Chapter 21 - Seismic Induction and the Theory of Plate Tectonics

Abstract

Abstract The classical approach in seismology was based on the assumption that the Earth’s crust is the classical (Cauchy) continuum. Although the classical continuum can be used to model the stress states before and after the slip along the faults, we now have plenty of evidence that the Earth’s crust is the Cosserat continuum. We show that the basic paradigm of the “classical seismology” is wrong and inconsistent with the basic postulate of the plate tectonics theory. According to the basic postulate of the plate tectonics theory the motions of the Earth’s tectonic plates compensate for translatory as well as rotational movements of the lithosphere; this is consistent with the Cosserat continuum. We derive two models explaining the interaction between the earthquakes and faults in the planetary scale. We discover that a movement of a tectonic plate causes earthquakes on all its boundaries. To preserve equilibrium the long-range interactions between the faults occur.