plate-tectonics-geospatial

Plate Tectonics Geospatial Analysis

Overview

The PB2002 (Plate Boundaries 2002) dataset provides comprehensive data on tectonic plate boundaries and plate definitions. This skill covers loading, processing, and spatial analysis of plate data.

PB2002 Dataset Structure

Boundary Data (PB2002_boundaries.json)

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": {
        "type": "LineString",
        "coordinates": [[lon1, lat1], [lon2, lat2], ...]
      },
      "properties": {
        "PLATE1": "Pacific",
        "PLATE2": "North American",
        "TYPE": "subduction zone",  // or "transform", "spreading", etc.
        "STEPOVER": ""
      }
    }
  ]
}

Plate Data (PB2002_plates.json)

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": {
        "type": "MultiPolygon",  // or Polygon
        "coordinates": [...]
      },
      "properties": {
        "PlateName": "Pacific",
        "PlateID": 101
      }
    }
  ]
}

Loading and Processing

Load Plate Boundaries

import geopandas as gpd
import json

with open('/root/PB2002_boundaries.json', 'r') as f:
    boundaries_geojson = json.load(f)

boundaries_gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame.from_features(
    boundaries_geojson['features'],
    crs='EPSG:4326'
)

# Filter for specific plate boundary
pacific_boundaries = boundaries_gdf[
    (boundaries_gdf['PLATE1'] == 'Pacific') |
    (boundaries_gdf['PLATE2'] == 'Pacific')
]

Load Plate Polygons

with open('/root/PB2002_plates.json', 'r') as f:
    plates_geojson = json.load(f)

plates_gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame.from_features(
    plates_geojson['features'],
    crs='EPSG:4326'
)

# Get Pacific plate polygon
pacific_plate = plates_gdf[plates_gdf['PlateName'] == 'Pacific']

Spatial Operations

Identify Points Within Plate

# Use spatial join to find earthquakes within Pacific plate
earthquakes_in_pacific = gpd.sjoin(
    earthquakes_gdf,
    pacific_plate,
    how='inner',
    predicate='within'
)