Earthquakes

Chapter6
Earthquakes
fromPerilousEarth:UnderstandingProcessesBehindNaturalDisasters,ver.1.0,June,2009
byG.H.Girty,DepartmentofGeologicalSciences,SanDiegoStateUniversity
Page1
Introduction
Earthquakes are a shaking and vibration of the land surface. Such a phenomenon
commonly is produced when rocks rupture during brittle failure along an old or new fault
releasingstoredupelasticstrainenergyasheatandseismicwaves.However,itisimportantto
notethatnotallearthquakesaregeneratedbymovementalongbrittlelyfailingfaults.Infact,
earthquakescanbegeneratedduringvolcaniceruptionsandnuclearexplosions.Here,forthe
sakeofsimplicity,weonlyconsiderearthquakesgeneratedduringrupturealonganeworold
fault.
Seismicwavesarewavesofenergythatelasticallydistortthematerialthattheytravel
through.Hence,afteraseismicwavehaspassedthroughanelasticbodyofrock,itreturnsto
itsoriginalshapeandvolume(Figure1).
Figure1.Anelasticcubeisloadedandthenunloaded.Duringloadingattime2,thecube
elasticallydistortsasitshortensinthedirectionoftheappliedloadandextendsatrightangles
tothefreesurface.Attime3whenthecubeisunloaded,theelasticcubereturnstoitsinitial
shapeandvolume.AsseismicwavestravelthroughtheEarth,theyactliketheanvil,first
loadingandelasticallydistortingtherockthattheyencounterandthenasthemoveonward
unloadingit.
HypocenterandEpicenter
TheregionofinitiationofseismicenergywithintheEarthduringanearthquakeisthe
focusorhypocenter(Figure2).Thisistheinitialregionalongwhichanewfaultformsoranold
faultruptures.Fromthefocus,slipalongthefaultspreadsquickly.Thepositionontheland
surfaceimmediatelyabovethehypocenteristheepicenter(Figure2).Asrupturealongafault
initiates, waves of energy travel outward from the hypocenter in a spherical fashion. These
wavesofenergyarestrongestnearestthehypocenterbutgraduallygrowweakerfurtheraway
fromthesiteofinitialrupture.
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Figure2.Schematicillustrationoflocationofepicenterandhypocenter.Orangesphereis
outwardradiatingseismicenergy.
BodyandSurfaceWaves
Seismic waves include body and surface waves. The former type of wave emanates
spherically from the hypocenter traveling entirely within the interior of the Earth while the
latter travels along the surface of the Earth emanating from the epicenter. Body waves are
compressionalorPwavesandshearorSwaves.SurfacewavesareLoveandRayleighwaves.
PandSwaves
PWaves.AstheenergyassociatedwithPwavesmovesoutwardinsphericalfashionfromthe
hypocenter it produces a series of contractions and expansions in the direction that it is
traveling,i.e.,inthewavepropagationdirection(Figure3).Duringcontractions,thedistances
betweenatomsinthematerialthatthePwaveispassingthroughshorten,andasaresultthere
isasmalldecreaseinvolume.Duringexpansions,thedistancesbetweenatomsinthematerial
increase,andthereisasmallincreaseinvolume.FollowingthecompletepassingofaPwave,
theelasticallydistortedEarthmaterialreturnstoitsoriginalvolume.Pwavescanpassthrough
liquids,solids,andgasses.
Figure3.TimesequenceshowingeffectsofPwavepassingthroughabodyofmaterial.Note
theorangecubeattime1priortothePwavearriving.Attime2,thePwavearrivesandthe
orangecubecontracts,andthenattime2expandsasthePwavesmovesontocontractingthe
purplecube.Attime4theorangecubereturnsbacktoitsoriginalvolumewhilethepurple
cubeexpandsasthePwavemovesoncontractingthebluecube.
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SWaves. In contrast to Pwaves, Swaves emanating outward in a spherical fashion from the
focusproduceshaperatherthanvolumetricchangesinEarthmaterial(Figure4).WhenanS
wavepassesthroughtheEarthitdisplacesparticlesinadirectionperpendiculartothedirection
Figure4.TimesequenceshowingeffectsofSwavepassingthroughabodyofmaterial.Note
howtheredparticleridingontheSwavemovesupanddownperpendiculartothewave
propagationdirection(i.e.,paralleltoZaxis).
that it is moving, i.e., its propagation direction. Because liquids cannot support a shape
change,SwavestravelingthroughtheinterioroftheEarthdonotpropagatethroughtheliquid
outercoreandmagmachambers.
SpeedsofPandSWaves.NeartheEarthssurfaceincontinentalregionsPwavescantravelat
speedsaround6km/secwhileSwavestravelatspeedsaround3.5km/sec.BecausePwaves
are faster than Swaves they arrive at seismic stations earlier than Swaves. For this reason
theyareoftenreferredtoasprimarywaveswhiletheslowertravelingSwaves,arrivingalittle
laterthanthePwavesattheseismicstation,aresometimescalledsecondarywaves.
SurfaceWaves
RayleighWaves.RayleighwavesastheymovealongthesurfaceoftheEarthdistortitintoa
formmuchlikeanoceanwave(Figure5).Inotherwords,theydisplacethelandsurfaceatright
anglestothedirectionthattheyaretraveling.Thisdisplacement,thoughlikethatproducedby
anSwave,diesoutwithdepth.
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Figure5.Rayleighwavesdistortthelandsurfaceintoaseriesofoceanlikewavesthatdieout
withdepth.
LoveWaves.LovewavesdisplaceEarthmaterialatthesurfaceinahorizontalsnakelikemotion
(Figure6).Theydonottravelthroughwater.
Figure6.LovewavesmoveinasnakelikemotionparalleltotheEarthssurface.
DestructivenessofSeismicWaves
Both Rayleigh and Love waves are more destructive to buildings than are P and S
waves.BecauseoftheverticalmotionproducedbyRayleighwavestheytendtobethemost
destructive while the back and forth motion of Love waves can knock buildings off their
foundations.
Seismograph
A seismograph is the device used to record the vibrations produced during an

earthquake.Theideabehindmanyseismographsinvolvestheconceptofinertia.Ourphysics
colleaguestellusthatinertiaistheresistanceamasshastosuddenmovement.Ingeneral,the
greater the weight of an object, the greater it will resist movement during an earthquake.
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Seismologistsaregeologiststhatstudyearthquakes.Theyhaveusedtheideaofinertiaintheir
construction of so called inertial seismographs. In practice they suspend a dense heavy
objectfromaspringorwire(Figure7).Becauseofitsgreatweight,thesuspendedobjecthas
so much resistance to movement that when the spring or wire it is attached to is suddenly
extendedduringanearthquakeitdoesnotmove.AsshowninFigure7,apenattachedtothe
denseobjectisincontactwithpaperfixedtoanadjacentrotatingdrum.Asthelandsurface
vibratesduringanEarthquake,thepeninscribesonthepaperarecordofthevibrations.
Figure7.Thekeyelementsofaninertialseismographareaverydensestationaryballholdinga
pen,andapieceofpaperattachedtoarotatingdrum.Duringanearthquake,thebaseand
drumvibratewiththelandsurface.Incontrast,thedenseballandattachedpendonot.See
textforadditionaldiscussion.
AtypicalrecordcollectedfromaseismographisshowninFigure8.Notethatthexaxis
oftherecordistimewhiletheyaxisisamplitude,ameasureofthesizeoftheseismicwaves.
Figure8.Anexampleofaseismographicrecordorseismogramderivedfromanearthquake.
The SP time interval is the delay in arrival time between the P and Swaves. It is
proportionaltothedistancetraveledbythewaves.Inotherwords,theSPtimeintervalwillbe
large at seismic stations located great distances from the epicenter and relatively small at
stationslocatedclosertotheepicenter.Asyouwilllearninthefollowingsections,iftheSP
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timeintervalisknowfromatleastthreedifferentseismicstations,thenitcanbeusedtolocate
theepicenterofanearthquake.
LocatingtheEpicenter
Seismologists have placed seismographs throughout the world. They can locate the
epicenters of most earthquakes from this array of seismographs, and the idea that P and S
wavestravelatdifferentspeeds,.
In order to understand the basic principles behind determining the epicenter of an
earthquake, consider the locations of the three seismic stations shown in Figure 9. If an
earthquake occurs on the fault located between the three stations, then P and Swaves will
radiate outward in spherical fashion from the hypocenter. As shown in Figure 9, the Pwave
willtravelfasterthantheSwave,andwillreacheachoftheseismicstationsbeforetheSwave.
Moreover,theSPintervalincreasesfromStationAtoBtoC.
Figure9.(A)LocationsofseismicstationsA,B,andC.(B)Attime1,followinganearthquakeon
theNEonethirdofthefault,StationA,beingclosesttotheepicenter,recordstheearthquake
firstasPwavesandthenSwavesarrive.(C)Astheseismicenergycontinuestoradiate
outwardfromtheepicenter,stationB,beingatanintermediatedistancefromtheepicenter,
nextreceivesfirstPwavesandthenSwaves.(D)Attime3,stationC,lyingatthegreatest
distancefromtheepicenter,receivesfirstPandthenSwaves.Notehowtheseparation
distancebetweenPandSarrivals,i.e.,theSPintervalincreasesfromstationAtoBtoC.
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Fromanalyzingmanyearthquakesinagivenregionseismologistsknowtherelationship
betweentheSPintervalandthedistancetoanearthquakesepicenter.Thebasictoolthatthey
useisthetraveltimegraph(Figure10).Onsuchagraph,timeisplottedalongtheyaxisand
distancetraveledfromepicentersisshownonthexaxis.Characteristictraveltimecurvesfor
PandSwavesarealsoprovided.AsshowninFigure10,theverticaldistanceseparatingthe
twocurvesistheSPinterval.
Figure10.TraveltimegraphforearthquakeshowninFigure9.
AlsoshowninFigure10arethreeseismicrecordscollectedatstationsA,B,andC(see
Figure9fortheirlocations)duringanearthquake.StationAisclosertotheepicenterthanisB,
whilestationCisthefarthestaway.Hence,theSPintervalissmalleratstationA,intermediate
insizeatstationB,andthegreatestatstationC.
Using the traveltime graph characteristic of our hypothetical region, we can estimate
readilythedistancetotheepicenter.InFigure10,theorangebarlabeled1.8minutesistheSP
intervalforstationA.Notethatitfitssnugglybetweentheredandbluecurvesdrawnonthe
traveltimegraph,andliesonaverticalbluegridlinethatintersectsthexaxis(labeledDistance
from Epicenter) at 500 miles. We conclude that station A is located 500 miles from the
epicenter.AtstationB,theSPintervalis3.2minutesandatstationCtheSPintervalis4.8
minutes. Using Figure 10 verify that these times translate into distances of 1000 and 2000
milesrespectively.
In Figure 11 a circle with radius 500 miles is plotted with station A at its center. This
result tells us that the epicenter lies somewhere along this circle. However, we dont know
wherealongthecircletheepicenterlies.However,acirclewitharadiusof1000milesplotted
around station B intersects the circle from station A at two points, one of which is the
epicenter.Unfortunately,withoutplottingtheresultsfromstationC,wedontknowwhichof
the two points to choose. However, unless the earthquake was produced by rupture on an
unmapped fault, then the point lying on the fault might be the epicenter. Plotting a circle
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aroundstationCwitharadiusof2000milesconfirmsoursuspicionsasallthreecirclesintersect
inasinglepoint.Moreover,notethatthispointsimultaneouslysatisfiesthethreeconditions
thattheepicentermustbelocated500miles,1000miles,and2000milesfromseismicstations
A,B,andCrespectively.Itmustthereforebetheepicenteroftheearthquake.Thefactthat
theepicenterislocatedonthefaultsuggeststhatbrittlefailurealongthefaultproducedthe
earthquake.
Figure11.UsingtheSPinterval,thedistancetotheepicentercanbedeterminedfroma
minimumofthreeseismicstationslocatedatthreedifferentdistancesfromtheearthquake.
EarthquakeMagnitudes
Theamplitudeofthesquigglycurveoftheseismogramprovidesinformationaboutthe
energy released during an earthquake. The Richter magnitude is determined by the peak
amplitude on a seismogram derived from a WardAnderson seismometer, a special but
ubiquitoustypeofseismometer.Themeasuredpeakamplitudeisscaledtoadistanceof100
kilometers (62.1 miles) from the epicenter of an earthquake. The Richter magnitude scale is
logarithmic, with commonly reported magnitudes varyingfrom 1 to a little over9. Each unit
increase in magnitude corresponds to a tenfold increase in amplitude. For example, a
magnitude 2 earthquake produces a signal with an amplitude that is ten times larger than a
magnitude1signal.Amagnitude3earthquakewouldproduceasignalwithanamplitudeone
hundredtimeslargerthanamagnitude1signal.
Though the above ideas seem straight forward enough, energy in a wave is in fact a
functionofbothamplitudeandfrequency.Thislatterparameteristhenumberofwavesthat
passagivenstationarypointeachsecond.Frequencydiffersfromoneearthquaketoanother.
Themostenergeticearthquakeshaveahigherproportionoflowfrequencywavesthandothe
least energetic. Taking these factors in to consideration, seismologists have estimated that
thereisathirtytwofoldincreaseinenergyingoingfromoneRichterunittothenext.Inother
words,amagnitude3earthquakereleases1024times(32X32)theenergyofamagnitude1
earthquake.
Theseismicmoment,Mo,isanotherwayofmeasuringthemagnitudeofanearthquake.
Inequationformitcanbewritten
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(1)
Mo=Sd
whereistheshearstrengthofthefaultedrock,Sistheareaofthefaultsurfacethatruptured,
anddistheaveragedisplacementonthefault.Seismologistsbelievethattheseismicmoment
isamoreconsistentmeasureofearthquakesizethanisRichtermagnitude.ThisfactorledDrs.
T.HanksandH.Kanamoritointroducein1979themomentmagnitudescale.Inequationform,
themomentmagnitude,Mw,canbewrittenas
(2)
Mw=2/3log10(Mo)10.7.
The three largest reported moments are for the 1960 Chile earthquake (Mw 9.6), the 2004
Sumatraearthquake(Mw9.3),andthe1964Alaskaearthquake(Mw9.2).
Seismologistsoftendivideearthquakesbasedontheirmagnitudesintotheclassesshown
inTable1.Thelargestmagnitudeearthquakesthatoccuralongconvergentmarginsgenerally
fallintothemajorandgreatclasses,whilethelargestmagnitudescharacteristicoftransform
boundariesliketheSanAndreasfaultfallintothemoderatetomajorclasses.Incontrast,most
seismiceventsindivergentmarginsettingsfallintothelightandminorclasses.
Table1.ClassesofEarthquakes
Class
Great
Major
Strong
Moderate
Light
Minor
Magnitude
8orlarger
7 7.9
6 6.9
5 5.9
4 4.9
3 3.9
Given the above information it is probably not surprising that of the top 10 earthquakes
known to have occurred in North America, seven occurred along the converging boundary
separatingAlaskaandtheNorthAmericanplatefromthePacificplatewhileoneoccurredalong
theFortTejonsegmentoftheSanAndreastransform(Table2).Thetwolargeearthquakesthat
Table2.Top10EarthquakesinNorthAmerica
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
LiveScience/SOURCE:USGS
Locale
PrinceWilliamSound,Alaska
AndreanofIslands,Alaska
RatIslands,Alaska
ShumaginIslands,Alaska
NewMadrid,Missouri
YakutatBay,Alaska
AndreanofIslands,Alaska
NewMadrid,Missouri
CapeYakataga,Alaska
FortTejon,California
Size
9.2
9.1
8.7
8.2
8.1
8.0
8.0
8.0
7.9
7.9
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occurred within the New Madrid seismic zone lie within a poorly understood seismic belt
runningthroughthemidcontinentalregionoftheconterminousUnitedStates.
It has been estimated that on a global basis, there are, on average, over 900,000
earthquakes per year with magnitudes less than 2.5. In contrast, there are, on average,
~30,000minorthroughmoderate(upto~5.5),~500moderate(~5.5~6.0),~100strong,and
~20 major earthquakes per year. Though typically memorable, great earthquakes only occur
onceevery5to10years.
EarthquakeIntensities
When an earthquake occurs the land surface vibrates and shakes, and as a result
streets,houses,fences,bridges,andotherstructuresaredamaged.Ifwecandeterminehow
much damage has occurred, then we can determine the intensity of the earthquake. The
modifiedMercalliscalewasdevelopedtospecificallymeasuretheeffectofanearthquakeon
peopleandbuildings.
ThemodifiedMercalliscalevariesfromItoXII,withhigherRomannumeralsindicating
greater intensity (Table 3). In general, we would expect intensity to decrease outward away
fromtheepicenter.However,overthelast50yearsorsobuildingsandroadshavebeenbuilt
under different types of engineering codes, and as a result such manmade structures have
differing resistance to ground shaking during an earthquake. Hence, Mercalli intensities may
varyfromregiontoregionandcountrytocountryasafunctionofbuildingcodeandother
Table3.TheModifiedMercalliIntensityScale
I. Not felt except by a very few under especially
favorableconditions.
III.Feltquitenoticeablybypersonsindoors,especially
on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not
recognizeitasanearthquake.Standingmotorcarsmay
rockslightly.Vibrationssimilartothepassingofatruck.
Durationestimated.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some
dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned.
Pendulumclocksmaystop.
VII.Damagenegligibleinbuildingsofgooddesignand
construction; slight to moderate in wellbuilt ordinary
structures;considerabledamageinpoorlybuiltorbadly
designedstructures;somechimneysbroken.
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on

upperfloorsofbuildings.
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the
day.Atnight,someawakened.Dishes,windows,doors
disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like
heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars
rockednoticeably.
VI. Feltbyall, many frightened.Someheavy furniture
moved;afewinstancesoffallenplaster.Damageslight.
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.Heavyfurnitureoverturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially designed X. Somewellbuiltwoodenstructuresdestroyed;most
structures; welldesigned frame structures thrown out masonry and frame structures destroyed with
of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with foundations.Railsbent.
partialcollapse.Buildingsshiftedofffoundations.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. XII. Damagetotal.Linesofsightandlevelaredistorted.
Bridgesdestroyed.Railsbentgreatly.
Objectsthrownintotheair.
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relatedfactors.Nevertheless,asshowninTable3,MercalliscaleindicesofVIorlowermeasure
the effects of the earthquake on people, while those of VII or higher measure the effects on
buildings.
ClosingStatement
EarthquakeshaveinthepastdevastatedportionsofmajormetropolitancentersinLos
Angeles and San Francisco, California, and, in a single occurrence, have destroyed 100,000+
livesindistantlandssuchasChina.Theyhaveatonetimeoranotherbeenfeltinnearlyall
regionsoftheworld,andserveasanearlydailymessagethatgeologyisanimportantaspectof
thelivesofthecitizensofplanetEarth.
ReferencesUsedintheDevelopmentofthisChapter
BooksandPapers
BritishColumbiaInstituteofTechnology,DepartmentofCivilEngineering,Unit1:Earthquakes:
http://commons.bcit.ca/civil/students/earthquakes/unit1_03.htm
Busch, R.M., ed., 1997, Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River,NewJersey,280p.
Floyd,J.S.,Tolstoy,M.,Mutter,J.C.,andScholz,C.H.,2002,Seismotectonicsofmidoceanridge
propagationinHessDeep,Science,v.298,p.17651768.
McGeary,D.,Plummer,C.C.,andCarlson,D.H.,2001,PhysicalGeology,McGrawHill,NewYork,
NewYork,578p.
Skinner,B.J.,andPorter,S.C.,1989,TheDynamicEarth,JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,NewYork,New
York,541p.
Twiss, R.J., and Moores, E.M., 2007, Structural Geology, 2nd Edition, W.H. Freeman and
Company,NewYork,736p.
Websites
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/
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Chapter6

A seismograph is the device used to record the vibrations produced during an

II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on

VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures;

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