See if you

can
complete
the
labelling.

The Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, 2004

The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami killed
almost 250 million people. What happened and could lives
have been saved?

Facts
Indonesia Indonesia is an island
state of some 18,000 islands. The
population of Indonesia is greater
than 200 million, making it the
fourth most populous country in
the world. Where is Indonesia?
Indonesia lies between the Indian
and Pacific Ocean north west of
Australia. Energy The energy
expended by the tsunami is
estimated to have been 3.35
exajoules, which is as much
energy as the US uses in 11 days or
the explosion of 0.25 gigatons of
TNT. Death toll Around 170,000
people lost their lives in
Indonesia; 35,000 in Sri Lanka, 18,000 in India, 8,000 in Thailand and many others around the Indian Ocean. Human
impact The fact that humans had destroyed many coral reefs to improve fishing in the area meant that the reefs did
not protect the land as much as they may have done otherwise.

What happened?
Itʼs a long story. On 26th December 2006 an earthquake of over 9.0 on the Richter scale hit 160km off the west coast
of Sumatra in the northern reaches of Indonesia. The earthquake was the result of an adjustment along the Sumatra
fault line which separates the Indian Plate (part of the Indo-Australian plate with the Burma plate). This pressure had
been building up for some time. Eventually this pressure was released and a 1200km line cracked and sank 15m.
This rupture triggered an earthquake and the earthquake and displacement of water caused a mammoth tsunami. The
earthquake alone was the second largest ever recorded by a seismometer. The focus of the earthquake was 30km
underground, but the effects of the earthquake were felt throughout the Indian Ocean.

Why were so many people killed?

Tragedy in Asia Almost a quarter of a million people were killed in the tsunami that occurred as a result of the
earthquake. Although the earthquake was significant, Indonesia is no stranger to them, and buildings are designed to
wobble and not break, and people know what to do when there is a quake. Yet, in this instance the main danger came
with the tsunami. Although Indonesia is also no stranger to tsunamis there is little one can do in the face of such a
wave, except run to higher ground, and this was not possible for many. But many of the dead were in fact not in
Indonesia at all because the tsunami stretched across the Indian Ocean. As it is the Pacific Ocean which tends to get
most of the tsunamis, because of the Ring of Fire, the Indian Ocean had been caught unawares, and countries all
around it were badly affected.

What causes a tsunami?

Waving and drowning A tsunami is a massive wave caused by tectonic movements. It can travel at great speed. The
tsunami associated with this earthquake travelled at 800km/h. The wave
does little damage when at sea, but when it reaches land it is devastating.
You can see from the map on the right hand side, how many countries
were affected. There is a list of fatalities on the previous page. The wave
builds up when it is displaced by underwater movements and the only
way to be safe is to get out of its way. Nevertheless, some areas on the
map were saved, because of the way that the coast faced, or because of
the proximity of vegetation or high land. Mangroves are said to have
been responsible, in some areas for protecting land from the onslaught of
the tsunami.

So whatʼs happened since?

Help is on its way After the tsunami people from all around the world gave large amounts of money. 7 billion US
dollars in all. The countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, and the United Nations
resolved to create a Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System, like the one that operates
in the Pacific Ocean. It is hoped that this system will be in place by July 2006. The
system will connect sensors and an audible warning system to ensure that if warning
needs to be given, it will be heard. Also, much rebuilding has occurred. Because of
the nature of the local economies much has already been rebuilt. The money given has
gone a long way in very poor countries. In some instances, however, such as the case
in Galle, Sri Lanka, the whole city was destroyed. Yet, with thousands killed and
many who have been made homeless or lost their families, there is much sadness and
it will be impossible for people in the country to entirely recover. Already warning
agencies have increased the number of people who are emailed in the event of the
detection of a tsunami bearing earthquake. Also, designs have been made to build
houses that are more resistant to inundation (tsunami flooding). Many children were
made orphans in the tsunami, and many parents lost their children, and so it has been a very difficult time for many
people.
The Indian Plate and the Himalayas
The Indian plate split from Gondwanaland and Madagascar about 90 million years
ago. Due to continental drift, it moved toward Eurasia and collided with that
continent about 35 to 55 million years ago. This collision resulted in the formation
of the Himalayas. (source: Wikipedia/USGS)

In the late Cretaceous Period about 90 millions years ago, the Indian plate formed
when India broke away from a larger supercontinent called Gondwanaland. The
Indian plate moved northward to collide with the Eurasian continent some 35 – 55
million years later. If the earlier estimate of 55 million years was correct, then the
Indian plate would have been the fastest-moving known plate, traveling at 20 cm
per year. There is now evidence from seismic imaging that the Indian plate had a
sliver of oceanic lithosphere attached to it, so subduction occurred for some time
before the two pieces of continental lithosphere collided to form the Himalayan
mountains, the tallest mountain belt on Earth. No subduction occurs at present
along the current continent-continent convergent plate boundary. But many
plate-boundary maps mark the ancient subduction zones. The reason for this is that
some slab remnants still remain in the upper mantle, as revealed by seismic
imaging. Some intermediate-depth earthquakes may also still occur which indicates than some last remnants are still
relatively close to the surface.

Case Study: Analyzing Plate Motion

in the Pacific Northwest
Global Positioning System (GPS) Technologies Document Plate Motion
When Albert Wegener first proposed the idea of continental drift, many scientists viewed
him as the laughingstock of his day. Except for the "coincidental" fit of a few coastlines
and some interesting fossil distributions, most members of the scientific community
could not accept that continents moved, because they saw no evidence of motion.
Today, Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies are providing direct evidence of
plate motion. High-precision GPS data document tectonic motion, and these data are
being used to refine models and create visualizations that convey our current
understanding of plate tectonics.

 The Cascadia Subduction Zone

(CSZ) in cross-sectional view.
Note the Juan de Fuca plate
subducting under the North
American plate. Click the image
for a larger view.
Most plates move less than a millimeter per day; this movement is imperceptible to

human senses. However, this daily motion translates to 1-10 centimeters of movement
over a year, and that yearly motion translates to 10-50 kilometers of movement over a
million years. This slow but relentless motion eventually results in soaring mountains,
rumbling earthquakes, and exploding volcanoes.

One place where plates have been moving for millions of years is the Pacific Northwest,
where the Juan de Fuca plate dives under the North American plate in a process known
as subduction. The region is called the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ). Processes
associated with the CSZ have generated the scenic landscape for which the Pacific
Northwest is known, including the rugged Cascades and Coast Range Mountains. The
subduction zone is also responsible for large earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and
occasional tsunamis.

The Plate Boundary Observatory Collects and Analyzes GPS Data

 PBO station locations in the Pacific Northwest. View

worldwide locations in Google Maps at PBO Network Maps.

The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) collects location data from a network of
continuous high-precision GPS units that are coupled to bedrock across the CSZ. GPS
technology has matured to the point that it can be used to detect the very small daily
motion of tectonic plates. When they were initially used for geodesy, GPS location data
were collected only once per year. With motion averaged over an entire year, the details
of events that happened on shorter time scales simply didn't show up. With the
increased temporal resolution of the PBO network, we can examine fine details of short-
and long-term geologic processes.

PBO data enable users to uncover the detailed movement and deformation of the "rigid"
tectonic plates near the CSZ. Small differences in the motions of GPS stations can reveal
locked portions of the subduction zone where stress is building and the earthquake
danger rising. GPS stations can also detect surface bulging due to upwelling magma,
perhaps giving early warning of important changes taking place under restless volcanos.
The precision of these data has also facilitated discovery of a newly recognized
phenomenon called Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS). Until recently, motion on a
subduction zone fault was assumed to be constant in direction and speed between the
time of major earthquakes. Scientists believed that accumulating tectonic pressure
along a fault would continue to steadily deform the crustal rocks around the fault until
an earthquake occurred, rupturing the fault and releasing the pressure. Now, GPS data
have revealed a more interesting and complicated story. At regular intervals, GPS
stations on the northern Cascadia margin have exhibited transient motions of 5 or 6
millimeters within a couple of weeks, implying deep fault slip of several centimeters.
These transient motions are directed seaward, opposite to the direction of long-term
squeezing of the coastal margin. Over the same time period, sensitive seismometers
have recorded tremor-like signals that accompany these episodes of deep slip. While
earthquakes usually last just seconds or minutes, this slow release of pulsing seismic
energy occurs over the entire one or two weeks of slip. The total amount of seismic
energy released in these events is large, on average equalling that of a magnitude 6.6
earthquake.

The significance of ETS events is currently being debated, but consensus is arising that
they represent a fairly rapid release of some of the subduction zone's stored stress. This
release can cause a transfer of stress to shallower faults. Some researchers are
exploring how these events might aid them in the prediction of the next large
earthquake in the region. As a result, ETS represents an important new observation of
unexpected behavior on a subduction zone—one that wouldn't have been made without
high-resolution GPS data.

In this chapter, you examine GPS data to explore plate motion and its relation to
regional geology. Specifically, find the annual velocity vector of one or more PBO
stations in the Pacific Northwest and plot them on a map. By compiling a map showing
velocity vectors for several GPS stations, you can determine the general motion of the
North American plate and explore the smaller-scale differences of motion in the region.