… how do we gain

a better
understanding of
the earth’s internal
forces and the
deformation that
results?
 Earthquakes
rapid release
of energy due
to vibration of
earth along
faults
 Earthquakes
reasons for studying
earthquakes
 avoid destruction
 information about the

Earth’s interior
 Earthquakes
avoid destruction:
 trigger mass
wasting events
 Earthquakes
avoid destruction:
 collapsed parking structure -- San
Fernando quake, 1971
 Earthquakes
avoid destruction:
 collapsed buildings -- Niigata, 1964
Earthquakes
information about
Earth’s interior:
 displacement on
faults: San Andreas
so … what process
is involved during
motion along a fault
plane and the
release of
earthquake energy?
Earthquake Movement
elastic/brittle behavior:
 instant deformation (small) and recovery
 if strength exceeded, failure (rock breaks)

 low P and T -- generally upper crust, except in cold

parts of crust [subduction]

plastic/ductile behavior:
 viscous flow - slow permanent deformation
 high P and T -- generally mid-crust or deeper,

except in cold parts of crust [subduction]

Elastic Rebound Theory
 strain builds up until elastic limit (strength) of rock is exceeded
 rock ruptures (fails), snapping back toward unstrained position
 releases elastic energy as seismic waves radiating
outward from break
so … how do we
describe the
location of rock
failure along
fault planes?
 Rock Failure
focus
(hypocenter)
- location
or origin of
initial
failure from
which
energy
released
 Rock Failure
epicenter -
location on
Earth’s
surface
directly
above
focus
(geographic
location)
Earthquake Categories
about 90% of earthquakes have depths <100 km
grouped into three categories based on foci
depth:
shallow focus -- foci less than 70 km depth
(most destructive earthquakes)
intermediate focus -- foci between 70 and
300 km depth
deep focus -- foci greater than 300 km
 … what is the
nature of energy
released by rock
failure along
fault planes?
 Seismology
 study of
energy
propagation
through
earth
 subdiscipline

within
geophysics
Seismic Waves
energy released by earthquake travels through
Earth
speed of energy (or seismic wave) depends on
density and elasticity of materials through
which it travels
two general types of seismic earth waves:
body waves
surface waves
 Body Waves
speed decreases - increasing rock density
speed increases - increasing rock elasticity
rock elasticity increases faster than density with
depth
two kinds of body waves:
primary (P) waves
shear/secondary (S) waves
 P-Waves
primary waves
first arrivals -- high velocity
compressional -- push-pull movement
parallel to direction of wave movement
can travel through solid, liquid and gas
P-Waves
 S-Waves
shear waves [S; also secondary waves]
second arrivals -- low velocity
vibrate perpendicular to direction of wave
movement
only travel through solids (not liquids)
S-Waves
Surface Waves
travel along outer layer of Earth
slowest seismic waves
associated rolling, shaking motion causes most
earthquake damage
two major types:
love (L) waves
rayleigh (R) waves
Surface Waves
love (L) waves:
involve shear motion in horizontal plane
most destructive kind of seismic wave
Love Waves
Surface Waves
rayleigh (R) waves:
elliptical motion like ocean waves
generally slower than love waves
Rayleigh Waves
Seismic Waves
 …how are
seismic waves
used to locate
earthquakes?
Instrumental Observations
seismoscopes
earliest
instruments
designed to
detect
earthquake
did not provide
any written
record of
earthquake
Instrumental Observations

seismographs
instruments
which detect,
measure and
record
seismic waves
Instrumental Observations
seismographs
old instruments -
movement recorded
on rotating paper or
magnetic tape strip
(seismograms)
modern instruments
record data
electronically
Locating Earthquakes

seismograms show that P waves always arrive first

at recording station followed by S, and finally
surface waves (L before R)
Locating Earthquakes
difference in arrival time of P and S waves
proportional to distance from focus
Locating Earthquakes

time-distance
graphs give
distance to
focus, but not
direction
Locating Earthquakes

distances
from 3 or
more
seismographs
yield unique
solution
…how are the
effects of
earthquakes
quantified?
Earthquake Intensity
described based on:
amount of energy released by earthquake
duration of shaking
distance from the epicenter
focal depth of earthquake
type of rock and degree of consolidation
population density
type of building construction
Earthquake Intensity
subjective measure of earthquake's destructive
power (size and strength) and reaction to it;
described using:
 Mercalli scale (1-12)
 each category has specific definition of damage
 qualitatively links earthquake power to effect on

buildings
Earthquake Intensity
Mercalli scale
1 not felt except by a very few under especially favorable
circumstances
2 felt only by a few people at rest, especially on upper
floors of buildings
3 felt quite noticably indoors, especially on upper floors
of buildings, but not recognized as earthquake
4 during day felt by many indoors, outdoors by few; like
heavy truck striking building, cars rocked noticably
Earthquake Intensity
Mercalli scale
5 felt by nearly everyone; dishes and windows broken;
plaster cracked
6 felt by all, many frightened, run outdoors; heavy
furniture moved; plaster or chimney damage slight
7 everyone runs outdoors; considerable damage to poorly
built structures; chimneys broken; felt in cars
8 damage slight in specially designed structures;
considerable damage in others; chimneys and walls
collapse; heavy furniture overturned
Earthquake Intensity
Mercalli scale
9 damage considerable; building shifted off foundations;
ground cracked; pipelines broken
10 wooden, masonary and frame structures destroyed;
rails bent; ground badly cracked; landslides
11 few, if any masonary structures remain standing;
bridges destroyed; broad fissures in ground
12 damage total; waves seen on ground surface; objects
thrown upward in air
…so what is
meant by
earthquake
magnitude?
Earthquake Magnitude
quantitative
measure of
earthquake
energy released
at source
described by
Richter scale
Earthquake Magnitude
Richter scale
 open-ended scale from 1 up [highest

recorded 8.6] based on amplitude of seismic

waves
 base 10 logarithmic scale

 each integer is ten-fold increase in wave

amplitude - 30 times as much energy

Earthquake Magnitude
most earthquakes have magnitude less
than 2.5
magnitude 6 earthquake = 1 Megaton
nuclear bomb
largest recorded earthquake = magnitude
8.6 (1964 Alaska earthquake)
Earthquake Magnitude
assigned based on:
measurement of size
(amplitude) of seismic
waves
distance from epicenter -
magnitude decreases with
distance from source
sensitivity of seismograph
Earthquake Magnitude

largest
earthquakes
(>6.0
magnitude)
occur on
average
every 5 years
… where are
earthquakes
most
common?
Frequency and Distribution
more than 150,000 earthquakes strong enough to
be felt by someone recorded annually worldwide

additional 900,000 earthquakes too small to be

felt or recorded as separate events occur annually
Frequency and Distribution
95% of all earthquakes in seismic belts
along plate boundaries where stresses
occur from plate movement
circum-Pacific belt
Mediterranean-Asiatic belt
5% within plates
New Madrid 1811-1812
Frequency and Distribution

enormous pressure is built up at convergent

and transform plate boundaries
Frequency and Distribution
pressure
ultimately
relieved as
earthquakes
may occur in
clusters as
plates shift
position
Frequency and Distribution

 coincidence of active volcanic belts with major

belts of earthquake activity
 volcanoes and earthquakes may have common
cause -- plate interactions
 …a special
relationship in
convergent
margins
 Benioff Zones
pattern of
increasing
earthquake
focal depths
at
convergent
plate
margins
 Benioff Zones
earthquake
foci mark
descent of
subducting
lithospheric
plate
 … what are
the effects of
earthquakes?
 Earthquakes
always followed
by series of
smaller
earthquakes
(aftershocks) -
further
adjustment of
rock along
fault
Earthquakes
approximately
13 million
people have
died as result
of earthquakes
during past
4,000 years
Earthquake Effects
destructive effects depend on:
earthquake magnitude
distance from epicenter
time of day
geology of area
type of building construction
duration of shaking
Earthquake Effects
most destructive earthquakes occur during work
and school hours in densely populated areas
hazards include:
ground shaking
fire
land movement
ground failure
tsunami
 Ground Shaking
causes
most
damage and
loss of life
buildings on
bedrock
move as
unit with
ground and
suffer lower
damage
 Ground Shaking
worst damage to buildings on poorly consolidated
material or water-saturated sediment
 Ground Shaking
amount of structural damage depends on:
earthquake magnitude
intensity and duration of
vibrations
underlying geology
design of the structure
(materials and type of
construction)
Ground Shaking
design of structure
(materials and type
of construction)
 adobe and mud-
walled structures
weakest
 unreinforced brick and
concrete buildings
have no flexibility and
tend to collapse
Ground Shaking
nature of material
supporting foundation
also determines how much
damage occurs
 poorly consolidated
material subjected to
longer shaking and
greater S-wave
amplitudes
 water-saturated
sediments behave like
fluids and flow when
shaken (liquefaction)
 Fire
Great Lisbon earthquake

severed gas and water lines can lead to devastating

fires more dangerous than earthquake itself
 Land Movements
significant vertical
and horizontal
movement of land
surface
 fault creep -slow
periodic movement
of land on opposite
sides of fault
Ground Failures
may include
landslides
seldom farther
than 40-50 km
from epicenter
can be major
cause of death
in some
earthquakes
 Tsunami

seismic sea wave [inappropriately tidal wave]

result from sudden motion of sea floor [submarine
landslides, earthquakes, submarine volcanic eruptions]
 Tsunami
travel
thousands of
km
wavelength
hundreds of
km
amplitude in
open ocean
<1m
how do we
attempt to predict
earthquake
activity?
Earthquake Prediction
successful prediction would include
time frame, magnitude and location
remains elusive goal
measurement techniques improved
dramatically in last 50 years
Earthquake Prediction
Worldwide
Standard
Seismograph
Network begun
in 1961
allows accurate
location of
earthquakes
around the
world
Earthquake Prediction
government-sponsored programs:
U.S., Japan, China and Russia
programs include:
monitoring systems along major fault zones
laboratory and field studies of rock behavior
before, during and after major earthquakes
Earthquake Prediction
Chinese
successfully
predicted
several
earthquakes;
failed to predict
1976 Tangshan
earthquake
which killed
242,000
Earthquake Prediction
typically
precursors
(short-term and
long-term
changes in
Earth prior to
earthquake)
Earthquake Prediction

seismic gaps
- quiescence
in
earthquake
prone areas
Earthquake Prediction
additional precursors include:
changes in elevation & tilting of surface
groundwater level fluctuations
changes in magnetic fields and electrical resistance
animal behavior
amplitude of ultra low frequency radio waves increase
Earthquake Prediction
changes in rock volume (dilatancy) caused by high
pressure producing numerous cracks in rock prior to failure

numerous
small
magnitude
earthquakes
Earthquake Prediction
seismic risk maps- indicate likelihood and
potential severity of future earthquakes
based on historical records of past earthquakes
and distribution of known faults
identify areas of seismic gaps and earthquake
periodicity
Earthquake Prediction
seismic risk maps
Earthquake Prediction
seismic risk maps
Earthquake Prediction
Earthquake Prediction
1886 Charleston Earthquake
1886 Charleston Earthquake
1811 New Madrid Earthquake
San Andreas Fault System
San Andreas Fault System
San Andreas Fault System
San Andreas Fault System
 1906 San
Francisco
Earthquake
1906 San Fransisco Earthquake
1906 San Fransisco Earthquake
1906 San Fransisco Earthquake
1906 San Fransisco Earthquake
 1971 San
Fernando
Valley
Earthquake
1971 San Fernando Valley Earthquake
1971 San Fernando Valley Earthquake
1971 San Fernando Valley Earthquake
1989 Loma
Prieta
Earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
 1994
Northridge
Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1994 Northridge Earthquake
Future San Andreas Hazards
 Alaskan
Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Alaskan Earthquakes
Earthquake
Control
Earthquake Control
accidentally discovered
that earthquakes can be
triggered by pumping
fluids into fault zones
acts as lubricant,
allowing faults to move
may reduce stress on
major faults by
triggering small
earthquakes
Earthquake Control
needs much more study
best defense currently good emergency
and evacuation plans
…what has
seismology taught
us about the
earth’s interior?