CHAPTER FOUR – EARTHQUAKES Normal fault - dip-slip fault in which the

block above the fault has moved down

Earthquakes relative to the block below
-in general, represent a Reverse fault - dip-slip fault in which
release of built-up stress in the lithosphere the block above has moved up relative to the
-sudden movement occurs to release the block below the fault
stress Rift Valleys - are commonly bounded by steeply
-occur along a fault sloping normal faults, resulting from the
-also called as seismic slip tensional stress of rifting
Fault - planar breaks in rock along which there is Thrust Faults - Convergent plate boundaries
displacement of one side relative to the other. which are just reverse faults with relatively
Creep - movement along faults that occurs shallowly dipping fault planes.
gradually and relatively smoothly Deep-focus Earthquakes - are concentrated in
-also called as aseismic slip subduction zones, where elastic lithosphere
-fault displacement without significant is pushed deep into the mantle.
earthquake activity Benioff Zone - Adjacent to each seafloor trench is a
Elastic Rebound - sudden displacement and region in which earthquake foci are
associated stress release, the rocks snap back progressively deeper with increasing
elastically to their previous dimensions distance from the trench
Focus (Earthquake Focus) - point on a fault at -named for the scientist who first mapped
which the first movement or break occurs during an extensively these dipping planes of
earthquake earthquake foci that we now realize reveal
Focal Depth - confined to the upper mantle subducting plates.
 Shallow 0-70 km Seismic Waves - earthquake occurs, it releases the
 Intermediate 70-350 km stored-up energy in seismic waves that travel
 Deep 350-700 km away from the focus
Epicenter - point on the earth’s surface directly Types of Seismic Waves
above the focus 1. Body Waves - (P waves and S waves) travel
Two Methods in Describing the Orientation of through the interior of the earth.
Faults a. P waves are compressional waves
1. Strike - is the compass orientation of the -As P waves travel through
line of intersection of the plane of interest matter, the matter is
with the earth’s surface alternately compressed and
2. Dip - of the fault is the angle the plane expanded
makes with the horizontal, a measure of the b. S waves are shear waves, involving a
steepness of slope of the plane. side-to-side motion of molecules
Strike-slip Fault - one along which the 2. Surface Waves - are somewhat like surface
displacement waves on water.
is parallel to the strike (horizontal). -they cause rocks and soil to be
-transform fault is a type of strike-slip fault displaced in such a way that the
and reflects stresses acting horizontally ground surface ripples or undulates
-e.g. San Andreas -Some cause vertical ground motions,
Dip-slip Fault - is one in which the displacement is like ripples on a pond, while others
vertical, up, or down in the direction of dip cause horizontal shearing motions.
 -larger in amplitude than the body -15m high in the case of larger
waves from the same earthquake earthquakes
*Amplitude - amount of ground Fire - secondary hazard of earthquakes in cities
displacement - more devastating than ground movement
Seismograph - both types of body waves cause Seismic Gaps - sections of active fault zones
ground motions that are detectable using a -represent “locked” sections of faults along
seismograph. which friction is preventing slip.
Two Types of Body Waves Precursor Phenomena - things that happen or rock
1. Primary Waves properties that change prior to an earthquake
2. Secondary Waves Forecasting - identifying levels of earthquake
Magnitude - amount of ground motion probability in fault zones within relatively
Richter Magnitude Scale - named after broad time windows
geophysicist Charles F. Richter, who Earthquake Cycle - a period of stress buildup,
developed it. sudden fault rupture in a major earthquake,
-is assigned to an earthquake on the basis of followed by a brief interval of aftershocks
the amount of ground displacement or reflecting minor lithospheric adjustments,
shaking that it produces near the epicenter then another extended period of stress
buildup
Aftershocks – earthquakes that are weaker than the
principal tremor Earthquake Hazards
Moment Magnitude (denoted Mw) 1. Ground Rupture/Shaking
- takes into account the area of break on 2. Liquefaction
the fault surface, the displacement along 3. Landslides
the fault during the earthquake, and the 4. Tsunamis
strength of the rock 5. Coastal Flooding
Intensity - is a measure of the earthquake’s effects 6. Fire
on humans and on surface features Ways on Limiting Negative Effects of
Movement along the fault - is an obvious hazard. Earthquake
The offset between rocks on opposite sides (1) designing structures in active
of the fault can break power lines, pipelines, fault zones to be more resistant to earthquake
buildings, roads, bridges, and other damage.
structures that actually cross the fault. (2) identifying and, wherever possible, avoiding
Landslides - a serious secondary earthquake hazard development in
in hilly areas areas at particular risk from earthquake-related
Liquefaction - Ground shaking may cause a further hazards.
problem in areas where the ground is very (3) increasing public awareness of and preparedness
wet—in filled land near the coast or in for earthquakes in
places with a high-water table threatened areas
Tsunami - are seismic sea waves, sometimes (4) refining and expanding tsunami warning
improperly called tidal waves systems and public understanding of appropriate
-The name derives from the Japanese for response; and
“harbor wave” which is descriptive of their (5) learning enough about patterns of seismicity
behavior over time along fault zones, and about earthquake
-travel extremely rapidly—speeds up to precursor phenomena, to make accurate and timely
1000 km/hr (about 600 mph) predictions of earthquakes and thereby save
lives.
CHAPTER FIVE – VOLCANOES Lava - generally is not life-threatening
- temperatures are typically over 850ºC
Three Plate-Tectonic Settings (over 1550ºF)
(1) at divergent plate boundaries, both ocean - basaltic lavas can be over 1100ºC
ridges and continental rift zones (2000ºF)
(2) over subduction zones Lahar - volcanic ash and water can combine to
(3) at hot spots - isolated areas of volcanic create a fast-moving volcanic mudflow
activity that are not associated with current Pyroclastic Flow – sometimes known as a
plate boundaries nuée ardente from the French for “glowing
Mafic - a magma (or rock) relatively rich in iron cloud”).
and magnesium (and ferromagnesian silicates) -is very hot—temperatures can be over
Felsic - relatively silica-rich rocks tend to be rich in 1000ºC in the interior— and it can rush
feldspar as well, and such rocks and magmas down the slopes of the volcano at more than 100
* “silica-poor” still means 45 to 50% SiO2 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour),
* most silica-rich magmas may be up to 75% SiO2 charring everything in its path
Basalt – mafic volcanic rock Phreatic Eruption - volcanic island, large
Rhyolite – volcanic equivalent of granite quantities of seawater may seep down into the
Andesite – intermediate in composition between the rock, come close to the hot magma below, turn to
mafic basalt and felsic rhyolite steam, and blow up the volcano like an
Fissure Eruption - the eruption of magma out of overheated steam boiler
a crack in the lithosphere, rather than from a Dormant Volcano - When the volcano has not
single pipe or vent erupted recently but is fresh-looking and not
Shield Volcano - kind of volcano, consequently, too eroded or worn down
is very flat and low in relation to its diameter Extinct Volcano - volcano that has no recent
and large in areal extent. eruptive history and appears very much
Cinder Cones – very symmetric cone-shaped heap eroded
- While basaltic magmas generally erupt as Active Volcano – when a volcano is erupted within
fluid lava flows, they sometimes produce recent history
small volumes of chunky volcanic cinders Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) - developed as
that fall close to the vent from which they a way to characterize the relative sizes of
are thrown. explosive eruptions.
Pyroclastics - from the Greek words for fire (pyros) Harmonic Tremors – continuous rhythmic tremors
and broken (klastos) Caldera - is an enlarged volcanic crater, which may
-those fragments of hot rock and spattering be formed either by an explosion enlarging a
lava existing crater or by collapse of a volcano
- bits of violently erupted volcanic material after a magma chamber within has emptied.
Stratovolcanoes - volcanoes built up in layer Subduction-zone volcanoes - are supplied by more
cake fashion viscous, silica-rich, gas-charged andesitic or
- Also called as composite volcanoes rhyolitic magma
- built up of layers of more than one kind
of material
Lava Dome - build in the crater of a composite
volcano after an explosive eruption
 Stream Velocity - is related partly to discharge and
CHAPTER SIX - STREAMS AND FLOODING partly to the steepness (pitch or angle) of the
slope down which the stream flows
Water - is the single most important agent Base Level - the lowest elevation to which the
sculpturing the earth’s surface. stream can erode downward
Floods - are probably the most widely experienced Delta – a large fan-shaped sediment pile
catastrophic geologic hazards Longitudinal Profile - a sketch of the stream’s
- result of unusual events, such as the elevation from source to mouth
collapse of a dam, but the vast majority are a Alluvial Fan – formed when a tributary stream
perfectly normal, and to some extent flows into a more slowly flowing, larger stream or
predictable, part of the natural functioning of a stream flows from mountains into a plain
streams. Meanders – little erosion where the water flows
Hydrosphere includes all the water at and near the strongly against the side of the channel and
surface of the earth some deposition of sediment where it slows
Hydrologic Cycle – a more complicate cycle of down a bit
water -tends to enlarge and also to shift
Stream - is body of flowing water confined within downstream
a channel regardless of size Cut Bank - where the water flows somewhat faster
- active agents of sediment transport Point Bars - consisting of sediment deposited on
Watershed (drainage basin) - region from which a the insides of meanders, build out the banks
stream draws water in those parts of the channel
Divide - separates drainage basins Braiding - If the sediment load is very large in
Discharges - the volume of water flowing past a relation to water volume, the braided stream
given point (or, more precisely, through a may develop a complex pattern of many
given cross section) in a specified length of channels that divide and rejoin, shifting
time across a broad expanse of sediment
Traction Load - Heavier debris may be rolled, Braided Stream - have many channels dividing and
dragged, or pushed along the bottom of the rejoining
stream bed Floodplain – the area into which the stream spills
Saltation - material of intermediate size may be over during floods
carried in short hops along the stream bed Oxbows - cutoff meanders
Suspended Load - consists of material that is light Oxbows Lakes - abandoned channels may be left
or fi ne enough to be moved along dry, or they may be filled with standing
suspended in the stream, supported by the water
flowing water Rain/Snow - vast majority of stream floods
Dissolved Load - substances that is completely Infiltration - When rain falls or snow melts, some
dissolved in the water of the water sinks into the ground
Load - total quantity of material that a stream Percolation – process of which liquid is strained
transports by all these methods through a filter
Stream Capacity - is a measure of the total load of Flood - In times of higher discharge, the stream
material a stream can move may overflow its bank
 the faster the water flows, and the more Flooding - is the normal response of a stream to an
water is present, the more material can be unusually high input of water in a short time
moved Stream Stage - elevation of the water surface at any
Gradient - steepness of the stream channel point
Flood Stage - when stream stage exceeds bank Goodluck and God Bless everyone <3 - Faye
height
Crest – when the maximum stage is reached
Upstream Floods - Floods that affect only small,
localized areas
- caused by sudden, locally intense
rainstorms and by events like dam failure
Flash Floods - are a variety of upstream flood,
characterized by especially rapid rise of
stream stage
Downstream Floods - floods that affect large
stream systems and large drainage basins
Hydrograph - constructing a picture of the
“normal” behavior of a stream and of that
stream’s response to flood-causing event
Flood-Frequency Curve - Long-term records make
it possible to construct a curve showing
discharge as a function of recurrence
interval for a particular stream or section of
one
Recurrence Interval - how frequently a flood of
that severity occurs, on average, for that stream.
Ten-Year Flood - flood with a discharge of
675 cubic feet/second
Forty-Year Flood - discharge of
900 cubic feet/second
One-Hundred-Year Floodplain - the area that
would be water covered in a
one-hundred-year flood
Retention Pond - ponds that has large basins that
trap some of the surface runoff, keeping it
from flowing immediately into the stream
Diversion Channel - redirecting some of the
water flow into areas adjacent to the stream
where flooding will cause minimal damage
Channelization - a general term for various
modifications of the stream channel itself
that are usually intended to increase the velocity
of water flow, the volume of the channel
Levees - raised banks along a stream channel. Some
streams form low, natural levees along the
channel through sediment deposition during
flood events