rock. One of the most
notorious cases of local amplification of the
seismic vibrations due the conditions of the
subsoil are the cities of Bogotá and Mexico,
which are built on clays that were dragged
from the upper parts of the valleys and
deposited in ancient lakes. The destruction of
numerous buildings and the high intensities
reported in the center of the city of Mexico in
the earthquake of 1985 clearly shows this
phenomenon.
 The unusual case of the Mexican
subduction zone

Mexico is located on one of Earth's subduction zones,

where the ocean floor of the Cocos tectonic
plate is forcing its way down ("subducting") beneath
the continental edge of the North American plate.

California institute of technology.-Deep trench off

southern coast of Mexico.
 Three unusual geological features can
be seen in southern Mexico:
■ The volcanic arc bends away
from the trench, at about a 15°
angle.

■  In most subduction zones,

earthquakes occur in southern
Mexico, but only close to the
coast.
■ in most subduction zones, large
earthquakes occur at the
interface between the two
plates, at depths ranging from
the earth's surface down to
about 600 km. However, in
southern Mexico, few
earthquakes are seen below
  Where is the subducting plate?
Dense line of 100 broad-band
seismometers called the MASE
(MesoAmerican Subduction
Experiment) array.

■ seismometers spaced 5 km
apart, crosses Mexico.

California institute of technology.- MesoAmerican

Subduction Experiment
■ RECEIVER FUNCTION ANALYSIS provides an image of the subducting slab below
the seismometers.

• To see at even greater depths below

the earth's surface, TO scientists
use  SEISMIC TOMOGRAPHY
Referencias
Servicio Geológico Mexicano. ( 22/03/2017). Tectónica de placas. 20/03/2019, de Servicio Geológico Mexicano Sitio web:
https://www.sgm.gob.mx/Web/MuseoVirtual/Riesgos-geologicos/Tectonica-de-placas.html

Mora Lopez Rosario. (2010). Estructura y dinámica interna de la Tierra. 20/03/2019, de Reposorio Sitio web:
https://agrega.juntadeandalucia.es/repositorio/20062013/10/es-an_2013062012_9114926/mora_lopez_rosario_web/tipos_de_bordes_de_placas.ht
ml

Servicio Geologico Nacional. (22 de marzo de 2017). Sismología de México. 20/03/2019, de Servicio Geológico Nacional Sitio web:
https://www.sgm.gob.mx/Web/MuseoVirtual/Riesgos-geologicos/Sismologia-de-Mexico.html

wikipedia. (21/03/2019). Placa tectónica. 20/03/2019, de wikipedia Sitio web: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_tect%C3%B3nica

Tarbuck, E. & Lutgens, F., 2001: Ciencias de la Tierra: una introducción a la geología física [6ª ed.].- 540 págs. Prentice Hall.

Universidad de Costa Rica. (03/02/015). ¿Qué son las placas tectónicas?. 20/03/2019, de Universidad de Costa Rica Sitio web:
https://rsn.ucr.ac.cr/documentos/educativos/geologia/3412-placas-tectonicas

INFOBAE. (2014). Las zonas del mundo con mayor actividad sísmica. 22/03/2019, de INFOBAE Sitio web:
https://www.infobae.com/2014/10/07/1599999-mapa-del-dia-las-zonas-del-mundo-mayor-actividad-sismica/

Dr.BKostoglodov, Dr. J.Pacheco. (2000). CIEN AÑOS DE SISMICIDAD EN MEXICO. 22/03/2019, de UNAM Sitio web:
http://usuarios.geofisica.unam.mx/vladimir/sismos/100a%F1os.html

MuyHistoria. (2015). Los terremotos más intensos de la historia. 22/03/2019, de MuyHistoria Sitio web:
https://www.muyhistoria.es/contemporanea/articulo/los-cinco-terremotos-mas-intensos-de-la-historia

El sol. (2014). Las placas tectónicas que causan los terremotos. 22/03/2019, de El sol Sitio web:
https://www.elsol.com.ar/descubrieron-como-se-formaron-las-placas-tectonicas-que-causan-los-terremotos.html

wyllie , peter j.. (2002). "The way the earth works: An introduction to the new global geology and its revolutions development. 20/03/2019, de INPRES
Sitio web: file:///C:/Users/fabricas/Pictures/Terremotos.pdfhttps://www.academia.edu/8173102/ORIGEN_DE_LOS_TERREMOTOS

Udías, A. (1971), Introducción a la sismologia y estructura interna de la Tierra. Taller del I. G. y C., Madrid, España.

Carina Martinez. (2017). Rebote elastico y tectonica de placassentaron las bases de la sismologia. 20/03/2019, de UNAM Sitio web:
http://ciencia.unam.mx/leer/647/teorias-que-marcaron-el-estudio-cientifico-de-los-sismos
http://misistemasolar.com/ondas-sismic
as/
http://www.um.edu.ar/um/fau/estructura5.old/SISMOLOGIA.htm
Espíndola, J.M. y Jiménez, Z., Terremotos y Ondas Sísmicas, Cuadernos del Instituto de Geofísica, No. 1,
UNAM, 1984.
Referencias
Gustavo Tolson. (sin año de publicacion). La Teoría de la Tectónica de Placas y la Deriva Continental. 27 de marzo de 2019, de Instituto de
Geología, UNAM. Sitio web:
http://www.geologia.unam.mx:8080/igl/index.php/difusion-y-divulgacion/temas-selectos/568-la-teoria-de-la-tectonica-de-placas-y-la-deri
va-continental

wikipedia. (4 de noviembre del 2018). Placa tectónica. 29 de marzo del 2019, de wikipedia Sitio web:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placa_tect%C3%B3nica

Tectonics observatory. (2009). The inusual case of the mexican subduction zone. 17 de abril del 2019, de California of institute of technology
Sitio web: http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/outreach/highlights/mase/