Question

Is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge pulling apart and does it constantly have earthquakes going deeper than 400km into the earth?

Answer 1

Answer:The distribution of earthquakes across the globe is shown in Figure 11.7. It is relatively easy to see the relationships between earthquakes and the plate boundaries. Along divergent boundaries like the mid-Atlantic ridge and the East Pacific Rise, earthquakes are common, but restricted to a narrow zone close to the ridge, and consistently at less than 30 km depth. Shallow earthquakes are also common along transform faults, such as the San Andreas Fault. Along subduction zones, as we saw in Chapter 10, earthquakes are very abundant, and they are increasingly deep on the landward side of the subduction zone.

General distribution of global earthquakes

Figure 11.7 General distribution of global earthquakes of magnitude 4 and greater from 2004 to 2011, colour coded by depth (red: 0-33 km, orange 33-70 km, green: 70-300 km, blue: 300-700 km)

Explanation: