Hand-Out for Earthquakes

What are earthquakes?

 An earthquakeis the perceptible shaking of the surface of the Earth.
 Earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused
by humans — that generates seismic waves.
 Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other
events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests.
Elastic Rebound Theory
Why do we have earthquakes?
 The primary cause of an earthquake is faults on the crust of the earth.
 Not all quakes are caused by faults.
 A fault is a break or fracture between two blocks of rocks in response to stress.
2 Kinds of Fault
1. Dip-Slip Fault - occurs when two pieces of land change their vertical (up-and-
down) position compared to each other
a. Normal Fault - Two blocks of crust pull apart, stretching the crust into a
valley.
b. Reverse Fault - also called thrust faults, slide one block of crust on top of
another. These faults are commonly found in collisions zones, where
tectonic plates push up mountain ranges such as the Himalayas. It is
inclined at a low angle
2. Stike-Slip Fault - happens when two pieces of land move horizontally (side-to-
Features of Earthquake
side) to each other.
1. Focus- the location of the fault where movement begins (earthquake source)
2. Epicenter- the geographic location on Earth’s directly above the focus.

Types of Seismic Waves
 Seismic waves are produced due to an earthquake.
 They are basically divided into two major types: Body waves and surface
waves.
Body Waves
• Body waves are the first waves in an earthquake will shake the ground UP then
down in a longitudinal movement.
• P-Waves (Primary Waves) - travel the fastest, and can also cause back and
forth movement. These waves are relatively weak and cause the surface to
move in a back and forth motion
• S-Wave (Secondary Waves) - travel slower through the crust.
Surface Waves
 Surface waves travels parallel to the earth’s surface and these waves are
slowest and most damaging.
 Rayleigh Waves - have displacement which is perpendicular to love-wave
displacement.
 Love Waves - have displacement which are parallel to the free surface.
 Love wave is faster. Rayleigh wave is slower. They cause horizontal shifting of
the earth surface. The ground moves in circular motion.
Measuring Earthquakes
• Magnitude (Richter Scale) measures the energy released at the source of the
earthquake. Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs.
• Intensity (Mercalli Scale) measures the strength of shaking produced by the
earthquake at a certain location. Intensity is determined from effects on
people, human structures, and the natural environment.
How do geologists determine the where the earthquake started?
Triangulation - Earthquakes give off two kinds
of waves. One kind is always faster than the
other. The longer distance the waves travel,
the more "ahead" the faster kind gets. If a
place feels both kinds of Earthquake waves,
it can figure out how far away the center of
the Earthquake was.
Earthquake Hazards
1. Ground Shaking
2. Aftershocks – are earthquakes that occur on the same or nearby faults for
months or years after the main shock.
3. Landslides – will occur if slops are steep and the rocks, soils and materials
forming the slope are not stable
4. Elevation Changes
5. Liquefaction – occurs when shaking of the ground causes compaction of the
sediment. This increases water pressure, resulting in water-saturated material
being violently ejected at the surface.
6. Tsunami – large volume of ocean water. Subduction Zones are potential
tsunami locations