What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is the vibration of Earth

produced by the rapid release of energy

Energy radiates in all directions from its
source, the focus
Energy moves like waves
Seismographs record the event
Slinky, Rubber Band SEISMOGRAM
Beaker, Wet Sand, Weight
Cardboard Fault models
Chewing Gum
Wood meter stick or plastic ruler
pencil

Anatomy of Earthquakes

Earthquakes are associated with faults

Earthquakes are caused

by sudden release of
accumulated strain
energy along Faults
Rocks on
sides of fault
are
deformed by
tectonic
forces

(
(
(( (((
Rocks bend
and store
elastic
energy

Frictional
resistance
Handsholding
Demothe
rocks

))))

)))

 Earthquake mechanism
Slip starts at the weakest point (the focus)
Earthquakes occur as the deformed rock
springs back to its original shape (elastic
rebound)
The motion moves neighboring rocks
And so on.
DEMO elastic rebound w/ ruler

Relationsh
ip
Between
Stress and
Strain
Demo: Rubber Band

Strain can be a change in shape (a deformation) due to an applied stress

Relationship
Between
Stress and
Strain at low
Temps and
Demo: Pencil
Pressure
or
Sudden

Relationship
Between
Stress and
Strain under
High Temps
or Pressure
Demo: gum

Strike and Dip

Strike is long line, dip is short line

Note the angle of dip given 45o

Strike intersection w horizontal, dip perpendicular, angle from horizontal down toward surface

Vertical
Movement
along DipSlip Faults
Divergent

Convergent

Horizontal Movement Along

Strike-Slip Fault

ReverseFaultQuakeJapan
DEMO Types of faults

StrikeSlipFaultQuakeCalifornia

NormalFaultQuakeNevada

Fence offset by the 1906

San Francisco earthquake

San Andreas is the most studied transform fault

system in the world

discrete segments 100 to 200 kilometers long

slip every 100-200 years producing

large earthquakes
Some portions exhibit slow, gradual displacement
known as fault creep

Fires caused by 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Gas mains break, fires shaken out of furnaces. Water mains

break, cannot fight fires. Debris in streets, Fire department cannot
reach fires.

Landscape Shifting, Wallace

Creek

San Andreas Fault, a Transform Margin

Liquefaction

Demo: Liquifaction

Seismology

Seismometers - instruments that

record seismic waves
Records the movement of
Earth in relation to a stationary
mass on a rotating drum or
magnetic tape

A seismograph designed to
record vertical ground
motion
The heavy mass doesnt move much
The drum moves

Lateral Movement Detector

In reality, copper wire coils move around magnets, generating current which is recorded.

 Seismic Waves 1: Surface waves

Complex motion, great destruction
High amplitude and low velocity
Longest periods (interval between crests)
Termed long, or L waves

 Types of seismic waves (continued)

Body waves
Travel through Earths interior
Two types based on mode of travel
Primary (P) waves
Push-pull motion
Travel thru solids, liquids & gases
Secondary (S) waves
Moves at right angles to their
direction of travel
Travels only through solids

P and S waves

Demo: P and S waves

Smaller amplitude than surface (L) waves, but faster, P arrives first, then S,

Earthquake focus and

epicenter

Note how much bigger the surface waves are

Graph to find distance to

epicenter

Locating Earthquake Epicenter

Epicenter located using three

seismographs

95% of energy released by earthquakes originates

in narrow zones that wind around the Earth

These zones mark of edges of tectonic plates

Broad are subduction zone earthquakes, narrow are MOR. Lead to recognition o

Earthquake Depth and Plate Tectonic

Setting

Subduction Zones discovered by Benioff

Earthquake in subduction
zones

Earthquakes at Divergent
Boundaries - Iceland

Crust pulling apart normal faults

Measuring the size of

earthquakes
Two measurements describe the size of an

earthquake
Intensity a measure of earthquake shaking
at a given location based on amount of
damage
Magnitude estimates the amount of energy
released by the earthquake

Intensity scales

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale was

developed using California buildings as its
standard
Drawback is that destruction may not be
true measure of earthquakes actual severity

Magnitude scales
Richter magnitude - concept introduced by
Charles Richter in 1935
Richter scale
Based on amplitude of largest seismic
wave recorded
LOG10 SCALE
Each unit of Richter magnitude
corresponds to 10X increase in wave
amplitude and 32X increase in Energy

Magnitude scales
Moment magnitude was developed because
Richter magnitude does not closely estimate
the size of very large earthquakes
Derived from the amount of displacement
that occurs along a fault and the area of
the fault that slips

Tsunamis, or seismic sea waves

Destructive waves called tidal waves
Result from push of underwater fault
or undersea landslide
In open ocean height is > 1 meter
In shallow coast water wave can be > 30
meters
Very destructive

Formation of a tsunami

Tsunamis are actually huge, extending

from the fault on the sea floor up to the
surface, but they dont stick up more
than a meter or so in the deep ocean.
However, when they reach shallow water
they must rear up and slow down.

Honolulu officials know exactly

how long it takes a Tsunami to
reach them from anywhere

Tsunami 1960,
Hilo Hawaii

Tsunami
Model,
Alaska
Quake

Earthquake prediction
Long-range forecasts

Calculates probability of a certain

magnitude earthquake occurring over a
given time period
Short-range predictions

Ongoing research, presently not much

success

Long Term Predictions

Seismic Gaps

Seismic Gaps at the Aleutian Islands SUBDUCTION ZONE

Seismic Gap along Himalayas

2005

Short-Term Earthquake Prediction

Dilatancy of Highly Stressed

Rocks

45

Investigating Earths Interior

Seismology

helps us understand Earths

Interior Structure. We use:
Speed changes in different materials
due changes rigidity, density, elasticity
Reflections from layers with different
properties
Attenuation of Shear Waves in fluids
Direction changes (Refraction)

Investigating Earths Interior

47

Surface Components magnified

Seismic-wave velocities are faster in the upper

mantle

Velocity increases w depth, waves bend back to surface.

Waves that travel via mantle arrive sooner at far destinations

Mohorovii discontinuit

Wave Velocities

Upper Mantle Fast

Asthenosphere
Slow

Lower Mantle Fast

The S-Wave Shadow Zone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dixon_Oldham
Since Shear (S)
waves cannot travel
through liquids, the
liquid outer core
casts a larger
shadow for S waves
covering everything
past 103 degrees
away from the
source.

The P-Wave Shadow Zone

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/earth/p_lehmann.html

P-waves through the

liquid outer core bend,
leaving a low intensity
shadow zone 103 to
143 degrees away from
the source, here shown
as the north pole
HOWEVER, P-waves
traveling straight
through the center
continue, and because
speeds in the solid
inner core are faster,
they arrive sooner than
expected if the core
wasLehmann
all liquid.
Inge
Behavior of waves through center reveal Earths Interior