BSEM-III Earthquake  An episode of ground shaking  Vibration at the earth s surface

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

Reverse fault -When the hanging wall slips up the slope and the fault is steep( as in collision mountain belts) -Formed during shortening of the crust Thrust fault - When the hanging wall slips up the slope -The fault s slope is gentle ( less than 30 degrees) Strike-slip faults - have near vertical plane on which slip occurs PARALLEL to an imaginary horizontal line, called STRIKE LINE, on the fault plane. (NO up and down motion) - form when one block of crust slides past another LATERALLY Displacement - the amount of slip Active faults - Faults that have moved recently or are likely to move in the near future (Called earthquakes faults if they generate earthquakes) Inactive faults -faults that last moved in the distant past and probably won t move again in the near future Fault trace or Fault line -the intersection between a fault and the ground surface Fault Scarp -small step (generated on places where an active normal reverse fault intersects the ground, the movement on the fault displaces the ground surface) -ledge -when a fault displaces the ground surface Fault-line scarp -a ledge formed due to erosion -a cliff produced when a soft rock erodes against hard rock at a fault |1

Seismos- grk. Word for shock or earthquake Seismologists the geoscientists who study earthquakes. Seismicity earthquake activity CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES  The sudden formation of a new fault ( a fracture on which slip or sliding occurs)  Sudden slip on an existing fault  A sudden change in the arrangement of atoms in minerals of rock  Movement of magma in a volcano  The explosion of a volcano  A giant landslide  A meteorite impact  An underground nuclear-bomb test Hypocenter (focus) Place in underground: - where rock ruptures and slips -where an explosion occurs - where energy radiates Epicenter the point on the surface of the Earth that lies directly above the hypocenter. Dot size- indicates the size of the earthquake FAULTS IN THE CRUST Hanging wall- rock mass above a sloping fault plane Foot wall rock mass below the fault plane Normal fault -when the hanging wall slips down the slope of the fault -Form in response to stretching or extension of the crust (as in continental rifts.)

BSEM-III  EARTHQUAKE DUE TO FAULT FORMATION

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8 The amount of slip in faults

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

Stress -a push, pull or shear Elastic behavior -the behavior when the rock returns to its original shape after applying stress. Friction -the force that resists the sliding on a surface -caused but the existence of bumps or protrusions on the fault surfaces that act like tiny anchors  EARTHQUAKE DUE TO SLIP ON A PREVIOUS PREEXISTING FAULT

The larger the earthquake, the larger the slipped area and the greater the amount of slip. SEISMIC WAVES Seismic waves ( Earthquake waves) -waves of energy that travel through tock and sediment Body waves -pass through the interior of the earth Surface waves -travel along the earth s suface Compressional waves // -cause the particles of a material to move back and forth PARALLEL to the direction in which the wave moves itself Shear waves -cause particles if a material to move back and forth PERPENDICULAR to the direction in which the wave itself moves FOUR BASIC TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES y P- waves ( P for primary) -compressional body waves - The initial set of waves produced by an earthquake -longitudinal in nature S-waves ( S for secondary) -shear body waves -60% slower than P waves -transverse in nature Surface waves  L-waves( L for Love) -Surface waves that cause the ground to ripple back and forth, producing a snake-like movement - cause circular shearing of the ground - travel slightly faster than Rayleigh waves, about 90% of the S wave velocity, and have the largest amplitude.  R-waves( R for Raleigh) -surface waves that cause the ground to ripple up and down |2

Stick-slip behavior -alternation between stress build up, when no slip occurs, and slip events (earthquakes) After each slip event, no earthquakes happen on the fault until stress begins again. Seismic waves -shock waves Elastic-rebound theory -concept that earthquakes happen because of stress build up, causing rock to bend elastically until a lip on a fault occurs Foreshocks (precede a major earthquake) -result from the development of the smaller cracks that will eventually link up to form a major rupture Aftershocks -smaller earthquakes that follow a major earthquake -may occur for days to several weeks -happen because the movement of rock during the main earthquake generates new stresses; which may be large enough to reactivate small portions of the main fault. The largest aftershock tends to be ten times smaller than the main shock: most are much smaller.

BSEM-III HOW DO WE MEASURE AND LOCATE EARTHQUAKES?

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

-developed the concept of defining and measuring earthquake magnitude. Richter scale -works well only for shallow earthquakes -a simple chart that allows you to determine the magnitude if you know the amplitude of the largest deflection on a seismograph, and the distance from the epicenter. Local Magnitude( ML) -a number on the original Richter scale MOMENT MAGNITUDE SCALE(MW) -now appears to provide the most accurate representation of an earthquake size. Where and why do earthquakes occur Seismic belts seismic zones *Seismologists find that most, but not all, earthquakes occur in fairly narrow seismic belts or seismic zones Plate boundary earthquake- earthquake within the seismic belts in the plate boundary Intraplate earthquake- earthquakes that occur away from plate boundaries Intra- within *80% of the earthquake energy released on Earth comes from the plate boundary earthquakes in the belts surrounding the Pacific Ocean. WHERE AND WHY DO EARTHQUAKES OCCUR

Seismograph (seismometer) -systematically record the ground motion from an earthquake happening anywhere on earth -typically placed on bedrock in sheltered areas, away from traffic and other urban noise BASIC CONFIGURATIONS y Mechanical vertical- motion seismograph y Mechanical horizontal motion seismograph Seismogram -a record of the earthquake traced by a seismograph Travel-time curve -plots the time since the earthquake waves began to propagate from below the epicenter on the vertical axis and the distance to the epicenter on the horizontal axis Triangulation -method used to determine the map position of the epicenter -plotting the distance from the epicenter to the three stations Determining the site of an earthquake 1. Mercalli Intensity Scale -defines the intensity of an earthquake by the amount of damage it causes -subjective assessment of the damage * GIUSEPPE MERCALLI (1902) Italian -developed the first widely used scale for characterizing earthquake size 2. Earthquake Magnitude Scale *magnitude of an earthquake is a number that indicates its relative size as determined by measuring the maximum amplitude of ground motion. (does not depend on distance) CHARLES RICHTER 1935 American

EARTHQUAKES AR PLATE BOUNDARIES The majority of eqs happen at faults along plate boundaries, for the relative motion between plates is accommodated primarily by slip on those faults.

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BSEM-III

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

DIVERGENT-PLATE BOUNDARY SEISMICITY At divergent plate boundaries( mid-ocean ridges), two oceanic plates form and move apart. y Normal faults generated along spreading segments Strike-Slip fault- generated along the transform faults that link spreading segments y

enough to break even down to about 300km Deep earthquake

TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY SEISMICITY At transform plate boundaries, where one plate slides past another without the production or consumption of oceanic lithosphere, most faulting results in strike-slip motion. EARTHQUAKES AT CONTINENTAL RIFTS AND COLLISION ZONES y Continental rifts The stretching of continental crust and continental rifts generates normal faults. Collision zones Two continents collide when the oceanic lithosphere that once separated them has been completely subducted. *Voltaire 1694-1778 French writer -immortalized the earthquake in his novel Candide. (Lisbon, Portugal) INTRAPLATE EARTHQUAKES y Eqs that occur in the interior of plates and are not associated with plate boundaries, active rifts, or collision zones. Account for only about 5% of the eq energy released in a year Almost all have shallow focus Can be felt over a very broad region HOW DO EQS CAUSE DAMAGE GROUND SHAKING AND DISPLACEMENT The nature and severity of the shaking at a given location depend on the four following factors; 1. The magnitude of the eq (larger eq=more energy released) |4

Seismicity along mid-ocean ridges takes place at shallow depths CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY SEISMICITY At convergent plate boundaries, eqs occur along the contact between the two plates as well as in the down going plate and overriding plate. y Bending causes normal faults to develop in the down going plate, seaward of the trench. Large thrust faults develop along the contact between the down going and overriding plates, and shear on these faults can produce disastrous shallow eq.

Wadati Beniof zone -the sloping band of seismicity that occurs in the down going slab as it sinks into the mantle. (Intermediate and deep eq) Intermediate and deep eq happen partly in response to stresses caused by shear between the down going plate and the mantle, and partly by the slab pull of the deeper part of the plate on the shallow part. y Intermediate eq happen because the interior of the down going plate takes a long time to heat up and the rock in the plate s interior remains cool and brittle

y y y

BSEM-III

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8 Disease

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

2. The distance from the hypocenter (eq energy decreases as waves pass through the Earth) 3. The nature of the substrate at the location (that is, the character and thickness of different materials beneath the ground surface)- ( eq waves tend to be amplified in weaker substrate) 4. The frequency of the eq waves where frequency equals the number of oscillations that pass a point in a specified interval of time. Landslides -happen when the shaking of an eeq cause ground on steep slopes or ground underlain by weak sediment to giveaway. Sediment Liquefaction Liquefaction - the abrupt loss of strength of wet sandy sediment in response to ground shaking. *sand volcanoes or sand boils -small mounds produced when the liquefaction of sand layers below the ground surface makes the sand environment through holes or cracks in overlying sediment Fire Tsunami - a series of giant waves - travels at 800km per hr -have wavelengths of tens to hundreds of kilometers and involve a huge volume of water *tsunami- means harbor wave (Japanese) Storm wave/ wind-driven waves -can reach heights of 10-30 meters in the open sea -have wavelengths of only tens of meters and only involve a relatively small volume of water. Near-field (local) tsunami Far-field (distant) tsunami

Seismologists can make long term predictions but cannot make accurate short term predictions. Seismic risk or seismic-hazard assessment -studies leading to predictions Long term predictions -used by urban planners and civil engineers to create building codes for a region Bases of long tem eq predictions: y Identification of seismic zones y Recurrence interval( average time between successive events) To identify a seismic zone, seismologists produce a map showing the epicenters of eqs that have happened during a set period of time Clusters/ belts of epicenters -define the seismic zone The basic premise A region in which there have been many eqs in the past will likely experience more eqs in the future. Seismic zones are regions of greater seismic risk. Epicenter maps -can be produced with data from only the past fifty years or so, because before that time they did not have enough seismographs to locate epicenters accurately. Seismis gaps -places where a known active fault has not slipped for a long time Short term predictions y First clue- detection of foreshocks

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BSEM-III y

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY CHAPTER 8

Engr. R.T. Masliyan

Precise laser surveying of the ground (detection of movements)

Eq hazards can be reduced by better construction practices and zoning, and by educationg people about what to do during an eq. Sensible precautions to mitigate or diminish eqs consequences: y Eq Engineering (The design of buildings that can withstand shaking) y Eq zoning (The determination of where land is stable and where it might collapse) *Eq Earthquake

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