Topic Summaries
Destructive margins
Natural and tectonic hazards
Earth layers and earthquakes
Tectonic plate margins
Responses to tectonic hazards
Risks of tectonic hazards
Weather hazards and atmospheric circulation
Tropical storm hazards
Responding to tropical storms
Climate change
Components and characteristics of ecosystems
Tropical rainforest ecosystems
Hot desert ecosystems
Cold environment ecosystems
Coastal landscapes
Coastal landform processes
Management strategies for coastal landscapes
River landscapes
Fluvial landform processes
Management strategies for floods
Glacial landscapes
Glacial landform processes
Patterns of urban change
Urban sustainability and patterns of urban development
Global development gap and global aid
Rapid economic development
Economic changes in the UK
Resource management
Food supply
Food supply and water supply
Water supply
Natural and tectonic hazards
Earth layers and earthquakes
Tectonic plate margins
Responses to tectonic hazards
Risks of tectonic hazards
Weather hazards and atmospheric circulation
Tropical storm hazards
Responding to tropical storms
Climate change
Components and characteristics of ecosystems
Tropical rainforest ecosystems
Hot desert ecosystems
Cold environment ecosystems
Coastal landscapes
Coastal landform processes
Management strategies for coastal landscapes
River landscapes
Fluvial landform processes
Management strategies for floods
Glacial landscapes
Glacial landform processes
Patterns of urban change
Urban sustainability and patterns of urban development
Global development gap and global aid
Rapid economic development
Economic changes in the UK
Resource management
Food supply
Food supply and water supply
Water supply
- Destructive margins or convergent boundaries occur when two tectonic plates move towards each other. This can be:
- Oceanic plate + oceanic plate (e.g. Pacific plate and Philippine plate)
- One oceanic plate subducts beneath another.
- This creates deep ocean trenches and island arcs (chains of volcanic islands) as well as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
- Oceanic plate + continental plate (e.g. Nazca plate and South American plate)
- This happens when the oceanic plate is denser than the continental plate and subducts beneath it.
- As the oceanic plate subducts, it melts due to heat/pressure in the mantle.
- Magma can rise through cracks, forming volcanoes and fold mountains.
- Continental plate + continental plate (e.g. Indian plate and Eurasian plate)
- Neither plate is subducted. Instead they crumple and fold, creating fold mountains and powerful earthquakes.
- No volcanoes can form as there is no subduction/magma
- Oceanic plate + oceanic plate (e.g. Pacific plate and Philippine plate)
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