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North Bismarck Plate
The North Bismarck Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the Bismarck Sea off the northeast coast of New Guinea. Tectonics To the north it collides with the Pacific Plate and the Caroline Plate, part of the western part subducts under the Woodlark Plate of New Guinea, and it is separated from the South Bismarck Plate by a divergent boundary called Bismarck Seismic Sea Lineation (BSSL). The plate is moving easterly along with the Pacific plate. It is in a very seismically active area. Between the plate and the Caroline Plate is the Manus Trench and between the plate and the Pacific plate is the Kilinailai Trench. See also *List of earthquakes in Papua New Guinea Earthquakes in Papua New Guinea are due to its location near the geologically-active Pacific Ring of Fire. Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. The predomin ... References * Tectonic plates Geology of the Pacific O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Tectonic Plates
This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth's surface. Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called ''sima'' from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (''sial'' from silicon and aluminium). The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with mafic basaltic rocks dominating oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower-density felsic granitic rocks. Current plates Geologists generally agree that the following tectonic plates currently exist on Earth's surface with roughly definable boundaries. Tectonic plates are sometimes subdivided into three fairly arbitrary categories: ''major'' (or ''primary'') ''plates'', ''minor'' (or ''secondary'') ''plates'', and ''microplates'' (or ''tertiary plates''). Major plates These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Oceania in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of its total surface area, larger than Earth's entire land area combined .Pacific Ocean . '' Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the |
Tectonic Plate
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large tectonic plates which have been slowly moving since about 3.4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of ''continental drift'', an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. Plate tectonics came to be generally accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid to late 1960s. Earth's lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of the planet (the crust and upper mantle), is broken into seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates or "platelets". Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary: '' convergent'', '' divergent'', or ''transform''. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic tren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean within the nation of Papua New Guinea. It is located northeast of the island of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Archipelago. It has coastlines in districts of the Islands Region, Momase Region, and Papua Region. Geography Like the Bismarck Archipelago, it is named in honour of the first German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The Bismarck Archipelago extends round to the east and north of the sea, enclosing the Bismarck Sea and separating it from the Southern Pacific Ocean. To the south it is linked to the Solomon Sea by the Vitiaz Strait. Official boundaries The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Bismarck Sea as "that area of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of New Guinea", with the following limits: ''On the North and East.'' By the Northern and Northeastern coasts of the islands of New Ireland (island), New Ireland, New Hanover Island, New Hanover, the Admiralty I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of Motu, from the Austronesian l ...: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Mainland Australia, Australia by the wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua (province), Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua (province), West ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Izanagi Plates. The Pacific Plate subsequently grew to where it underlies most of the Pacific Ocean basin. This reduced the Farallon Plate to a few remnants along the west coast of North America and the Phoenix Plate to a small remnant near the Drake Passage, and destroyed the Izanagi Plate by subduction under Asia. The Pacific Plate contains an interior hot spot forming the Hawaiian Islands. Boundaries The north-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge. In the middle of the eastern side is a transform boundary with the North American Plate along the San Andreas Fault, and a boundary with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caroline Plate
The Caroline Plate is a minor tectonic plate that straddles the Equator in the eastern hemisphere located north of New Guinea. It forms a subduction zone along the border with the Bird's Head Plate and the Woodlark Plate to the south. A transform boundary forms the northern border with the Pacific Plate. Along the border with the Philippine Sea Plate is a convergent boundary that transitions into a rift. The Caroline Plate was first proposed as a distinct plate by . Geological setting A separate terrane with its own tectonic history, the Caroline Plate has been considered part of the Pacific Plate because of sparse seismicity and low velocities along its boundaries. It includes the West and East Caroline basins and the inactive Eauripik Rise separating them, but neither the Caroline Islands nor the Caroline Ridge. It is subducting under the Bird's Head and Woodlark plates along the New Guinea Trench to the south. The boundary with the Philippine Sea to the west has two segments: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodlark Plate
The Woodlark Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It subducts beneath the Caroline plate along its northern border while the Maoke Plate converges on the west, the Australian plate converges on the south, and on the east an undefined compressive zone which may be a transform fault marking the boundary with the adjoining Solomon Sea Plate. It also contacts the South Bismarck Plate The South Bismarck Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the southern Bismarck Sea. The eastern part of New Guinea and the island of New Britain are on this plate. Tectonics Convergent boundaries line the southern border including the subdu ... due northeast. See also * References * Tectonic plates Geology of the Pacific Ocean {{tectonics-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Bismarck Plate
The South Bismarck Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the southern Bismarck Sea. The eastern part of New Guinea and the island of New Britain are on this plate. Tectonics Convergent boundaries line the southern border including the subduction zone responsible for the formation of New Britain and the Solomon Islands. Many earthquakes occur in this area particularly around New Britain. GPS data shows the South Bismarck plate, though north of the Australian plate boundary, is being pushed by Australia in a northerly direction while the North Bismarck Plate is being dragged by the Pacific plate easterly. The line delineating the two is called the Bismarck Seismic Sea Lineation (BSSL), and it is not known where this line ends on the West side towards New Ireland. See also *List of earthquakes in Papua New Guinea Earthquakes in Papua New Guinea are due to its location near the geologically-active Pacific Ring of Fire. Overall, the population in this region resides in str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divergent Boundary
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges. Current research indicates that complex convection within the Earth's mantle allows material to rise to the base of the lithosphere beneath each divergent plate boundary. This supplies the area with huge amounts of heat and a reduction in pressure that melts rock from the asthenosphere (or upper mantle) beneath the rift area, forming large flood basalt or lava flows. Each eruption occurs in only a part of the plate boundary at any one time, but when it does occur, it fills in the opening gap as the two opposing plates move away from each other. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manus Trench
Manus Trench is an oceanic trench in the Bismarck Sea north of Papua New Guinea delineating the plate tectonic boundary between the Caroline and North Bismarck plates. There very moderate seismic activity along both these trenches, and their status as an active subduction zone has been challenged. A relative motion of or less has, nevertheless, been suggested for the Manus Trench, roughly normal to the trench. The Kilinailau Trench east of New Ireland forms the continuation to the Manus Trench and is thought to mark the boundary between the Pacific and North Bismarck plates. It is, however, disputed whether the Caroline Plate moves independently from the Pacific Plate. If not, the Manus and Kilinailau trenches form the Pacific-North Bismarck boundary together. Perpendicular to the two trenches is another trench, the Mussau Trench Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea, at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kilinailai Trench
Kilinailai Trench is an oceanic trench delineating the oceanic boundary between the Pacific Plate and North Bismarck Plates, in Papua New Guinea. The Manus Trench, which looks as if it is a western continuation of the Kilinailai Trench, marks the boundary between the Caroline Plate The Caroline Plate is a minor tectonic plate that straddles the Equator in the eastern hemisphere located north of New Guinea. It forms a subduction zone along the border with the Bird's Head Plate and the Woodlark Plate to the south. A transform ... and North Bismarck Plates. It is, however, disputed whether the Caroline Plate moves independently from the Pacific Plate. If not, the Manus and Kilinailau trenches form the Pacific-North Bismarck boundary together. References ; Notes ; Sources * Tectonic plates Geology of the Pacific Ocean {{tectonics-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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