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The Science of Earthquakes

Originally written by Lisa Wald for “The Green Frog News”

What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past
one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The
location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called
the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is
called the epicenter.

Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that


happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t
tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The
largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always
have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur
afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the
mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after
the mainshock!

What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?

The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust.
(figure 2) The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface
of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces
like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. (figure 3) Not only that, but these
puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping
into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the
plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of
many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults.
Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate
keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick
on one of the faults and there is an earthquake.

Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?


While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving,
the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is
being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes
the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up
energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in
the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the
earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface,
they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us! (see P&S
Wave inset)

How are earthquakes recorded?

Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording


they make is called a seismogram. (figure 4) The seismograph has a base that
sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an
earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes
too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is
hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the
shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.

How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?

The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip
on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a
measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s
surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? They use
the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the
earth to determine how large the earthquake was (figure 5). A short wiggly line
that doesn’t wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line
that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends
on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.

The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for
each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an
earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake.

How can scientists tell where the earthquake happened?


Seismograms come in handy for locating earthquakes too, and being able to see
the P wave and the S wave is important. You learned how P & S waves each
shake the ground in different ways as they travel through it. P waves are also
faster than S waves, and this fact is what allows us to tell where an earthquake
was. To understand how this works, let’s compare P and S waves to lightning
and thunder. Light travels faster than sound, so during a thunderstorm you will
first see the lightning and then you will hear the thunder. If you are close to the
lightning, the thunder will boom right after the lightning, but if you are far away
from the lightning, you can count several seconds before you hear the thunder.
The further you are from the storm, the longer it will take between the lightning
and the thunder.

P waves are like the lightning, and S waves are like the thunder. The P waves
travel faster and shake the ground where you are first. Then the S waves follow
and shake the ground also. If you are close to the earthquake, the P and S wave
will come one right after the other, but if you are far away, there will be more time
between the two. By looking at the amount of time between the P and S wave on
a seismogram recorded on a seismograph, scientists can tell how far away the
earthquake was from that location. However, they can’t tell in what direction from
the seismograph the earthquake was, only how far away it was. If they draw a
circle on a map around the station where the radius of the circle is the
determined distance to the earthquake, they know the earthquake lies
somewhere on the circle. But where?

Scientists then use a method called triangulation to determine exactly where the
earthquake was (figure 6). It is called triangulation because a triangle has three
sides, and it takes three seismographs to locate an earthquake. If you draw a
circle on a map around three different seismographs where the radius of each is
the distance from that station to the earthquake, the intersection of those three
circles is the epicenter!

Can scientists predict earthquakes?

No, and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried
many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful.
On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake
sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen.

Is there such a thing as earthquake weather? Can some animals or people tell when
an earthquake is about to hit?
These are two questions that do not yet have definite answers. If weather does
affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an
earthquake is coming, we do not yet understand how it works.

1. Natural events such as volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts can cause earthquakes,
but the majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are triggered by movement of the
earth's plates.
2. The earth's surface consists of 20 constantly moving plates. The pressure increase
from shifting plates can cause the crust to break. This break allows stress to be
released as energy, which moves through the earth in the form of waves (aka
earthquakes).
3. Normally, it's not the shaking ground itself that claims lives during an earthquake. It's
the associated destruction of man-made structures and the instigation of other natural
disasters such as tsunamis, avalanches and landslides. Not only is it important to have
a plan for yourself in the case of an earthquake, but your pets need a disaster plan as
well. Create an earthquake plan for the animals around so if disaster strikes, you’ll be
prepared. Sign up for Save Our Pets.
4. The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) records an average of 20,000
earthquakes every year (about 50 a day) around the world. There are, however,
millions of earthquakes estimated to occur every year that are too weak to be
recorded.
5. Each year the southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes -- the majority of
which go unnoticed. However, if there is a large earthquake the aftershock sequence
will produce many more earthquakes of all magnitudes for months.
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6. Almost 80% of all the planet's earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean,
called the "Ring of Fire"; a region that encircles the Pacific Ocean and is home to 452
volcanoes (over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes).
7. The largest recorded earthquake in the United States was a magnitude 9.2 that struck
Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 28, 1964.
8. The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May
22, 1960.
9. When the Chilean earthquake occurred in 1960, seismographs recorded seismic waves
that traveled around the world. These seismic waves shook the entire earth for many
days.
10. An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a series of devastating tsunamis
on Dec. 26, 2004. The tsunamis struck the coasts of most landmasses bordering the
Indian Ocean, bringing 100-foot waves and killing over 225,000 people in 11
countries.
11. Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state and one of the most seismically active
regions in the world. The region experiences a magnitude 7.0 earthquake almost every
year and a magnitude 8.0 or greater earthquake approximately once every 14 years.

What Causes Earthquakes?


Earthquakes are the release of stored energy within rocks created by the motion of tectonic plates.
Plate tectonics is a result of the cooling of the Earth’s mantle. The Earth produces energy deep
within its interior from the decay of radioactive elements. This energy, combined with the heat that
was produced during planetary formation, is redistributed to the cooler surface through both deep-
seated melting and the slow circulation (convection) of hot rocks beneath the Earth’s crust. Because
the hot mantle material is less dense than the material above it, the hot material is more buoyant and
rises to the surface. The hotter material eventually loses heat by conduction, advection, and partial
melting. Meanwhile, colder, denser rocks sink back into the mantle.

Figure 1. Tectonic plate boundaries.


The mantle convection cells are coupled to the creation and recycling of the crust, which is one of
the fundamental processes of plate tectonics. Newly made oceanic crust is formed at spreading
centres (i.e., linear features where magma is extruded from the mantle). These spreading centres
divide the crust into large rigid lithospheric plates (Figure 1), comprising relatively cool and buoyant
crust and underlying mantle.

Figure 2. Downgoing slab on the west coast of Canada shown at left.


The thickness of the oceanic crust varies from as little as 1.6 km to an average of 10–15 km in older
lithosphere.
The continental crust varies in thickness from 10 km to almost 70 km in mountainous regions, with
an average of 30–40 km. As the new oceanic crust is created, the old crust is shoved aside like a
conveyor belt. When an old, dense, and rigid oceanic plate collides with another plate, the denser
oceanic crust sinks, or subducts, beneath the more buoyant crust into the mantle (Figure 2). The
subducting crust becomes part of a downwelling limb of a mantle convection cell.
Over vast stretches of geological time, oceanic crusts are consumed and continents collide with
each other. When plates are consumed or collide, stresses are formed within the crustal elements.
The crust is compressed or stretched from these motions, and earthquakes result when a sudden
slip releases this stress. The largest earthquakes occur at subduction zones, where an oceanic plate
slips beneath a continental plate. A recent example of this was the magnitude 9 Tohokuearthquake
70 km east of the Oshika Peninsula (see Figure 5) on March 11, 2011, which initiated a tsunami.
The stress accumulated in rock masses over time can eventually exceed the mechanical strength of
the rocks and fracture them in a planar or sheet-like feature known as a fault. The rupture (or slip) on
the fault generates an earthquake. Earthquakes occur on existing faults (whether they are known to
us or not) or they create new faults.
The direction of movement on the fault depends on the faults orientation with respect to the stress
field and to the presence of fluids within the fault (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Fault blocks showing stress field and planar movement for (a) normal fault in which
the hanging wall moves downward relative to the foot wall, (b) strike-slip in which the blocks
move laterally in opposing directions , and (c) reverse or thrust fault in which the hanging
wall moves upward relative to the foot wall. The three orthogonal stress directions are shown
for vertical (SV), maximum horizontal (SHmax) and minimum horizontal (SHmin) stresses
For additional information on earthquakes, plate tectonics, and faults, see the U.S Geological Survey
(USGS) and British Geological Survey sites.

How do Seismologists Record Earthquakes?


Earthquakes result from the sudden slip of rock along a fault. Movement along the fault sends
seismic waves through the surrounding rock, some of which travel to the surface of the Earth. An
analogy is a pebble thrown into a pond, creating ripples that travel through the water in all directions.
The atoms within the rock respond to the shockwave in a similar way to the water in the pond, by
moving (Figure 4) back and forth parallel to the direction the wave is travelling (primary or
compressional waves “P”) and up and down or side to side in a direction perpendicular to wave
propagation (secondary shear waves “S”). Energy is transferred through the rocks, moving away
from the focus of the earthquake and, like the ripples in water, decay with distance.

Figure 4a: Particle movement of seismic waves.


Shallow earthquakes can generate other types of seismic waves known as surface waves, which are
trapped in the surface layers of the crust. These are trapped shear waves (Love waves) and
combinations of shear and compressional waves (Rayleigh waves). It is the shearing and rolling
action of surface waves and, to a lesser degree, the secondary waves travelling up through the crust
that cause the most damage to structures.
To record earthquakes, seismologists setup a device called a seismometer. Seismometers passively
“listen” to the shaking of the ground. When an earthquake occurs, the seismometer records the
incoming seismic waves (P, S, and surface waves) that reach the surface.

Figure 4b. Nanometrics Trillium Compact Seismometer and Taurus digitizer/datalogger.

How do we measure the “size” of an Earthquake?


The energy released during an earthquake, quantified by its magnitude (M), is directly proportional to
the planar area (size) of the fault and the amount of slippage on the fault; large faults can generate
large earthquakes. An early magnitude scale was developed by Charles Richter in 1935. The local
(Richter) magnitude (ML) is calculated from measurements of the largest peak of ground
displacement shown on the vertical trace of the seismogram. The peak displacement is normalized
by the time to complete one cycle, corrected for the distance the wave travelled to the seismometer,
and scaled to duplicate the result that would have been recorded on an instrument similar to that
used by Richter. Richter designed the units on the magnitude scale so that each unit marked a
tenfold increase in size (logarithmic), in order to address the large range of values. Although the
Richter scale is popular in the media, it is generally restricted to small earthquakes.
Traditionally, for large shallow earthquakes (5 ML or greater), the surface wave peak displacement
was used to calculate the magnitude (MS), and for large deep earthquakes, the displacement of the
primary body wave was used to calculate the magnitude (Mb). These magnitudes, however, tend to
saturate (reach a maximum value) at values over 8. For this reason, the moment magnitude (MW) is
now preferred for earthquakes larger than M3.5 ML and at any depth. The MW is calculated from the
seismic moment (MO), which is based on the product of the slippage area, the total displacement of
the fault, and the rigidity of the rocks.

In general, the closer you are to the source of an earthquake, the more likely you are to feel the
earth move beneath your feet. Richter magnitudes larger than about 3 can be felt by humans, and
earthquakes larger than about Richter magnitude 5 in a populated area can cause minor damage to
structures. An exception to this is the case when ground conditions alter the discharge of energy.
Because seismic waves travel more slowly through unconsolidated sediments than bedrock, when
the wave moves from bedrock to sediment, the energy of the seismic wave is used to displace
material instead of propagating the seismic wave, causing stronger ground movement.

How is an Earthquake Located?


Seismometers record seismic waves from earthquakes. Their signals are digitally recorded and sent
by telemetry to seismologists at processing agencies like the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) or
their counterparts at the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Encoded in the data are several
key types of information: the arrival time of the wavefront, the first motion of displacement (up or
down, called polarity), the amplitude of displacement, and the duration of displacement. The
magnitude of the earthquake is calculated from the amplitude and duration as discussed in the
section on magnitudes. The origin time and location (latitude, longitude, and depth) are calculated
from the arrival times of seismic waves at three or more stations. For example, how far away an
earthquake is can be estimated by the difference in time between P and S wave arrivals, analogous
to guessing how far away a lightning strike is by counting the seconds between the flash and the
thunder.

Figure 5. Seismic signals from the 9 MW Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, detected by
seismic stations in and around Alberta. The red flags mark the arrivals set by the automated
detection, association, and location algorithms of Antelope seismic acquisition and database
software used at the AGS to analyze events.

To more robustly determine an earthquake location, seismologists use a computer program, with
information about the seismic stations and the local or regional Earth structure, to calculate the
location in an iterative process. Accurate locations require many stations and a good spatial
distribution of the stations. Large earthquakes have more energy, and their signals are picked up by
both local and more distant stations, whereas small earthquakes (less than 2 ML) are only picked up
on stations within about 50 km.
Although the depth is the most poorly determined variable in an earthquake location, there are
several constraints that help seismologists. Intraplate earthquakes do not occur deeper than about
15–30 km, depending on the regional geotherm. This is because while colder materials are more
brittle and fracture, warmer materials behave as a plastic and are more likely to flow. Another
constraint is the identification of Rayleigh surface waves, which requires the focal depth to be less
than five kilometres.

Magnitude / Intensity Comparison


Magnitude and Intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes.
Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake.
Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs. Intensity
measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain
location. Intensity is determined from effects on people, human structures, and
the natural environment.

Magnitude / Intensity Comparison

The following table gives intensities that are typically observed at locations near
the epicenter of earthquakes of different magnitudes.

Abbreviated Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

I. Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable conditions.

II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings.

III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of


buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor
cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration
estimated.

IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some
awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound.
Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked
noticeably.

V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken.


Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop.

VI. Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a few instances of
fallen plaster. Damage slight.
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to
moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or
badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.

VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in


ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built
structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy
furniture overturned.

IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame


structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with
partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.

X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame


structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.

XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails
bent greatly.

XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the
air.

How Are Earthquake Magnitudes Measured?


The Richter Scale

FIGURE 1 - CHARLES RICHTER


There are a number of ways to measure the magnitude of an earthquak
STUDYING A SEISMOGRAM. widely-used method, the Richter scale, was developed by Charles F. Rich
It used a formula based on amplitude of the largest wave recorded on a spe
seismometer and the distance between the earthquake and the seismometer
was specific to California earthquakes; other scales, based on wave amp
total earthquake duration, were developed for use in other situations an
designed to be consistent with Richter’s

The Moment Magnitude Scale


Unfortunately, many scales, such as the Richter scale, do not provide accurate
estimates for large magnitude earthquakes. Today the moment magnitude
scale, abbreviated MW, is preferred because it works over a wider range of
earthquake sizes and is applicable globally. The moment magnitude scale is
based on the total moment release of the earthquake. Moment is a product of
the distance a fault moved and the force required to move it. It is derived from
modeling recordings of the earthquake at multiple stations. Moment magnitude
estimates are about the same as Richter magnitudes for small to large
earthquakes. But only the moment magnitude scale is capable of measuring M8
(read ‘magnitude 8’) and greater events accurately.

Magnitudes are based on a logarithmic scale (base 10). What this means is that
for each whole number you go up on the magnitude scale, the amplitude of the
ground motion recorded by a seismograph goes up ten times. Using this scale,
a magnitude 5 earthquake would result in ten times the level of ground shaking
as a magnitude 4 earthquake (and 32 times as much energy would be released).
To give you an idea how these numbers can add up, think of it in terms of the
energy released by explosives: a magnitude 1 seismic wave releases as much
energy as blowing up 6 ounces of TNT. A magnitude 8 earthquake releases as
much energy as detonating 6 million tons of TNT. Pretty impressive, huh?
Fortunately, most of the earthquakes that occur each year are magnitude 2.5 or
less, too small to be felt by most people.

Magnitude scales can be used to desribe earthquakes so small that they are
expressed in negative numbers. The scale also has no upper limit, so it can
describe earthquakes of unimaginable and (so far) unexperienced intensity,
such as magnitude 10.0 and beyond.

Here's a table describing the magnitudes of earthquakes, their effects, and the
estimated number of those earthquakes that occur each year.

The Mercalli Scale


Another way to measure the strength of an earthquake is to use the Me
FIGURE 2 - GIUSEPPE MERCALLI
Invented by Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902, this scale uses the observations o
who experienced the earthquake to estimate its

The Mercalli scale isn't considered as scientific as the Richter scale, th


witnesses of the earthquake might exaggerate just how bad things were
earthquake and you may not find two witnesses who agree on wha
everybody will say something different. The amount of damage cau
earthquake may not accurately record how strong it was either.
Some things that affect the amount of damage that occurs are:

 the building designs,


 the distance from the epicenter,
 and the type of surface material (rock or dirt) the buildings rest on.

Different building designs hold up differently in an earthquake and the further


you are from the earthquake, the less damage you'll usually see. Whether a
building is built on solid rock or sand makes a big difference in how much
damage it takes. Solid rock usually shakes less than sand, so a building built on
top of solid rock shouldn't be as damaged as it might if it was sitting on a sandy
lot.

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