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Earthquakes Grade8
Earthquakes Grade8
Dr. R. B. Schultz
Global Earthquake Locations
What are Earthquakes?
• The shaking or trembling caused by the
sudden release of energy
• Usually associated with faulting or
breaking of rocks
• Continuing adjustment of position results
in aftershocks
• Shaking of earth due to movement of
rocks along a fault.
• Rocks under stress accumulate
strain energy over time.
• When stress exceeds strength
of rocks, rock breaks.
• Strain energy is released as
seismic waves. The longer that
energy is stored up and is
maintained without release, the
more likely that a strong
earthquake will occur.
The animation below of a subduction zone, where an
oceanic plate is converging with a continental plate,
attempts in cartoon fashion to show the deformation of
the continental plate that precedes each earthquake.
What is FAULT?
•A break or crack in rock
along which movement of
the earth’s crust occurs.
•Can be visible on the crust
or can be far underground.
•Can be only a meter long or
they can extend for
hundreds of kilometers.
FAULT
Earthquakes can happen along any type of plate
boundary. They also occur along faults which are
large cracks in the earth’s crust. Most faults are
associated with large plate boundaries where
violent earthquakes usually occur.
Movement of rock along a fault can release
a tremendous amount of energy: This
movement can release three main forces on
adjoining areas of the crust:
1.Tension – results when a system of forces
pulls or stretches an object from opposite
sides.
2.Compression – results when a system of
forces pushes an object from opposite
sides.
3.Shearing - results when a system of
forces is applied to an object in different
directions.
What is the Elastic Rebound Theory?
Strike-Slip
Thrust
Normal
EARTHQUAKE AND PLATE
TECTONICS
The lines on the map indicate plate
boundaries.
The Focus and Epicenter of an Earthquake
6- strong earthquakes
7-major earthquakes
8- great earthquakes
9-never occurred
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
– isoseismal lines
identify areas of
equal intensity
Magnitude
› Richter scale measures
total amount of energy
released by an
earthquake;
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
Effects Of Earthquakes: The Richter
Scale
• After an earthquake,
its description usually
includes a number
from 1 to 9 in the
Richter Scale.
• This number indicates
the magnitude or the
total amount of
energy released.
Charles F. Richter: The Inventor
• He was a geologist stationed at the California
Institute Of Technology.
• Before he invented it, earthquakes were
measured at a much less scientific scale.
Personal observations were made, and scientists
had to use this to base their conclusions.
• This method greatly reduced the guesswork in
determining the magnitude of an earthquake.
What do earthquakes do to the
Earth?
Earthquakes do a lot of effects on the earth.
These include:
• Structural damage
Benito Juarez Hospital, Mexico City. (taken
in 1985)
What do earthquakes do to the
Earth?
• Tsunami, a Japanese word meaning harbor
wave. These are really different from the
actual harbor waves, but can do a
significant amount of damage.
What Controls the Level of Shaking?
• Magnitude
– More energy released
• Distance
– Shaking decays with distance
• Local soils
– amplify the shaking
Is there such a thing as
“Earthquake Weather”???
Earthquake Effects - Ground Shaking
Northridge, CA 1994
Earthquake Effects -
Ground Shaking
Northridge, CA 1994
Earthquake Effects - Ground Shaking
Landers, CA 1992
Earthquake Effects - Liquefaction