Introduction to Earthquake

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of
the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates
seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be
felt to those violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities. The seismicity, or
seismic activity, of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a
period of time. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and displacing or

disrupting the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the
seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger
landslides and occasionally, volcanic activity.

Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults but also by other events such
as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial
rupture is called its focus or hypocentre. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly
above the hypocentre.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration,

shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations may vary in magnitude.
Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults, but also by other events
such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. The underground point of
origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface
is called the epicenter. Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. It is usually
the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis (seismic sea
waves) and volcanoes that are actually the human disaster. Many of these could possibly be
avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and planning.

An earthquake is measured on Richter’s scale. A seismometer detects the vibrations caused

by an earthquake. It plots these vibrations on a seismograph. The strength, or magnitude, of
an earthquake, is measured using the Richter scale. Quakes measuring around 7 or 8 on the
Richter scale can be devastating. The basic principle in the construction of a seismograph is
that it must consist of a sufficiently heavy weight suspended in such a manner that the weight
will not move when the earth over which the seismograph rests vibrates due to an earthquake.

In the simplified arrangement of the seismograph shown in Fig. 16.11(a) weight of high
inertia is suspended such that when the instrument carrying the recording in suddenly shaken
the weight itself will not move (or its movement is ignorable compared with the rest of the
instrument).
The largest fault surfaces on Earth are formed due to boundaries between moving plates.

Causes of Earthquake

Earthquakes are caused by sudden tectonic movements in the Earth’s crust. Tectonic are
pieces of Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere.
The main cause is, that when tectonic plates, one rides over the other.. The plates are around
100 km thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called sima
from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from silicon and aluminium). The
composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with mafic basaltic rocks dominating
oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower-density felsic granitic
rocks.
The Earth’s lithosphere, which includes the crust and upper mantle, is made up of a series of
pieces, or tectonic plates, that move slowly over time.

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along
these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s
mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust.

When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the
colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges
or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench. A chain of volcanoes often
forms parallel to convergent plate boundaries and power earthquakes around common along
these boundaries.

At convergent plate boundaries, oceanic crust is often forced down into the mantle where it
begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into granite, the rock
that makes up the continents. Thus, at convergent boundaries, continental crust is created and
oceanic crust is destroyed.

Two plates sliding past each other forms a transform plate boundary. Natural or human-
made structures that cross a transform boundary are offset—split into pieces and carried in
opposite directions. Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along,
creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. Earthquakes are common along these faults.
In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, crust is cracked and broken at transform
margins, but is not created or destroyed.

The stress increases when they stick, relative motion between the plates. This continues until
the stress rises and breaks, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault,
releasing the stored energy as shock waves. Such faults are San Andreas fault in San
Francisco, Rift valley in Africa etc.

Effects of Earthquake

The effects of an earthquake are terrible and devastating. Many building, hospitals, schools,
etc are destroyed due to it. A lot of people get killed and injured. Many people lose their
money and property. It affects the mental health and emotional health of people.

The environmental effects of it are that including surface faulting, tectonic

uplift and subsidence, tsunamis, soil liquefaction, ground resonance, landslides and ground
failure, either directly linked to a quake source or provoked by the ground shaking.

Can we predict earthquakes?

It is not currently possible to make deterministic predictions of when and where earthquakes
will happen. For this to be possible, it would be necessary to identify a ‘diagnostic precursor’
a characteristic pattern of seismic activity or some other physical, chemical or biological
change, which would indicate a high probability of an earthquake happening in a small
window of space and time. So far, the search for diagnostic precursors has been unsuccessful.
Most geoscientists do not believe that there is a realistic prospect of accurate prediction in the
foreseeable future, and the principal focus of research is on improving the forecasting of
earthquakes. Most earthquakes result from the sudden release of stress in the earth’s crust,
which has built up gradually due to tectonic movement, usually along an existing geological
fault. The crust’s response to changing stress is not linear (that is, it is not directly
proportional, making prediction of behaviour more difficult), and is dependent on the crust’s
complex and highly variable geology. As a result, it is very difficult to build accurate
simulations which predict tectonic events.
Naturally occurring earthquakes

Three types of faults:

A. Strike-slip.
B. Normal.
C. Reverse.

Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic
energy .

Earthquake fault types

There are three main types of fault, all of which may cause an interpolate earthquake: normal,
reverse (thrust) and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip, where
the displacement along the fault is in the direction of dip and where movement on them
involves a vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is being
extended such as a divergent boundary. Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being
shortened such as at a convergent boundary. Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the
two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are a particular
type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are caused by movement on faults that have
components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known as oblique slip.

Reverse faults, particularly those along convergent plate boundaries, are associated with the
most powerful earthquakes, megathrust earthquakes, including almost all of those of
magnitude 8 or more. Strike-slip faults, particularly continental transforms, can produce
major earthquakes up to about magnitude 8. Earthquakes associated with normal faults are
generally less than magnitude 7. For every unit increase in magnitude, there is a roughly
thirtyfold increase in the energy released. For instance, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0
releases approximately 30 times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake and a 7.0
magnitude earthquake releases 900 times (30 × 30) more energy than a 5.0 magnitude of
earthquake. An 8.6 magnitude earthquake releases the same amount of energy as 10,000
atomic bombs like those used in World War II.[4]

Effects of earthquakes
Shaking and ground rupture

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting
in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The severity of the local
effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake magnitude, the distance from
the epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify
or reduce wave propagation.[52] The ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration.

Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of
the fault, which may be of the order of several meters in the case of major earthquakes.
Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as dams, bridges, and
nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any that are
likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.[53]
Landslides

Earthquakes can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard.

The term landslide or less frequently, landslip, refers to several forms of mass wasting that
include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures,
mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, characterized by
either steep or gentle slope gradients, from mountain ranges to coastal cliffs or even
underwater, in which case they are called submarine landslides. Gravity is the primary
driving force for a landslide to occur, but there are other factors affecting slope stability that
produce specific conditions that make a slope prone to failure. In many cases, the landslide is
triggered by a specific event (such as a heavy rainfall, an earthquake, a slope cut to build a
road, and many others), although this is not always identifiable.

Fires

Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water
mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a
fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were
caused by fire than by the earthquake itself.[55]

Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated granular material
(such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil
liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the
liquefied deposits. For example, in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, soil liquefaction caused
many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves.
Tsunami

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt
movement of large volumes of water—including when an earthquake occurs at sea. In the
open ocean the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometres (62 mi), and the
wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600–
800 kilometres per hour (373–497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves
produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a
matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometres across Open Ocean and
wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.

Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 on the Richter magnitude scale do
not cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive
tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.

Floods

Floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes, if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may
cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods.

The terrain below the Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flooding if the
landslide dam formed by the earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, were to fail during a future
earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly 5 million people.

Human impacts

An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, road and bridge damage, general property
damage, and collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings.
The aftermath may bring disease, lack of basic necessities, mental consequences such as
panic attacks, depression to survivors, and higher insurance premiums.

Measuring and locating earthquakes

The instrumental scales used to describe the size of an earthquake began with the Richter
magnitude scale in the 1930s. It is a relatively simple measurement of an event's amplitude.
Seismic waves travel through the Earth's interior and can be recorded by seismometers at
great distances. The surface wave magnitude was developed in the 1950s as a means to
measure remote earthquakes and to improve the accuracy for larger events. The moment
magnitude scale measures the amplitude of the shock, but also takes into account the seismic
moment (total rupture area, average slip of the fault, and rigidity of the rock). Every tremor
produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different
velocities:

 Longitudinal P-waves (shock- or pressure waves)

 Transverse S-waves (both body waves)
 Surface waves – (Rayleigh and Love waves)

Propagation velocity of the seismic waves through solid rock ranges from approx. 3 km/s up
to 13 km/s), depending on the density and elasticity of the medium. In the Earth's interior, the
shock- or P-waves travel much faster than the S-waves (approx. relation 1.7:1). The
differences in travel time from the epicenter to the observatory are a measure of the distance
and can be used to image both sources of quakes and structures within the Earth. Also, the
depth of the hypocenter can be computed roughly.

In the upper crust, P-waves travel in the range 2–3 km per second (or lower) in soils and
unconsolidated sediments, increasing to 3–6 km per second in solid rock. In the lower crust,
they travel at about 6–7 km per second; the velocity increases within the deep mantle to about
13 km per second. The velocity of S-waves ranges from 2–3 km per second in light sediments
and 4–5 km per second in the Earth's crust up to 7 km per second in the deep mantle. As a
consequence, the first waves of a distant earthquake arrive at an observatory via the Earth's
mantle.

Forecasting
While forecasting is usually considered to be a type of prediction, earthquake forecasting is
often differentiated from earthquake prediction. Earthquake forecasting is concerned with the
probabilistic assessment of general earthquake hazard, including the frequency and
magnitude of damaging earthquakes in a given area over years or decades. [68] For well-
understood faults the probability that a segment may rupture during the next few decades can
be estimated. Earthquake warning systems have been developed that can provide regional
notification of an earthquake in progress, but before the ground surface has begun to move,
potentially allowing people within the system's range to seek shelter before the earthquake's
impact is felt.

Preparedness
The objective of earthquake engineering is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings
and other structures and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage. Existing
structures can be modified by seismic retrofitting to improve their resistance to earthquakes.
Earthquake insurance can provide building owners with financial protection against losses
resulting from earthquakes Emergency management strategies can be employed by a
government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences.

Individuals can also take preparedness steps like securing water heaters and heavy items that
could injure someone, locating shutoffs for utilities, and being educated about what to do
when shaking starts. For areas near large bodies of water, earthquake preparedness
encompasses the possibility of a tsunami caused by a large quake.

DAMS

A dam is a barrier that restricts or stops the flow of water, helps suppress floods, as well as
providing irrigation, industrial, and aquaculture uses. Here are seven of the different kinds of
dams used across America and what they are used for.

1. Diversion Dam
2. Buttress Dam
3. Embankment Dam
4. Cofferdam
5. Storage Dam
6. Detention Dam
7. Gravity Dam

1) Diversion Dam

A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its
natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the
water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which may be used for irrigation
or return to the river after passing through hydroelectric generators, flow into a different
river or be itself dammed forming an on ground or groundwater reservoir or a storm
drain.
Like the name says, a diversion dam is used to divert water. They provide pressure to push
water into ditches, canals, or other areas used for conveyance. Diversion dams are typically
lower in height and have a small water storage area in its upstream.

2) Buttress Dam

Buttress style diversion dams are designed using angle supports on the downstream side of
the dam. The supports are fixed to the wall of the dam in order to help counteract the force of
the water on the dam. Buttress style dams are built across wide valleys that do not have a
solid bedrock foundation. Bedrock is solid rock that makes up the upper part of the earth’s
crust. Bedrock can be made from sedimentary, igneous, and metaphoric rock origins. Buttress
dams require extensive steel framework and labour. As a result, buttress style dams are
expensive to construct and are seldom built today.

Buttress dams can take many forms, but they all consist of a sloping deck supported by
intervals of buttresses. There are three main buttress dams, including: multiple arch type,
massive head type, and deck type. Buttress dams usually use less concrete than other dams
but are not necessarily cheaper.
 3) Embankment Dam

Embankment style diversion dams are constructed to counteract the force of the water
pushing on the dam by building a dam with enough weight to withstand the force.
Embankment dams are commonly made from materials in the surrounding area where the
dam is being built. The materials generally include: sand, gravel, and rocks. The
combination of these building materials with either clay or an impervious membrane
gives the embankment dam its integrity. As a result, the combination of its simple
construction and locally available building materials the cost of building an embankment
dam is lower than the other types of dams.

An embankment dam is a large, artificial dam that is constructed with natural excavated
materials or industrial waste materials, such as compacted plastics, and various compositions
of soil, sand, rock, and clay.
 4) Cofferdam

Coffer dams are generally required for foundations of structures, such as bridge piers, docks,
locks, and dams, which are built in open water. These are also used for underlying
foundations on open land where there is a high ground water table. A coffer dam generally
consists of a relatively impervious wall built around the periphery of the proposed excavation
to prevent the flow of water into the excavation excavation so that the foundation may be laid
in dry condition.

A cofferdam is also a temporary, portable dam used for a variety of projects including bridge
repair, shoreline restoration, pipeline installation, and many other construction projects.
5) Storage Dam

These dams are not meant to divert or keep water out, but to keep water in. Storage dams are
constructed to store water during the rainy seasons, supply water to the local wildlife, and
store water for hydroelectric power generation, and irrigation. Storage dams are the most
common types of dams.

Storage dams are built to provide a reliable source of water for short or long periods of time.
Small dams, for example, are often built to capture spring runoff for use by livestock in the
dry summer months. Storage dams can be further classified by the specific purpose for which
the water is being stored, such as municipal water supply, recreation, hydroelectric power
generation, or irrigation.
6) Detention Dam

Detention dams are specifically constructed for flood control by retarding flow downstream,
helping reduce flash floods (to some extent). The water is retained in a reservoir to be later
gradually released.

Detention dams are constructed to minimize the impact of flooding and to restrict the flow
rate of a particular channel. In some cases, the water trapped by a detention dam is held in
place to recharge the subsurface groundwater system. Other detention dams, called debris
dams, are designed to trap sediment.

7) Gravity Dam

A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold
back water by primarily using the weight of the material alone to resist the horizontal
pressure of water pushing against it. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the
dam is stable and independent of any other dam section.

A gravity dam is a massive, man-made concrete dam designed to hold large volumes of
water. Because of the heavy concrete used, it is able to resist the horizontal thrust of the
water, and gravity essentially holds the dam to the ground. They are used to block rivers in
wide valleys and must be built on a strong foundation of bedrock.