GROUP 2: ELEMENTS OF SEISMOLOGY: EARTHQUAKE
FAULTS; THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
 Ancient Greece
Movement of air in subterrestrial chambers created
earthquakes and ties in to Aristotle's ideas of earth, air, fire
and water as the basis for all natural events.
 East Africa
A fish carries a rock on its back and a cow stands on the
rock, balancing the Earth on one of its horns. When her
neck begins to hurt, she tosses the Earth from one horn to
another and causes an earthquake.
 Japan
A giant catfish named namazu lived in mud beneath
the earth and causes earthquakes. A prankster, namazu
could be restrained only by kashima, a god who protected
the people from earthquakes. So long as kashima kept a
mighty magical rock over the catfish, the earth was still. But
when he relaxed, the catfish thrashed about causing
earthquakes.
 Hindu mythology
Eight mighty elephants held up the land. When one of
them grew weary, it lowered and shook its head, causing an
earthquake
 China
A gigantic frog which carried the world on its back
twitched periodically, producing slight quakes
 Norse
Earthquakes were explained as the violent struggling of
the god Loki. When Loki, god of mischief and strife,
murdered Baldr, god of beauty and light, he was punished
by being bound in a cave with a poisonous serpent placed
above his head dripping venom. Loki's wife Sigyn stood by
him with a bowl to catch the poison, but whenever she had
to empty the bowl the poison would drip on Loki's face,
forcing him to jerk his head away and thrash against his
bonds, causing the earth to tremble.
 Greece
Poseidon was the cause and god of earthquakes. When
he was in a bad mood, he would strike the ground with a
trident, causing this and other calamities. He also used
earthquakes to punish and inflict fear upon people as
revenge.
 Kamchatka, Siberia, Russia
A god named Tuli drove an earth-laden sled pulled by
dogs. When the dogs stopped to scratch at fleas, the earth
shook.
 Peru
Whenever a god visited the earth to count how many
people were there, his footsteps caused earthquakes. To
shorten his task, the people ran out of their houses to shout
'I'm here, I'm here!' (incorporating in their myth, the
wisdom of leaving flimsy houses during an earthquake).
 Mexican Vaqueros, California
El Diablo, an Indian god, made a giant rip in the ground
so that he and his cohorts did not have to take the long way
around when they wanted to stir up mischief on Earth.
The Aztecs who lived in the Valley of Mexico
personified the source of earthquakes in Tepeyollotl, a
mountain god, who took the form of a jaguar leaping
toward the sun.
 Gabrielino Indians, Southern California
Long ago, Great Spirit made a beautiful land that
turtles carried on their backs in lakes and rivers calling
Earth Turtle Island. One day the turtles began to argue.
Three swam east; the other three swam west. The earth
shook and cracked. The turtles could not swim far, because
their load was heavy. So they made up. But once in a while,
the turtles argue again. Each time, the earth shakes.
TECTONIC FORCES
The interior of the Earth is dynamic it cools down
and thus provides energy for convective currents in the
outer core and the asthenosphere. Additional energy
comes from radioactive decay.
Convection
Convection in the asthenosphere enables tectonic
processes – PLATE TECTONICS
THREE MAJOR CHEMICAL RADIAL DIVISIONS
 The Shallowest Layer of the Earth: The Crust
The crust is the most heterogeneous layer in the
Earth The crust is on average 33 km thick for continents and
10 km thick beneath oceans; however it varies from just a
few km to over 70 km globally. The boundary between the
crust and the mantle is mostly chemical. The crust and
mantle have different compositions. This boundary is
referred to as the Mohorovičić discontinuity
or “Moho”. It was discovered in 1910 by the Croatian
seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić.
 Middle Earth: The Mantle
Earth’s mantle exists from the bottom of the crust to a
depth of 2891 km (radius of 3480 km) – Gutenberg
discontinuity
The uppermost mantle is composed dominantly of olivine;
lesser components include pyroxene, enstatite, and garnet
 Earth’s Core
Owing to the great pressure inside the Earth the
Earth’s core is actually freezing as the Earth gradually cools.
The boundary between the liquid outer core and the solid
inner core occurs at a radius of about 1220 km – Lehman
discontinuity, after Inge Lehman from Denmark. The
boundary between the mantle and outer core is sharp.
The change in density across the core-mantle boundary is
greater than that at the Earth’s surface.The viscosity of the
outer core is similar to that of water, it flows kilometers per
year and creates the Earth’s magnetic field.
The outer core is the most homogeneous part of the Earth
The outer core is mostly an alloy of iron and nickel in liquid
form. As the core freezes latent heat is released; this heat
causes the outer core to convect and so generates a
magnetic field.
MECHANICAL LAYERS
 LITHOSPHERE
The outermost, rigid layer of the Earth. Made of two
parts: the crust and the Moho (upper solid part of the
mantle). Divided into pieces called tectonic plates. It is
compose of rocks in the crust and upper mantle that
behave as brittle solids.
 ASTHENOSPHERE
A plastic layer of the mantle on which pieces of the
lithosphere move. Is made of solid rock that flows very
slowly. A zone of asphalt-like consistency called the
Asthenosphere.
  MESOSPHERE
A strong lower part of the mantle extending from the
bottom of the asthenosphere to the Earth's core.
 IS MESOSPHERE A LIQUID OR SOLID?
The pressure in the mesosphere is so great that even
though the rock is hot, it is solid and considerably more
rigid than the rock on top of it.
 OUTER CORE
The liquid layer of the Earth's core that lies beneath the
mantle and surrounds the inner core, made of nickel and
iron.
 INNER CORE
The solid dense center of our planet that extends from
the bottom of the outer core to the center of the Earth,
made of nickel and iron.
PACIFIC RING OF FIRE
The pacific ring of fire is an arc around pacific
ocean where many volcanoes and earthquakes are formed.
The area is also called the pacific rim, a term which refers to
coastal areas of the countries round the pacific.
The ring of fire is a direct result of plate tectonics and the
movement and collision of crustal plates. The "Ring of Fire",
also called the Circum-Pacific belt, is the zone of
earthquakes surrounding the Pacific Oceanabout 90% of
the world's earthquakes occur there. The next most seismic
region (5-6% of earthquakes) is the Alpide belt (extends
from Mediterranean region, eastward through Turkey, Iran,
and northern India.
THE RING OF FIRE contains over 450 volcanoes and is home
to approximately 75% of the world's active volcanoes
Volcanoes and Earthquakes of note:
 Christchurch Earthquake, New Zealand
 Mount Saint Helens, Washington, USA
 Mount Pinatubo, Philippines
 Mt. Fuji, Japan
 Paricutin Volcano, Mexico
 Santiago Earthquake, Chile
 Sendai Earthquake, Japan
PLATE BOUNDARIES
The Ring of Fire is the result of plate tectonics.
Tectonic plates are huge slabs of the Earth’s crust, which fit
together like pieces of a puzzle.
THE 3 MAIN TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES - occurs when two tectonic plates
move away from each other
CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES – OCCURS When two plates
come together.
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES – OCCURS WHEN Two plates
sliding past each other
THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS
Plate tectonics is the theory that earth’s outer
shell is divided into several plates that glide over the
mantle. The plates act like a hard and rigid shell compared
to earth’s mantle.
Developed from the 1950s through the 1970s,
plate tectonics is the modern version of continental drift, a
theory first proposed by alfred wegener in 1912.
HOW MANY PLATES ARE THERE?
There are nine major plates, according to the
world atlas. These plates are named after the landforms
found on them. The nine major plates are north american,
pacific, eurasian, african, indo-australian, australian, indian,
south american and antarctic.
The largest plate is the pacific plate at 39,768,522
square miles (103,000,000 square kilometers). Most of it is
located under the ocean. It is moving northwest at a speed
of around 7 cm per year.
Interacting plates
Collision leads to SUBDUCTION of one plate under
another. Mountain ranges may also be formed (Himalayas).
It produces strong and sometimes very deep earthquakes
(up to 700 km). Volcanoes also occur there
Plates moving past each other do so along the
TRANSFORM FAULTS.
TECTONIC PLATES
Tectonic plates are large parts of lithosphere
‘floating’ on the asthenosphere. Convective currents move
them around with velocities of several cm/year.
The plates interact with one another in three basic ways:
1. They collide
2. They move away from each other
3. They slide one past another
WHERE DO EARTHQUAKE OCCUR?
WHAT IS A FAULT?
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between
two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative
to each other. This movement may occur rapidly, in the
form of an earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form of
creep. Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to
thousands of kilometers. Most faults produce repeated
displacements over geologic time. During an earthquake,
the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect
to the other. The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical
or some arbitrary angle in between.
TYPES OF FAULTS
 NORMAL FAULT
Is a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has
moved downward relative to the block below. This type of
faulting occurs in response to extension and is often
observed in the Western United States Basin and Range
Province and along oceanic ridge systems.
 THRUST FAULT
Is a dip-slip fault in which the upper block, above the
fault plane, moves up and over the lower block. This type
of faulting is common in areas of compression, such as
regions where one plate is being sub ducted under another
as in Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault
is often described as a thrust fault.
 STRIKE-SLIP FAULT
Is a fault on which the two blocks slide past one
another. The San Andreas Fault is an example of a right
lateral fault
 LEFT-LATERAL STRIKE-SLIP FAULTS
A left-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the
displacement of the far block is to the left when viewed
from either side.
 OBLIQUE-SLIP FAULTS
Faults which show both dip-slip and strike-slip motion.
ELEMENTS OF SEISMOLOGY
WHAT IS SEISMOLOGY?
 Seismology is the study of earthquakes and seismic waves that move through and around the earth.
 Seismologist is a scientist who studies earthquakes and seismic waves.
WHAT ARE SEISMIC WAVES?
 Seismic waves are the waves of energy caused by sudden breaking of rock within the earth or an explosion. They are
the energy that travels through the earth and is recorded on seismographs

TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAVE PRODUCED BY AN EARTHQUAKE

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF P AND S WAVE

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF RAYLEIGH AND LOVE WAVES