Earthquakes

EEn.2.1.1 Explain how the rock cycle, plate

tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes
impact the lithosphere.

Forces Within Earth

Earthquakes are natural
vibrations of the ground
caused by plate
movement in Earths
crust or by volcanic
eruptions
Can be extremely
destructive
Kill thousands of people

Destroy entire cities

Anyone living in an
area prone to
earthquakes should be
aware of the potential
danger and how to
minimize the damage
that they cause.

Stress and Strain

Most earthquakes occur
when rocks fracture deep
within Earth
Fractures form when stress
(forces acting on a material)
exceed the strength of the
rock
3 kinds of stress:
Compression decreases the
volume of a material (squishes
it)
Tension pulls a material apart
Shear causes a material to
twist

The deformation of materials

in response to stress is
strain

Faults
Rocks fail when stress is
applied too quickly, or
when stress is too great.
The resulting fracture or
system of fractures, along
which movement occurs, is
called a fault
Three basic types of faults:
Reverse fault form as a
result of horizontal
compression
Normal fault caused by
horizontal tension
Strike-slip fault caused by
horizontal shear

Earthquake Waves
The vibration of the ground during an earthquake are
called seismic waves
Every earthquake generates 3 types of seismic waves:
Primary waves (P-waves) causes rock particles to move
back and forth as it passes
Secondary waves (S-waves) causes rock particles to move
at right angles to the direction of the wave
Surface waves causes rock particles to move both up and
down and side to side.

Earthquake Waves
Surface waves travel along Earths surface
P-waves and S-waves pass through Earths interior
The first waves generated by a quake spread out from the
point of failure of rocks
This point, where an earthquake originates, is the focus of
the earthquake; usually several km below the surface
The point on Earths surface directly above the focus is the
earthquakes epicenter.

Measuring and Locating

Earthquakes
More than one
million earthquakes
occur each year!
More than 90% are
not felt and cause
little to no damage
The ones that make
the news are major
seismic events that
cause much damage

Earthquake Magnitude &

Intensity

The amount of energy

release during an
earthquake is measured
by its magnitude
Measured using the
Richter Scale based on
the size of the largest
seismic waves made by
the quake
10 fold scale:
meaning seismic waves of a
magnitude-8 earthquake on
the Richter scale are 10
times larger than a
magnitude-7 and 100 times
larger than a magnitude-6.

Moment Magnitude Scale

Most seismologists use
the moment
magnitude scale
takes into account the
size of the fault
rupture, the amount of
movement along the
fault, and the rocks
stiffness
Moment Magnitude
based on size of
several types of
seismic waves

Modified Mercalli
Scale

Another way to assess

earthquakes is to
measure the amount of
damage
Called the intensity of
an earthquake; is
determined using the
modified Mercalli scale
rates the types of
damage and other
effects during and after
its occurrence.

Depth of Focus
Another factor that determines a quakes intensity is the depth
of the quakes focus
Can be classified as shallow, intermediate, or deep
Deep-focus = smaller vibrations at epicenter
Shallow-focus = larger vibrations at epicenter

A shallow-focus, magnitude-6 quake will have greater intensity

than a deep-focus, magnitude-8 quake
Catastrophic quakes with high intensities are almost always
shallow-focus quakes

Locating an Earthquake
Initially, the exact location of an earthquakes
epicenter and time of quakes occurrence is not
known
But, it can be easily determined using
seismograms and travel-time curves

Distance to an Earthquake
To determine the
location of the
epicenter:
The locations of 3
seismic stations are
plotted on a map
A circle whose
radius is equal to
the epicentral
distance is plotted
around each station
The point of
intersection of
these circles is the
epicenter

Time of an Earthquake
The exact arrival times
of the P-waves and Swaves at a seismic
station can be read
from the seismogram
Using a travel-time
graph, the time of
occurrence can be
determined by
subtracting the travel
time from the known
arrival time of the
wave.

Seismic Belts
Seismologists have collected and plotted locations of epicenters
The global distribution of these epicenters reveals an interesting
pattern
They are not randomly distributed
Most earthquakes are associated with tectonic plate boundaries

80% occur along the Circum-Pacific Belt

15% occur along the Mediterranean-Asian Belt
Most of the remaining occur at ocean ridges

Earthquakes and Society

Most earthquake damage results from prolonged
shaking of the ground by surface waves (can last
longer than a minute)
Many structures cannot withstand this violent motion
Collapsing buildings are responsible for many
earthquake-related deaths

Some Earthquake Hazards

The damage caused by an
earthquake is directly related
to the strength or quality of
the structures involved
The most severe damage
occurs to unreinforced
buildings
Wooden structures and highrise steel-frame buildings
sustain a lot less damage
Some buildings in
earthquake-prone areas
(California) rest on large
rubber structures that absorb
most of the vibrations made
during a quake.

Structural Failure
Buildings are destroyed as the ground beneath them shakes
In some cases, the supporting walls of the ground floor fail and
cause the upper floors to fall and collapse as they hit the ground
or lower floors called pancaking
In other cases, the height of the building is related to structural
failure
In the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, most buildings between 5
and 15 stories collapsed or were destroyed.
Similar structures that were shorter or taller sustained only minor
damage
The shaking had the same period of vibration as the natural sway of the
intermediate (5-15 stories) buildings = caused them to sway violently

Land and Soil Failure

Earthquakes can wreak havoc on
Earth itself
In sloping areas, earthquakes may
trigger massive landslides
Soil liquefaction can also cause trees
and houses to fall over or to sink
into the ground
Earthquake waves can be amplified
as they travel through a soil
Soft materials have little resistance
to deformation, so seismic waves
are amplified in such materials
Wave size and earthquake intensity
are greatest in soft, unconsolidated
sediments and small in hard,
resistant rocks such as granite

Fault Scarps
Fault movements associated with earthquakes
can produce areas of great vertical offset where
the fault intersects the ground surface called
fault scarps.

Tsunami
Another type of earthquake hazard
is a tsunami a large ocean wave
generated by vertical motions of the
seafloor during an earthquake
These motions displace the entire
column of water overlying the fault,
creating bulges and depressions in
the water
The disturbance then spreads out
from the epicenter in form of
extremely long waves
In the open ocean, the wave height is
generally less than 1m
In shallow water, the height can exceed
30 m

These enormous wave heights and

the speed at which they travel make
tsunamis dangerous threats to
coastal cities both near and far from
the quakes epicenter.

Seismic Risk
Most earthquakes occur in areas
called seismic belts
The probability of future quakes
is much greater in these belts
than elsewhere around the globe
Past seismic activity is a reliable
indicator of future earthquakes
and can be used to generate
seismic-risk maps
Alaska, Hawaii and some western
states are at high seismic risk
Some central and eastern states
are at risk as well
These regions have suffered
disastrous earthquakes in the
past and probably will again in
the future.

Earthquake Prediction
To minimize the damage and deaths caused
by quakes, seismologists are searching for
ways to predict these events
Prediction is largely based on probability
studies
Probability of an earthquake occurring is
based on 2 factors:
1. The history of earthquakes in an area
2. The rate at which strain builds up in the rocks

Earthquake History
Earthquake recurrence rates
can indicate that the fault
involved ruptures repeatedly
at regular intervals to
generate similar quakes
For example: the earthquake
recurrence rate at Parkfield,
CA shows that a sequence of
quakes of approx mag-6 shook
the area ~ every 22 years
from 1857 to 1966; this
indicates a 90% probability
that a major quake will rock
the area within the next few
decades

Earthquake History
Probability forecasts are also
based on the location of
seismic gaps sections of
active faults that havent
experienced significant
earthquakes for a long period
of time
Example: a seismic gap in the
San Andreas fault that cuts
through San Francisco
This section of the fault hasnt
ruptured since the
devastating earthquake in
1906, so seismologists predict
a 67% probability that the San
Francisco area will experience
a mag-7 or higher quake
within the next 30 years.

Strain Accumulation
The rate at which strain builds up in rocks is
another factor used to determine the
earthquake probability along a section of a
fault
Two important factors in earthquake
probability studies:
1. Strain accumulated in a particular part of a
fault
2. How much strain was released during the last
quake

Another factor is how much time has passed

since an earthquake has struck that section

Prediction
Earthquake prediction
is still a relatively new
branch of geology.
Being able to predict
these destructive
events can prevent
damage to property,
possibly reduce the
number of injuries as
a result of the quake,
and, most importantly,
save many lives.