Strike-Slip Earthquakes Cause Chain Reaction Worldwide

Major Indian Ocean earthquakes this year triggered aftershocks not only in surrounding areas, but around the world, suggesting that an existing tectonic plate is separating (April Sumatra Quakes Signal Indian Ocean Plate Break-Up, BBC News, September 26, 2012). No tsunami occurred from these 8.6 and 8.2 temblors because they were characterized as strike-slip quakes where plates move horizontally against each other. U.S. Geological Survey's Dr. Fred Pollitz noted that the remarkable result of the April 2012 quakes is that they "effectively extended the aftershock zone to the entire globe."

Review selected library titles related to plate tectonics and earthquakes at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• earthquakes
• plate tectonics
• seismology

"Plate Tectonics" from the Films on Demand video database - BBC, 2010.
Note: Login with your Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"Plates on the earth's surface are continually on the move. If they pull apart suddenly, an earthquake occurs." - database summary excerpt


Waking the Giant: How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes by Bill McGuire - Oxford, 2012.
call number: 551.6 MacG
"The book includes the "science behind the theory that climate change will dramatically increase the number of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. . . The author succeeds at interpreting complex earth science into compelling reading for a popular audience." - Library Journal review excerpt." - Library Journal review excerpt

Plate Tectonics: Continental Drift and Mountain Building by Wolfgang Frisch, Martin Meschede, Ronald Blakey - Springer, 2011.
call number: 551.136 Fri
"This volume presents an introduction to the field of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's rigid outermost shell." - publishers summary excerpt