What is Earthquake?

In simple terms, earthquakes are caused by the constant motion of

Earths surface. This motion creates buildup and releases energy
stored in rocks at and near the Earths surface. Earthquakes are the
sudden, rapid shaking of the Earth as this energy is released.
Earthquakes are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress.
When the Earth's plates move against each other, stress is put on the
upper mantle (lithosphere).
When this stress is great enough, the lithosphere breaks or shifts.
When the force is large enough, the crust is forced to break.
Origin of Earthquakes
Most natural earthquakes are caused by sudden slippage along a fault
zone.
The elastic rebound theory suggests that if slippage along a fault is
hindered such that elastic strain energy builds up in the deforming
rocks on either side of the fault, when the slippage does occur, the
energy released causes an earthquake.
Seismology
When an earthquake occurs, the elastic energy is released and sends
out vibrations that travel throughout the Earth. These vibrations are
called seismic waves.
The study of how seismic waves behave in the Earth is called
seismology.
A seismometer is an instrument used to record these vibrations and
the resulting graph that shows the vibrations is called a seismograph.
The seismometer must be able to move with the vibrations, yet part
of it must remain nearly stationary.
Seismology
This is accomplished by isolating the recording device (like a pen)
from the rest of the Earth using the principal of inertia.
For example, if the pen is attached to a large mass suspended by a
spring, the spring and the large mass move less than the paper which
is attached to the Earth, and on which the record of the vibrations is
made.
Parts of Earthquake
Hypocenter or Focus
A hypocenter is the point of origin of an earthquake under
the surface of earth. It is a synonym of the focus.
Epicenter
The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface that is
directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake
or underground explosion originates.
Types of Earthquakes with respect to depth:
1. Shallow Focus Earthquake
2. Deep Focus Earthquake
Shallow Focus Earthquake
Shallow focus earthquakes are commonly occurring crustal
earthquakes, caused by faults and movements of the continental
plates.
These are earthquakes with their focus nearer the surface of the
earth.
Shallow focus earthquakes are usually of large spread, causing
greater damage at the surface or the earths crust.
These occur quite frequently and at random.
Deep Focus Earthquake
Deep focus earthquakes or intra plate earthquakes, occur within
the sub-ducting oceanic plates as they move beneath the continental
plates.
Appearing along fault lines, these are earthquakes with focus much
deeper within the earth.
A deep focus earthquake occurs when two tectonic plates slide
towards one another followed by subduction.
 Faults or Fault Plane:
Fault
A fault is a rock fracture where the two sides have been
displaced relative to each other.
Fault Plan
It is the planer surface along which relative displacement
of blocks takes place during the process of faulting.
If the main sense of movement on the fault plane is up or down, the
fault is known as a dip-slip fault. Where the main sense of slip is
horizontal the fault is known as a strike-slip fault. Oblique-slip faults
have significant components of both strike and dip slip.
Classification of faults
Normal fault
Reverse fault
Strike-slip fault
Oblique-slip faulting
Normal fault
The block above the fault moves down relative to the block below the
fault.
This fault motion is caused by tensional forces and results in
extension.
Reverse fault
The block above the fault moves up relative to the block below the
fault.
This fault motion is caused by compressional forces and results in
shortening.
A reverse fault is called a thrust fault if the dip of the fault plane is
small.
Strike-slip fault
The movement of blocks along a fault is horizontal and the fault plane
is nearly vertical.
If the block on the far side of the fault moves to the left, , the fault is
called left-lateral.
If it moves to the right, the fault is called right-lateral.
The fault motion of a strike-slip fault is caused by shearing forces.
Oblique-slip faulting
Oblique-slip faulting suggests both dip-slip faulting and strike-slip
faulting.
It is caused by a combination of shearing and tension or
compressional forces.
Seismic Waves
Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the Earth's
layers, and are a result of an earthquake, explosion, or a volcano that
imparts low-frequency acoustic energy.
Types of Seismic waves:
Body Waves
Surface Waves
Body Waves
Body waves travel through the interior of the Earth along paths
controlled by the material properties in terms of density and modulus
(stiffness).
The density and modulus, in turn, vary according to temperature,
composition, and material phase.
This effect resembles the refraction of light waves.
Two types of particle motion result in two types of body waves:
Primary and Secondary waves.
Body Waves
Primary (P)waves : Pressure waves caused when rock is pushed
or pulled forward or backward. Primary waves, the fastest wave sent
out by an earthquake, travel down into the earth rather than along
the surface.
Body Waves
Secondary (S) waves : Shear waves caused when rock is shaken
or whipped from side-to-side, like the wavy motion of a slithery
snake. Secondary waves, the second-fastest wave sent out by an
earthquake, travel down into the earth rather than along the surface.
Surface Waves
Surface waves are the result of the whole Earth vibrating like a tub of
Jell-O. Such motions cause the shape and size of the Earth to change,
just a s a mass of Jell-O changes in shape and size as it vibrates.
Even though the whole body oscillates, an observer on the ground
would see only the movements of the surface, thus the name.
Types of Surface Waves:
Rayleigh waves
Love waves
Rayleigh waves
Rayleigh waves, also called ground roll, are surface waves that travel
as ripples with motions that are similar to those of waves on the
surface of water (note, however, that the associated particle motion
at shallow depths is retrograde, and that the restoring force in
Rayleigh and in other seismic waves is elastic, not gravitational as for
water waves).
The existence of these waves was predicted by John William Strutt,
Lord Rayleigh, in 1885.
Love waves
Surface (L) waves : Up-and-down (rolling) or side-to-side motion of
the earth surface. Surface waves, the slowest earthquake waves,
travel along the surface of the earth rather than down into the earth.
Although they are the slowest of all earthquake waves, L waves
usually cause more damage to society than P or S waves.
Measuring Of Earthquake
A seismograph is the device used to record the vibrations produced
during an earthquake.
The idea behind many seismographs involves the concept of inertia.
In general, the greater the weight of an object, the greater it will
resist movement during an earthquake.
Magnitude and Intensity
The magnitude of an earthquake measures the amount of energy that
was released during the motion of the rocks.
This is done using the familiar Richter scale of magnitude.
The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that for each whole
number, the amount of ground motion increases by 10 times.
Plate Tectonics
Introduction to Plate Tectonics
The word "plate" in geologic terms means a large slab of solid rock.
"Tectonics" is a part of the Greek root for "to build" and together the
terms define how the Earth's surface is built up of moving plates.
The theory of plate tectonics itself says that the Earth's lithosphere is
made up individual plates that are broken down into over a dozen
large and small pieces of solid rock.
Understanding Plate Motions
Scientists now have a fairly good understanding of how the plates
move and how such movements relate to earthquake activity.
Most movement occurs along narrow zones between plates where
the results of plate-tectonic forces are most evident.
There are four types of plate boundaries:
Divergent boundaries
Convergent boundaries
Transform boundaries
Plate boundary zones
Divergent boundaries
Divergent boundaries occur along spreading centers where plates are
moving apart and new crust is created by magma pushing up from
the mantle.
Convergent boundaries
The type of convergence -- called by some a very slow "collision" --
that takes place between plates depends on the kind of lithosphere
involved.
Convergence can occur between an oceanic and a largely continental
plate, or between two largely oceanic plates, or between two largely
continental plates.
Transform boundaries
The zone between two plates sliding horizontally past one another is
called a transform-fault boundary, or simply a transform boundary.
The concept of transform faults originated with Canadian geophysicist
J. Tuzo Wilson, who proposed that these large faults or fracture zones
connect two spreading centers (divergent plate boundaries) or, less
commonly, trenches (convergent plate boundaries).
Most transform faults are found on the ocean floor.
Plate-boundary zones
Not all plate boundaries are as simple as the main types discussed
above. In some regions, the boundaries are not well defined because
the plate movement deformation occurring there extends over a
broad belt (called a plate-boundary zone).
 List of Tectonic Plates on Earth
Major plates
Pacific Plate 103,300,000 km2
North American Plate 75,900,000 km2
Eurasian Plate 67,800,000 km2
African Plate 61,300,000 km2
Antarctic Plate 60,900,000 km2
Indo-Australian Plate 58,900,000 km2
often considered two plates:
Australian Plate 47,000,000 km2
Indian Plate 11,900,000 km2
South American Plate 43,600,000 km2
Minor Plates
Somali Plate 16,700,000 km2
Nazca Plate 15,600,000 km2
Philippine Sea Plate 5,500,000 km2
Arabian Plate 5,000,000 km2
Caribbean Plate 3,300,000 km2
Cocos Plate 2,900,000 km2
Caroline Plate 1,700,000 km2
Scotia Plate 1,600,000 km2
Burma Plate 1,100,000 km2
New Hebrides Plate 1,100,000 km2
Tectonic Regions in Pakistan
Pakistan is located on the north-west region of the Indian plate that pushes
into the Eurasian plate.
The Hindu Kush region generates regularly very large earthquakes,
occurring down to 300 km depth, which are also felt in Pakistan.
The compressive stress direction of this region is NW-SE.
The direction of crustal stress in Kashmir is NE-SW.
Both the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges are caused by the collision of
the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate' the Indian plate collides and under
plates the Eurasian plate.
The Hindu Kush and the Pamir constitutes one of the most seismically
active earthquake zones in the world.
In the Kashmir region we find the important Hazara-Kashmir Syntax (HKS),