Basic

Seismology
 The nature of Earthquake
Definition of an Earthquake
An earthquake is an oscillatory violent movement of
the earth’s surface that follows a release of energy in
the earth’s crust

Reasons
•Sudden dislocation of segments of the crust
•A volcanic eruption
•Man made explosion
Seismic waves
For pure axial loading , Hook’s law gives the stress that

  E
As rock is stressed, it stores strain energy. The elastic strain
energy per unit volume for pure axial loading


 U
2

When the stress exceeds the ultimate strength of the rocks,
the rock break and quickly moves into new positions. In the
process of breaking, the strain energy is released and the
seismic waves are generated.
Travelling of seismic waves

These waves travel from the source of the earthquake to

more distant locations along the surface of and through the
earth. The wave velocities depend on the nature of the waves
and the material through which the wave travel.

Some of the vibrations are of high enough frequency to be

audible, while others are of very low frequency with periods
of many seconds and thus are inaudible.
How the earthquakes are triggered (A new theory)

Geologists believe that pumping fluids can trigger earthquakes.

There is evidence in France that removing gas from pores deep

in the earth can trigger earthquake.

Oil and gas are the main fluids of concern; Pumping water from
aquifers close to the surface is probably not as likely to result
in an earthquake. The theory states that the reservoir shrinks
when the gas or oil is removed, but the rocks surrounding the
reservoir do not.
Hypocenter or focus
The hypocenter is the location of earthquake in the the earthquake
Epicenter
The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface
directly
Focal depth
The depth of an earthquake from the earth’s surface to the focus
Shallow earthquakes
Focal depth less than approximately 60 km.
Very shallow earthquakes
Focal depth less than approximately 15 km. They are caused by
the fracturing of brittle rock in the crust or by internal strain
energy that overcomes the friction locking opposite sides of a fault.
Intermediate earthquakes
Cause not fully understood. Focal depth ranging from 60 to 300 km
Deep earthquakes
Focal depth up to 700 km
Earthquake terminology
 Global seismicity

Most earthquakes occur in areas bordering the pacific ocean.

This circum-pacific belt, nicknamed the ring of fire, includes

the pacific coasts of North America and south America,
the Aleutian islands, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.
 Continental drift

It has been known since the early 1900s that the continents
are moving relative to one another, movement is known as
continental drift.
The same fossilized deposits are found in India and in the Arctic.

Reason
A system of interconnecting submarine ridges, called mid-ocean
ridges was discovered circling the earth. Such ridges are located
Approximately midway between continents that are moving apart
(e.g. between Africa and south America). It is now recognized that
New oceanic crust is being formed at the ridges and is added to
The plates moving apart. This is known as sea floor spreading.
 Plate Tectonics
Most earthquakes are a manifestation of the fragmentation
of the earth’s outer shell (known as lithosphere ) into various
large and small plates.
(The academic field that studies plate motion is known as
plate tectonics. )
There are seven very large plates, each consisting of both
oceanic and continental portions.There are also a dozen or more
small plates.
Each plate is approximately 80 to 100 km thick and has thick and
thin parts. The thinner part deforms by elastic bending and brittle
breakage. The thicker part yields plastically. Beneath the plate is
a viscous layer on which the entire plate slides. The plates
themselves tend to be internally rigid, interacting only at the edges.
These plates move relative to each other with steady velocities
that approach 0.40 ft/year.
 Submarine ridges
Where plates are pulling apart, hot material from the deeper
mantle wells up to fill the gap. Some of the mantle material
appears as lava in volcanic material. Most solidifies beneath
the surface, forming a submarine ridge.
The ridge is high relative to the ocean bottom because the mantle
Material is hot and, hence, low in density.

Submarine trenches
Where plates converge, one dips down and slides beneath the
Other, this process known as subduction.
A trench is formed where the subducting plate dips down
 Zone of
subduction
 Earthquake energy release
Shallow earthquakes represent sudden slippages and are
accompanies by a release of elastic strain energy stored in the
rock over a long period.
Recent research seems to indicate that the same thing happens
in deep earthquakes also.

Only a fraction of the energy released in an earthquake actually

appears in seismic waves. Most of the released strain energy is
reabsorbed locally by the moving, deforming, and heating the
rock.
Seismic sea waves
When the sea floor suddenly rises up during a great earthquake,
Water also rises with it and then rushes away to find a level
Surface. An enormous mass of water is suddenly set in motion,
And a complex sloshing back and forth between contents
continues for many hours. The result is a train of surface-water
waves, each of which is known as a sea wave or tidal wave(in
Japanese tsunami).
Tsunami depends primarily on the ocean depth. In deep ocean,
Waves travel at about 800 km/hr
As wave approaches land, the wave velocity decreases due to
increased friction with the increasingly shallow seafloor. As the
Wave velocity decreases, the wave height increases.
Where seafloor topography and orientation are optimal for
tsunami formation(where there is gentle sloping sea floor and
Where the slope is parallel to wave direction), the wave can form
a wall of water more than 15m in height. Such a wave can cause
enormous destruction when it reaches onto shore.
Faults

A fault is a fracture in the earth’s crust along which two blocks

Have slipped relative to each other.

A fault in which the movement is vertical is called a dip-slip fault.

In a normal fault, the hanging wall moves down relative to the
foot wall.
In a reverse fault, also known as a thrust fault, the hanging wall
moves up relative to the foot wall.
In oblique faults, movement is both in horizontal and vertical
direction.
Types of faults
 Creep
In addition to fault slip, a second type of fault movement known
as creep can occur.
Creep is characterized by continuous or intermittent movement
Without noticeable earthquake.

Seismic wave
Seismic waves are of three types
Compression
Shear
Surface waves
Compression waves
Compression waves can pass through the earth’s molten
core. Because compression waves, also known as
longitudinal waves, travel at great speeds (5800 m/s or
19000 ft/sec in granite) and ordinarily reach the surface first, they
are known as P-waves (Primary waves). P-waves velocity is
given by

vp 
  2G
vp 
   2G  g c [US]
[SI]
 
 Shear waves
Shear waves also known as transverse waves do not travel
rapidly (3000m/sec or 10,000 ft/sec in granite) through the
Earth’s crust and mantle as do compression waves.
Because they ordinarily reach the surface later, they are known
as S-wave (secondary waves).
Instead of affecting material directly behind or ahead of their
lines of travel, shear waves displace material at right angles
to their path.
While S-wave travel more slowly than P-waves, they transmit
More energy and cause the majority of damage to structures.
The velocity of S-wave is given by
G Gg
vs  [SI]
v s  c [US]
 
S-wave waves
Surface waves
Surface waves also known as Rayleigh waves (R-waves)
or L-waves (Love waves) may or may not form.

They arrive after the primary and secondary waves.

In granite R waves at approximately 2700 m/sec (9000 ft/sec).

Locating the epicenter
The first indication of an earthquake will often be a sharp “thud”
signalling the arrival of the compression wave front. This will
be followed by the shear waves and the the ground roll caused
By the surface waves.

The times separating the arrivals of the compression and shear

Waves at various seismometer stations can be used to locate
the epicenter’s position and depth.
The distance, s, from a seismometer to the epicenter can be
Determined from the wave velocities and the observed trime
Between the arrival of the compression and shear waves.

1 1 
i s  t p    s
v v 
 s p 