Standard 8-3.

EARTHQUAKES
 Essential Question

• WHAT CAUSES
EARTHQUAKES AND
WHERE DO THEY
HAPPEN?
 INTRODUCTION
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/p
layer/environment/environment-natural-
disasters/earthquakes/earthquake-101.html
The earthquake that caused the most
destruction in history occurred in the Shansi
province of China on January 23,1556. An
estimated 830,000 people were killed.

The second most destructive earthquake also

occurred in China--in July, 1976--and killed
255,000 people.
The definition of an earthquake is…
vibrations caused by the breaking or slipping of rocks
___________________________________
__________________________________.

all directions
These vibrations move in __________
___________ through the earth. They
fault
begin at a point along a _____________.
 Earthquakes
• _____________
force
and _________________
stresses

(8-3.7– tension, compression, and shearing)

along faults can build up as blocks of rock
are pushed (compression or shearing) or
pulled apart (tension). If the _____________
pressure

or stress becomes too great, the rock breaks

at a weak point along the fault and
_________________
energy
is released
 Earthquakes
earthquakes
• ____________________ are vibrations produced
fault
when rocks break along a ___________. The term
earthquake describes the sudden slip on a fault
and includes the ground shaking and radiating
seismic
______________________ that is caused by the
slip. ______________________,
Volcanic Activity or other
geologic processes, may cause stress changes in
the earth that can also result in an earthquake.
The earth’s crust is constantly
experiencing pressure from forces
within and around it. This pressure
builds up over time, and eventually
crust to break
causes the ____________________. This
fault
becomes a ______________.

Let’s experience it…

Faults are divided into three main groups:
normal fault
_________________- when two plates are moving
apart and one side of the fracture moves below
the other; (caused by tension forces!)
reverse fault
_________________- when two plates collide and
one side of the fracture moves on top of another;
(caused by compression forces!!)
strike slip
____________________ - when two plates slide
past each other. (caused by shear forces!)
Three Types of Faults

Strike-Slip
Reverse

Normal
 fault
An earthquake begins along a ________
(a crack in the earth’s surface) at a point
focus
called the _____________.

Directly above the focus is a point on

the earth’s surface called the
epicenter
______________.
Epicenter Focus
 seismologist
____________________ have stations all over the
world that continuously collect information
about earthquakes. This kind of information can
help scientists figure out where larger, more
destructive earthquakes may strike by mapping
out the location of smaller ‘quakes. They also
get a greater understanding of the changes the
earth’s crust makes as the earthquakes occur.

How do they do this???

When the fault ruptures with a sudden movement
energy is released that has built up over the
years. This energy is released in the form of
vibrations called _____________________'…
seismic waves

earthquakes!

It is actually when these seismic waves reach the

surface of the earth that most of the destruction
occurs, which we associate with earthquakes.
 Parts of the Earthquake
• The energy spreads outward in all directions as
vibrations called ______________________.
seismic waves

• The ____________
focus of the earthquake is the point
in the crust, or mantle, where energy is released.
• The _______________
epicenter is the point on Earth’s
surface directly above the focus; energy that
reaches the surface is greatest at this point.
Focus – point inside the Earth where an
earthquake begins
Epicenter – point on Earth’s surface above focus
Focus, Epicenter, and Fault
 WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES?

• Used to describe both sudden slip on a fault,

and the resulting ground shaking and radiated
seismic energy caused by the slip
• Caused by ___________________________,
volcanic or magmatic activity

• Caused by other sudden ________________

stress changes in the earth

_________________________________.
 What causes earthquakes?
• __________________move
Tectonic plates
past each other
causing stress. Stress causes the rock to
deform
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
What Causes an Earthquake?
Cause of Earthquakes
◆ Aftershocks and Foreshocks
aftershock
• An ________________ is a small earthquake
that follows the main earthquake.
foreshock
• A _______________ is a small earthquake that
often precedes a major earthquake.
 landslides
Earthquakes can also cause ______________, sudden
eruptions as in the case of a hot lava flow from a
eruptions
______________ tsunamis
or giant waves called ______________.
Sometimes new land mass are also formed. Such
earthquakes are attributed with the creation of the
undersea
greatest _________________ mountain range and the
longest land mountain range.
 Landslides & Tsunamis
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/1
01-videos/landslides

• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/1
01-videos/tsunami-101
…And that was
just a 7.2 on
the Richter
scale! QuickTime™ and a
GIF decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Focus, Epicenter, and Fault
 Earthquake Hazard Potential Map

Parkfield, CA
“Earthquake Capital of the World”
 Where Do Earthquakes Occur and How Often?
80% of all earthquakes
~_________________________occur in the circum-Pacific belt
– most of these result from convergent margin activity
– ~15% occur in the Mediterranean-Asiatic belt
– remaining 5% occur in the interiors of plates and on
spreading ridge centers
– more than 150,000 quakes strong enough to be felt are
recorded each year
 Review!!!
• http://www.iknowthat.com/mhscience/Earth
quakes/Fixed.htm

• http://www.iknowthat.com/mhscience/Earth
quakes/earthquake_movie.html
Focus and Epicenter of Earthquake
 SEISMIC WAVES
seismic waves
• ______________________ are waves
generated by an earthquake that travel
through the Earth. These waves can cause
the ground to move forward, backward,
up, down, and even to ripple. Seismic
Waves are generated at the _____________
same

time but move in different ways, and at

different speeds.
 Seismic
Waves in
the Earth

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
3 TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES
• ____________
primary
(P) WAVES
• _____________
secondary (S) WAVES
• ___________
surface WAVES

CONSIDERED AS BODY WAVES

Seismic Waves
8.2 Measuring Earthquakes
Earthquake Waves
◆ _______________
body waves

• Identified as P waves or S waves

P waves
• _______________
push-pull
- Are _______________ waves that push
(compress) and pull (expand) in the direction
that the waves travel
- Travel through solids, liquids, and gases
- Have the greatest velocity of all
earthquake waves
 PRIMARY (P) WAVE
• Move ________
out from the earthquake focus,
the point where the energy is released
• Travel the __________
fastest of the three waves
• Move through ________solid and ___________
liquid

layers of Earth (it also can move in gas)

• Push and pull rock creating a back-and-
forth motion in the direction the wave is
moving (______________________)
longitudinal wave
 Primary Waves (P Waves)

• A type of seismic wave that compresses

and expands the ground

• The first wave to arrive at an

earthquake
http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/insideearth2.htm
8.2 Measuring Earthquakes

Earthquake Waves
◆ Body Waves
S waves
• _________________
- Seismic waves that travel along Earth’s outer
layer
- Shake particles at right angles to the direction
that they travel
- Travel only through solids
- Slower velocity than P waves
◆ A seismogram shows all three types of
seismic waves—surface waves, P
waves, and S waves.
Secondary Waves (S Waves)
• Move out from the earthquake focus
• Move ___________
out
than primary waves
• Can only move through ___________ solid rock
• Move at _______________to
right angles primary
waves causing rocks to move up and down
transverse wave
and side to side (_____________________)
 Secondary Waves (S Waves)

• A type of seismic wave that moves the

ground up and down or side to side

http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/insideearth2.htm
Body Waves: P and S waves
• Body waves
– P or primary waves
fastest waves
• ________________
– travel through solids,
liquids, or gases
• compressional wave,
material movement is
in the same direction
as wave movement
– S or secondary waves
slower than P waves
• __________________
• travel through solids
only
• shear waves - move
material perpendicular
to wave movement
Comparing Seismic Waves
 SURFACE WAVES
• Form when ______________________________
• Can cause the ground to shake making rock sway
from side to side and roll like an ocean wave
• These waves cause the most destruction
• They move back and forth and in a rolling motion
along the surface
• They ___________________________________
 Surface Waves: R and L waves

• Surface Waves
– Travel just below or along the ground’s surface
– Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-side
movement
Especially damaging to buildings
– ______________________________
 Surface Waves
• Move along the __________________
Earths surface

• Produces motion in the upper crust

– Motion can be up and down
– Motion can be around
– Motion can be back and forth
• Travel more __________
slowly than S and P waves
• More destructive
Seismic Waves Paths Through the Earth
Earth’s Interior Showing
P and S Wave Paths
• Scientists use the principle that the ________ speed

and ____________
direction of a seismic wave
depends on the material it travels through.
Because of the behavior of these different
waves, scientists have _________________
indirect evidence

for the solid inner core and liquid outer core

of Earth; because earthquake waves travel
faster through the _____________
mantle
than
through the crust, scientists know that the
mantle is denser than the crust.
Earthquake Waves & Earth’s Interior
Primary or
“P” Wave

Secondary
or “S”
Wave
 Measuring Earthquakes
• The movement of materials in the ________ outer
core
(which is a liquid) of the Earth is inferred to be the
cause of Earth’s ___________________.
magnetic field A
____________________will
compass needle
align with the lines of
force of Earth’s magnetic field. ___________
iron and
_________
nickel are metals that easily magnetize, and
are inferred to be the metals in Earth’s core.
 Measuring Earthquakes
• The energy spreads outward in all directions as
vibrations called __________________.
Seismic Waves Seismic
waves can be measured and recorded by a
_____________________.
____seismograph_______.

• ____________________
__Seismographs______ are instruments or a
device that detects and records seismic or
earthquake waves. It measures the vertical ground
motion and the horizontal ground motions (N-S/E-
W). It also traces wave shapes onto paper and
translates waves into an electronic signal.
 Measuring Earthquakes
• The vibration record, called a ______________,
seismogram

looks like jagged lines on paper. ______________

Seismograms

are traces of amplified, electronically recorded

ground motion made by seismographs.
• Measuring the time between the arrival of the P
and S waves determines the _____________
distance

between the recording seismograph and the

earthquake epicenter.
 Measuring Earthquakes
Earthquake Waves
◆ ________________
Seismographs are instruments that
record earthquake waves.
◆ ________________
Seismograms are traces of
amplified, electronically recorded ground
motion made by seismographs.
Seismograph
Types of Seismographs
Seismogram Printout
Seismic wave behavior
– P waves arrive first, then S waves, then L and R
How speeds
– Average is an Earthquake’s
for all these Epicenter Located?
waves is known
– After an earthquake, the difference in arrival times at a
seismograph station can be used to calculate the
distance from the seismograph to the epicenter.
Determining the location of an earthquake
First, distance to earthquake is determined.
1. Seismographs record seismic waves
2. From seismograph record called the seismogram, measure time delay
between P & S wave arrival
3. Use travel time curve to determine distance to earthquake as function
of P-S time delay

Now we know distance waves traveled, but we don't know the direction from
which they came.

We must repeat the activity for each of at least three (3) stations to
triangulate a point (epicenter of quake).

Plot a circle around seismograph location; radius of circle is the distance to the
quake.

Quake occurred somewhere along that circle.

Do the same thing for at least 3 seismograph stations; circles intersect at

epicenter. Thus, point is triangulated and epicenter is located.
Locating an Earthquake
 How is an Earthquake’s Epicenter
Located?
Time-distance graph
showing the
average travel times
for P- and S-waves.
The farther away a
seismograph is from
the focus of an
earthquake, the
longer the interval
between the arrivals
of the P- and S-
waves
Time-Travel Curve
 How is an Earthquake’s
Epicenter Located?
Three seismograph stations are
• ___________________
needed to locate the epicenter of
an earthquake
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
• A circle where the
radius equals the
distance to the
epicenter is drawn
• The intersection of the
circles locates the
epicenter
 Locating an Earthquake Epicenter

• ___________________
Triangulate
means to use three
positions to determine an exact location.
 What is Triangulation?
• _____________________
Triangulation identifies the
epicenter of an earthquake. The location of an
earthquake’s epicenter is found by plotting
circles on a map from the records of three
seismograph stations and finding the point
where the three circles intersect.
• _____________________
Triangulation
is the process of
determining the location of a point by
measuring angles to it from known points at
either end of a fixed baseline, rather than
measuring distances to the point directly.
Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
 Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
Triangulation
of 3 stations
to locate
earthquake
epicenter
How do scientists calculate how far a location is
from the epicenter of an earthquake?

• Scientists calculate the difference

between arrival times of the
____________________________
P waves and S waves

• The further away an earthquake is, the

greater the time between the arrival of
the P waves and the S waves
Earthquakes are measured using the
the Richter scale
_______________________. The strongest
Scale.
earthquake ever measured was a ______
9.5 on the
Richter Scale. This is a measurement of the
amount of energy released from the
earthquake.
8.2 Measuring Earthquakes
Measuring Earthquakes
◆ Historically, scientists have used two
different types of measurements to
describe the size of an earthquake
—______________
—intensity magnitude.
and ______________.
◆ Richter Scale
• Based on the amplitude of the largest seismic
wave
• The _Richter Scale expresses the magnitude of
an Earthquake and measures the
_______________________.
energy released. The scale goes
from _____________.
1-10
 How are the Size and Strength of an Earthquake
Measured?

• Magnitude
Richter scale
– ___________________
measures total amount
___________________
of energy released by

___________________
an earthquake;
independent of
__________________;
independent of
intensity
– Amplitude of the
largest wave produced
by an event is
corrected for distance
and assigned a value
on an open-ended
logarithmic scale
Determining the magnitude of an earthquake
______________
Magnitude -- measure of energy released during
earthquake.
There are several different ways to measure magnitude.
Most common magnitude measure is ___________________,
Richter Scale,
named for the renowned seismologist, Charles Richter.

Richter Magnitude
• Measure amplitude of ________________
largest S wave on seismograph
record.
• Take into account distance between seismograph &
epicenter.

Intensity
Intensity
• ______________ refers to the amount of damage done in
an earthquake
How are the Size and Strength of an Earthquake
Measured?

• ______________
Intensity

– subjective
measure of the
kind of
damage done
and people’s
reactions to it
• Modified Mercalli Intensity Map
– 1994 Northridge, CA earthquake,
magnitude 6.7
How are Earthquakes Measured? Richter
Scale
9.5 Chile, May 22, 1960
9.2 Indian Ocean (Sumatra tsunami) Dec 26,2004
9.2 Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 28, 1964
9.1 Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Pacific,
March 9, 1957
9.0 Kamchatka, Russia, November 4, 1952
8.8 Off the Coast of Ecuador, January 31, 1906
8.7 Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Pacific,
February 4, 1965
8.6 India-China Border, August 15, 1950
8.5 Kamchatka, Russia, February 3, 1923
8.5 Banda Sea, Indonesia, February 1, 1938
8.5 Kuril Islands, Pacific, October 13, 1963
 Earthquake Waves (Review)
Primary wave (P waves)
• _________________________ First set of waves
– Move side to side
– FASTEST wave
Secondary wave( S waves)
• __________________________ Second set of
waves
– Move up and down
– Travel slow
• __________________
Surface Wave

– Move up and down & side to side

– MOST DANGEROUS
– SLOWEST Wave