Lizett McLoney

Tracking Earthquakes and Volcanoes using Google Earth  

Part 1:  Tracking Earthquakes

Part 2: Identifying Volcanoes  

 A plume of steam and ash rises above Popocatépetl, whose Aztec name means "Smoking Mountain." This massive Caldera Vol., towers more than 3200 m above the Valley of Mexico to the right. Frequent historical eruptions have been recorded since the precolumbian era. This volcano is very big and that makes me think that the oceanic and continental  plates were pushing against each other and  that created the tall volcano. It also makes me think that it is oceanic-continental because from one side is the Pacific continental and on the other side of Mexico is the North American Plate.  

The classic Icelandic volcano Skjaldbreidur is perhaps the best known of the many small shield volcanoes that were constructed along rift zones where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises above sea level. Skjaldbreidur, seen here from the west along route 52, was formed about 9500 years ago during a single long-duration eruption at the southern end of the Prestahnukur volcanic system in central Iceland. The broad, low-angle shield volcano produced 17 cu km of basaltic lava flows and is capped by a small 300-m-wide summit crater. I think that this volcano is Divergent because Iceland is in between the American and Eurasian plates and makes the country divided in the middle. 

 An eruption of Old Faithful, perhaps the world's best known geyser, rises above Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin. Old Faithful is a periodic geyser, with eruptions to heights of about 40 m at intervals of 30 to 100 minutes. Old Faithful Lodge to the right provides a rustic backdrop to the Upper Geyser Basin, which contains more geysers than are known altogether in the rest of the world. The forested ridge in the background is underlain by massive post-caldera rhyolitic lava flows of the Madison Plateau. Yellowstone is located on a hotspot that is causing the volcano to be active.   

An aerial view shows the small, 244-m-high island of Didicas. Didicas volcano, 22 km NE of Camiguin Island, was a submarine volcano prior to 1952, when a permanent island was formed. A 400-m-wide crater was formed during the 1952 eruption. The first recorded submarine eruption of Didicas was in 1773. Two eruptions have occurred since 1952 at an explosion crater on the northern side of the island. I think that the tectonic plate boundaries are oceanic-oceanic because the Subduction process  in oceanic-oceanic plate convergence also results in the formation of volcanoes. Over millions of years, the erupted lava and volcanic debris pile up on the ocean floor until a submarine volcano rises above sea level to form an island volcano.

 Parícutin, the volcano born in a cornfield in 1943, is the best-known feature of the Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field. The huge volcanic field contains over 1400 vents covering a wide area of Michoacán and Guanajuato states. Cinder cones are the predominant volcanic form, but small shield volcanoes, lava domes, maars, tuff rings, and coneless lava flows are also present. Parícutin is seen here from the NE with the flank vent of Nueva Juatita, the main source of lava during the last five years of the eruption, in the foreground.  This volcano is also in Mexico so the same theory that the plate from the Pacific Ocean is pushing against the plate from North America creating mountains or volcanoes.

 Part 3:  Assignment Summary Reflection 

 It is not hard to see that the Ring of Fire and the volcanoes are connected and that the way the plates are moving has consequences on the surface of the Earth.  I think that that is how the earth regenerates itself.  Because the plate-driving force is the slow movement of hot, softened mantle that lies below the big plates, it causes the surface to separate and move in different ways.  The Ring of Fire is an area where most of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.  The Ring of Fire is situated in the Pacific Ocean and all the volcanoes that are in this area are in sync with it. The concept of seafloor spreading and, more broadly, the theory of plate tectonics offer a logical explanation for the location of most volcanoes 

The lava from the Ring of Fire is very thick and always flowing.  Underneath the Tectonic Plates is constantly fluent lava and gases build up by the heat that produce the radioactivity of the earth.  The movement from the plates along with the lava that is moving under the plates provokes volcanoes.  Volcanoes are usually on a line of the Ring of Fire and where the lava goes from underneath the plates.  A pattern is being discovered and has analysed the movement of the plates and the eruption of the volcanoes.  The earthquakes that the plates provoked when they move caused sea water to boil and the lava to explode and erupt through a volcano. The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics, movement, and collisions on the surface.

What I learned in this course is that the earth is a living plane and that it regenerates by itself.  To think that the earth is moving and that all the continents were together at one point is incredible.  Thanks to technology we can now learn more of the mysteries that the earth still has hidden.  It is very important that we continue with the studies and learn more about the planet where we live.  

Now that I have a better understanding of the earth I can be more cautious about the places I visit.  Understanding the characteristics of a place can help us build better cities and safe environments.  It can also help us react better or more quickly in case of emergency.  Understanding the places where earthquake or volcano eruptions are a potential risk can save lives.  We can also educate people and help them understand the threat of a natural disaster.