U.S.

Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
General Interest Product 21
Earthquake Science Explained
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
General Interest Product 21
Earthquake Science Explained
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students,
Teachers, and Families
Compiled by Matthew A. dAlessio
The features in this booklet originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle from Septem-
ber 12 to November 14, 2005, as part of that newspapers Chronicle in Education programa
program to distribute newspapers free to classroom teachers and encourage their use as a
curriculum resource. For information go to:
http://www.subscriber-services.com/sfchron/nie/Edulndex.asp
or call 1-800-499-5700 extension 6828
Contributions by:
Matthew dAlessio, Mehmet elebi, Eric Geist, Russell Graymer, Jeanne Hardebeck,
Thomas Holzer, Jessica Murray, Ann Rosenthal, John Solum, Heidi Stenner
Newspaper activities by:
Elizabeth Coleman (San Francisco Chronicle)
Edited by:
Matthew dAlessio, Mary Lou Zoback, and nearly two dozen members of the U.S. Geological
Surveys Earthquake Hazards Team
U.S. Department of the Interior
Gale A. Norton, Secretary
U.S. Geological Survey
P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2006
Available from U.S. Geological Survey Information Services
Box 25286, Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225
This report and any updates to it are available online at:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2006/21/
For additional information write to:
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, Mail Stop 421, Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 802250046
Additional USGS publications can be found at:
http://geology.usgs.gov/products.html
For more information about the USGS and its products:
Telephone: 1888ASKUSGS (18882758747)
World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/
Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply
endorsement of the U.S. Government.

Cataloging-in-publication data are on file with the Library of Congress (URL http://www.loc.gov/).
Produced in the Western Region, Menlo Park, California
Manuscript approved for publication, January 4, 2006
Text edited by Peter Stauffer
Layout and design by Susan Mayfield and Matthew A. dAlessio
iii
A Message from the Director,
U.S. Geological Survey
Director Leahy with instruments at USGS
headquarters that record seismic waves
from earthquakes around the globe.
Recent images of massive earthquake-induced
waves washing away entire towns or buildings reduced
to rubble by the violent shaking of Earths crustal plates
have underlined, all too painfully, the importance of
understanding our dynamic and ever-changing Earth.
These natural earthquake hazards will always be with
us, but the consequences are not inevitableif we pre-
pare for them. An essential part of that preparation is
education. Education is the key to ensuring that people
take appropriate actions when living in earthquake-
prone areas and for supporting policies and decisions
that will save lives and property.
Earthquake Science Explained is a series of short articles for students, teachers, and parents
originally published as weekly features in The San Francisco Chronicle. This U.S. Geological
Survey General Information Product presents some of the new understanding gained and sci-
entific advances made in the century since the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Concepts
introduced in each feature are designed to address State and national science-education stand-
ards. Written by our scientists, the articles go beyond traditional textbook information to discuss
state-of-the-art thinking and technology that we use today.
I encourage you to explore this informative publication as well as the U.S. Geological Surveys
science education Web site at http://education.usgs.gov/, and I further invite you to become our
long-term partners exploring the full range of our science for a changing world.
P. Patrick Leahy
iv
Contents
[The articles in the series correlate with the State of California
Science Content Standards, as noted in brackets]
Articles*
Feature 1 The Earthquake Machine: What 1906 taught us about how earthquakes work ............1
By Matthew dAlessio
[Grade 6, Sc. 1Major geologic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and mountain building, result from plate motions.]
Feature 2 Seismograms: Earthquake Fingerprints ................................................................................2
By Jeanne Hardebeck
[Grade 6, Sc. 1gHow to determine the epicenter of an earthquake and the
effects of an earthquake on any region vary, depending on the size of the earth-
quake, the distance of the region from the epicenter, and the local geology.]
Feature 3 Find the Fault: Recognizing active faults ..............................................................................3
By John Solum and Russell Graymer
[Grade 4, Sc. 5cSome changes in the earth are due to rapid processes,
such as earthquakes.
Grade 6, Sc. 2dStudents know earthquakes change human and
wildlife habitats.]
Feature 4 Looking into the past with earthquake trenches .................................................................4
By Heidi Stenner
[Grade 6, Sc. 7gInterpret events by sequence and time from
natural phenomena.]
Feature 5 When will the next big one hit? How do we know? ............................................................5
By Matthew dAlessio
[Grade 6, Sc. 1Major geologic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and mountain building, result from plate motions.]
Feature 6 LiquefactionWhen the ground flows ................................................................................6
By Thomas Holzer
[Grade 6, Sc. 1gThe effects of an earthquake on any region vary,
depending on the size of the earthquake, the distance of the region
from the epicenter, and the local geology.]
v
*All articles are written by scientists and focus on the evidence we collect during our work. They therefore directly
address the important Investigation and Experiment California State Science Content Standard for all grade levels:
Grade 4, Sc. 6, Grade 5, Sc. 6, Grade 6, Sc. 7, Grade 7, Sc. 7, Grade 8, Sc. 9, Grades 9 12, Science Investigation:
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a
basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should
develop their own questions and perform investigations.
Feature 7 Bay Area tsunamis: Are we at risk? ......................................................................................7
By Eric Geist and Anne Rosenthal
[Grade 4, Sc. 5aWaves, wind, water, and ice shape and reshape Earths
land surface.
Grade 6, Sc. 2cBeaches are dynamic systems in which the sand is
moved along the coast by the action of waves.]
Feature 8 An earthquake scientist in action .........................................................................................8
By Jessica Murray
[Grade 6, Sc. 7Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful
questions and conducting careful investigations.]
Feature 9 How do we make buildings and roads safer? .....................................................................9
By Mehmet elebi
[Grade 8, Sc. 2dIdentify separately the two or more forces that are
acting on a single static object, including gravity, elastic forces due to
tension or compression in matter, and friction.]
Feature 10 Putting down roots in earthquake country ........................................................................10
By Matthew dAlessio
[Grade 6, Sc. 1fExplain major features of California geology (including
mountains and faults) in terms of plate tectonics.
Grade 6, Sc. 2dEarthquakes change human habitats.]
vi
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families 1
Fault
An earthquake is a sudden
burst of motion that relieves
the strain and causes
shaking.
A new fence is built
straight across the fault
at the boundary between
two plates.
Over many years, plate
motions cause strain to
build up and deform the
earth (and fence).
Plate tectonics: The cycle of earthquakes continues because plates motions continue.
Fence after 1906 earthquake.
Resources: Demonstrate the earthquake cycle in your classroom (animations & The Earthquake
Machine): http://quake.usgs.gov/research/deformation/modeling/teaching/
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country, a special insert in The Sunday Chronicle, Sept. 18, 2005,
contains information about making your family safer in the next quake. Also online at:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/
Newspaper Activity: Land features can change
naturally over time, or more rapidly during an
event such as an earthquake. Read and summa -
rize an article in today's Chronicle that discusses
natural or man-made changes in the land.
On April 18, 1906, the
earth moved. Not only did
the ground shake on the day
of the Great San Francisco
earthquake, but land on both
sides of the San Andreas
fault permanently shifted.
Precise measurements of the
amount of motion led
scientists to discover why
earthquakes happen.
Fences across the San
Andreas fault ripped apart,
and it was no longer clear
who owned the land nearby.
Surveyors went to mountain
peaks to relocate the property
boundaries. While the fences
showed that ground had
moved near the fault, the
surveyors also discovered
that much of northern
California had moved and
distorted during the earth-
quake. The movement
followed a pattern with most
of the motion near the fault
and less motion far away.
At the time, nobody knew
what caused earthquakes.
The survey measurements
led a scientist named H. F.
Reid to propose one possible
explanation. He hypoth-
esized that strain built up in
the earths crust like the
stretching of a rubber band.
At some point, the earth
would have to snap in an
earthquake. The problem
was that Reid didnt know
what caused the strain to
build up.
Scientists continued to
survey after the earthquake
and saw that motion contin-
ued throughout California,
providing an important piece
of evidence that the Earths
tectonic plates are in
constant motion. This plate
motion is Reids missing
cause of strain.
Two plates can get stuck
together where they meet (at
faults), but forces deep
within the earth drag and
pull the plates in different
directions. Faults remain
stuck together for many
years as the nearby crust
deforms and stretches, but
eventually the strain is too
much and the two plates
shift suddenly in an earth -
quake.
Today, scientists monitor
the buildup of strain near
locked faults using satellite
observations, and the pattern
is much like Reid hypoth-
esized 100 years ago.
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Matthew dAlessio
Earthquake ScienceFeature 1 of 10
The Earthquake Machine:
What 1906 taught us about how
earthquakes work
2 Earthquake Science Explained
Resources: Recent earthquake locations: http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latest.htm
Listening to Seismic Waves (activity to introduce seismic waves):
http://quake.usgs.gov/info/listen/ Virtual Earthquake (online activity to locate
earthquakes using seismic waves): http://cdl-flylab.sonoma.edu/eec/Earthquake/
Newspaper Activity: Advances in technology
have helped scientists better understand
earthquakes. Read today's Chronicle to find an
article about other advances in technology. How
could these advances change your life?
When a fault slips
suddenly in an earth-
quake, it releases energy
in the form of seismic
waves. Captured by sensi-
tive instruments, a seismo-
gram is a recording of the
shakes and jolts of these
passing seismic waves.
Seismograms are like the
fingerprints of earthquakes
with patterns that can be
matched and decoded to
learn about how earth-
quakes affect our world.
We know the
earthquakes magnitude
from the height of the
waves, and we can figure
out when and where the
earthquake happened from
the times the waves arrive
at different places. The
exact pattern of the wiggles
is shaped by the individual
earthquake: how deep it
was, which direction the
fault moved, and what
kinds of rocks the waves
passed through.
Most earthquakes have
unique seismograms, like
people have unique
fingerprints. Some groups
of small earthquakes have
almost identical seismo-
grams, which means that
these earthquakes are
repeats of exactly the same
motion in exactly the same
direction in exactly the
same place.
We can find out even
more about big earth-
quakes by breaking them
down into smaller parts.
For example, a magnitude
6.5 earthquake that hit
Paso Robles in December
2003 released built-up
strain over a fault area 20
miles long and 8 miles
from top to bottom. You
can think of this area as
being like a quilt divided
into individual patches.
The movement of each
patch has its own unique
fingerprint. The seismo-
gram of a large earthquake
is then the combined
fingerprints of all the
patches. We use a
computer to match patterns
in the large earthquakes
seismogram to figure out
which patches of the fault
moved and by how much.
Some patches of the
fault did not slip much, so
we can expect future
earthquakes sooner there.
Patches that slipped a lot
already wont move again
until plate tectonics causes
the strain to build back up.
2 seconds
Seismograms from
magnitude 2 earthquakes
on the San Andreas fault.
The same patch of fault
slipped 3 separate times,
producing nearly identical
seismograms (top 3). A
different patch slipped and
has a different fingerprint
(bottom). [R. Nadeau, UC Berkeley]
Jan 1, 1998
Aug 10, 2000
Oct 20, 2003
Mar 17, 2001
View into
the Earth
along the
fault of the
December 2003
earthquake. Arrows
show how much each patch of
fault moved. The largest movement
was 9 feet. [Chen Ji, UC Santa Barbara]
2
0
m
ile
s

8

m
i
l
e
s

San
Simeon
Paso
Robles
fault
white patches
did not slip
By Dr. Jeanne Hardebeck
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
Earthquake ScienceFeature 2 of 10
Seismograms:
Earthquake Fingerprints
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families 3
Resources: Visit the San Andreas Fault:
A Geology Fieldtrip Guidebook To
Selected Stops On Public Lands,
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1127/
Newspaper Activity: Using the Bay Area
map on today's Weather Page, look for
features that could indicate a fault. Which
cities are closest to these features? Which
bodies of water?
Want to know more? Visit
http://education.usgs.gov
This curb is offset by about
one foot due to creep on the
Calaveras Fault. The white
triangles point along the fault.
Faults are where large
blocks of the Earths
crust move past each
other. At plate boundaries,
they are most often stuck
tight, but at times they
lurch several feet in a great
earthquake. Living near
faults is a fact of life for
many Californians, but
how do you recognize an
active fault?
Some faults, called
creeping faults, move very
slowly all the time.
Structures like bridges,
sidewalks, and buildings
built astride these faults
will be offset as the faults
slowly move (up to a half
inch each year). You can
find these faults by
looking for bent or offset
curbs and sidewalks (Photo
1). Not every offset curb
is a fault, but if you find
several features that all
line up, you may have
found a fault.
However, most faults
dont creep, so geologists
look for effects faults have
on the landscape. Natural
features like streams,
valleys, and ridges can be
offset from repeated
earthquakes if they cross
the fault (Photo 2).
ridges and valleys to form.
Faults also can disrupt the
movement of underground
water, forcing it to the
surface to form springs
and ponds.
A lot of these features
are easiest to spot from the
air. Our newest tool to find
faults is Laser Imaging
Detection And Ranging
(LIDAR), which uses laser
light from an airplane to
make a detailed image of
the ground surface that can
even see through trees in a
forest. Being able to read
the landscape allows us to
pinpoint the exact location
of dangerous faults.
The stream in this photo is
offset by movement along
the San Andreas Fault. As
the fault continues to move,
the two parts of the stream
will get farther apart. Also,
a straight ridge, or scarp
runs along the fault.
Crystal Springs Reservoir
lies within the long, straight
valley broken up by the San
Andreas Fault.
Active faults also make
their own landscape
features. If one side of the
fault moves up or down, it
creates a long, straight
ridge called a scarp. As
faults move along in
repeated earthquakes, the
rock along the fault is
broken and ground down.
This shattered zone is
more easily eroded than
the surrounding rocks, so
long valleys can form
along the fault (Photo 3).
So faults can cause both
By Dr. John Solum and
Dr. Russell Graymer
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
Earthquake ScienceFeature 3 of 10
Find the Fault:
Recognizing Active Faults
4 Earthquake Science Explained
Newspaper Activity:
Look through today's
newspaper for pictures of
items that you think
should be included in an
earthquake preparedness
kit. Write a paragraph
describing how you made
your choices. What is the
total price of the items?
Do earthquakes tend
to repeat at regular
intervals? If so, that may
tell us when to expect the
next one. Many
earthquakes happened long
before recorded history;
how can we discover what
happened so long ago?
Geologists look for
evidence in the ground
below us. Layers of earth
get added, one on top of
the other, over time. Like
the pages of a history book,
each layer records what
was happening at that time.
A layer of round rocks can
indicate an ancient river,
while a layer of mud can
be from an ancient flood.
Layers also record
earthquakes. The ground
can shift several feet or
more during an earthquake,
disrupting the layers (and
"tearing" the pages of
Earth's history book). In
rest on top of the faulted
layers were laid down after
the earthquake.
Then, if we can figure
out when the layers
formed, we can figure out
when the earthquake hit.
Geologists look for plant or
animal remains, like sticks
or bones, in the buried
layers and date them using
the same tools used by
archeologists.
With the information
gathered in the trenches,
geologists can tell how
often earthquakes occur
and even how large past
quakes were. The more
scientists know about a
fault's past, the better they
are able to suggest what
may happen in the future.
In April 2006, visitors will walk below ground level to
experience an active fault in downtown Fremont. Theyll see
evidence of an earthquake in 1868 known as "The Great
San Francisco Earthquake" until the even larger and more
damaging 1906 quake.
http://quake.usgs.gov/research/geology/paleoseis/
Scientists dig trenches
across active faults to
look for evidence of
ancient earthquakes.
the years after an
earthquake, new layers of
rock and soil may blanket
the area and bury the
broken layers below.
To go back in time,
geologists dig trenches up
to 20 feet deep and 10 feet
wide and then walk in to
observe the layers. If there
has been a large quake, the
sediment will be disrupted
at the fault. Any layers that
are not disturbed and that
Classroom Activity about trenching:
http://www.data.scec.org/Module/s1act09.html
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Heidi Stenner
recent earthquake
cuts all layers
past earthquakes
cut only old layers
Earthquake ScienceFeature 4 of 10
Looking into the Past
With Earthquake Trenches
Recent
Old S
E
D
I
M
E
N
T

L
A
Y
E
R
S

S
E
D
I
M
E
N
T

L
A
Y
E
R
S

F
a
u
l
t

White arrows
indicate direction
blocks moved
in earthquake.
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families 5
An earthquake
is more likely to
happen in the
dark areas.
Probability of Exceeding MMI VI Shaking
Map from
Sept. 30, 2005
Newspaper Activity: Earthquake scientists
have tried to use Earth's clues to predict
earthquakes. Using today's Chronicle, read
the headlines of a few articles to try to
predict what the articles are about. Were
your predictions correct?
is like having one leg of a
table break if the objects
on the table are too heavy
for the remaining three legs
to support, another leg will
eventually snap under the
stress. This is why
aftershocks occur after a
large earthquake. Scientists
have detected patterns in
aftershocks and can now
predict how many large
aftershocks there will be.
This information helped
San Francisco decide how
many firefighters to keep
on duty during the days
after the 1989 earthquake.
Sometimes an aftershock
can even be bigger than the
first earthquake. When a
small earthquake occurs,
scientists predict the odds
that the earthquake is a
warning sign that a larger
earthquake will hit soon.
These odds are based on
the earthquake's magnitude
and the seismic history of
the fault on which it
occurred. If the chance is
large enough, the govern-
ment issues a warning.
There are lots of unan-
swered questions, and we
are always looking for new,
creative ways to measure
what the Earth is doing.
Plate tectonics causes
stress to build up in the
Bay Area, which will
eventually be released by
an earthquake. By measur-
ing the rate of stress buildup
and the largest stress that
the Earth can sustain, we
can predict how many
earthquakes will occur
during a decade. If we could
predict exactly when one
will occur, people could be
better prepared for the
disaster. But does the earth
give any warning signs that
an earthquake is coming? If
it does, we could record
those signals on scientific
instruments.
See todays map at: http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/step
Scientists have made
hypotheses about several
ways faults might signal
that they are about to
rupture. For example, faults
might start moving very
slowly before they lurch
violently in a big earthquake
a lot like a car starting up
at a stoplight. This slow
start could take place over a
whole year or a fraction of a
second. So far, it looks like
the earth starts slipping too
quickly to give us any
warning, but it's possible
that our instruments aren't
sensitive enough to detect
this motion.
Scientists have success-
fully observed one type of
warning sign that helps
them predict earthquakes
other earthquakes. Some-
times, one earthquake can
trigger another one.
Imagine that an earthquake
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Matthew dAlessio
Earthquake ScienceFeature 5 of 10
When will the next big one hit?
How do we know?
What's the probability
of an earthquake
happening
today?
6 Earthquake Science Explained
Newspaper Activity:
This feature recounts a
fireman's observations of
liquefaction. Read today's
Chronicle to find an article
in which a personal
experience was used to
discuss a fact or theory.
Write a summary of the
article you chose.
Related activities: See Lesson 6 of
http://teachingboxes.org/earthquakes
for an explanation and liquefaction maps.
Liquefaction in your
classroom: Take a large
rubber dish pan and fill it
about one-quarter full with
tap water. Then add sand
with the texture of table salt
until the sand surface
reaches the water level. Stir
the sand as you pour it into
the water to remove bubbles
After the 1989 Loma
Prieta earthquake, a
fireman on Treasure Island
(in the middle of San
Francisco Bay) told me his
earthquake experience. He
saw water spurting out of
the ground from many
places, and his greatest fear
during the earthquake was
that he might drown.
As I listened, I was think-
ing how ironic this was.
Only a few miles away in
San Francisco, the same
natural phenomenon that
triggered the spurting water
in the 1989 earthquake
contributed to the fire that
burned about 500 city
blocks in San Francisco
after the 1906 earthquake.
In both 1989 and 1906,
buildings and streets had
lots of damage where they
were built on wet sand
layers. This sand had been
deposited not long ago
either by rivers and creeks
or by humans making new
land by dumping sand into
water bodies. Normally
such sandy soil provides
excellent support for
buildings, but earthquake
shaking jiggles the sand
and squeezes the water
trapped between the grains
so much that the layer
begins to act like a muddy
liquid. We call this process
liquefaction.
In 1989, the fireman on
Treasure Island witnessed
one effect of liquefaction,
as muddy water spurted
from the ground like the
violent squeezing of a
sponge. In 1906, the
liquefied sandy soils
flowed down hill slopes
and snapped buried water
pipes. With so many water
pipes broken, firefighters
in San Francisco did not
have enough water to
douse the fire. It raged out
of control for three days.
Firefighters even blasted
buildings with dynamite to
try to form fire breaks.
Today, many neighbor-
hoods around San Francisco
Bay are built on sandy soils.
Geologists are busy
mapping soil types to
identify areas that might be
at risk for liquefaction.
They push probes more
than 100 feet down into the
soil, measuring how the
probes slide into the earth.
This tells them how much
sand is present and how
firmly it is packed together.
Engineers and planners can
use this information to
make our community safer
for the next time an earth-
quake shakes the Bay Area.
The fire that destroyed 500 city blocks after the 1906 quake
raged out of control because liquefaction broke water pipes
that were needed by firemen to fight the fire.
and level the sand surface.
Gently place a brick on
the sand so that it stands
up on its end like a
skyscraper. Tap the side of
the pan with a mallet with
a series of quick taps.
What happens to the
brick?
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Thomas Holzer
Earthquake ScienceFeature 6 of 10
Liquefaction
When the ground flows
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families 7
Newspaper Activity:
Tsunami is a word of
Japanese origin meaning
harbor wave. American
English has adopted many
words of non-English
origin. How many
non-English words can
you find in today's
Chronicle?
Find out more: 1906 tsunami simulation:
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/1906.html
Tsunamis in your class-
room: Take a glass baking
dish (9 x 13 or larger) or
clear rubber tub and fill
with enough water to at
least cover the bottom. Tip
one end up and gently let
the dish down to rest on the
counter to generate waves.
Use a ruler and stop-watch
to calculate the speed at
The infamous 1906 San
Francisco Earthquake
began when a tiny section of
the 1300 km-long San
Andreas fault began to
rupture. That initial break-
known as the hypocenter-
occurred just offshore of San
Francisco. Although most
of the movement was
strike-slip (with blocks of
crust moving horizontally)
there was a small amount of
vertical movement. When
the ocean floor moved
down, it created a tsunami.
Luckily for San Francis-
cans already suffering the
effects of a major earth-
quake, the 1906 tsunami
wasnt a large one. In fact, it
measured only 10 centime-
ters high when it arrived at
the San Francisco tide gauge
station near Crissy Field.
Does that mean theres no
tsunami danger in the Bay
Area? Not exactly! Our
greatest tsunami danger
comes from subduction
zones similar to the one that
generated the 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami, where one
tectonic plate dives beneath
another. When an offshore
earthquake occurs along a
subduction zone, a large
section of ocean floor moves
vertically, generating a
tsunami. Tsunamis from
subduction zone earthquakes
as far away as Alaska or
Japan, for example, can hit
Bay Area shores. In 1964, a
large earthquake in Alaska
caused waves 6 meters high
in northern California,
killing 11 people. Today, the
West Coast/Alaska Tsunami
Warning Center would alert
authorities in time to
evacuate coastal regions.
Although San Francisco
Bay is sheltered by its
narrow entrance at the
Golden Gate, tsunamis can
still enter the bay and result
in strong currents.
We have tsunami danger
from another source as well:
a local earthquake could
trigger coastal or underwa-
ter landslides, potentially
leading to dangerous waves.
If you feel shaking, be sure
to leave the beach, even if
no official alerts you!
What about that 10
centimeter 1906 tsunami?
To scientists it was impor-
tant; that single tide gauge
record helped them to
decipher how the offshore
portion of the San Andreas
fault moved during the
Great 1906 Earthquake.
which waves move. Add
more water and make new
waves. How does the
speed of the waves vary
with the depth of water in
the dish? The same is true
for tsunamis! Tsunamis
travel at different speeds in
the deep Pacific Ocean
than they do in the shallow
San Francisco Bay.
U.S. Geological Survey
Coastal and Marine Geology
Program
Eric Geist and
Anne Rosenthal
Waves travel
seafloor
Seafloor
Ocean
Before earthquake
Fault
Initial
wave
Vertical movement
of seafloor
Inundation
Tsunamis occur when the
ocean floor moves
vertically.
Earthquake ScienceFeature 7 of 10
Bay Area Tsunamis:
Are we at risk?
8 Earthquake Science Explained
Newspaper Activity: Dr. Murray describes why she is a geophysicist and what a
geophysicist does. Look through today's Chronicle for articles mentioning different
jobs and classified job listings for jobs that you might like to have. Write a paragraph
about each of the jobs that interest you.
Related Resources:
http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/become.html
http://education.usgs.gov/common/careers.htm
Im a geophysicist
working with the Earth-
quake Hazards Team at the
U.S. Geological Survey in
Menlo Park. Although my
father is a geologist, I
didnt know I wanted to
become an earth scientist
until I took an introductory
geology course in college.
I was fascinated with
understanding how differ-
ent types of rocks are
formed and change through
various processes,
especially the tectonic
forces that cause earth-
quakes.
As an earth science
major in college I took
courses in many different
aspects of geology. When I
graduated I knew I wanted
to pursue a career in the
field, but wasnt sure in
what to specialize. I did
know that my favorite
courses had been about
structural geology which
is the way in which rocks
are slowly folded to form
mountains or broken by
faults like the San Andreas.
I also knew that I wanted to
do scientific investigations
that were important for
society in general not just
other geologists.
For those reasons I chose
to attend graduate school to
study a branch of geophys-
ics called crustal deforma-
tion. I learned to make
and use measurements that
tell us how the Earths crust
is distorted, or deformed,
around faults and volca-
noes. With this informa-
tion we can determine
where strain is building that
may be released in an
earthquake, or recognize
that a volcano is inflating
and may erupt soon.
One of the ways we
monitor the slow move-
ment of the Earths surface
is with Global Positioning
System (GPS) instruments.
These instruments are
similar to what people use
while camping or boating,
but are specialized for
scientific applications. We
can tell exactly where a
location on Earth is to
within about half the
diameter of a dime.
A great thing about being
an earth scientist is the
opportunity to travel all
over the world to investigate
unique geological features. I
get to work in a wide range
of environments. Many of
us do field work at least
part of the year. This
involves going to different
locations, like near a fault or
a volcano, and making
measurements or taking
samples.
For me, the best part is
that I know the work I do
will help us better under-
stand the earthquake cycle
and the hazards from large
earthquakes.
Precise measure-
ments using this
GPS instrument help
Dr. Jessica Murray
monitor the motion
of active faults.
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Jessica Murray
Earthquake ScienceFeature 8 of 10
An Earthquake Scientist in
Action: Jessica Murray
A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families 9
Newspaper Activity: This feature uses
photos and graphics so readers can visualize
the information in the text. Read today's
Chronicle to find an article without a photo
or graphic. Draw a picture and write a
caption to accompany the article you chose.
Bay Area residents and
visitors observe gigantic
construction projects along
our roads and bridges each
day. Many of these projects
are seismic retrofits. A
retrofit is a change in design
and construction so that there
are improvements; seismic
retrofit means changes are
made to a structure to reduce
or eliminate loss of life and
property during an earth-
quake.
We retrofit buildings and
roads that were built using
older techniques with
designs that are less safe.
Generally, it is cheaper and
less disruptive to retrofit
before hand than try to
repair a structure damaged
by an earthquake.
There are many ways a
structure can be retrofitted,
but two main ideas are
most common. Sometimes,
the best approach is to
make a building stronger.
Walls and foundations are
designed to support the
weight of the rest of the
building pushing down on
them. Earthquake shaking,
however, pushes buildings
side-to-sidea direction
that they are not always
designed to withstand.
Shear walls and cross
bracing (Pictures 1 and 2)
provide strength and
stiffness to resist future
earthquakes. Shear walls
can strengthen individual
houses the same way they
do for large buildings.
Another way to protect
a building is to isolate it
from the grounda lot
like adding shock absorb-
ers to its foundation. The
ground can move back
and forth during shaking,
but the building stays still
(Pictures 3 and 4).
Because each building
has unique architecture
and a unique setting,
there is a different retrofit
solution that's right in
each case. Earthquake
engineers are people who
come up with creative
new ways to make these
buildings safer than ever
before.
No
retrofit
With
retrofit
1 2
3 4
Building
Ground
Building
Ground
Isolator
Isolator
flexes as
ground
moves
During earth movement, even
though the upper floors look
fine (above left), the weak first
floor could snap; strengthen-
ing it (above right) allows the
whole building to flex gently.
Ground below
building
Isolators
First floor of
building
Cross-bracing strengthens
the walls of this office
building at the USGS in
Menlo Park. Bracing can
also be added inside walls.
Base isolation allows the
building to shake a lot less
than the ground beneath it.
Engineers install instruments
that record shaking to test if
their retrofit designs worked.
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Mehmet elebi
Earthquake ScienceFeature 9 of 10
How do we make buildings
and roads safer?
10 Earthquake Science Explained
Newspaper Activity: Using the Weather Page
of todays Chronicle, mark on the Bay Area
map the locations of your family members
during week days. Then determine a meeting
location during a disaster. What form of
transportation will your family members use
to get there? How far will they travel?
If you live in the Bay
Area, you live in earth-
quake country. Earth-
quakes have helped sculpt
the Bay Area's natural
beauty from it's dramatic
ocean shoreline to the steep
slopes of the East Bay hills
and Santa Cruz mountains.
Slight curves and bends in
plate boundary faults cause
the peaks to grow as plates
slide past one another.
Most of the time (when
faults are locked tight), the
mountains stay still. When
an earthquake happens, the
mountains rise suddenly in
a dramatic growth spurt that
may push them a few inches
or a few feet higher. These
violent events that shape our
landscape make the Bay
Area a beautiful place to
live, but also pose a hazard
to people living here.
Large, damaging earth-
quakes will likely strike the
Bay Area during your
lifetime. Building codes and
innovative construction
techniques make structures
a lot safer in the Bay Area
than in many other parts of
the world, so we don't
expect the next large
earthquake to claim as
many lives as the recent
earthquakes in Asia.
However, many buildings in
the Bay Area were built
before modern building
codes. Depending on when
your home was built, it may
be a good candidate for a
seismic retrofit.
Earthquakes may seem a
little frightening, but you
can do a lot to prepare
yourself. Start by knowing
what to expect: a major
earthquake will have a huge
impact. The power will go
out as power stations are
damaged, water may stop
flowing as pipes break,
some roads and bridges
may be unusable, and
phones may not function in
your neighborhood.
Try not to be scared of
earthquakes instead,
be prepared!
1. Prevent things from
falling on your head
during earthquake
shaking by moving heavy
objects away from high
places especially
above your bed or desk.
2. Create a family disaster
plan. Discuss where you
will meet, and dont
expect to rely on phones
(cell, landline, or Internet)
to get in touch after a
quake. It may be easier to
reach a friend outside
California, so know her
phone number and have
your family use her as a
central contact point.
3. Create a disaster kit.
Have enough food and
water for the entire family
for at least three days.
4. When you feel an
earthquake, drop to the
ground, take cover, and
hold on. Shaking makes it
hard to move around, so
dont try to run.
5. After a quake, be ready
to help others in your
neighborhood.
Being prepared for these
events will make your
family safer. The box to the
right shows five quick and
inexpensive things you can
do now to get prepared.
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
By Dr. Matthew dAlessio
Want to know how to make
your family safer? Order a
free earthquake prepared-
ness handbook online:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15
Putting Down Roots in
Earthquake Country
General Interest
Publication 15
Your handbook for the
San Francisco Bay Region Your handbook for the
San Francisco Bay Region
General Interest
Publication 15
Putting Down Roots in
Earthquake Country
Earthquake ScienceFeature 10 of 10
Putting Down Roots in
Earthquake Country
GET GROUNDEDUSGS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR A CHANGING WORLD
http://education.usgs.gov
USGS Education Portal
Find what you need
Looking for a USGS resource for education?
Start here! Information about USGS
resources organized by topic or keyed to
state science standards.
http://education.usgs.gov/schoolyard
Schoolyard Geology
Take more field trips!
Urban schoolyards full of asphalt may seem
unlikely field trip destinations, but this website
shows you how to unlock the history of the
ground beneath your feet.
Rock Stories
GeoSleuth
Murder
Mystery
Schoolyard Mapping
Our
Classroom
Building
Grass
Pavement Tree
Art Sidewalk Wall
10 meters
N
S
E W
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids
Earthquakes4Kids
For kids only. . .
Find answers to your questions about
earthquakes. Plus puzzles, games,
and more!
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MMI Shaking Intensity
100 km
http://teachingboxes.org/earthquakes
Virtual Teaching Box
Learn how and why earthquakes cause
damage. This complete curriculum has
classroom activities, background informa-
tion, and the glue that ties it all together.
Download this booklet online: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2006/21/

Coastal Storms Water Resources Biology
Maps Earthquakes Volcanoes Landslides

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