PLATE TECTONICS

& EARTHQUAKES
T R I S TA N L O U I E C O S E J O P I N E D A ( 1 1 6 3 4 9 )
C E 7 1 . 3 1 E N G I N E E R I N G G E O LO GY A S S I G N M E N T 2
D R. P H A M H UY G I AO
18 SEPT 2014

Principle of Isostasy
Gravitational stability
Airys hypothesis: idealised columns
of crust of different length are
largely submerged in heavier subcrustal matter displaced by the
higher columns
First observed by John Pratt (~1840)
in a Himalayan survey study
In the early 20th century, John
Hayford and William Bowie
(USC&GS) conducted the first largescale study of isostasy
Implies fundamental difference
between continental and oceanic
crusts

Continental Drift Theory

Alfred Wegener (1912) presented to
the German Geological Society
Jigsaw puzzle pattern observation
predates Wegener
Continentals move; ocean floor
younger than continents
Supporting evidence: fossil fauna,
mid-oceanic ridges

Sea Floor Spreading

Emanates from oceanic ridges
Provides mechanism of drift for the
movement of continents in
Wegeners theory

Plate Tectonics Theory

Different lithospheric plates are free
to move with respect to the
asthenosphere, and to each other:
Transcurrent fault sliding
Divergence
Convergence (subduction)
Mid-oceanic ridges at diverging
boundaries of plates
Orogenic belts at subduction zones

PB2002 model showing 52 Plates (Bird, 2003)

PHILIPPINE MOBILE BELT

Taiwan-Luzon-Mindoro Belt
First defined by Gervasio (1967)
Zone of intense deformation and
seismicity between convergent
zones
Traced by the left-lateral Philippine
Fault
Eurasian (or Sunda) Plate
subducting eastward at Manila,
Sulu, and Cotabato Trenches
Philippine Sea Plate subducting
westward in the Philippine Trench

Philippine Mobile Belt (Lagmay et al, 2010)

Earthquakes in the Philippines

Earthquake Generators in the
Philippines
Plot of seismicity in the
Philippines (1973 2006) with
data from USGS Advanced
National Seismic System
(Lagmay et al, 2010), right
From 2011 2014, an average
of 1400 seismic events are
recorded annually, ~1.5% of
which have Mw5.5 (18
events)
Clustering of events near
plate boundaries (shallow
event, D<70km), and at fault
area (deep events, D>70km)

Earthquake intensity rating using by the PHIVOLCS vis--vis the Modified

Mercali, and Japan Meteorological Agency Intensity ratings (from MMEIRS,
2014)

Bohol Earthquake
15 Oct 2013, 08.12 (GMT+8)
Focus at 12km below epicenter
Epicentre at 09.86N, 124.07E, or
about 6km S 24 W of Sagbayan,
Borja, Bohol
Mw = 7.2
Tectonic origin
Discovery of a new fault line in the
Province of Bohol, North Bohol Fault
(NBF)
Upthrust reported along NBF
Map highlight the Province of Bohol and epicenter of 2013 earthquake
From Earthquake information bulletin issued by Phivolcs

Isoseismal Map during the Bohol

2013 Earthquake

Peak Ground Acceleration Map

during the Bohol 2013 Earthquake

LIQUEFACTION POTENTIAL
General concentration at coastal
areas according to maps released
by the DOST-PHIVOLCS

DAMAGES

St Peter the Apostle Parish (Loboc)

Church, completed around 1602, was
heavily damaged after the Bohol
2013 earthquake

PHP 2.25 bn (USD 52.2 mn)

damage to public buildings,
infrastructure, in the provices of
Bohol and Cebu
More than 670,000 families (~3.2
mn people) affected
Damage to historical and heritage
sites
Numerous aftershocks felt in Bohol
and nearby provinces days after
the initial event (Mw 5.3 on 26
October 2013)
Reduced casualty due to the
observance of Eidl Adha 2013

Conclusion
In human reckoning of movement, the Earths crust may seem as if it were
static. But in geologic terms, the word active is an understatement,
moreso in areas of convergent tectonic plate boundaries.
Most of the territory of the Philippines is located on the Philippine Mobile Belt
(PMB), a region of high seismic activity where the Sunda Plate subducts
westward, and the Philippine Sea Plate eastward. The PMB is also overlain by
the Philippine Fault Zone, a 1400-km left-lateral strike-slip fault system
marking practically the whole stretch of the country from north to south.
The recent 2013 Bohol Earthquake is but a reminder of how seismically active
the area of the Philippines covers.