HAZARDS GENERATED BY SEISMIC ACTIVITY

What is an earthquake

The role of faults

Types

Features

Where

Hazards

Epicentre-where the earthquake is first felt on land, above the focus

Focus- point below the ground where the energy is released

Seismic hazard- focus within 700km of the earths surface

Foreshock- precede an earthquake

Aftershock - follow an earthquake

Shallow focus

Deep focus

0-70km
old rock fractures under stress
lower energy but high energy ones are damaging

70-700km
deep subduction zones
much more energy

Mid-ocean ridges- spreading and rifting create tensional forces

Measuring seismic activity

Ocean trenches and island arcs- subduction creates compressive forces

Collision zones- grinding creates compressive forces

Conservative margins- intermittent moving creates shearing forces

A fault is a fracture between two blocks of rock , they allow blocks to move relative to each other and can move rapidly generating an earthquake.

Normal fault

Reverse fault

Strike slip fault

Two blocks slide past each other- the displaced rock is displaced the same way when viewed from either side.

Creates dip-slips, man inclined fracture where blocks mostly shift vertically, the mass above usually moves down

E.g San Andreas Fault

Rock above moves upland over the lower block in regions of subduction

Body waves

Surface waves

Primary waves

Secondary waves

Rayleigh waves

Love waves

Richter scale

Moment magnitude

Modified Mercalli scale

First waves to arrive, moving through solid rock and fluids, move via expansion and compression

Half the speed of primary waves but higher frequency, moves through rock only in a wavy movement

Only travel through the surface of the crust in a rolling motion- causing the ground to move

Move through the surface of the crust, faster than Rayleigh, move side to side

Most accurate, measure the energy released

Measures intensity and impact via observations and descriptions

Corresponds to energy release, each number is a tenfold increase, no upper limit but highest recorded is 9

Ground shaking

Liquefaction

Landslides/Avalanches

Tsunamis

Can be vertical or horizontal, severity is dependant on distance from epicentre and geology e.g Mexico City 1988 built over dried lake bed, many layers of unconsolidated rock with high water content- extreme shaking

Hazards- building collapse, rock displacement can rip apart sewers, sever roads and railways, river rivers, disrupt water supply

Buildings collapse because the natural frequency (number of back and forth movements in a second) is directly proportional to the stiffness of a building but inversely proportional to its mass. This causes resonance where thr frequency of seismic waves matches those fo the building, each wave amplifies the buildings vibration

Vibrations in areas with surfaces of a high water content or fine grain material can make them move like liquids

Hazards- Buildings can collapse as their foundations give way, Rayleigh waves are more destructive (they are amplified as they slow) liquifying saturated ground causing buildings to sink.

Ground shaking and liquefication can cause slope failure. More risk if steeper, not trees, heavy rain, saturated soil

Hazards- blocked transport routes to mountainous areas, buildings destroyed, bury people, blocked rivers being released at once-flooding, dams destroyed.

E.g Nepal 2015 killed 21 on Everest after an avalanche

Earthquakes release energy into water, pushing water above normal sea level, gravity pulls it back down and the energy ripples out.

Energy moves through the entire depth of the water and increases in size (shoals) as it hits shallow water as the same amount of energy is contained in smaller space, so the wave slows and rises.

Hazards- undetected by boats, can cross entire oceans in less than a day, water in front of the wave is pulled out to sea- people think its safe, drowns people, sweeps away debris, destroys buildings.

E.g Tohoku earthquake caused 40m high tsunami killing 18,000 and travelled 7 miles inland.