Earthquakes & Volcanoes ISNS 3359
Earthquakes & Volcanoes-Current Events Journal - Example Formats
Fall 2007
Earthquake Example Format
1. Location: Off West Coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, 3.30N 95.94E
2. Magnitude: Mw = 9.0
3. Date-Time: Sunday, December 26, 2004; 00:58:53 (UTC); 7:58 AM (local time)
4. Hypocenter Depth: 30 km
5. Plate Tectonic Setting: epicenter located on the Eurasian plate, EQ caused by northward subduction of the
Indian-Australian plate beneath Burma/Eurasian plate; moment tensor consistent with NNW-trending, NE
dipping reverse fault.
6. Maps & Cross section:
Plate tectonic Sketch
SW
Cross Section
NE
NE
Burma/
Eurasian
Plate
SW
IndiaAustralia
Plate
400 km
7. Effects: World’s largest EQ in last 40 years, 4th largest in the last 100 years; caused most lethal recorded
tsunami that impacted N Indian Ocean coastlines, killing >160,000; >1000 km fault ruptured with up to 20 m slip;
MMI=VIII in Banda Ache (250 km to NNW).
8. Source of info: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav.html
Volcano Format Example
1. Location: Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (Reunion Island) Indian Ocean, 21.22S, 55.71E
2. Type of volcano: basaltic shield volcano
3. Date-Time: Sun Aug 29, 2004
4. Elevation: (summit) 2631 m
5. Plate Tectonic Setting: mantle plume/hotspot within the African Plate, >500 km from a plate boundary.
6. Maps & Cross Section
Map
W
Cross Section
E
500 km
African Plate
(Somalian subplate)
W
Indian- E
Reunion Is.
Australian
Plate
Antarctic Plate
7. Description of eruption & its effects: Eruption of basaltic lavas continued for 3 weeks, following increased
seismicity early in August; volcanic tremors doubled over the past week, but were not accompanied by an
increase in lava emission. Lava entering the Indian Ocean has expanded the land by 2 hectares. Traffic jams
blocked the approaches to the lava flows, but shuttle buses were available. (Followed lava eruptions in May).
8. Sources: http://www.volcanolive.com/volcanolive.html; http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Graphics/framework2.html
This is an example of the smaller NASA global tectonic map you can download from the “files” part of the WebCT class page. Feel free to
copy it and use it for the plate boundary info.