JERMAINE PINIERA – CACAO

BSCE – 2
GEOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS
ASSIGNMENT

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. Explain how energy is stored prior to and then released during an earthquake.

 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. In geology, the elastic-rebound theory is an
explanation for how energy is released during an earthquake. As the Earth's crust deforms,
the rocks which span the opposing sides of a fault are subjected to shear stress. Slowly they
deform, until their internal rigidity is exceeded. Then they separate with a rupture along the
fault; the sudden movement releases accumulated energy, and the rocks snap back almost to
their original shape. The previously solid mass is divided between the two slowly moving
plates, the energy released through the surroundings in a seismic wave.
Prior to an earthquake, it was noted that the rocks adjacent to the fault were bending.
These bends disappeared after an earthquake suggesting that the energy stored in bending
the rocks was suddenly released during the earthquake.

3. Give two mechanisms that can release accumulated elastic energy in rocks.
 For earthquakes, elastic energy derives from two sources:
(1) the strain energy stored in the volcano/fault zone before rupture
- Earthquakes occur when energy stored in elastically strained rocks is suddenly
released. This release of energy causes intense ground shaking in the area near the
source of the earthquake and sends waves of elastic energy, called seismic waves,
throughout the Earth. Earthquakes can be generated by bomb blasts, volcanic eruptions,
sudden volume changes in minerals, and sudden slippage along faults.
(2) the external applied load (force, pressure, stress, displacement) on the volcano/fault
zone.

5. Define focus and epicenter.

 Focus – is also called the “hypocenter” of an earthquake. It is the point within the earth
where an earthquake rupture starts. The vibrating waves travel away from the focus of the
earthquake in all directions. The waves can be so powerful they will reach all parts of the
Earth and cause it to vibrate like a turning fork.
Epicenter – the point directly above it at the surface of the Earth. At the epicenter, the
strongest shaking occurs during an earthquake. Sometimes the ground surface breaks along
the fault. Sometimes the movement is deep underground and the surface does not break.
Earthquake waves start at the focus and travel outward in all directions. Earthquake waves
do not originate at the epicenter.
 7. Explain how a seismograph works. Sketch what an imaginary seismogram would look like before
and during an earthquake.

 During an earthquake, vibrations caused by the breakage of rock along a fault zone radiate
outward from the point of rupture. The instrument used to record and measure these
vibrations is called a seismograph.
A basic seismograph includes a solid base and a
heavy weight suspended from a spring over the base.
A pen hangs from the weight and a rotating drum
with paper sits below it on the base. The tip of the
pen touches the drum. When the earth shakes from
an earthquake, the drum rotates, and the weighted
pen moves back and forth due to the motion of
seismic waves. The pen records the movement on
the drum. The paper recording of an earthquake is
called a seismogram.
When an earthquake causes the ground
to shake, the base of the seismograph
shakes too, but the hanging weight does not.
Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement.
The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and
the motionless part is what is recorded.

- A TYPICAL
SEISMOGRAM.

When you look at a seismogram, there will be wiggly lines all across it. These are all the
seismic waves that the seismograph has recorded. Most of these waves were so small that
nobody felt them. These tiny microseisms can be caused by heavy traffic near the
seismograph, waves hitting a beach, the wind, and any number of other ordinary things that
cause some shaking of the seismograph. There may also be some little dots or marks evenly
spaced along the paper. These are marks for every minute that the drum of the seismograph
has been turning. How far apart these minute marks are will depend on what kind of
seismograph you have.
The P wave will be the first wiggle that
is bigger than the rest of the little ones (the
microseisms). Because P waves are the
fastest seismic waves, they will usually be
the first ones that your seismograph records.
The next set of seismic waves on your
seismogram will be the S waves. These are
usually bigger than the P waves.
If there aren't any S waves marked on
your seismogram, it probably means the
earthquake happened on the other side of
 the planet. S waves can't travel through the liquid layers of the earth so these waves never
made it to your seismograph.

9. Describe how the epicenter of an earthquake is located.

 Scientists use triangulation to find the epicenter of an earthquake. When seismic data is
collected from at least three different locations, it can be used to determine the epicenter by
where it intersects. Every earthquake is recorded on numerous seismographs located in
different directions. Each seismograph records the times when the first (P waves) and second
(S waves) seismic waves arrive.
In order for seismologists to determine the location of the earthquake epicenter, they
need the distances to the epicenter from at least three seismographs. Let’s say that they
know that an earthquake’s epicenter is 50 kilometers from Kansas City. They draw a circle
with a 50 km radius around that seismic station. They do this twice more around two
different seismic stations. The three circles intersect at a single point. This is the earthquake’s
epicenter.
*** Basic steps seismologists undertake to locate the epicenter of an earthquake:
a. Measure the time that elapses between the arrival of the P (primary) wave and the
arrival of the S (secondary) wave to the seismic stations.
b. Using the S-P time, determine the epicentral distance of each station to the earthquake
using a travel time curve.
c. Use a map and graphical compass to draw arcs of radii equal to the epicentral distances
around each station. Where these arcs overlap, you may approximate your epicenter.

SEISMOGRAPHS IN PORTLAND, SAN

FRANCISCO, AND SALT LAKE CITY ARE USED TO FIND AN EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER.

11. Discuss earthquake mechanisms at the three different types of tectonic plate boundaries.
 Almost all earthquakes occur at the edges of the crustal plates. The constant bumping,
grinding, and lateral movement along crustal boundaries can create sudden movements that
result in earthquakes. Each of the three types of plate boundaries—convergent, divergent,
and transform—has a distinctive pattern of earthquakes.
*** Convergent boundaries: subduction and collision. A subduction boundary is marked by
the oceanic crust of one plate that is being pushed downward beneath the continental or
oceanic crust of another plate. A collision boundary separates two continental plates that are
pushed into contact.
Earthquakes associated with a collision boundary define shallow, broad zones of seismic
activity that form in complex fault systems along the suture zone. Earthquake patterns in
subduction zones are more complex. As the oceanic crust begins to descend, it begins to
break into blocks because of tension stress. Shallow earthquakes in the upper part of the
 subduction zone are a result of shallow‐angle thrust faults, in which slices of plates slide like
cards in a deck that is being shuffled. Earthquakes also periodically occur as the plate
continues to subduct up to a depth of about 670 kilometers (400 miles). First‐motion studies
of these earthquakes suggest they result from both compressional and tensional forces on
the subducting plate.
*** Divergent boundaries are those at which crustal plates move away from each other,
such as at mid-oceanic ridges. These huge underwater mountains often have a central graben
feature, or rift valley, that forms at the crest of the ridge. The formation of new ocean crust
that is pushed away from both sides of the ridge fault creates a tensional setting that results
in the formation of the graben. Earthquakes are located along the normal faults that form
the sides of the rift or beneath the floor of the rift. Divergent faults and rift valleys within a
continental mass also host shallow‐focus earthquakes.
*** Shallow‐focus earthquakes occur along transform boundaries where two plates move
past each other. The earthquakes originate in the transform fault, or in parallel strike‐slip
faults, probably when a frictional resistance in the fault system is overcome and the plates
suddenly move.

13. Discuss earthquake mechanisms at plate interiors.

 Earthquakes that occur away from plate boundaries, within the plate interior, are intraplate
earthquakes.
Intraplate earthquakes do not occur near plate boundaries, but along faults in the normally
stable interior of plates. These earthquakes often occur at the location of ancient failed rifts,
because such old structures may present a weakness in the crust where it can easily slip to
accommodate regional tectonic strain.
Compared to earthquakes near plate boundaries, intraplate earthquakes are not well
understood, and the hazards associated with them may be difficult to quantify.

15. Outline the seismic gap hypothesis. Discuss modern objections to the theory.
 The seismic gap hypothesis or theory states that over long periods of time, the displacement
on any segment must be equal to that experienced by all the other parts of the fault. Any
large and longstanding gap is, therefore, considered to be the fault segment most likely to
suffer future earthquakes. It is a theory predicting the relative size and frequency of
earthquakes in a given area, depending on the size and the frequency of other earthquakes
in the area. (e.g. areas that experience many small earthquakes will likely not experience a
large one, whereas areas that go for long periods of time without an earthquake are likely to
experience a larger earthquake).
The seismic gap hypothesis holds that most long-term geologic slip on faults or plate
boundaries is accomplished by characteristic earthquakes on segments. Such quakes are
presumed to reduce the stress substantially, necessitating a substantial recurrence time for
elastic stress to recover before the next characteristic earthquake. The dates and rupture
extent of past earthquakes may be determined by modern seismic networks; by historic
reports of faulting, damage, or strong shaking; or by paleo seismic investigation of trenches
across faults. The average recurrence time may be determined either from a sequence of
dates of past characteristic earthquakes, or by the time required for steady slip on a fault to
accumulate the slip experienced in a characteristic earthquake.
Despite some reported successes, the seismic gap hypothesis has often been
questioned. Critics point to the difficulty of verifying the rather strong assumptions behind
 the hypothesis, and to its limited success in forecasting earthquakes. The basic assumption
that faults and plate boundaries are segmented has provoked significant debate. Even the
few apparent successes (e.g., Loma Prieta,), are equivocal at best. The rupture of the Loma
Prieta earthquake was about the length of the nearest segment mapped by the Working
Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (1988), but it shifted south and spilled over the
southern segment boundary. Moreover, the event occurred near, but not actually on the San
Andreas Fault for which the segment was defined. Before 2004, the Parkfield segment was
defined in several different ways, so its location at Parkfield does not confirm the
segmentation hypothesis (Jackson and Kagan, 2006). The 2010 Chile earthquake went well
beyond the segment boundaries specified by Nishenko (1991).
In addition, several events have clearly violated preassigned boundaries. The 1992
Landers quake was mentioned above, and the great Sumatra tsunami earthquake of 2004
breached several boundaries along its 1,300-km rupture zone (Nalbant et al., 2005). The
assumption that earthquakes rupture to both ends of segment boundaries also lacks
verification.
A basic problem is that the locations of segment boundaries are usually estimated
inaccurately from the extent of past earthquake ruptures. For earthquakes identified by
paleo seismic investigations, rupture can generally be pinpointed at only a few widely spaced
locations. For historical earthquakes, rupture extent is typically estimated with great
uncertainty from the extent of damage or reported shaking. Even for modern instrumentally
recorded earthquakes, the extent of the aftershock zone or fault scarp may not accurately
represent the rupture at depth where the elastic rebound occurs. In many cases, the extent
of rupture for older earthquakes is assumed to be similar to that of the most recent event, a
clear case of circular reasoning.

17. Explain how geologists learned that the core is composed of iron and nickel.
 Geologists use waves to study the different layers of the earth. Usually, they use seismic
waves, which are waves generated by earthquakes or nuclear-test explosions. The seismic
waves are bent, sped up, or slowed down, or even reflected when they pass through the
earth's layers. Different types of materials (liquid vs. solid, rigid vs. softer) determine the
speed of the waves. Bending of the waves occurs at the layer's boundaries. So, scientists
study the path and speed of these waves through the earth to decipher boundaries and the
materials that make up the layers.
The core is composed of iron and we know that it exists because it refracts seismic
waves creating a 'shadow zone' at distances between 103º and 143º.