Task – Tectonic Environments
Across the world, there are a diverse number of tectonic environments, which contribute to the large-scale movement of the earth’s crust. These distinct geological settings reflect the type of tectonic activity that is occurring in a given location and provide clues about the development of the world’s major landforms. In this task, you will use your understanding of tectonic activity to assess whether patterns of seismic activity confirm the type of tectonic plate boundary in a designated region of the world.
Preparation
In order to complete this task, you must undertake your own research to prepare supporting evidence for your essay.
During lectures and seminars, you will build your knowledge of tectonic environments as well as key datasets that you should analyse as part of this task by completing a number of short activities.
However, as a minimum, you should:
Obtain seismic activity data for one tectonic plate boundary from the USGS Earthquake Hazards website [https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/earthquakes].
For the tectonic plate boundary selected, analyse the pattern of seismic activity for an appropriate time period to assess if the pattern of seismic activity reflects the type of tectonic boundary.
N.B. the appropriate time period will depend on the boundary selected. Too much or too little data and you will not be able to identify any relevant patterns.
Produce annotated maps that analyse the patterns of seismic activity to support your write-up.
N.B. Your submitted work should focus on a different region to that completed in lectures/seminars.
The Write-Up
You should produce a 1,000-word essay that assesses whether the tectonic activity patterns identified confirm the type of tectonic plate boundary. As a minimum, the task should comprise of at least the following sections, annotated maps and be supported by relevant academic literature.
Introduction and Background
Introduce the purpose, content and structure of the essay, including an overview of the tectonic environment selected.
Results: Explanation of the patterns of seismic activity
Using your annotated maps as evidence, describe and explain the patterns of seismic activity experienced in the region. You may want to consider the characteristics of earthquake events such as location, magnitude and depth, as well as factors such as frequency of events and location of clusters to help you explain the patterns of activity identified. You may include additional maps and diagrams as part of your explanation.
Discussion: Relationship between patterns of seismic activity and type of tectonic boundary.
Based on the seismic activity experienced, you should discuss the relationship between the patterns of seismic activity identified and the type of tectonic boundary. You may want to summarise your findings and compare them to the tectonic environment, e.g. are there similarities or differences.
In addition, you should support your findings with academic literature to demonstrate if the patterns of seismic activity confirm the type of tectonic plate boundary. You may include additional maps and diagrams as part of your explanation.
Conclusion
The conclusion should provide an overview of your findings with no new information presented.
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