An article on CBS news titled “Earthquakes suggest new tectonic plate is forming,” discusses how scientists believe a new tectonic plate is forming from the breaking up of the Indo-Australian plate. After 2 earthquakes, that were very strong for their location, scientists believe these abnormal occurrences are the result of the plates breaking apart. The article states that the breaking up of these plates will likely occur over million of years, and while this plate is breaking and becoming two, that more earthquakes are likely. Earthquakes in the middle of the ocean, as we unfortunately know, can trigger large tsunamis that can have catastrophic impacts on coastal regions.
This week’s lesson discussed the processes that can affect coastal zones, and some of those processes include the shifting and movement of tectonic plates and waves. I wonder how the breaking up of one plate into two will impact the coastal zones within these ocean areas. With the anticipation of more earthquakes, which raises the tsunami risk, and the gradual shifting of plates, I imagine the coastal zones near these areas will experience changes over the course of time it takes for the complete separation to occur. It is amazing how the earth is changing and shifting right under our feet. Once the earth’s continents were connected, Pangea, and now we have seven different continents with mass amounts of ocean waters separating most. I definitely believe that any shift in tectonic plates will in some way change or alter the coastal zones near the changing plates.
References:
Johnson, B. (2012, September 27). Earthquakes suggest new tectonic plate is forming. Retrieved May 29, 2016, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/earthquakes-suggest-new-tectonic-plate-is-forming/
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.