Earthquake Slides.ppt

Copyright ? by Isiorho Earthquake Slides By Dr. S. A. Isiorho Earthquakes Definitions Earthquake- the vibration of the ground due to the sudden release of energy accumulated in a deformed rock Focus (Hypocenter)- spot underground where the rock begins to break- point at which slip initiates Epicenter- the point on the land surface directly above the focus Aftershock- tremors that occur as rocks adjust to their new position Seismology- the study of earthquake Seismic Waves Earthquake’s energy is transmitted through the earth as seismic waves Two types of seismic waves radiate from the focus Body waves- transmit energy through earth’s interior Primary (P) wave- rocks vibrate parallel to direction of wave (v=4-7km/sec) Compression and expansion (slinky example) Secondary (S) wave- rocks move perpendicular to wave direction (v=2-5 km/sec) Rock shearing (rope-like or ‘wave’ in a stadium) S-wave cannot travel through liquid Surface waves- transmit energy along earth’s surface Love (L) wave- Rock moves from side to side like snake Raleigh ? wave- Rolling pattern like ocean wave Locating Measuring Earthquake Seismometer- instruments that detect seismic waves Seismograph- device that measures the magnitude of earthquake seismogram is visual record of arrival time and magnitude of shaking associated with seismic wave Mercalli Intensity scale Measured by the amount of damage caused in human terms- I (low) to XII (high) Richter Scale- (logarithmic scale) Magnitude- based on amplitude of the waves Earthquake total energy- uses moment magnitude scale Locating Epicenter Focus Depth (EQ classification) Use Arrival time at a recording station (time lag between P S waves) to locate the epicenter of an earth quake Need three stations to determine the epicenter Maximum Depth of Focus Shallow focus EQ 70 km (45 mi) most earthquakes Intermediate focus EQ- 70-300 km (45- 180 mi) Deep focus EQ- 300 km ( 180 mi) Richter Scale Richter scale is based on a log scale, meaning that each