A. Definition of earthquake
B. Some major causes of earthquakes
1. Landslides, rockslides, slumping
or "caving in" of the Earth's surface, meteor
impacts and nuclear explosions
2. Friction (grinding, bumping) between
moving rock materials associated with volcanism
3. Fracturing or movement of rock
materials along faults or plate boundaries caused by Elastic Rebound are the
most disastrous earthquakes form--this can dislodge enormous volumes of rock
and unconsolidated materials causing mass wasting to occur such as rockslides
and slumping of surface material---liquefaction causes
rigid soils to act as a liquid during an earthquake—see
pages 348-349 in text
C. Morphology of earthquakes and related terms
1. Focus or
hypocenter
·
is the exact place of origin of the earthquake disturbance
and with few exceptions is located below the surface of the Earth
2. Epicenter
·
is the position on the surface of the Earth directly above
the focus
click here
to see the focus and epicenter -- or see
page 337 in text for more examples of focus and epicenter
3. Foreshock(s)
·
is (are) the earthquake(s) generated at or very near the focus
of the main earthquake disturbance and prior to the main shock--the
foreshock(s) is (are) smaller in magnitude than the main shock but may be of
substantial magnitude and precede the main earthquake by a short or substantial
time interval
4. Aftershock(s)
·
is (are) the earthquake(s) generated at or very near the
focus of the main earthquake disturbance and following the main shock---the
aftershock(s) is (are) smaller in magnitude than the main shock but may be of
substantial magnitude and follow the main earthquake by a short or substantial
time interval
5. Main shock
·
is the main earthquake disturbance generated at the focus
II. Earthquake waves
1. Body waves
·
waves which travel below the Earth's surface
·
P (primary) wave--moves essentially in a straight line path
·
S (secondary) wave--moves in a looping motion along its path
of movement
click here
to see the manner of travel of P and S waves (P wave=spring S wave=rope)
or see page 341 in text
2. Surface (L, Love, Long)
wave---moves along the surface of the Earth
B. Arrival of earthquake waves at seismic stations
1.
Seismograph--an instrument which detects and records seismic waves---as seismic
waves shake the foundation on which this instrument is attached, a pen records
the waves on a paper attached to a rotating drum
·
click here to see the basic
parts of a seismograph or page 340 in text
2.
Seismogram--the paper on the seismograph with the earthquake wave recordings
·
click here to see the seismogram
and the recorded seismic waves or see
page 342 in text
see
more on seismographs and seismograms
C. Tsunami (seismic sea wave)
A. Travel time (time distance) graph
·
using the
differences in arrival times of the P and S waves at a seismic station
(obtained from information on a seismogram) and a graph which plots the
distance body waves travel to the seismic station as a function of time, the
distance of
an earthquake epicenter from a seismic station can be determined
·
click
here to see the time travel graph or page
342 in text--as can be seen on the travel time graph, the distance away
from the epicenter to the specific seismic station in this example is 3800
kilometers--but the direction from the station is still not known-- click on the first diagram in upper left and see the
ground distance to the epicenter using the arrival of P and S waves on the
seismogram.
·
B. Three point or three arc method
IV. Seismic intensity and magnitude
A. Definitions
1. earthquake intensity is a measure
of the effects or physical destruction caused by an earthquake disturbance at a
particular surface
location
2. earthquake magnitude is a measure
of the strength of or energy released by an earthquake
disturbance
B. Factors influencing the destructive results (intensity)
of an earthquake at a particular surface location
C. Mercalli intensity scale
(modified)
1. Richter Scale
·
describes the strength of the earthquake and is obtained by
relating the difference in time arrivals of the P and S waves and wave height
or amplitude at a given seismic station
·
click here to see the
determination of the Richter Number or see
page 345 in text
·
after plotting the lag time value of S-P waves and the
amplitude value on the respective column plots, a line connecting these two
points intersects the center plot at the Richter value--the lag time value
would increase and the amplitude value decrease with a function of distance of
the station from the epicenter resulting in essentially the same Richter number
for all seismic stations--- slight differences in the Richter number for an
earthquake may result from one seismic station to another because of extreme
distances from the epicenter
2. Magnitudes of energy
·
the energy released by the first atomic bombs were
equivalent to the energy released by an earthquake with a Richter value of 5
·
each increase (or decrease) in Richter number by one equates
to a multiple of 32 times more (or less) energy released--a magnitude of 7 is
equivalent to 32x32(1024) x the energy released by an earthquake with a 5
magnitude
·
usually a magnitude of 4 or less is a minor earthquake while
some of the most damaging quakes measure 8.5-9
V. Earthquake categories
A. Shallow type
B. Intermediate type
C. Deep type
VI. Geographical distribution of
earthquake epicenters—see page 347 in text
A. Circum-Pacific region
B. Mediterranean region
C. Ocean ridge areas and intra-continental areas
VII. Earthquake prediction, control, and
safety rules
A. Earthquake precursors
1. Dilatancy
·
is the swelling or bulging of the surface rock above an area
experiencing a buildup of stress in the rocks--the best example of this
phenomenon prior to an earthquake was in the Palmdale California area in the
1970's
·
tiltmeters and laser mirrors are used to measure the rate
and magnitude of the dilatancy--the use of tiltmeters and laser mirrors to
measure Earth surface bulging was treated previously in the discussion of
prediction of volcanoes
2. Changing habits of insects or
animals prior to an earthquake event
·
for some reason some creatures have an innate intuition
about an earthquake soon to happen and react to it accordingly--one of the best
examples is snakes awaking from hibernation prior to a large earthquake in
China
3. Strange glow emitted from rocks
prior to earthquake event
·
stresses in rock materials may cause a flow of electrons in
quartz (piezoelectricity)--some believe the electricity effect can ionize gases
causing a glow at the surface
4. Increase of radon gas
concentrations in the environment
·
prior to some earthquakes higher concentrations of radon gas
were detected in stream waters in the area--also prior to some earthquakes
higher concentrations of radon at the Earth's surface is believed to have
caused interferences in radio signals--stress in the rocks prior to an
earthquake could cause the release of more than normal concentrations of radon
gas into the environment
B. Earthquake control
VIII. Earth's interior as deduced from
seismic waves
A. Body wave paths and velocities in the Earth's interior
1. Homogeneous vs non-homogeneous
interior Earth concepts
·
the paths of body waves moving through the Earth's interior
will be straight if the interior is homogeneous or broken or curved if not
homogeneous
·
click here to see the idealized
path of body waves –however,
see in the diagram a curved path if inhomogeneous
2. Specific
velocities and paths of body waves
·
body waves are not straight therefore the Earth is not homogeneous--the
velocities of P and S waves increase with a function of depth changing
velocities at the boundary of each minor and major interior Earth section---at
the lower mantle and outer core boundary the P wave velocity decreases
significantly and the S wave ceases to exist which indicates the presence of a
liquid core
·
click here to see the specific
way body waves travel through the Earth
B. Shadow zones of P and S waves