Research Paper Example: Earthquakes in Mexico, 2017

Mexico recently reported two earthquakes in just eleven days. When approached for answers the geologists confirmed that they had happened on a similar plate, called the cocos plate. The plate runs along the western coast of Mexico. It is said that it is the plate is sinking beneath the neighboring North American tectonic plate which at speeds of three inches annually. However slow the first quake hit Mexico with a magnitude of 8.1 on 7th September 2017. Its epicenter was described to a location a hundred and twenty kilometers southeast of Mexico. Just 11 days later an earthquake again hit the country yet again though lesser in magnitude many kilometers deeper than its precedent, in a fashion which prof David Rothery of the Open University said was similar to the mechanism that led to the other a week and a half earlier.

Seismologist, when reached out to shed bring to light about the earthquake said that they do not think Mexico is looking at having another earthquake in the near future. Stephen hicks of Southampton on his part was quoted saying that the earthquakes might have added the stress but in small amounts, and that the fault lines must have been close to rupturing. He however dismissed any of the happening in Mexico to the other earthquakes that happened at the pacific ring of fire at around the same time.

Previously many earthquakes around Mexico have been caused by tectonic plates crushing. This support that the coco plate has been a plate in motion for quite some time

Technical terms.

Tectonic plates -tectonic plates are large pieces of the earth's crust lithosphere that are constantly floating on molten magma, move and can even fracture. The interactions of tectonic plates are responsible for most of the land feature like mountain ocean Trenches Mountain and natural phenomenon like earthquake and volcanic eruptions. Mexico's earthquake was the fault of convergence of two tectonic plates.

Seismology - this is the study branch of science that deals with the study of earthquakes and related phenomena. Epicenter- is the location directly above the focus of an earthquake. At this point the quake is bound to be intense

Convergence -convergence describes the phenomenon that takes place at the boundary of two tectonic plates that are moving towards each other. A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other. If the plates are relatively of the close proximity in density they push each other and form a series of mountains at the boundary .medicos coco plate is sinking beneath the American plate and when it does it causes irruption on the earths crust in earthquakes.

With the earth being divided into crustal tectonic plates that support the land masses in the earth and in addition giving the planet some form of flexibility, but these natural objects are a risk to the wellbeing of the earth in case of its unexpected movement and crushing on each other. This movements and sudden collision results in volcanoes earthquakes, mountain building among other natural phenomenas. All these phenomena are explained by the Wagener theory of continental drift which escribes the rules behind tectonic plate movement and comprises using terms such as the continent shapes, magnet reversal poles and fossil similarity as an explanation of the shifting tectonic plates. Meeting and parting of the tectonic place have a dire and devastating outcomes and results of many devastating earth quakes witnessed on the planet.

Work cited

Malkin, Bonnie et al. "At Least 217 Dead After Powerful Quake Hits Mexico As It Happened." The Guardian, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/sep/20/mexico-city-earthquake-dozens-dead-powerful-quake-live-updates.