ERTH 2415 Lecture 3: ERTH 2415_ Lecture 3
Document Summary
This is the most important lecture in the whole term. It will provide a foundation that will allow us to build up our knowledge about earthquakes and volcanoes. To be able to explain how plate tectonics operate. To appreciate the evidence for plate tectonics. Subduction: a process where a tectonic plate dives underneath another one. Dedication: j. tuzo wilson (1908 - 1993) The father of plate tectonics , a canadian geophysicist. Was the first director of the ontario science centre. Theory of plate tectonics is fundamental to understanding natural disasters related to the earth"s internal energy. Earthquakes and volcanoes do not occur at random locations. Most of them coincide with the boundaries of tectonic plates. The sun and planets were born from a rotating disk of cosmic gas and dust, the solar nebula. Under the influence of gravity, they rotated into clouds and progressively became flattened disks .