Let´s say we build and populate excessively on the western side of the caribbean plate. Could that cause the plate to tip, thus raising the eastern side upwards?
2007-12-28 04:58:47 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
No. The crust is 64 miles thick and composed of dense rock and metal deposits. The cities we build above are nowhere near even a single mile in thickness (from the top of the buildings to ground level), and most of it is hollow empty space. There is no possibility of our cities upsetting the balance to the extent that the plate could "tip" over.
And if you want further reassurance, think about the asteroid impact that is theorized to have decimated the dinosaurs. The largest known impact in Earth's history managed to chip away only a tiny fragment of the Earth's crust--roughly the equivalent damage of lightly scratching a table with a pin.
2007-12-28 05:03:21 · answer #1 · answered by P.I. Joe 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No, the cities do not change the amount of weight, because the materials used to build the city come from the Earth itself.
2007-12-28 18:42:37 · answer #2 · answered by 22 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think so. I think the weight that even a city could add would be negligible. However there is a theory that building dams and the weight of the water behind dams can cause earthquakes. Its just a theory, though.
2007-12-28 05:02:03 · answer #3 · answered by jxt299 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No way, The earth crust is at least 50 mile thick...............
2007-12-28 07:27:33 · answer #4 · answered by x-man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋