Subduction Zone Geometry in Three Dimensions: Using authentic data to explore relationships between earthquakes, volcanoes, and plates at convergent margins
Learning Objectives
The objectives of this exercise are to use authentic data to discover (1) how earthquake locations define the shape of the downgoing plate at a convergent margin and (2) how the distance between arc volcanoes and the trench allows us to infer the angle of subduction.
Standards Addressed
NGSS: ESS2B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale Systems. Middle and high school.
Preparation Time Needed
30 min to one hour to download and famialiarize yourself with the activity the first time you do it. There are not laboratory-type materials to prepare so once the activity has been done once, it will need hardly any prep time the next time.
Class Time Required
One class period (45-60 minutes)
Activity Description
The ability to visualize features of the Earth in three-dimensional space, and to conceptualize how these features change over long timescales, is a crucial skill for geoscientists. Here I present an exercise that is specifically designed to build geometrical visualization skills while exposing students to authentic real-time data.
The objectives of this exercise are to use authentic data to discover (1) how earthquake locations define the shape of the downgoing plate at a convergent margin and (2) how the distance between arc volcanoes and the trench allows us to infer the angle of subduction. Most students are accustomed to seeing maps where earthquake locations have been projected onto the Earth’s surface, but in this activity we will also explore the subduction process using graphs that allow the depth of earthquakes to be displayed. Because earthquakes occur within and along the top of the subducting plate, these earthquake locations tell us where the slab is located.
The PSTA Assessment Anchors file links this exercise with the Pennsylvania Assessment Anchors.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 A Teacher / Instruction Guide | 516 KB |
| Student Worksheets (for black & white printing) | 535.23 KB |
 Aleutians Data File | 32.4 KB |
| Aleutians Teacher file | 458 KB |
| Fiji Data File | 13.34 KB |
| Fiji Teacher file | 450 KB |
| Indonesia Data File | 10.25 KB |
| Indonesia Teacher File | 330 KB |
| Kuril Data File | 10.88 KB |
| Kuril Teacher File | 454 KB |
| Lesser Antilles Data File | 12.5 KB |
| Lesser Antilles Teacher File | 450.5 KB |
| Southern Andes Data File | 12.64 KB |
| Southern Andes Teacher File | 392.5 KB |
| PSTA Assessment Anchors | 18.57 KB |
