Tectonic Plates: Types and Its Impacts on Earth Structure and Life

Do you know every layer of the earth where we live in? The earth consists of several layers and has its own characteristics. The outermost layer is lithosphere, made up of the crust and upper mantle, where we live. The lithosphere is a solid and rigid layer. As a surface, the lithosphere can move actively due to the push of convection currents from the earth's mantle. The moving part of the lithosphere is called the tectonic plates.

Types of Tectonic Plates

The earth we live on consists of land and sea with a composition of 1/3 land and 2/3 sea. The land and sea have an outermost layer called plates. Earth’s crust forms the ocean floor which is called oceanic plates and the continental floor which is called continental plates. Oceanic and continental plates are called tectonic plates, whose movements shape the Earth’s surface.

Plate movements are divided into several types, namely convergence and divergence. Convergence is the movement of plates colliding with each other, either between continental plates and oceanic plates or between continental plates. Conversely, divergence is the movement of plates moving away from each other. The area or path of plate collision is called a subduction zone, while the area where the plates separate is called a divergent zone.

The Impacts of Tectonic Plates Movement

The formation of the Earth’s surface has a theory that explains the movement of plates. The theory of plates can explain the shift of continents that were originally a single unit called a large continent (supercontinent) to separate due to plate movement. The separated large continents became the small continents that we know today.

Behind the phenomenon of the separation of the continents, there are various natural phenomena. Based on the theory, which developed in the 1960s, there are many natural phenomena caused by the plates’ movement, such as earthquakes, tsunami, mountain building, and volcanoes. Let’s read the following explanation below to find out more!

1. Earthquakes

The first phenomenon to be discussed is earthquakes. The smallest impact due to plate shifting is earthquakes. The push from the earth's mantle convention current towards the lithosphere, of course, causes the plates to shift from their original place. This push contains a sudden release of energy that creates seismic waves and causes shocks on the earth's surface.

The sudden release of energy is the scary side of earthquakes. Not all earthquakes can be detected. Generally, strong earthquakes or within certain limits can be detected by earthquake detectors.

2. Tsunami

The next impact is a tsunami, which is a large and strong sea wave that causes severe and massive damage within a distance of several kilometers from the coast. This wave is caused by an earthquake centered under the sea. This means it is caused by the shifting of ocean plates.

3. Mountain Building

The movement of tectonic plates can cause the formation of mountains. This occurs in plates that collide with each other, so one of the plates can fold. The formation of these folds forms the higher than the other plains called mountains.

4. Volcanoes

Besides mountains, volcanoes are also formed by plate movements. These movements can occur from plates colliding with each other (convergence) or plates that move away from each part (divergence). In convergence, one of the plates dives downwards and then the rocks inside have the temperature change, melt, and form magma. If in divergence, a gap is created that causes magma to rise upwards, harden, and form volcanoes.

The movement of continental or oceanic plates causes many dangerous natural phenomena. Given this, it requires a quick disaster mitigation effort from various parties. The presence of emergency alerts is very helpful in providing early warnings, thus helping the community to prepare and react to potential disasters.

In this high-end technology era, everything can be done more practically and massively, including emergency warning systems. The emergency alert system can be sent in the form of short message (SMS), so it can spread urgent information to the wider community in certain affected areas.

This effort greatly helps the community to reduce the impact of disasters due to movements of tectonic plates. These products and services can be accessed at smsbroadcaster.com which is ready to be your partner. So, what are you waiting for?