Mantle Convection, Variation of Earth Rotation, Plate Movement and Earthquake

摘要

Mantle convection results in plate movement.Large-scale mantle convection causes the migration of materials between the mantle and the crust,which leads to the variation of Earth’s rotation following the law of conservation of angular momentum.When the Earth’s rotation varies,relative movements occur among the plates due to their inertia and different degrees of coupling with the mantle.These relative movements inevitably cause tensile development of fractures,folds,faults and earthquakes along plate boundaries.As a result,several seismic belts have formed along these boundaries.The boundary of the Pacific Plate is the largest seismic belt in the world.Each plate has been cut up into blocks of various sizes by faults.It is the relative movement of the blocks that acts as the major driving force of intraplate earthquakes.These earthquakes are distributed mainly in areas of intermediate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.In short,mantle convection,variation of the Earth’s rotation and plate movement