Is volcano type related to tectonic setting?
Shield volcanoes form above mantle plumes, but can also form at other tectonic settings. Sea-floor volcanism can take place at divergent boundaries, mantle plumes and ocean-ocean-convergent boundaries. The mantle and crustal processes that take place in areas of volcanism are illustrated in Figure 4.1.
What is a tectonic setting?
Plate tectonics is the large scale movement of Earth’s crust, and results in a number of distinct geologic settings. Hot spots are thought to occur independent of tectonic activity but will be considered a tectonic setting in the context of geothermal areas because they do not fit into any other category.
Where are volcanoes located on tectonic plates?
Most of the world’s active volcanoes are located along or near the boundaries between shifting plates and are called “plate-boundary” volcanoes.
What three tectonic environments can volcanoes be found?
Recall that there are three types of plate boundaries: convergent, divergent, and transform. Volcanism occurs at convergent boundaries (subduction zones) and at divergent boundaries (mid-ocean ridges, continental rifts), but not commonly at transform boundaries.
At what tectonic setting is Hawaii located?
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by such a hot spot occurring in the middle of the Pacific Plate. While the hot spot itself is fixed, the plate is moving. So, as the plate moved over the hot spot, the string of islands that make up the Hawaiian Island chain were formed.
What is the example of tectonic movement?
One example of a ridge is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an undersea chain of mountains that formed as two pairs of tectonic plates spread apart: the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate in the north, and the South American Plate and the African Plate in the south.
What are two examples of tectonic activity?
Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and the formation of oceanic trenches occur along these plate boundaries.
How quickly do tectonic plates move?
They can move at rates of up to four inches (10 centimeters) per year, but most move much slower than that. Different parts of a plate move at different speeds. The plates move in different directions, colliding, moving away from, and sliding past one another. Most plates are made of both oceanic and continental crust.
How do volcanoes form at divergent boundaries?
At diverging plate boundaries, earthquakes occur as the plates pull away from each other. Volcanoes also form as magma rises upward from the underlying mantle along the gap between the two plates.
What type of plate boundaries form volcanoes?
Volcanoes are formed at three locations on the crust of the Earth: at convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and hot spots. When two tectonic plates approach each other, subduction zones might be created at the convergent boundary between these two tectonic plates.
Where do volcanic belts form?
Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature (700-1400 °C) where magma is created by partial melting of solid material in the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. These areas usually form along tectonic plate boundaries at depths of 10–50 km.
What is the relationship between plate tectonics and volcanoes?
Plate tectonics play a significant role in the formation of volcanoes on the Earth’s surface. Volcanoes can either be formed by tectonic plates moving away or towards each other. When plates move away from each other such as at the mid-oceanic ridges, the phenomena is referred to as being a divergent plate boundary.