ESC111

Lecture 6:
Earthquakes

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 Earthquakes
• The vibration of Earth produced by rapid release of energy
• Caused by sudden breaking or frictional sliding of rock in
the earth
• Energy radiates in all directions from the source,
FOCUS/HYPOCENTRE
• The point on the surface of the earth directly above the focus is called the EPICENTER
• Energy dissipates rapidly with increasing distance from the focus
• The released energy passes through the Earth as seismic waves (low-frequency sound
waves), which causes the shaking
• Seismic waves continue to travel through the Earth even after the fault motion has stopped
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 What causes Earthquake Activity?

• Sudden formation of a new fault

• Sudden slip on an existing fault
• Sudden change in the arrangement of atoms in minerals of a rock
• Cracking of a volcano as magma fills it in a volcanic eruption
• Giant landslides
• Meteorite impact
• Underground nuclear bomb tests
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 What are faults?

• Faults
• Fractures/breaks in rocks on which
slippage or sliding occurs
• Fault Terminology:
• Rock mass above a fault plane is known
as the HANGING WALL
• Rock mass below the fault plane is
known as FOOT WALL

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 Faults

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 Fault Types

• Normal Fault
• Reverse Fault
• Thrust Fault (low
A. Normal Fault B. Reverse Fault
angle reverse fault)
• Strike-slip Fault

ESC111 - 2024 C. Thrust Fault D. Strike-Slip Fault

 Faults and the Earth’s crust

• Normal faulting – results

in extension/stretching
of the earth’s crust
• Reverse/thrust faulting –
results in
shortening/squeezing of
the earth’s crust
• Strike-slip faults – no
extension or shortening,
shear stress

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 Faults and Earthquakes
• Slippage or sliding along these fault planes is the main cause of earthquakes
• The amount of displacement determines the degree of earthquake
• 10cm for a small earthquake
• 10m for a large earthquake
• If displacement is repeated, earthquakes may occur on the same fault over a long
time
• Active Faults: Have moved recently or are likely to move in future
• Earthquake Faults: Those that generate earthquakes
• Inactive Faults: Not likely to move again
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 Foreshocks and Aftershocks

• Foreshocks: Smaller
earthquakes that precede the
major one
• Aftershocks: Smaller
earthquakes that follow the
major one
• Aftershocks occur because
movement of rock during the main
earthquake creates new stresses
which may reactivate parts of the
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 Seismic Waves

• The released energy from earthquakes passes through the Earth as seismic
waves (low-frequency sound waves)
• Friction absorbs energy as a wave passes through the material; energy
decreases with distance from the focus
• Different types of seismic waves based on movement:
• Body waves
• Surface waves
• Compressional waves
• Shear waves
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 Seismic Wave Types
Body Waves
• P-waves: (Primary)
Compressional body waves
• S-waves: (Secondary) Shear
body waves
• P-waves travels the fastest
through rocks and arrive first
• S-waves travel more slowly
and arrive later
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Surface(Raleigh)
• R-waves: WavesSurface waves
that cause the ground to ripple up
and down
• L-waves (Love) Surface waves that
cause the ground to ripple back and
forth
• Surface waves are the slowest of all
the seismic waves and travel at
about 55% the speed of S-waves
Particle motion is parallel to the direction of propagation
(longitudinal). Material returnsESC111
to its
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original shape after
wave passes.
Transverse particle motion shown here is vertical but can be in any
direction. However, Earth’s layers tend to cause mostly vertical or
horizontal shear motions. Material returns to its original shape after
wave passes. ESC111 - 2024
Particle motion consists of elliptical motions in the vertical
plane and parallel to the direction of propagation. Amplitude
decreases with depth. Material returns to its original shape
after wave passes. ESC111 - 2024
Particle motion is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of
propagation (transverse). To aid in seeing that the particle motion is
purely horizontal, focus on the Y axis (red line) as the wave propagates
through it. Amplitude decreases with depth. Material returns to its
original shape after wave passes. ESC111 - 2024
 Epicentre

• The point on the surface of the earth directly

above the focus is called the EPICENTER
• It can be located in populated areas by amount of damage caused
• In remote areas, epicentre is located by time delays between P-waves and S-waves
• Delay time between the arrival of P-waves and S-waves increases with increasing
distance from the epicentre (the further away you are from the epicentre, the
slower these waves move)
• Measuring Earthquakes
• A SEISMOGRAPH is used to measure ground motion produced by earthquakes
• The seismic waves are recorded as seismograms

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 Measuring
Earthquakes
Mercalli Scale
• Originally developed by Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902
• Was the first scale used to characterize the size of
earthquakes
• This scale defines the intensity of the earthquake by
assessing the amount of damage caused (destructiveness)
•Richter
Mercalli Scale
intensity varies with distance from the epicentre

• Developed by Charles Richter in 1935

• The magnitude of an earthquake on this scale refers to the
amplitude of the largest ground motion produced by the earthquake
• Measured by seismographs located worldwide (usually in close
proximity to active faults)

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 Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI)
• Developed in 1931 by the American
seismologists Harry Wood and
Frank Neumann.
• Increasing levels of intensity that
range from imperceptible shaking to
catastrophic destruction, is
designated by Roman numerals.
• It does not have a mathematical
basis; instead it is an arbitrary
ranking based on observed effects.
• The Modified Mercalli Intensity
value assigned to a specific site after
an earthquake has a more
meaningful measure of severity to
the nonscientist than
the magnitude because intensity
refers to the effects actually
experienced at that place. USGS

ESC111 - 2024 * Turkey-Syria earthquake 2023 measured XI (extreme)

Classes of Earthquakes
• Shallow-focus Earthquakes
• Occur in the top 20km of the Earth
• Intermediate-focus Earthquakes
• Occurs between 20 and 300km in
the Earth
• Deep-focus Earthquakes
• Occurs down to a depth of 670km

Damage from Earthquakes

• Ground shaking and displacement
• Landslides and avalanches
• Sediment liquefaction
• Fire
• Tsunamis
• Disease
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 Where do Earthquakes occur?
• Earthquakes do not occur everywhere on earth, most occur in fairly narrow seismic belts or seismic zones which
define plate boundaries
• 80% of earthquake energy released comes from the plate-boundary earthquakes in the belt surrounding
the Pacific Ocean

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 Where do Earthquakes occur?
“Ring of Fire”

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 Map of Earthquakes
1620–2008 contained
in the South African
National
Seismological
Database (SANSD).
Known clusters
relating to natural and
mining-induced
seismicity are
highlighted. The
seismic recording
stations are
represented by
triangles.
(Andrzej Kijko
Natural Hazard Centre,
University of Pretoria)

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 Major geological
provinces and
neotectonic
features/faults of
South Africa
superimposed
with the
seismicity
recorded by the
SANSN (adapted
from Nguuri et
al. 2001)
(Andrzej Kijko
Natural Hazard
Centre, University of
Pretoria)

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