Earthquakes

Earthquake
• sudden shaking of the ground
• most quakes are caused by global
tectonics
• can happen along any type of
plate boundary
• plates do not move smoothly and
sometimes get stuck → pressure
builds up → earthquakes occur
when this pressure is released
 Focus or
hypocenter
• the point of origin of an
earthquake below the surface
• in lithosphere (crust or uppermost
mantle)
• epicenter - the point on the
surface directly above the focus
A quake's destructive force depends on:
• its strength
• location
• distance from the epicenter
• depth

Shallow quakes generally tend to

be more damaging than deeper
quakes.
Seismic waves - waves of energy
• Surface waves are almost
entirely responsible for the
damage and destruction
associated with earthquakes.
Seismograph - instrument that makes a record
of seismic waves
• seismogram - a record made by
a seismograph
Magnitude or strength
of an earthquake
• Richter scale (1935.)
• Moment magnitude scale (1979.)
• measure the energy released by
an earthquake
• logarithmic scales (each whole
number → a tenfold increase)
• 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Chile) -
most powerful earthquake ever
recorded M 9.4 - 9.6
The European macroseismic scale EMS
(1998)
• measure seismic intensity
• Mercalli intensity scale (MCS,
1912.)
• measures the effects of an
earthquake at a given location
• l - Xll
 Tsunami

• Japanese “harbour wave”

• giant waves caused by
earthquakes or volcanic
eruptions under the sea
• usually several waves
• 3-30 m high (on the shore)
• 700 km/h
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and
tsunami
• epicenter in Indian ocean near
Sumatra (Indonesia)
• magnitude 9.1
• the deadliest tsunami in
recorded history
• 230,000 people died
 Japan earthquake
and tsunami of 2011
• magnitude 9.0–9.1
• the most powerful earthquake ever
recorded in Japan
• island Honshu was moved 2.4 m and
the Earth was shifted on its axis (10-24
cm)
• tsunami killed 16,000 people and
damaged Fukushima nuclear power
plant
Earthquake
distribution
Most
earthquakes are
associated with
plate boundaries
Global seismic hazard map
 Europe
seismic
hazard map
 Task 2020 Zagreb Earthquake

• magnitude
• intensity
• hypocenter
• epicenter
• damage
• casualties