Cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria, and Cyanophyta) is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy

through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: (kyans) = blue). The ability of cyanobacteria to perform oxygenic photosynthesis is thought to have converted the early reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, which dramatically changed the composition of life forms on Earth by stimulating biodiversity and leading to the near-extinction of oxygen-intolerant organisms. According toendosymbiotic theory, chloroplasts in plants and eukaryotic algae have evolved from cyanobacteria via endosymbiosis.

Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin tectonicus, from the Greek: "pertaining to building")

[1]

is

a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory builds on the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, developed in the 1960s. The lithosphere is broken up into what are called tectonic plates. In the case of Earth, there are currently seven to eight major (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates (see list below). The lithospheric plates ride on the asthenosphere. These plates move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent, or collisional boundaries; divergent boundaries, also called spreading centers; andtransform boundaries. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. The lateral relative movement of the plates varies, though it is typically 0100 mm annually.
[2]

Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has a higher strength and lower density than the underlying asthenosphere. Their movement is thought to be driven by the motion of hot material in the mantle. Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection, which is transferred into tectonic plate motion through some combination of drag, downward suction at the subduction zones, and variations in topography and density of the crust that result in differences in gravitational forces. The relative importance of each of these factors is unclear.

In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement. Large faults within the Earth's crustresult from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes.

A fault line is the surface trace of a fault, the line of intersection between the fault plane and the Earth's surface.
[1]

Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, geologists use the term fault zone when referring to the zone of complex deformation associated with the fault plane.

Faulting occurs when shear stress on a rock overcomes the cohesion and frictional force on the rock. The fracture itself is called a fault plane, although it is not necessarily planar. When it is exposed at the Earth's surface, it may form a cliff or steep slope called a fault scarp. The angle between the fault plane and an imaginary horizontal plane is called the dip angle of the fault. Faults may dip shallowly or steeply. Faults are generally categorized in three types, depending on the orientation of the fault plane, relative to the direction of motion on the fault. A normal fault is one where the fault dips toward the downthrown block. Motion on normal faults produce overall extension and thinning of the crust. Normal faults characterize rifted terranes, such as Mid-Ocean Ridges, the African Rift, and the Basin and Range Province of western North America. It is shown on geologic maps as a black line with either a block pattern on the downthrown side, or the letters U/D showing the upthrown and downthrown sides. A reverse fault (if steeply dipping) or thrust fault (if shallowly dipping)
[1]

is a fault where the fault plane dips

toward the upthrown block. It is shown on the geologic map with triangular teeth pointing toward the upthrown side of the fault. Reverse and thrust faults effectively shorten (horizontally) and thicken the crust. They are characteristic of collisional origins. A transform (oceanic) or strike-slip (continental fault is one where the relative motion is horizontal. The fault plane is usually vertical and can be horizontal. Famous examples of these include the San Andreas Fault of California, the Alpine Fault of New Zealand's south island, and the Anatolian Fault in Turkey.

The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of plastic (that is, permanent) deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur singly as isolated folds and in extensive fold trains of different sizes, on a variety of scales. Folds form under varied conditions of stress, hydrostatic pressure, pore pressure, and temperature - hydrothermal gradient, as evidenced by their presence in soft sediments, the full spectrum of metamorphic rocks, and even as primary flow

structures in some igneous rocks. A set of folds distributed on a regional scale constitutes a fold belt, a common feature of orogenic zones. Folds are commonly formed by shortening of existing layers, but may also be formed as a result of displacement on a non-planar fault (fault bend fold), at the tip of a propagating fault (fault propagation fold), by differential compaction or due to the effects of a highlevel igneous intrusion e.g. above a laccolith.

Volcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It brings magma from [1] the mantle within a planet and rises to the surface as a volcanic eruption. In some cases, rising magma can cool and solidify without reaching the surface of a planet. Instead, the cooled and solidified igneous mass freezes within the crust of a planet to form an igneous intrusion. Intrusions can be in the form of batholiths,dikes, sills and layered intrusions. An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured with a seismometer; a device which also records is known as a seismograph. The moment magnitude (or the related and mostly obsolete Richter magnitude) of an earthquake is conventionally reported, with magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity. In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The term epicenterrefers to the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.