Types of earthquakes

There are many different types of earthquakes: tectonic, volcanic, and explosion. The type of
earthquake depends on the region where it occurs and the geological make-up of that region.
The most common are tectonic earthquakes. These occur when rocks in the earth's crust
break due to geological forces created by movement of tectonic plates. Another type,voIcanic
earthquakes, occur in conjunction with volcanic activity. CoIIapse earthquakes are small
earthquakes in underground caverns and mines, and expIosion earthquakes result from the
explosion of nuclear and chemical devices.
Tectonic Eartbquakes

The earth`s crust consists oI loose broken Iragments oI lands known as the tectonic plates. These
tectonic plates have the ability to slowly and gradually move. Now, these plates can away Irom
each other, towards each other, can collide or can slide past each other.
When the two tectonic plates slide over each other a huge tremor takes place, and that`s how a
tectonic earthquake occurs.
Tectonic earthquakes are the most common type oI earthquake. It may be oI small or oI
extremely high magnitude. Most oI the mass destruction caused by an earthquake over the
history is due to the tectonic earthquakes.
The tremors caused by tectonic earthquakes are mostly severe and iI they are oI high magnitude,
they can completely destroy a whole city within seconds.
olcanic Eartbquakes

Volcanic earthquakes are comparatively less common than the tectonic earthquakes and usually
occur either beIore or aIter a volcanic eruption.
Two types oI volcanic earthquakes:
Jolcano tectonic earthquakes
The volcanic tectonic earthquakes occur usually aIter a volcanic activity has taken place.
The magma that erupts during an earthquake leaves a space, to Iill the space leIt by the magma
the rocks move towards the space to Iill it in, causing severe earthquakes.
Most oI the times aIter the release oI lava, the lava Ialls on its vent blocking it, and not letting the
pressure release. The retained pressure does not stay Ior long; it releases with a huge explosion.
The explosion causes a severe earthquake, mostly oI extremely high magnitude.
L ong period volcanic earth quakes.
The long period volcanic earthquakes occur post a volcanic eruption. Few days beIore the
great explosion, the change in heat oI magma below the earth`s surIace creates seismic waves,
causing an earthquake.
ollapse Eartbquakes

Collapse earth quakes are comparatively small earthquakes and they take place around
underground mines.
These earthquakes are also reIerred to as the mine bursts. The collapse earthquakes are caused by
the pressure induced within the rocks.
It results in the collapse oI the rooI oI the mine which causes Iurther tremors. Collapse
earthquakes are common in small towns near these underground mines.
Explosion Eartbquakes
The explosion earthquakes are caused due to the nuclear explosions.
These man induced earthquakes are one oI the biggest side eIIects oI the modern nuclear war.


Categor|es of Larthquake
An aftershock ls a smaller earLhquake LhaL occurs afLer a prevlous large earLhquake ln Lhe same
area of Lhe maln shock lf an afLershock ls larger Lhan Lhe maln shock Lhe afLershock ls redeslgnaLed as
Lhe maln shock and Lhe orlglnal maln shock ls redeslgnaLed as a foreshock AfLershocks are formed as
Lhe crusL around Lhe dlsplaced faulL plane ad[usLs Lo Lhe effecLs of Lhe maln shock
A b||nd thrust earthquake ls an earLhquake along a LhrusL faulL LhaL does noL show slgns on Lhe
LarLhs surface hence Lhe deslgnaLlon bllnd 1 Such faulLs belng lnvlslble aL Lhe surface have noL
been mapped by sLandard surface geologlcal mapplng SomeLlmes Lhey are dlscovered as a byproducL
of oll exploraLlon selsmology ln oLher cases Lhelr exlsLence ls noL suspecLed AlLhough such earLhquakes
are noL amongsL Lhe mosL energeLlc Lhey are someLlmes Lhe mosL desLrucLlve as condlLlons comblne Lo
form an urban earLhquake whlch greaLly affecLs urban selsmlc rlsk
Lhe depth of focus refers Lo Lhe depLh aL whlch an earLhquake occurs LarLhquakes occurrlng aL
a depLh of less Lhan 60 km are classlfled as shallowfocus earLhquakes whlle Lhose wlLh a focaldepLh
beLween 60 and 300 km are commonly Lermed mldfocus or lnLermedlaLedepLh earLhquakes
Seismologists sometimes reIer to a a pair oI similarly sized earthquake shocks that occur
relatively closely spaced in time and location as an earthquake "doublet."
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This is distinct Irom
the normal pattern oI earthquake aItershocks. The Iirst earthquake can be some considerable
distance and time away Irom the second.
A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs beIore a larger seismic event (the mainshock
and is related to it in both time and space. The designation oI an earthquake as foreshock,
mainshock or aItershock is only possible aIter the event.
,rmonic tremor describes a long-duration release oI seismic energy, with distinct
spectral (harmonic lines, that oIten precedes or accompanies a volcanic eruption. More
generally, a volcanic tremor is a sustained signal that may or may not possess these harmonic
spectral Ieatures.
A harmonic tremor is a sustained release oI seismic and/or inIrasonic energy typically associated
with the underground movement oI magma and/or venting oI volcanic gases Irom magma. Being
a long-duration continuous signal Irom a temporally extended source, a volcanic tremor contrasts
distinctly with transient sources oI seismic radiation, such as tremors that are typically associated
with earthquake and explosion.
An interpl,te e,rthqu,ke is an earthquake that occurs at the boundary between two tectonic
plates. II one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until suIIicient stress
builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other. The slipping process creates an
earthquake with land deIormations and resulting seismic waves which travel through the Earth
and along the Earth's surIace. Relative plate motion can be lateral as along a transIorm Iault
boundary or vertical iI along a convergent subduction boundary or a riIt at a divergent boundary.
At a subduction boundary the motion is due to one plate slipping beneath the other plate resulting
in an interplate thrust or megathrust earthquake.
An intr,pl,te e,rthqu,ke is an earthquake that occurs in the interior oI a tectonic plate,
whereas an interplate earthquake is one that occurs at a plate boundary.
Intraplate earthquakes are very r,re and interplate earthquakes, ones that occur on a plate
boundary are quite normal. Nonetheless, very large intraplate earthquakes can inIlict heavy
damage, particularly because such areas are not accustomed to earthquakes and buildings are
usually not seismically retroIitted.
Meg,thrust e,rthqu,kes occur at subduction zones at destructive plate boundaries
(convergent boundaries, where one tectonic plate is Iorced under (subducts another. Due to the
shallow dip oI the plate boundary, which causes large sections to get stuck, these earthquakes are
among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes (M
w
that can exceed 9.0. Since 1900, all six
earthquakes oI magnitude 9.0 or greater have been megathrust earthquakes. No other type oI
known tectonic activity can produce earthquakes oI this scale.
#emotely triggered e,rthqu,kes have also been characterized as "the very long reach oI very
large earthquakes."
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Fundamentally, it is postulated that large earthquakes can have an
inIluence outside oI the immediate aItershock zone, and actually activate other earthquakes at
considerable distance
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. The Iurther one gets Irom the initiating earthquake in both space and
time, the more controversial is the association.
The physics involved in actually triggering an earthquake is complex. Most earthquake-
generating zones are in a state oI being close to Iailure. II such a zone were to be leIt completely
alone, it would generate signiIicant earthquakes spontaneously. Remote earthquakes, however,
are in a position to disturb this critical state, either by shiIting the stresses statically, or by
dynamic change caused by passing seismic waves.
A slow e,rthqu,ke is a discontinuous, earthquake-like event that releases energy over a
period oI hours to months, rather than the seconds to minutes characteristic oI a typical
earthquake. First detected using long term strain measurements,
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most slow earthquakes now
appear to be accompanied by Iluid Ilow and related tremor,
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which can be detected and
approximately located using seismometer data Iiltered appropriately (typically in the 15 Hz
band. That is, they are quiet compared to a regular earthquake, but not "silent" as originally
described.
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They rupture anywhere between 1 to 1.5 kilometres (0.62 to 0.93 mi per second as
compared to 3 kilometres (1.9 mi per second Ior regular earthquakes.
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They are capable oI
causing enormous tsunamis.
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A subm,rine, underse,, or underw,ter e,rthqu,ke is an earthquake that occurs
underwater at the bottom oI a body oI water, especially an ocean. They are the leading cause oI
tsunamis. The magnitude can be measured scientiIically by the use oI either the Richter scale or
the Mercalli scale.
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A supershe,r e,rthqu,ke is an earthquake in which the propagation oI the rupture along
the Iault surIace occurs at speeds in excess oI the seismic shear wave velocity. This causes a
Iorm oI sonic boom to occur
A tsun,mi e,rthqu,ke is an earthquake that triggers a tsunami oI a magnitude that is
very much larger than the magnitude oI the earthquake as measured by shorter-period seismic
waves. The term was introduced by Hiroo Kanamori in 1972.
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Such events are a result oI
relatively slow rupture velocities. They are particularly dangerous as a large tsunami may arrive
at a neighbouring coast with little or no warning.