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Glossary
Asthenosphere – A weak zone in the upper part of the Earth's
mantle where
rock can be deformed in response to stress, resulting
in movement of the overlying crust.

Body waves - Waves that travel through the earth’s inner layer.

Continental crust – The continental crust is the layer of granitic,

sedimentary
and metamorphic rocks which form the continents
and the areas of shallow seabed close to their
shores, known as continental shelves.

Earthquake – Caused by the constant motion of the earth’s surface.

Epicenter – The point on the Earth’s surface that lies vertically

above the focus
of an earthquake.

Eruption - A sudden often violent outburst.

Fault – Is a fracture within the Earth’s crust along which a significant

movement
has occurred.

Fire – Major secondary hazard associated with earthquakes due to several

associated destructions.

Focus – The place where energy is first released to caused an

Earthquake.

Geomagnetism – Changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.

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Intensity - The measure of the human reaction to the ground

movement, and
of the damage to the ground surface such as cracks and
landslides.
Landslide – A geological phenomenon which includes a wide range
of ground
movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and
shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal
and onshore environments.

Liquefaction – The vibration of the soil that transforms from a firm

material
into a quiksandlike substance.

Lithosphere – Comes from the Greek word LITHOS, meaning,

“rock”; it is
the earth’s rigid surface

Long waves – the fastest surface wave and move the ground from
side-to-side.

Magnitude – The measure of the earthquakes size; it is a reflection

of the
strengths of the seismic waves emitted by earthquakes.

Normal Fault – Occurs when a hanging block falls downward

relative to the foot wall.

Oceanic crust – The part of Earth's lithosphere that surfaces in the ocean basins.

Plate – Is in slow, continual motion (usually at the rate of a few inches

per year)
with respect to each other.

Primary wave – Is a longitudinal wave in which rock vibrates

parallel to the direction of wave propagation, that is, the
same wave, as the waves are moving. The fastest kind
of seismic wave.
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Rayleigh waves – Named after Rayleigh. It moves he ground up

and down, and side-to-side in the same direction that
the wave is moving.

Reverse fault – Is one where the hanging wall (block) is pushed up

relative the
foot wall (block).

Scarps – Sections of ground may be elevated or may subside during

an earthquake.

Secondary wave – It is slower than primary waves. The rock

vibrates perpendicular to the direction the waves are
moving.

Seiches – The rocking motion of water in a lake or similarly closed or

partially
closed water body.

Seismicity – a swarm of small tremors called foreshocks frequently

but not
always, precedes a major earthquake.

Seismic gaps – Seismic activity registered at the monitoring

stations.

Seismic wave – Result of the sudden break or shift occurs in the

earth's crust.

Seismograph – is an instrument that detects, magnifies and

records vibrations
of the earth, especially earthquakes.

Strains – Changes in rate of displacement.

Strike – slip fault – (also called transcurrent, wrench, or lateral)

faults are
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similarly caused by horizontal compression, but they

release their energy by rock displacement in a
horizontal direction almost parallel to the
compressional force.

Subsidence and uplift – a vertical movement of the surface of

the land indicates a build-up of strains in
the crust.

Surface Waves – Can only move along the surface of the planet.

Tectonic earthquake – Earthquake caused by the movement of

plate tectonics
or drifting of faults.

Trench – Long deep hole dug in the ground, usually with steep or
vertical
sides.

Tsunami – Series of large waves of extremely long wavelength and

period
usually generated by a violent, impulsive undersea
disturbance or activity near the coast or in the
ocean.

Volcanic arc - is a chain of volcanic islands or mountains formed by

plate tectonics as an oceanic tectonic plate subducts
under another tectonic plate and produces magma.