Earthquakes are among the most dangerous and destructive natural disasters that can affect humans. The map, created by the Concord Consortium, allows us to see where earthquakes have occurred since 1980. Among the information presented in the visualisation is not only their location, but also data on magnitude, date and depth at which they occurred.
Geologists collect earthquake data every day. What are the patterns of earthquake magnitude, depth, location, and frequency? What are the patterns of earthquakes along plate boundaries? See the Seismic Explorer.
How to use the Seismic Explorer?
To start visualisation, click the play button to see the earthquakes. You can drag the starting time to start playing earthquakes from a later date. Next, use the Magnitude slider to choose the earthquake size shown on the map. Click the Show plate boundaries button to see the outlines of tectonic plates.
Make a cross-section to see a three-dimensional view of the earthquakes in a region. Click on the Draw a cross-section line then draw a line on the map. When you are done, click Open 3D view, and see the depths of the earthquakes in that cross-section.
Seismic Explorer can also show volcanic activity and the names, boundaries and movement of tectonic plates. If you want to change the displayed data, simply select the layers of interest in the data type field. Volcanic eruptions are also displayed in a time range from 1980 to the present day, but a layer is also available on which all known eruptions in history are marked. As with earthquakes, when you click on a point representing a volcanic eruption, you get additional information about the name of the volcano, the location, the number of eruptions and the dates they occurred.
Analysing the Seismic Explorer map in terms of the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, one can definitely conclude that most of them are located where two tectonic plates meet. Of particular note is the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, which surrounds the Pacific Ocean for some 40,000 km. In the area of the ring alone there are more than 450 volcanoes and about 90% of all earthquakes occur here.
