Course Title

IEQ-05 : Earthquake Geology and Geoinformatics

(Dept. of Earthquake Engineering, IIT Roorkee)

What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is the vibration of the earth produced by the quick release
Most often, earthquakes are caused by movement along large
of energy.
fractures in the earths
crust. Such fractures are called faults
The energy that is released
.
radiates
These waves are similar to the waves that occur when you drop a stone into water.
in all directions from its origin in the form of waves.
J ust as the stone sets the water in motion, the energy released in an earthquake pro-
duces seismic
Frequency range of seismic waves is large, from as high as the audible range (greater
than 20 hertz) to as low as the frequencies of the free oscillations of the whole Earth (2
and 7 millihertz).
waves that move through the earth.
Attenuation of the waves in rock imposes high-frequency limits, and in small to mod-
erate earthquakes the dominant frequencies extend in surface waves from about 1 to
0.1 hertz.
The amplitude range of seismic waves is also great in most earthquakes. In the great-
est earthquakes the ground amplitude of the predominant P waves may be several
centimeters at periods of two to five seconds. Very close to the seismic sources of
great earthquakes, investigators have measured large wave amplitudes with accelera-
tions of the ground exceeding that of gravity (9.8 meters, or 32.2 feet, per second
squared) at high frequencies and ground displacements of 1 meter at low frequencies.










Earthquake Magnitude and Energy Release Equivalence

What is the mechanism that produces earthquakes?
Earth is not a static planet: in the earths crust, tectonic
In this process, the material is
forces are constantly at work push-
ing rocks on both sides of a fault in different directions.
deformed. As rocks dont slide past each other very easily,
strain is built up, just as if you bend a stick. At a certain level, the rocks can no longer re-
sist the strain and slip
This springing back of the rock is called
past each other into their original shape.
elastic rebound. It is this quick movement that
we feel as an earthquake. The elastic rebound usually happens a few kilometres deep in
the crust. This location is called the focus of the earthquake. The place on the surface
directly over the focus is called the epicentre

.
Reid's Elastic Rebound Theory
From an examination of the displacement of the ground surface which accompanied the
1906 earthquake, Henry Fielding Reid, Professor of Geology at J ohns Hopkins University,
concluded that the earthquake must have involved an "elastic rebound" of previously
stored elastic stress.
If a stretched rubber band is broken or cut, elastic energy stored in the rubber band during
the stretching will suddenly be released. Similarly, the crust of the earth can gradually
store elastic stress that is released suddenly during an earthquake.
This gradual accumulation and release of stress and strain is now referred to as the
"elastic rebound theory" of earthquakes. Most earthquakes are the result of the sudden
elastic rebound of previously stored energy.
The following diagram illustrates the process. Start at the bottom. A straight fence is built
across the San Andreas fault. As the Pacific plate moves northwest, it gradually distorts
the fence. J ust before an earthquake, the fence has an "S" shape. When the earthquake
occurs the distortion is released and the two parts of the fence are again straight; but now
there is an offset.





Slow, Quiet and Silent Earthquakes
When we think of an earthquake source, we think of a crack that propagates through
the crust close to the shear-wave speed, which is generally several kilometers per
second.
Fault rupture is sudden, accompanied by violent shaking of the ground.
But, creep events (on the San Andreas fault) during which propagation along a fault
occurs at rates of millimeters per year.
Earth deformation occurs at rates that differ widely.
From fast ruptures that suddenly release stored elastic-strain energy
Ordinary earthquakes to
Slow earthquakes (speed of hundreds of meters per second).
Silent earthquakes (speed of tens of meters per sec.)
Creep events, and finally strain migration episodes with speeds in
centimeters or millimeters per second.
Slow earthquakes include episodes of rupture propagation that produce an ordinary
seismogram of high-frequency body waves.
However, slow earthquakes take an unusually long time to rupture in comparison to
ordinary earthquakes of similar moment magnitude.
Oceanic transform faults have produced several slow earthquakes, such as the 1960
Chilean transform fault earthquake that ruptured for about an hour as a series of
small events.
Silent earthquakes are not accompanied by high-speed rupture propagation events.
Thus they do not generate high-frequency waves that are recorded teleseismically.
Conventional seismographs do not record these events.
Strain metes document creep events on the San Andreas fault system (10mm/sec).
Silent earthquakes may offer promise as precursors to ordinary earthquakes.

How can the energy of an earthquake be felt?

The energy that is released
Two types of waves can be
in an earthquake travels in waves through the materials of the
earth.
distinguished
1. Some travel along the earths outer layer and are called
.
surface waves
2. Others travel through the earths interior and are called
.
body waves
Body waves are further divided into
.
Primary waves (P waves)
Secondary waves (S waves).
P waves (primary waves)

P waves are push-pull wavesthey push (compress) and pull (expand) rocks in the di-
rection the wave is travelling. Imagine holding someone by their shoulders and shaking
them. This push-pull movement is how P waves move through the earth. Solids, liquids
and gases resist a change in volume when compressed and will elastically spring back
once the force is removed. Therefore, P waves can travel through all these materials.
Highest velocity (6 km/sec in the crust).






S waves (secondary waves)

S waves, on the other hand, shake the particles at right angles to their direction of travel.
This can be illustrated by holding one end of a rope steady and shaking the other end (see
illustration below). In contrast to P waves, which for a moment change the volume of the
material, S waves change the shape of the material they travel through. Because liquids
and gases do not respond elastically to changes in shape, they will not transmit S
waves. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock. (3.6
km/sec in the crust)





Damage nature due to body waves

Surf ace Waves
Travel just below or along the grounds surface
Slower than body waves; rolling (Rayleigh) and side-to-side (Love) movement
Especially damaging to buildings

Love Waves
After A.E.H. Love and suggested in early twentieth century. L-wave can be thought
of as the constructive interference of multiple reflected S-waves whose particle
motion is horizontal.
Travel just below or along the grounds surface with side-to-side particle velocity.
Speed is slower than body waves. This wave is especially damaging to buildings.
Typical velocity: Depends on earth structure (dispersive), but less than velocity of
S waves.

Typical velocity: Depends on earth structure (dispersive), but less than velocity
of S waves.
Behavior: Causes shearing motion (horizontal) similar to S waves.
Arrival: They usually arrive after the S wave and before the Rayleigh wave.





Love waves are dispersive, that is, different periods travel at different velocities,
generally with low frequencies propagating at higher velocity. Depth of penetration
of the Love waves is also dependent on frequency, with lower frequencies pene-
trating to greater depth. V
L
~ 2.0 - 4.5 km/s in the Earth depending on frequency of
the propagating wave


Rayleigh Waves



After Lord Rayleigh who predicted existence in 1887.
These waves are analogous to waves travelling across the ocean. A floating
object is not only pitched up and down, but also to and fro as wave passes.
The actual movement of the object describes an ellipse. The motion of
waves dies out quickly with depth, and this is also the case with Rayleigh
waves.
Rayleigh wave can be thought of as arising from the constructive interfe-
rence of multiple reflected P and S waves travelling in vertical plane.

Typical velocity: ~ 0.9 that of the S wave
Behavior: Causes vertical (rolling anticlockwise) together with back-and-forth
horizontal motion. Motion is similar to that of being in a boat in the ocean when
a swell moves past.
Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to the Rayleigh wave, which can be
much larger than the other waves.ch can be much larger than the
Arrival: They usually arrive last on a seismogram.

Rayleigh waves are also dispersive and the amplitudes generally decrease with depth in
the Earth. Appearance and particle motion are similar to water waves. Depth of penetra-
tion of the Rayleigh waves is also dependent on frequency, with lower frequencies pene-
trating to greater depth. Generally, Rayleigh waves travel slightly slower than Love waves.
V
R
~ 2.0 - 4.5 km/s in the Earth depending on frequency of the propagating wave



Damage pattern due to surface waves

What is a seismograph and how does it work?
A seismograph is an instrument that records earthquake waves (also called seismic
waves). The principle : A weight is freely suspended from a support that is attached to
bedrock. When waves from an earthquake reach the instrument, the inertia of the weight
keeps it stationary, while the earth and the support vibrate. The movement of the earth in
relation to the stationary weight is recorded on a rotating drum. What is recorded on the
rotating drum is called a seismogram.






Seismograms show that there are two
types of seismic waves generated by
the movement of a mass of rock.





Example of an earthquake record.


Locating an Earthquakes Epicenter
P waves arrive first, then S waves, then L and R
After an earthquake, the difference in arrival times at a seismograph station can be used to
calculate the distance from the seismograph to the earthquake source (D).

If average speeds for all these waves are known, use the S-P (S minus P) time formula: a
method to compute the distance (D) between a recording station and an event.
Time =
Velocity
Distance


P wave has a velocity V
P
and S wave has a velocity V
S
; V
S
is less than V
P

Both originate at the same place the hypocenter
They travel same distance, but the S wave takes more time than the P wave.
Time for the S wave to travel a distance DT
S
=
s
V
D

Time for the P wave to travel a distance DT
P
=
p
V
D

The time difference

(T
S
T
P
) =
s
V
D
-
p
V
D
=D

Vp
1
-
Vs
1
=D

Vs Vp
Vs - Vp



Now solve for the Distance D D =

Vs - Vp
Vs Vp
* (T
S
T
P
)

Epicenter of an earthquake can be obtained by surface projection of earthquake source.
Travel-times for location

Measure time between P and S wave on seismogram
Use travel-time graph to get distance to epicenter

The epicenter is located using three or more
seismograph


Earthquake depths
Earthquakes originate at depths ranging from 5 to nearly 700 kilometers
Earthquake foci classified as
Shallow (surface to 70 kilometers)
Intermediate (70 to 300 kilometers)
Deep (over 300 kilometers)

Sei smi c Wave Speeds and Rock Propert i es
Variations in the speed at which seismic waves propagate through the Earth can cause
variations in seismic waves recorded at the Earth's surface

+
=
k
3
4

p
V

s
V =

It can be shown that in homogeneous, isotropic media the velocities of P and S waves
through the media are given by the expressions as above. Where Vp and Vs are the P and
S wave velocities of the medium, is the density of the medium, and and k are referred
to as the shear and bulk moduli of the media. Taken together, and k are also known as
elastic parameters. The elastic parameters quantitatively describe the following physical
characteristics of the medium.
Bulk Modulus - Is also known as the incompressibility of the medium. The bulk
modulus describes the ratio of the pressure applied to the cube to the amount of
volume change that the cube undergoes. If k is very large, then the material is very
stiff, meaning that it doesn't compress very much even under large pressures. If k is
small, then a small pressure can compress the material by large amounts. For
example, gases have very small incompressibilities. Solids and liquids have large
incompressibilities.
Shear Modulus - The shear modulus describes how difficult it is to deform a cube of
the material under an applied shearing force. For example, imagine you have a
cube of material firmly cemented to a table top. Now, push on one of the top edges
of the material parallel to the table top. If the material has a small shear modulus,
you will be able to deform the cube in the direction you are pushing it so that the
cube will take on the shape of a parallelogram. If the material has a large shear
modulus, it will take a large force applied in this direction to deform the cube. Gases
and fluids can not support shear forces. That is, they have shear moduli of zero.
From the equations given above, notice that this implies that fluids and gases do
not allow the propagation of S waves.
Any change in rock or soil property that causes , , or k to change will cause seismic wave speed
to change. For example, going from an unsaturated soil to a saturated soil will cause both the densi-
ty and the bulk modulus to change. The bulk modulus changes because air-filled pores become
filled with water. Water is much more difficult to compress than air. In fact, bulk modulus changes
dominate this example. Thus, the P wave velocity changes a lot across water table while S wave
velocities change very little.
Wave Propagation Through Earth Media
Any change in rock or soil property that causes , , or k to change will cause seis-
mic wave speed to change.
For example, going from an unsaturated soil to a saturated soil will cause both the
density and the bulk modulus to change.
When seismic waves travel from one layer to another, ray gets bent away from or
toward the normal depending on layer density.
Propagation of seismic waves in media is governed by Snells Law
Snell's Law describes the relationship between the angles and the velocities of the waves.
Snell's law equates the ratio of material velocities V
1
and V
2
to the ratio of the sine's of
incident and refracted angles, as shown in the following equation.


2 1
L
2
L
1
V
sin

V
sin
=

Where:
V
L1
is the longitudinal wave velocity in material 1.
V
L2
is the longitudinal wave velocity in material 2.








Shows P and S wave shadow zones that forms on other side of the earth due to the occur-
rence of an earthquake in opposite side.

P P wave only in the mantle
PP, PPP, SS, SSS P or S wave reflected once or twice off earths surface so
there are two or more P or S wave segments in the mantle.
PKP P wave that has two segments in the mantle separated by a segment in the
core.
PcP P wave reflected from outer core & mantle boundary.
PKiKP P wave reflected from outer core & inner core boundary.
PKIKP P wave that traverse inner core is denoted by I.
PKJ KP Phases with an S leg in the inner core is denoted by J .
PPS, PSP, PSS P wave twice reflected from the Earths surface. S denotes con-
verted wave.
ScP S wave reflected from outer core-mantle boundary and converted into P type
wave.
ScS S wave reflected from outer core & mantle boundary.
SKS S wave traversing the outer core as P and converted back into S when again
entering the mantle.





Earths Major Boundaries


The crust
Continental
Less dense
20-70 km thick
Oceanic
more dense
5-10 km thick

The (Moho) Mohorovicic discontinuity
Discovered in 1909 by Andriaja Mohorovicic
Separates crustal materials from underlying mantle
Identified by a change in the velocity of P waves
The core-mantle boundary
Discovered in 1914 by Beno Gutenberg
Based on the observation that P waves die out at 105 degrees from
the earthquake and reappear at about 140 degrees
35 degree wide belt is named the P-wave shadow zone
Discovery of the inner core
Predicted by Inge Lehmann in 1936
P-wave shadow zone is not a perfect shadow there are weak P-
waves arriving, and Lehmann suggested that these P-waves were
bounced from a solid inner core.


Foreshocks and Aftershocks
Faults are believed to consist of stronger and weaker parts whose ability to rupture
during an earthquake varies. These stronger parts are called barriers or asperities. These
two terms assign different roles to the stronger patches in the earthquake rupture process.

The left side of the above figure shows the condition of a fault just before an earth-
quake while the right side shows its condition after an earthquake. The upper part of the
figure is based on the barrier hypothesis, while the lower part is based on the asperity hy-
pothesis. The shaded portion indicates a stressed portion of the fault while the unshaded
is the slipped or unstressed portion.
According to the barrier hypothesis, the fault is in a state of uniform stress (upper
left) before the earthquake. During the earthquake the rupture propagates leaving unbro-
ken stronger patches (upper right). These patches or barriers are the location of numerous
aftershocks which represent the release of stress through static fatigue.
According to the asperity hypothesis, just prior to the earthquake (main shock) the
fault is not in a state of uniform stress but rather there has been some release of stress
over part of the fault through foreshocks leaving behind strong patches or asperities which
are broken resulting in a smoothly slipped fault (lower right). The existence of both after-
shocks and foreshocks indicate that some strong patches behave as barriers while others
behave as asperities. Barriers and asperities are significant to earthquake ground motion
because they represent locations of concentrated stress release and localized stopping
and starting of the rupturing fault.

Measuring the size of earthquakes
Two measurements that describe the size of an earthquake are
Intensity a measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given locale
based on the amount of damage
Magnitude estimates the amount of energy released at the source of the
earthquake
The drawback of intensity scales is that destruction may not be a true
measure of the earthquakes actual severity

The Modified Mercalli (MM) Scale of Earthquake Intensity
(Developed in 1931 by the American seismologists Harry Wood and Frank Neuman)

Intensity Felt / Damage
I People do not feel any Earth movement.
II A few people might notice movement if they are at rest and/or on the
upper floors of tall buildings.
III Many people indoors feel movement. Hanging objects swing back and
forth. People outdoors might not realize that an earthquake is occurring.
IV Most people indoors feel movement. Hanging objects swing. Dishes,
windows, and doors rattle. The earthquake feels like a heavy truck hit-
ting the walls. A few people outdoors may feel movement. Parked cars
rock.
V Almost everyone feels movement. Sleeping people are awakened.
Doors swing open or close. Dishes are broken. Pictures on the wall
move. Small objects move or are turned over. Trees might shake. Liq-
uids might spill out of open containers.
VI Everyone feels movement. People have trouble walking. Objects fall
from shelves. Pictures fall off walls. Furniture moves. Plaster in walls
might crack. Trees and bushes shake. Damage is slight in poorly built
buildings. No structural damage.
VII People have difficulty standing. Drivers feel their cars shaking. Some
furniture breaks. Loose bricks fall from buildings. Damage is slight to
moderate in well-built buildings; considerable in poorly built buildings.
VIII Drivers have trouble steering. Houses that are not bolted down might
shift on their foundations. Tall structures such as towers and chimneys
might twist and fall. Well-built buildings suffer slight damage. Poorly built
structures suffer severe damage. Tree branches break. Hillsides might
crack if the ground is wet. Water levels in wells might change.
IX Well-built buildings suffer considerable damage. Houses that are not
bolted down move off their foundations. Some underground pipes are
broken. The ground cracks. Reservoirs suffer serious damage.
X Most buildings and their foundations are destroyed. Some bridges are
destroyed. Dams are seriously damaged. Large landslides occur. Water
is thrown on the banks of canals, rivers, lakes. The ground cracks in
large areas. Railroad tracks are bent slightly.
XI Most buildings collapse. Some bridges are destroyed. Large cracks ap-
pear in the ground. Underground pipelines are destroyed. Railroad
tracks are badly bent.
XII Almost everything is destroyed. Objects are thrown into the air. The
ground moves in waves or ripples. Large amounts of rock may move.


Magnitude
Magnitude of earthquake is a measure of energy and based on the amplitude of the waves
recorded on a seismogram.
Concept: the wave amplitude reflects the earthquake size once the amplitudes are
corrected for the decrease with distance due to geometric spreading and attenuation.
Magnitude scales have the general form:

where A: amplitude of the signal
T: its dominant period
f : correction for the variation of amplitude with the earthquakes depth h
and distance from the seismometer
C: regional scale factor

Richter Magnitude
Charles Richter developed the first magnitude scale in 1935. Richters magnitude is
the logarithm to the base 10 of the maximum seismic wave amplitude, in thousandths of a
millimeter, recorded on a special type of seismograph (Wood-Anderson seismograph) at a
distance of 100 km from the earthquake epicenter. Wood-Anderson seismograph has a
natural oscillation period of about 0.8 seconds, and waves of longer period are increasing-
ly diminished on the records even if they are present in the ground.
M
L
= log
10
A(mm) + (Distance correction factor)
Here A is the amplitude, in millimeters, measured directly from the photographic paper
record of the Wood-Anderson seismometer, a special type of instrument.
He proposed zero magnitude for an earthquake that would produce a record with
amplitude of 1.0 micro meter at a distance of 100 km from the epicenter on Wood-
Anderson seismograph with time period 0.8 sec (1.25 Hz natural frequency), damping h
0.8 and 2800 magnification factor. He calibrated his scale of magnitudes using measured
maximum amplitudes of shear waves recorded in southern California. The logarithmic form
of Richter magnitude scale (M
L
) for 100 km epicentral distance is as given below.
M
L
= log
10
A - log
10
A
0

Where, A
0
is the amplitude for zero magnitude earthquakes. Thus, an earthquake trace
with amplitude 10 micro meter of seismograph at an epicentral distance of 100 km has
magnitude 1.0

The distance factor by Richter

The diagram below demonstrates how to use Richter's original method to measure a
seismogram for a magnitude estimate in Southern California:




The scales in the diagram above form a
nomogram that allows you to do the ma-
thematical computation quickly by eye.




Body-wave magnitude is
M
b
= log(A/T) + Q(D,h)
where A is the ground motion (in microns), T is the wave's period (in seconds), and Q(D,h)
is a correction factor that depends on distance to the quake's epicenter D (in degrees) and
focal depth h (in kilometers). M
b
uses relatively short seismic waves with a 1-second pe-
riod, so to it every quake source that is larger than a few wavelengths looks the same. M
b

saturates around magnitude above 6.
Surface-wave magnitude is
M
s
= log(A/T) + 1.66 logD + 3.30
M
s
uses 20-second waves and can handle larger sources, but it too saturates around
magnitude 8. That's OK for most purposes because magnitude-8 or great events happen
only about once a year on average for the whole planet. But within their limits, these two
scales are a reliable gauge of the actual energy that earthquakes release.
Limitations:

Magnitude saturation Its a general phenomenon for Mb above about 6.2 and Ms above
about 8.3.




A simple solution that has been found by Kanamori: defining a magnitude scale based on
the seismic moment.
Moment Magnitude, M
w
, is not based on seismometer readings at all but on the total
energy released in a quake, the seismic moment M
o
(in dyne-centimeters):
M
w
= 2/3 log(M
o
) - 10.7
This scale therefore does not saturate. Moment magnitude can match anything the Earth
can throw at us.
Still, Kanamori inserted an adjustment in his formula such that below magnitude 8 M
w

matches M
s
and below magnitude 6 matches M
b
, which is close enough to Richter's old
M
L
. So keep calling it the Richter scale if you likeit's the scale Richter would have made
if he could.
Seismic Moment (M
o
) = The seismic moment is a measure of the size of an earthquake
based on the area of fault rupture, the average amount of slip, and the force that was
required to overcome the friction sticking the rocks together that were offset by faulting.


Moment = A D
=shear modulus; A =LW =area
D =average displacement during rupture

Ground Motion Acceleration Measurement
Peak ground acceleration (PGA) is a measure of earthquake acceleration. Unlike the
Richter magnitude scale, it is not a measure of the total size of the earthquake, but rather
how hard the earth shakes in a given geographic area. It is measured by instruments, not
from personal reports, although it generally correlates well with the Mercalli scale.
Peak ground acceleration can be measured in g (the acceleration due to gravity) or m/s.
The peak horizontal acceleration (PHA) is the most commonly used type of ground
acceleration in engineering applications. Other ground motion parameters used to
characterize earthquake motion include peak velocity and peak displacement.
Strong Motion Sensors
Most strong motion sensors are designed to measure the large amplitude, high frequency
seismic waves typical of large local earthquakes. These seismic waves result in the strong
ground motion we feel during a large earthquake. Strong ground motion is often to blame
for the structural damage that occurs during an earthquake. The data seismologists record
with strong motion sensors is used to improve the design of earthquake resistant buildings
and to understand earthquake-induced geologic hazards like liquefaction and landslides.
The range of motions of interest for strong motion applications includes accelerations from
0.001 to 2 g and frequencies from 0 to 100 Hz.
Why We Need Strong Motion Sensors
Before the wide use of strong motion instruments, scientists attempted to estimate the
shaking from strong earthquakes by extrapolating (scaling up) the observed effects of
smaller earthquakes (magnitude 2.5-5.0). This method works well for many applications
and has improved with the use of data from strong motion instruments. However, this ap-
proach is not applicable in every situation. Some geologic materials and structures do not
respond to strong shaking in a simple, predictable manner that can be accurately scaled
upward. In these situations, scientists need actual data generated by strong ground motion
to better understand the processes at work. Strong motion sensors have been installed in
different areas of geologic interest throughout the Pacific Northwest to provide this type of
data.
Using strong motion data, earth scientists hope to gain a better understanding of:
1) ground response near fault ruptures of large earthquakes
2) effects of severe shaking on different subsurface structures and geologic materials.
3) ground response in areas that undergo liquefaction.