Massive Earthquake Hits Taiwan: What is the Ring of Fire?

Context

A massive earthquake hit Taiwan in which nine people died and more than 800 got injured.

Taiwan Earthquake: Key Highlights

• Earthquake Magnitude: Although Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency reported the quake as a magnitude 7.2, the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded it as a magnitude 7.4 earthquake.
• Epicentre of Earthquake: The epicenter of the quake was located just 18 kilometers south-southwest of Hualien County, which is situated in eastern Taiwan. 
• Proximity to the Pacific Ring of Fire: Taiwan is prone to earthquakes as it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where 90% of the world’s earthquakes take place. 

What is the Ring of Fire?

• About: The Ring of FireThe Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt is essentially a string of hundreds of volcanoes and earthquake-sites which runs along the Pacific Ocean. 
  • It is a semicircle or horse shoe in shape and stretches nearly 40,250 kilometers. 
• Plate Convergence in the Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire traces the meeting points of numerous tectonic plates, including the Eurasian, North American, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Caribbean, Nazca, Antarctic, Indian, Australian, Philippine, and other smaller plates, which all encircle the large Pacific Plate.
  • It runs through 15 more countries including the USA, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Guatemala, Russia, Chile, Peru, and the Philippines.

Why is the Ring of Fire Vulnerable to Earthquakes?

• Tectonic Plate Interactions: The high occurrence of earthquakes in the Ring of Fire is attributed to the continual sliding, colliding, or subduction of tectonic plates against one another.
  • Due to the roughness of their edges, tectonic plates get stuck with one another while the rest of the plate keeps moving.
  • Earthquakes occur when the plate shifts sufficiently, causing the edges to release along a fault line.
• Reason for earthquakes in Taiwan: Taiwan experiences earthquakes due to the interactions of tectonic plates — the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate and the Sunda plate.

Why Are there So Many Volcanoes in the Ring of Fire?

• The existence of volcanoes in the Ring of Fire is also due to the movement of tectonic plates. 
• Subduction of Plates: Many of the volcanoes have been formed through a process known as subduction. 
  • This occurs when two plates collide, with the heavier plate being pushed beneath the other, resulting in the formation of a deep trench.
  • The process involves the downward movement of an oceanic plate, such as the Pacific Plate, into a hotter mantle plate. 
• Production of Magma: As the oceanic plate is pushed deeper, it heats up and volatile elements mix, resulting in the production of magma. 
  • This magma then ascends through the overlying plate and erupts at the surface, forming volcanoes.
  • The Ring of Fire, where most subduction zones are concentrated, hosts a significant number of volcanoes due to this process.

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