MODULE 1

EARTH AND ITS INTERIOR

Earth is formed by the coalescence of a large collection of material masses.
Formation of earth which was a fusion process generated large amount of heat.
When earth cooled down, different layers were formed. Heavier and denser
materials sank to the centre and the lighter ones rose to the top. The differentiated
earth consists of different layers (geospheres) like
1. Core
2. Mantle
3. Crust
Core
It is the densest central part of the earth. It is also called barysphere. It is composed
of inner and outer cores. The inner core has a radius of about 1221 km. It is solid
and consists of heavy metals such as nickel and iron. It has a density of about
16000 kg/m3. The outer core surrounding the inner core is 2259 km thick. It is
composed of nickel and iron alloyed with silica. The outer core is liquid in form
and has a density of 12000 kg/m3. The temperature at the core is about 25000C and
the pressure is about 4million atm.
Mantle
Mantle is the layer surrounding the core. It is also called asthenosphere which is
2685 km thick. It is composed of hot, dense ultrabasic igneous rock in a plastic
state. Mantle with a density of 5000 6000 kg/m3 has the ability to flow. The
mantle consists of 1) Upper Mantle made of olivine and pyroxene and 2) Lower
Mantle made of more homogeneous mass of magnesium and iron oxide and quartz.
No earthquakes are recorded in the lower mantle. The specific gravity of mantle is
about 5. The mantle has an average temperature of about 2200degree Celsius.
Crust
Crust also known as lithosphere is the thinnest outer solid shell. It is 200 km thick
with a density of 1500 kg/m3. The temperature of the crust is about 250C and the
pressure within it is 1 atm. It is the part of the earth where life exist. The average
thickness of crust beneath continents is about 40km where as it decreases to as
much as 5km beneath oceans. The oceanic crust is constituted by basaltic rocks
and continental part by granitic rocks overlying the basaltic rocks. Compared to the
layers below, this layer has high rigidity and anisotropy.

Interior of earth
CIRCULATIONS
The entire lifetime of earth is a continous sequence of underground movements.
This movement is produced by the Convection currents developed in the viscous
Mantle, because of prevailing high temperature and pressure gradients between the
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Crust and the Core, like the convective flow of water when heated in a beaker. The
energy for the above circulations is derived from the heat produced from the
incessant decay of radioactive elements in the rocks throughout the Earth's interior.
These convection currents result in a circulation of the earth's mass; hot molten
lava comes out and the cold rock mass goes into the Earth. The mass absorbed
eventually melts under high temperature and pressure and becomes a part of the
Mantle, only to come out again from another location, someday. Many such local
circulations are taking place at different regions underneath the Earth's surface,
leading to different portions of the Earth undergoing different directions of
movements along the surface producing sliding of crust and some portions of
mantle on the hot molten outer core. These movements of earth masses produce a
division of crust in some portions called tectonic plates moving in different
directions and with different velocities.

Effect of convection currents

PLATE TECTONICS
The movement of tectonic plates in different directions with different speeds is
called plate tectonics. The movement of tectonic plates are at a rate of 5 to 10 cm
per year on the plastic mantle. The plates are the part of rigid outer shell of the
earth called the lithosphere. It includes both the crust and some of the upper
mantle. There are 12 major tectonic plates, 20 smaller ones and many filler plates.
The major tectonic plates are the African, the Eurasian, the Indian, the Australian,

the Arabian, the Philippines, the North American, the South American, the Pacific,
the Nasca, the Cocus and the Antartic plates.
The various Causes of plate motion are
- Convection currents
- Slab pull- the subducting oceanic plate becomes colder and denser than the
surrounding mantle and pulls the rest of slab along
- Ridge push gravitational sliding of the lithosphere slab away from the
oceanic ridge raised by rising material in the asthenosphere.
Plate tectonics is responsible for features such as
- Continental drift- two plates move away from each other
- Mountain formation- front plate is slower than rear plate due to which rear
plate collides with front plate
- Volcanic eruptions
- Earthquakes
The theory of plate tectonics, presented in early 1960s, explains that the
lithosphere is broken into seven large (and several smaller) segments called plates.
The upper most part of the earth is considered to be divided into two layers with
different deformation properties. The upper rigid layer, called the lithosphere, is
about 100 km thick below the continents, and about 50 km under the oceans, and
consists of Crust and rigid upper-mantle rocks. The lower layer, called the
asthenosphere, extends down to about 700 km depth. The rigid lithospheric shell is
broken into several irregularly shaped major plates and a large number of minor or
secondary plates. The lithospheric plates are not stationary, on the contrary, they
float in a complex pattern on the soft rocks of the underlying asthenosphere like
rafts on a lake. These plates bear the loads of land masses, water bodies or both
and are in constant motion over the viscous mantle. These plates move in different
directions and at different speeds from those of the neighbouring ones. Sometimes,
the plate in the front is slower; then, the plate behind it comes and collides (and
mountains are formed). On the other hand, sometimes two plates move away from
one another (and rifts are created). In another case, two plates move side-by-side,
along the same direction or in opposite directions. Some segments of adjacent
plates remain immovable and produce seismic vibrations along boundaries causing
destruction.
This theory requires a source that can generate tremendous force acting on
the plates. The widely accepted explanation is based on the force offered by
convection currents created by thermo-mechanical behavior of the earths
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subsurface. The variation of mantle density with temperature produces an unstable

equilibrium. The colder and denser upper layer sinks under the action of gravity to
the warmer bottom layer which is less dense. The lesser dense material rises
upwards and the colder material as it sinks gets heated up and becomes less dense.
These convection currents create shear stresses at the bottom of the plates which
drags them along the surface of earth.
The relative motion of crustal plates gives rise to three kinds of plate boundaries or
marginal zones which is the dividing zone between two plates. These are
1. Divergent plate boundaries
2. Convergent plate boundaries
3. Transform plate boundaries
1. Divergent plate boundaries
A divergent plate boundary is a boundary between plates that are moving apart. A
new crust is formed when two plates move apart. This is the location where the
less dense molten rock from the mantle rises upwards and becomes part of crust
after cooling. Highest rate of spreading or expansion between plates is found to
occur near Pacific Ocean ridges and the lowest rate of spreading occurs along midAtlantic ridges. Generally, spreading ridges or divergent boundaries are located
beneath the oceans. A few areas where the spreading occurs along the continental
mass are East African rift valley and Iceland.

2. Convergent plate boundaries

A convergent plate boundary is a boundary between plates that move towards each
other. Here crust gets destroyed as one one plate dives under another. Here plates
may also collide.

a. Subduction boundaries
These boundaries are created when either oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath
oceanic lithosphere (ocean-ocean convergence), or when oceanic lithosphere
subducts beneath continental lithosphere (ocean-continent convergence), at the
junction where the two plates meet, a trench known as oceanic trench is formed.
When two plates of oceanic lithosphere run into one another, the subducting plate
is pushed to depths where it causes melting to occur. When a plate made of oceanic
lithosphere runs into a plate with continental lithosphere, the plate with oceanic
lithosphere subducts because it has a higher density than continental lithosphere.
The subducted plate melts as it encounters higher temperature regime inside earth
melts and produces magma. This magma rises to the surface to produce chains of
volcanos and islands known as island arcs. One of the areas around Indian
peninsula where subduction process is in progress is near Andaman-Sumatra
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region, where the Indo-Australian plate is subducting below the Andaman and
Sunda plates,

b. Collision boundaries
When two plates with continental lithosphere collide, subduction ceases and a
mountain range is formed by squeezing together and uplifting the continental crust
on both plates, The Himalayan Mountains between India and China were formed in
this way.

3. Transform plate boundaries

It is the boundary between plates that move horizontally past each other. Here
crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide horizontally past each
other.

TYPES OF EARTHQUAKES
Earthquakes are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress. When the Earth's
plates move against each other, stress is put on the upper mantle (lithosphere).
When this stress is great enough, the lithosphere breaks or shifts. As the Earths
plates move they put forces on themselves and each other. When the force is large
enough, the crust is forced to break. When the break occurs, the stress is released
as energy which moves through the Earth in the form of waves, which we feel and
call an earthquake.
Rock breakage is called faulting and causes a release of energy when stored stress
is suddenly converted to movement. Vibrations known as seismic waves are
produced - they travel outwards in all directions at up to 14 kilometers per second.
At these speeds, it would take the fastest waves only 20 minutes to reach the other
side of the Earth by going straight through its centre - that's a distance of almost
13,000 kilometers. The waves distort the rock they pass through, but the rock
returns to its original shape afterwards.
The epicenter is the point on the Earths surface directly above the source of the
earthquake. The source, also known as the focus, can be as deep as 700 kilometers.
Earthquakes do not occur deeper than this because rocks are no longer rigid at very
high pressures and temperatures - they can't store stress because they behave
plastically. Smaller events occur more frequently - in fact, most earthquakes cause
little or no damage. A very large earthquake can be followed by a series of smaller
aftershocks while minor faulting occurs during an adjustment period that may last
for several months.

Earthquakes can be classified according to location, epicentral distance, focal

depth, magnitude and geological make up of region.
1. Based on location
(i)

Interplate
The earthquake that occurs at a plate boundary is known as inter-plate
earthquake. Not all earthquakes occur at plate boundaries.

(ii)

Intraplate
Though, interior portion of a plate isusually tectonically quiet,
earthquakes also occur far from plate boundaries. These earthquakes are
known as intra-plate earthquakes. The recurrence time for an intraplate
earthquake is much longer than that of inter-plate earthquakes.

2. Based on epicentral distance

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Local earthquake < 1 degrees

Regional earthquake 110 degrees
Teleseismic earthquake >10 degrees

3. Based on focal depth

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Shallow depth 070 km

Intermediate depth 71300 km
Deep earthquake > 300 km

4. Based on magnitude
(i)
(ii)
(iv)
(iii)
(v)
(iv)

Micro earthquake M < 3

Intermediate earthquake 34
Moderate earthquake 55.9
Strong earthquake 66.9
Major earthquake 77.9
Great earthquake >8
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5. Based on geological make up of region

(i)

tectonic earthquakes
These occur when rocks in the Earth's crust break due to geological
forces created by movement of tectonic plates

(ii)

volcanic earthquakes
These occur in conjunction with volcanic activity.

(iii)

collapse earthquakes
These are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines

(iv)

explosion earthquakes
These result from the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices.

SEISMIC WAVES
Earthquake vibrations originate from the point of initiation of rupture and
propagates in all directions. These vibrations travel through the rocks in the form
of elastic waves. Mainly there are three types of waves associated with propagation
of an elastic stress wave generated by an earthquake. These are primary (P) waves,
secondary (S) waves and surface waves. Both P and S waves are called bodywaves because they move within the Earth's interior. Their speeds vary depending
on the density and the elastic properties of the material they pass through, and they
are amplified as they reach the surface. In addition, there are sub varieties among
them. The important characteristics of these three kinds of waves are as follows:
Primary (P) Waves
These are known as primary waves, push-pull waves, longitudinal waves,
compressional waves, etc. These waves propagate by longitudinal or compressive
action, which mean that the ground is alternately compressed and dilated in the
direction of propagation. P waves are the fastest among the seismic waves and
travel as fast as 8 to 13 km per second. Therefore, when an earthquake occurs,
these are the first waves to reach any seismic station and hence the first to be
recorded. The P waves resemble sound waves because these too are compressional
or longitudinal waves in nature, which mean that they compress and expand matter
as they move through it. Hence, the particles vibrate to and fro in the direction of
propagation (i.e. longitudinal particle motion). These waves are capable of
traveling through solids, liquids and gases.
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The P-waves propagates radial to the source of the energy release and the velocity
is expressed by

where E is the Youngs modulus; n is the Poissons ratio (0.25); and r is the
density.

Primary wave motion

Secondary (S) Waves
These are also called shear waves, secondary waves, transverse waves, etc. These
are the waves directly following the P waves
Compared to P waves, these are relatively slow. These are transverse or shear
waves, which mean that the ground is displaced perpendicularly to the direction of
propagation. In nature, these are like light waves, i.e., the waves move
perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Hence, transverse particle motion is
characteristic of these waves. These waves are capable of traveling only through
solids. . S waves cannot travel through liquid because, while liquid can be
compressed, it can't shear. S waves are the more dangerous type of waves because
they are larger than P waves and produce vertical and horizontal motion in the
ground surface. If the particle motion is parallel to prominent planes in the
medium they are called SH waves. On the other hand, if the particle motion is
vertical, they are called SV waves.

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The shear wave velocity is given by

They travel at the rate of 5 to 7 km per second. For this reason these waves are
always recorded after P waves in a seismic station.

Secondary wave motion

Surface Waves
When the vibratory wave energy is propogating near the surface of the earth rather
than deep in the interior, two other types of waves known a Rayleigh and Love
waves can be identified. These are called surface waves because their journey is
confined to the surface layers of the earth only. Surface waves travel through the
earth crust and does not propagate into the interior of earth unlike P or S waves.
Surface waves are the slowest among the seismic waves. Therefore, these are the
last to be recorded in the seismic station at the time of occurrence of the
earthquake.
They travel at the rate of 4 to 5 km per second. Complex and elliptical particle

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motion is characteristic of these waves. These waves are capable of travelling

through solids and liquids. They are complex in nature and are said to be of two
kinds, namely, Raleigh waves and Love waves. The Rayleigh surface waves are
tension-compression waves similar to the P-waves expect that their amplitude
diminishes with distance below the surface of the ground. Similarly, the Love
waves are the counterpart of the S body waves; they are shear waves that
diminishes rapidly with distance below surface, The damage and destruction
associated with earthquakes can be mainly attributed to surface waves. This
damage potential and the strength of the surface waves reduce with increase in
depth of earthquakes.

Love waves

Rayleigh waves
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MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
The vibratory motion produced during an earthquake could be measured in terms
of displacement, velocity or acceleration. People who record and interpret seismic
waves are called seismologists. Seismologists study the interior of our planet by
observing the way seismic waves travel through Earth. This process is similar to
using X rays to create a CAT scan of the interior of a human body. A seismologist
is interested in even small amplitude ground motions (in terms of displacement)
that provides insight into the wave propagation characteristics and enables him to
estimate the associated earthquake parameters. As accelerations are the causative
phenomena for forces that damage structures (Force = mass x acceleration),
engineers are more concerned with the earthquake causing structural damage,
hence are interested in acceleration measurement. The instruments that measure
the ground displacements are called seismographs. Seismographs show the kinds
of waves that occur, their strength, and the time that they arrive at the instrument.
Seismographs are located all around the world at seismic stations on land, and in
special locations in the oceans.
The record obtained from a seismograph is called a seismogram. The seismograph
has three components the sensor, the recorder and the timer. The principle on
which it works is simple and is explicitly reflected in the early seismograph a pen
attached at the tip of an oscillating simple pendulum (a mass hung by a string from
a support) marks on a chart paper that is held on a drum rotating at a constant
speed. A magnet around the string provides required damping to control the
amplitude of oscillations. The pendulum mass, string, magnet and support together
constitute the sensor; the drum, pen and chart paper constitutes the recorder; and
the motor that rotates the drum at constant speed forms the timer. One such
instrument is required in each of the two orthogonal direction. Some instruments
do not have a timer device (i.e., the drum holding the chart paper does not rotate).
Such instruments provide only the maximum extent (or scope) of motion during
the earthquake; for this reason they are called seismoscopes. The analog
instruments have evolved over time, but today, digital instruments using modern
computer technology are more commonly used. The digital instrument records the
ground motion on the memory
of the microprocessor that is in-built in the instrument. By varying the
characteristics of equipment one could record displacement, velocity or
acceleration during an earthquake The devices that measure the ground
accelerations are called accelerometer. The accelerometers register the
accelerations of the soil and the record obtained is called an accelerogram.
.

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Seismograph

LOCATION OF FOCUS
Seismologists use the elapsed time between the arrival of a P-waves and S-waves
at a given site to assist them in estimating the distance from the site to the focus.
The distance from hypocenter to observation point is given by

where, T=difference in time of arrival of P and S waves at an observation point; S=

distance from hypocenter to observation point; and Vp and Vs are the velocity of P
and S waves, respectively.The time T can be taken as the time of duration of the
initial tremor to it built-up while Vp and Vs are geological properties for a given
locations. Thus, the distance from the hypocenter to the observation point is
approximately proportional to the time of duration of the initial tremor; the
coefficient of proportionality is about 8 km/sec. When S has been determined for
each of three observation points the hypocenter is located as the point of
intersection of these spheres.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG GROUND MOTION

Vibration of the earths surface is a net consequence of motions, vertical as well as
horizontal, caused by seismic waves that are generated by energy release. These
waves arrive at various instants of time, have different amplitudes , and carry
different levels of energy. Thus the motion at any site on the ground is random in
nature, its amplitude and direction varying randomly with time.
Large earthquakes at great distances can produce weak motions that may not
damage structures or even be felt by humans. However earthquakes in the vicinity
or with high intensity can produce strong ground motions that can possibly damage
structures.
The motion of the ground can be described in terms of displacement, velocity or
acceleration.The ground motion is usually recorded with strong motion
accelerographs placed at various locations. The acceleration record of a strong
earthquake usually consists of two horizontal components and one vertical
component. Generally, the two horizontal components are of equal magnitude and
the vertical component is somewhat smaller. The accelerograph record frequently
includes instrumentation errors, owing to frequency characteristics of the
accelerograph and other inherent features that must be corrected by filtering and
other procedures. The corrected accelerogram is then integrated to obtain the
velocity and displacement histories of ground motion.
On firm ground, accelerogram is irregular and complex. On the other hand, on the
surface of the soft strata the earthquake ground motion assumes an almost
harmonic nature, resulting from filtering of the seismic waves as they travel
through soft strata. Earthquake accelerograms are thus complex and can vary
considerably from one another. They are significantly affected by local site
conditions, distance from the causative fault, and the transmission path of the
seismic waves. Newmark and Rossenblueth classified earthquake ground motion
into four groups in accordance with their surface ground motion characteristics:
1. Single shock type. This occurs only at close proximity with epicentre on firm
strata and for shallow earthquakes. Port Hueneme earthquake is an example for
this.
2. A moderately long, extremely irregular motion. This is associated with an
intermediate focal depth and occurs only on firm ground. It is typical of
earthquakes originating in the circum-Pacific belt. The NS component of 1940 E1
Centro earthquake is indicative of this type.
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3. A long ground motion exhibiting pronounced prevailing periods of vibration.

Motions of the type are recorded at layers of soft strata, through which seismic
waves have been filtered and subjected to multiple reflections at the layer
boundaries. The 1964 Mexico City earthquake exemplifies this behaviour.
4. A ground motion involving large-scale permanent deformation of the ground.
These types of earthquake may entail landslides or soil liquefaction. The Alaska
and Niigata earthquakes of 1964 characterize this type of earthquake.
Three characteristics of ground motions are important: (1) peak of maximum
ground motion; (2) duration of ground motion; and (3) the frequency content. The
structural response is affected by each of these factors. Peak ground motion,
primarily peak ground acceleration (PGA), influences the vibration amplitude, and
has been employed to scale earthquake design spectra and acceleration time forces.
The severity of ground shaking is significantly influenced by the duration of
ground motion. For example, an earthquake with high peak acceleration poses a
high hazard potential, but if it is sustained for only a short period of time it is
unlikely to inflict significant damage to many types of structures. Conversely an
earthquake with moderate peak acceleration and a long duration can build up
damaging motion in certain types of structure. Finally, ground motion
amplification to a structure is more likely to occur and the frequency content of
ground motion is in close proximity to the natural frequency of the structure.
A correlation equation for peak ground acceleration can be given in terms
of Richter magnitude M as
Log10 PGA = 2.1 + 0.81M0.027M2
Although PGA decreases with distance from the causative fault, the rate of
decrease is relatively small, over a distance comparable to the vertical dimensions
of the shipped fault.
INTENSITY
The intensity of an earthquake refers to the degree of destruction caused by it. In
other words, intensity of an earthquake is a measure of severity of the shaking of
ground and its attendant damage. This, of course, is empirical to some extent
because the extent of destruction or damage that takes place to a construction at a
given place depends on many factors. Some of these factors are: (i) distance from
the epicenter, (ii) compactness of the underlying ground, (iii) type of construction
(iv) magnitude of the earthquake (v) duration of the earthquake and (vi) depth of
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the focus (vii) degree of consolidation. Intensity is the oldest measure of

earthquake. It is also calles destructive power. It is an evaluation of severity of
ground motion at a given location represented by a numerical index.it is measured
in relation to the effect of earthquake on human life. Generally destruction is
defeined in terms of damage caused to buildings, dams, bridges etc as reported by
witnesses. It is not a unique precisely defined characteristic of an earthquake. It is a
qualitative measure. It is based on direct observation by individuals rather than on
instrumental measurements.it is represented by roman capital numerals.
The seismic intensity scale consists of a series of certain key responses such as
people awakening, movement of furniture, damage to chimneys, and finally - total
destruction. The intensity scales are based on
three features of shaking:
perception by people and animals
performance of buildings
changes to natural surroundings.
Numerous intensity scales have been developed over the last several hundred years
to evaluate the effects of earthquakes, the most popular is the Modified Mercalli
Intensity (MMI) Scale. This scale, composed of 12 increasing levels of intensity
that range from imperceptible shaking to catastrophic destruction, designated by
Roman numerals. It does not have a mathematical basis; instead it is an arbitrary
ranking based on observed effects. The lower numbers of the intensity scale
generally deal with the manner in which the earthquake is felt by people. The
higher numbers of the scale are based on observed structural damage. Another
intensity scale is Mendvedev-Spoonheuer-Karnik scale (MSK 64). This scale is
more comprehensive and describes the intensity of earthquake more precisely.
Indian seismic zones were categorized on the basis of MSK 64 scale. Some of the
other intensity scales used are Rossi-Forel (RF) scale, Japanese Meteorological
Agency (JMA) intensity scale, etc.
An imaginary line joining the points of same intensity of the earthquake is called
an 'iso-seismal'. In plan, the different iso-seismals will appear more or less as
concentric circles over a plain, homogeneous ground if the focus of the earthquake
is a point. On the other hand, if the focus happens to be a linear tract, the isoseismals will occur elongated. Naturally, the areas or zones enclosed by any two
successive isoseismals would have suffered the same extent of destruction. Over
the years, researchers have tried to develop more quantitative ways for
estimating earthquake intensity.
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MAGNITUDE
The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the amount of energy released by the
geological rupture causing it, and is therefore a measure of the absolute size of the
earthquake, without reference to distance from the epicenter. While earthquake
intensity is depicted in Roman numerals and is always a whole number, magnitude
is depicted in Arabic numerals and need not be a whole number. It is a more
precise measure than intensity. Earthquake magnitudes are based on direct
measurements of the size of seismic waves, made with recording instruments,
rather than on subjective observations of the destruction caused. Similar to
intensity scales, over the years, a number of approaches for measurement of
magnitude of an earthquake have come into existence.
Richter Magnitude, ML
A workable definition of magnitude was first proposed by C.F. Richter. He based
on the data from Californian earthquakes, defined the earthquake magnitude as the
logarithm to the base 10 of the largest displacement of a standard seismograph
(called Wood-Anderson Seismograph with properties T=0.8 sec; m=2800; and
damping nearly critical 0.8) situated 100 km from the focus.
M=log10 A
where A denotes the amplitude in micron (10-6m) recorded by the instrument
located at an epicentral distance of 100 km; and M is the magnitude of the
earthquake.
Because of the logarithmic nature of the definition a difference of 1.0 in the
magnitude represents a difference of 10 in the seismograph amplitude. Magnitude
observations by different recording stations usually differ quite widely, often by as
much as one magnitude, which is later corrected taking into account the recordings
from a large number of instruments.
Moment magnitude
Over the years, scientists observed that different magnitude scales had saturation
points and the magnitudes estimated by different approaches did not point to a
unique value of earthquake size The Richter magnitude saturates at about 6.8, and
the surface wave magnitude at about 7.8. In addition, these magnitude estimates
did not have a linear relation with the energy released due to earthquake rupture.
To address these short falls, Hanks and Kanamori, in 1979 proposed a magnitude
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scale, termed as moment magnitude, based on the seismic moment due to

earthquake rupture.
In addition to the magnitude scales as discussed, Surface wave magnitude, Ms,
based on the amplitude of Rayleigh waves having a period of about 20 seconds,
body wave magnitude, Mb based on the amplitude of first few P wave cycles are
also being used.
ENERGY RELEASE
An approximate relationship between surface wave magnitude, Ms, and the energy
released by an earthquake, E, is given by
log10E = 4.8 +1.5Ms
where E is measured in joules. Thus the ratio of energies released by
twoearthquakes differing by 1 is magnitude is equal to 31.6. The ratio is 1000 for
earthquakes differing by 2 in magnitude, Comparisons have been made
between natural forces and nuclear weapons. The energy released by a 1 megaton
hydrogen bomb is roughly equivalent to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKE

Earthquakes are major hazards and can cause catastrophic damage. They have two
types of effects- direct and indirect.Direct effects cause damages directly and
include ground motion and faulting, whereas indirect effects cause damages
indirectly as a result of the processes set in motion by an earthquake.
Direct effects
- Seismic waves especially surface waves result in ground motion which can
damage and destroy buildings. If a structure , such as a building or a road, straddles
a fault, then the ground displacement that occurs during an earthquake will
seriously damage or rip apart that structure.
- earthquake vibration causes landslides in regions of steep slopes which can
damage buildings and lead to loss of life
- Soil vibration causes foundation failure or detachment of building off its
foundation
- liquefaction of soil
- lateral spreading
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Indirect effects
-

Tsunamis
Seiches
Causes fire by damaging gas lines and electric wires
Can rupture dams and levees
Causes floods

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