Rift Zone

“Rift Zone” uses air bubbling up through fine sand to suggest a small-scale geothermal landscape. By pushing the button, viewers can change the pressure of the air rising up through the sand and alter the shapes and patterns of the landscape. The aerators that activate the sand are arranged in a composition of three elements: a circle, a line and a dot, corresponding to the three kinds of rift zones that occur on Earth: solitary volcanoes, fracture zones such as the one spreading on the island of Hawaii, and the ring dike that forms in the crater of a volcano as the central plug cools and then a new eruption occurs around the perimeter in a circle.

The forces that help shape Earth’s surface are dynamic (landslides, volcanic mountain building). Those that shape the Earth’s crust under the ocean are also dynamic, but not seen as often. When magma comes to the surface, quietly or violently, it provides a key to what is under the surface. In rift zones, what is under the crust comes to the surface. Whether it is as a single volcanic mountain being pushed up, a core of a volcano that plugs the vent, or a line of magma pushing its way up and forcing the crustal plates apart. Most of the volcanic activity on Earth happens at weak places in the crust along the edges of the plates. Because there is often movement, this is also where many earthquakes occur.

Questions to Ask

Why is the Pacific rim called the “Ring of Fire”?

What crustal feature is the location of most rift activity?

What happens to the landscape when heat and pressure are released through the layers of the crust?

Do all types of volcanoes erupt violently?

Relevant Arkansas Science Frameworks

ESS 8.6.1, ESS 8.6.2, ESS 8.6.3, ESS 8.6.4, ESS 8.6.5, ESS 8.6.6, ESS 8.6.8, ESS 8.6.11, ESS 8.6.14

"Mini-Vibe" — An activity to do at home or in the classroom