Earthquakes 8.

1
Earthquake- is the vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of energy.
Focus- is the point within Earth where the earthquake starts.
Epicenter- is the location on the surface directly above the focus.
Faults- are fractures in Earth where movement has occurred.
Three types- normal fault, reverse fault, and strike-slip fault.

Elastic Rebound Hypothesis- Most earthquakes are produced by the rapid release of
elastic energy stored in rock that has been subjected to great forces. When the strength
of the rock is exceeded, it suddenly breaks, causing the vibrations of an earthquake.
Aftershock- is a small earthquake that follows the main earthquake.
Foreshock- is a small earthquake that often precedes a major earthquake.
Seismographs- are instruments that record earthquake waves.
Seismograms- are traces of amplified, electronically recorded ground motion made by
seismographs.
Surface waves- are seismic waves that travel along Earth’s outer layer.
P waves
- Are push-pull 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
- The first to be felt on the Earth surface. P waves are compressional waves; they
shake the ground back and forth in the same time and in opposite direction
through which they move.
- P waves pass through solid sections of the Earth but are refracted or bent when
they travel through liquids.
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, S waves do not travel through liquids.
- Slower velocity than P waves
Surface waves
Love waves
- Are the fastest type of surface waves and move the ground from side to side.
Rayleigh waves
- Move in a circular manner, similar to rolling on the ground, and cause the
buildings to heave up and down and side to side.

A seismogram shows all three types of seismic waves—surface waves, P waves, and S
waves.
 Earthquake Distance- The epicenter is located using the difference
in the arrival times between P and S wave recordings, which are related to
distance.
 Earthquake Direction- Travel-time graphs from three or more seismographs can
be used to find the exact location of an earthquake epicenter.
 Earthquake Zones- About 95 percent of the major earthquakes occur in a few
narrow zones.

Measuring Earthquakes
Richter Scale
 Based on the amplitude of the largest seismic wave
 Each unit of Richter magnitude equates to roughly a 32-fold energy increase
 Does not estimate adequately the size of very large earthquakes
Momentum Magnitude
 Derived from the amount of displacement that occurs along the fault zone
 Moment magnitude is the most widely used measurement for earthquakes
because it is the only magnitude scale that estimates the energy released by
earthquakes.
 Measures very large earthquakes
Seismic Vibrations
- The damage to buildings and other structures from earthquake waves depends
on several factors. These factors include the intensity and duration of the
 vibrations, the nature of the material on which the structure is built, and the
design of the structure.
1. Building Design
 Factors that determine structural damage
- Intensity of the earthquake
- Unreinforced stone or brick buildings are the most serious safety threats
- Nature of the material upon which the structure rests
- The design of the structure
2. Liquefaction
 Saturated material turns fluid
 Underground objects may float to surface
Tsunami
- triggered by an earthquake occurs where a slab of the ocean floor is displaced
vertically along a fault
- can occur when the vibration of a quake sets an underwater landslide into motion
- is the Japanese word for “seismic sea wave”
Tsunami Warning System
- Large earthquakes are reported to Hawaii from Pacific seismic stations.
- Although tsunamis travel quickly, there is sufficient time to evacuate all but the
area closest to the epicenter.
Landslides
- With many earthquakes, the greatest damage
to structures is from landslides and ground subsidence, or the sinking of the
ground triggered by vibrations.
Fire
- In the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, most of the destruction was caused by
fires that started when gas and electrical lines were cut.
Short-Range Predictions
- So far, methods for short-range predictions of earthquakes have not been
successful.
Long-Range Forecasts
- Scientists don’t yet understand enough about how and where earthquakes will
occur to make accurate long-term predictions.
Seismic gap is an area along a fault where there has not been any earthquake activity
for a long period of time.
 Crust
- Thin, rocky outer layer
- Varies in thickness
- Roughly 7 km in oceanic regions
- Continental crust averages 8–40 km
- Exceeds 70 km in mountainous regions
- Early seismic data and drilling technology indicate that the continental crust is
mostly made of lighter, granitic rocks.
- Continental crust = Upper crust composed of granitic rocks; Lower crust is more
akin to basalt; Average density is about 2.7 g/cm3; Up to 4 billion years old
- Oceanic crust = Basaltic composition; Density about 3.0 g/cm3; Younger (180
million years or less) than the continental crust

 Mantle
- Below crust to a depth of 2900 kilometers
- Composition of the uppermost mantle is the igneous rock peridotite (changes at
greater depths).
- Composition is more speculative
- Some of the lava that reaches Earth’s surface comes from asthenosphere within

 Core
- Below mantle
- Sphere with a radius of 3486 kilometers
- Composed of an iron-nickel alloy
- Average density of nearly 11 g/cm3
- Earth’s core is thought to be mainly dense iron and nickel, similar to metallic
meteorites. The surrounding mantle is believed to be composed
of rocks similar to stony meteorites.

 Lithosphere
- Crust and uppermost mantle (about 100 km thick)
- Cool, rigid, solid

 Asthenosphere
- Beneath the lithosphere
- Upper mantle
- To a depth of about 660 kilometers
- Soft, weak layer that is easily deformed

 Lower Mantle
- 660–2900 km
- More rigid layer
- Rocks are very hot and capable of gradual flow

 Inner Core
- Radius of 1216 km
- Behaves like a solid
  Outer Core
- Liquid layer
- 2270 km thick
- Convective flow of metallic iron within generates Earth’s magnetic field

Moho - Velocity of seismic waves increases abruptly below 50 km of depth; Separates

crust from underlying mantle
Gutenberg Discontinuity- marks the boundary between mantle and the outer core.
Lehman Discontinuity- located between the liquid outer core and the solid inner core.
Outer core is the only layer of the Earth that is liquid, made up of molten nickel and iron.
The inner core is composed mainly of solid iron which gives the planet its magnetic
characteristic.
Shadow Zone
- Absence of P waves from about 105 degrees to 140 degrees around the globe
from an earthquake
- Can be explained if Earth contains a core composed of materials unlike the
overlying mantle
Plate Tectonics
Continental drift hypothesis stated that the continents had once been joined to form a
single supercontinent. Wegener proposed that the supercontinent, Pangaea, began to
break apart 200 million years ago and form the present landmasses.
Evidence
 The Continental Puzzle
 Matching fossils
- Fossil evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on
different landmasses.

 Rock Types and Structures

- Rock evidence for continental exists in the form of several mountain belts that
end at one coastline, only to reappear on a landmass across the ocean.
 Ancient Climates
Wegener could not provide an explanation of exactly what made the continents move.
News technology lead to findings which then lead to a new theory called plate
tectonics.
Mantle convection. Heat in the core rises toward the mantle, increasing its kinetic
energy and causing it to expand and spread out beneath the plates. Convection
currents drive the plates away from each other. Heat energy dissipates in a circular
motion because of the difference in temperature between the mantle and the layer
above it.
Subduction is the convergent movement of tectonic plates whereby a denser plate is
pushed beneath a lighter one.
Volcanoes are formed through subduction. Mountains and mountain ranges are
produced when a landmass is lifted during plate convergence.
Orogenesis refers to the process of forming mountains and mountain ranges. It involves
the collision of plates and forces of compression.
Plate Tectonics Theory
- the uppermost mantle, along with the overlying crust, behaves as a strong, rigid
layer. This layer is known as the lithosphere.
- A plate is one of numerous rigid sections of the lithosphere that move as a unit
over the material of the asthenosphere.
Types of Plate Boundaries
1. Divergent Boundaries- (also called spreading centers) are the place where two
plates move apart.
2. Convergent Boundaries- form where two plates move together.
3. Transform Fault Boundaries- are margins where two plates grind past each other
without the production or destruction of the lithosphere.
Divergent Boundaries
1. Oceanic Ridges- are continuous elevated zones on the floor of all major ocean
basins. The rifts at the crest of ridges represent divergent plate boundaries.
2. Rift Valleys- are deep faulted structures found along the axes of divergent plate
boundaries. They can develop on the seafloor or on land.
3. Seafloor spreading- produces new oceanic lithosphere.
4. Continental Rifts- When spreading centers develop within a continent, the
landmass may split into two or more smaller segments, forming a rift.
Convergent Boundaries
Subduction zone occurs when one oceanic plate is forced down into the mantle
beneath a second plate.
1. Oceanic-Continental
- Denser oceanic slab sinks into the asthenosphere.
- Pockets of magma develop and rise.
- Continental volcanic arcs form in part by volcanic activity caused by the
subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath a continent.
- Examples include the Andes, Cascades, and the Sierra Nevadas.

2. Oceanic-Oceanic
- Two oceanic slabs converge and one descends beneath the other.
 - This kind of boundary often forms volcanoes on the ocean floor.
- Volcanic island arcs form as volcanoes emerge from the sea.
- Examples include the Aleutian, Mariana, and Tonga islands.
3. Continental-Continental
- When subducting plates contain continental material, two continents collide.
- This kind of boundary can produce new mountain ranges, such as the
Himalayas.
Transform Fault Boundaries
At a transform fault boundary, plates grind past each other without destroying the
lithosphere.
1. Transform Faults
- Most join two segments of a mid-ocean ridge.
- At the time of formation, they roughly parallel the direction of plate movement.
- They aid the movement of oceanic crustal material.
Evidence for Plate Tectonics
Paleomagnetism is the natural remnant magnetism in rock bodies; this permanent
magnetization acquired by rock can be used to determine the location of the magnetic
poles at the time the rock became magnetized.
Normal polarity—when rocks show the same magnetism as the present magnetism
field.
Reverse polarity—when rocks show the opposite magnetism as the present magnetism
field.
The discovery of strips of alternating polarity, which lie as mirror images across the
ocean ridges, is among the strongest evidence of seafloor spreading.
Earthquake Patterns
- Scientists found a close link between deep-focus earthquakes and ocean
trenches.
- The absence of deep-focus earthquakes along the oceanic ridge system was
shown to be consistent with the new theory.
Ocean Drilling
- The data on the ages of seafloor sediment confirmed what the seafloor spreading
hypothesis predicted.
- The youngest oceanic crust is at the ridge crest, and the oldest oceanic crust is
at the continental margins.
Hot Spots
- A hot spot is a concentration of heat in the mantle capable of producing magma,
which rises to Earth’s surface; The Pacific plate moves over a hot spot,
producing the Hawaiian Islands.
 - Hot spot evidence supports that the plates move over the Earth’s surface.

Causes of Plate Motion

Scientists generally agree that convection occurring in the mantle is the basic driving
force for plate movement.
- Convective flow is the motion of matter resulting from changes in temperature.
- Slab-pull is a mechanism that contributes to plate motion in which cool, dense
oceanic crust sinks into the mantle and “pulls” the trailing lithosphere along. It is
thought to be the primary downward arm of convective flow in the mantle.
- Ridge-push causes oceanic lithosphere to slide down the sides of the oceanic
ridge under the pull of gravity. It may contribute to plate motion.
- Mantle Convection = Mantle plumes are masses of hotter-than-normal mantle
material that ascend toward the surface, where they may lead to igneous activity.
The unequal distribution of heat within Earth causes the thermal convection in
the mantle that ultimately drives plate motion.