Earthquake

GROUP 1
 Types of Seismic Waves
THERE ARE TWO MAJOR TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES, BODY WAVES
AND SURFACE WAVES. BODY WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH THE EARTH’S
INTERIOR WHILE SURFACE WAVES TRAVEL ALONG THE GROUND
SURFACE. ​
BODY WAVES
BODY WAVES ITSELF ALSO HAS TWO TYPES AND THESE ARE; PRIMARY
WAVES (P-WAVES) AND SECONDARY WAVES (S- WAVES)

BODY WAVES MOVE AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS THROUGH DIFFERENT

MATERIALS, AND P-WAVES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER THAN S-
WAVES.
01 Primary Waves
PRIMARY WAVES ARE SO NAMED BECAUSE THEY ARE THE FIRST
WAVES TO REACH A SEISMOMETER.​

P-WAVES SQUEEZE AND RELEASE ROCKS AS THEY TRAVEL, THE

MATERIAL RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINAL SIZE AND SHAPE AFTER THE
P-WAVE GOES BY. FOR THIS REASON, P-WAVES ARE NOT THE MOST
DAMAGING EARTHQUAKE WAVES. P-WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH
SOLIDS, LIQUIDS, AND GASES.

02 Secondary Waves
AS STATED EARLIER S-WAVES ARE SLOWER THAN P-WAVES, THEY
ARE THE SECOND WAVES TO REACH A SEISMOMETER. ​

S-WAVES MOVE UP AND DOWN. THEY CHANGE THE ROCK’S SHAPE AS

THEY TRAVEL.

S WAVES CAN ONLY MOVE THROUGH SOLIDS, THIS IS BECAUSE

LIQUIDS AND GASES DON’T RESIST CHANGING SHAPE.​

SURFACE WAVES
SURFACE WAVES TRAVEL ALONG THE GROUND OUTWARD FROM AN
EARTHQUAKE’S EPICENTER.

SURFACE WAVES ARE THE SLOWEST OF ALL SEISMIC WAVES. EVEN

THOUGH THEY ARE SLOW, THEY STILL DO THE MOST DAMAGE IN AN
EARTHQUAKE.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF SURFACE WAVES, LOVE WAVES AND

RAYLEIGH WAVES

01 Love waves
LOVE WAVES ARE A TYPE OF SEISMIC WAVE THAT CAN BE DEFINED
AS DISPERSIVE SURFACE WAVES WITH HORIZONTAL MOTION,
PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION.

LOVE WAVES ARE TRANSVERSE WAVES THAT VIBRATE THE GROUND

IN THE HORIZONTAL DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE
DIRECTION THAT THE WAVES ARE TRAVELING. THEY ARE FORMED BY
THE INTERACTION OF S WAVES WITH EARTH'S SURFACE AND
SHALLOW STRUCTURE AND ARE DISPERSIVE WAVES.

LOVE WAVES ARE A SUBTYPE OF SURFACE WAVE THAT TRAVELS

OUTWARD FROM THE EPICENTER OF AN EARTHQUAKE.
02 Rayleigh Waves
RAYLEIGH WAVE ROLLS ALONG THE GROUND WITH A MORE COMPLEX
MOTION THAN LOVE WAVES.

ALTHOUGH RAYLEIGH WAVES APPEAR TO ROLL LIKE WAVES ON AN

OCEAN, THE PARTICLE MOTION IS OPPOSITE OF OCEAN WAVES. IT
ROLLS AND MOVES THE GROUND UP AND DOWN, AND FORWARD AND
BACKWARD IN THE DIRECTION THAT THE WAVE IS MOVING.

MOST OF THE SHAKING FELT FROM AN EARTHQUAKE IS DUE TO THE

RAYLEIGH WAVE, WHICH CAN BE MUCH LARGER THAN THE OTHER
WAVES.

Types of Faults
 NORMAL​
IN A NORMAL FAULT, THE BLOCK ABOVE THE FAULT MOVES DOWN
RELATIVE TO THE BLOCK BELOW THE FAULT. THIS FAULT MOTION IS
CAUSED BY EXTENSIONAL FORCES AND RESULTS IN EXTENSION.

REVERSE ​
IN A REVERSE FAULT, THE BLOCK ABOVE THE FAULT MOVES UP
RELATIVE TO THE BLOCK BELOW THE FAULT. THIS FAULT MOTION IS
CAUSED BY COMPRESSIONAL FORCES AND RESULTS IN SHORTENING.

STRIKE-SLIP​
STRIKE-SLIP FAULTS ARE VERTICAL (OR NEARLY VERTICAL)
FRACTURES WHERE THE BLOCKS HAVE MOSTLY MOVED HORIZONTALLY.
IF THE BLOCK OPPOSITE AN OBSERVER LOOKING ACROSS THE FAULT
MOVES TO THE RIGHT, THE SLIP STYLE IS TERMED RIGHT-LATERAL; IF
THE BLOCK MOVES TO THE LEFT, THE MOTION IS TERMED LEFT-
LATERAL.
Types of Earthquakes
TECTONIC – THE TECTONIC PLATES ARE ALWAYS SLOWLY MOVING,
BUT THEY GET STUCK AT THEIR EDGES DUE TO FRICTION. WHEN THE
STRESS ON THE EDGE OVERCOMES THE FRICTION, THERE IS AN
EARTHQUAKE THAT RELEASES ENERGY IN WAVES THAT TRAVEL
THROUGH THE EARTH’S CRUST AND CAUSE THE SHAKING THAT WE
FEEL​

VOLCANIC – INDUCED BY RISING LAVA OR MAGMA BENEATH ACTIVE

VOLCANOES, OR CAUSED BY SLIP ON A FAULT NEAR A VOLCANO​

COLLAPSE – SMALL EARTHQUAKES IN UNDERGROUND CAVERNS AND

MINES THAT ARE CAUSED BY SEISMIC WAVES PRODUCED FROM THE
EXPLOSION OF ROCK ON THE SURFACE.​

EXPLOSION – AN EXPLOSION EARTHQUAKE IS AN EARTHQUAKE THAT

IS THE RESULT OF THE DETONATION OF A NUCLEAR AND/OR
CHEMICAL DEVICE.
 How can we measure the magnitude of
earthquake?
THE TIME, LOCATION, AND MAGNITUDE OF AN EARTHQUAKE CAN BE
DETERMINED FROM THE DATA RECORDED BY SEISMOMETER.
SEISMOMETERS RECORD THE VIBRATIONS FROM EARTHQUAKES THAT
TRAVEL THROUGH THE EARTH. EACH SEISMOMETER RECORDS THE
SHAKING OF THE GROUND DIRECTLY BENEATH IT. SENSITIVE
INSTRUMENTS, WHICH GREATLY MAGNIFY THESE GROUND MOTIONS, CAN
DETECT STRONG EARTHQUAKES FROM SOURCES ANYWHERE IN THE
WORLD. MODERN SYSTEMS PRECISELY AMPLIFY AND RECORD GROUND
MOTION (TYPICALLY AT PERIODS OF BETWEEN 0.1 AND 100 SECONDS)
AS A FUNCTION OF TIME.
 How can schools and private companies help
ensure the safety of learners and employees.
Respectively, when an earth quake occurs?
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYMPOSIUMS, DRILLS AND PROGRAMS WOULD
UNDENIABLY BE A GREAT CONSTITUENT IN ASSERTION OF
PREPAREDNESS. THROUGH THIS THE SAID LEARNERS AND EMPLOYEES
WOULD EXCEEDINGLY BE PREPARED HENCE THE ASSURANCE OF ONE’S
SAFETY. MORE IMPORTANTLY, EARTHQUAKES CAN OCCUR AT ANYTIME
THUS, HAVING SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE AND ENOUGH UNDERSTANDING
ON THE THINGS TO DO WHEN A PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE OCCURS IS
BEST IN ENSURING AN INDIVIDUAL’S SAFETY.​