Physical Geology

GMT 102
Lecture 5
Earthquakes and Tsunami

Course Teacher:
Sukhen Goswami
Lecturer
Department of Geology and Mining
University of Barisal
 Introduction
Earthquake:
a trembling or shaking
of the ground surface
as a result of the
sudden release of
energy stored in rocks
beneath the earth
surface.
 Introduction
Tectonic forces acting deep interior the earth
may put a stress on the rock resulting strain or
deformation like a bending stick
Stress- force per unit area(S=F/A)
Strain- bend or change in shape due to stress
When a rock breaks waves of energy are
released (seismic waves) which cause the
ground to tremble and shake during an
earthquake.
 Introduction
 Elastic rebound theory: The sudden release of
progressively stored strain in rocks that results in
movement along a fault. Movements may be
vertical, horizontal or both.
 Deep-seated internal forces (tectonic forces) act on
a mass of rock over many decades
 At first the rock bends but doesn’t break. More and
more energy is stored as bending becomes more
severe
 Eventually , the stored energy exceeds the breaking
strength of rock and the rocks break suddenly
causing an earthquake thus strain on the rock is
released
 Energy is expended by moving rock into a new
positions and by creating seismic waves
 Seismic Waves
Focus: the point within the earth where seismic
waves originate
Epicenter: the point on the earth’s surface
directly above the focus
 Body Waves
 Seismic waves that travel through the earth’s
interior, spreading outward from the focus in all
directions
 P (primary) wave: a compressional (or longitudinal)
wave in which rock vibrates back and forth parallel
to the direction of wave propagation; can travel
through rock, gas, or liquid(4-7km per second)
 Body Waves (cont.)
S (secondary) waves: a slower, transverse wave
that travels through near surface rocks at 2 to 5
kilometers per second; the rock vibrates
perpendicular to the direction of wave
propagation; can travel through rock but not
gas or liquid
 Surface Waves
 Travel on the earth’s surface away from the epicenter,
slowest wave, can cause more property damage
 Love waves: waves that have no vertical displacement;
they move side to side in a horizontal plane that is
perpendicular to the direction the wave is propagating;
do not travel through liquids; because of horizontal
movement the waves tend to knock buildings off their
foundation
 Surface Waves (cont.)
Rayleigh waves: behave like rolling ocean
waves; cause the ground to move in an
elliptical path as the wave passes; tend to be
incredibly destructive because they produce
more ground movement and take longer to
pass
 Measuring Earthquakes
Seismograph: a recording device that produces
a permanent record of earth motion detected
by a seismometer, usually in the form of a
wiggly line drawn on a moving strip of paper

A seismograph for horizontal motion. Modern seismographs record earth motion on moving strips of paper. The mass is
suspended by a wire from the column and swings like a pendulum when the ground moves horizontally. A pen attached
to the mass records the motion on a moving strip of paper.
 Measuring Earthquakes

A simple seismograph for detecting vertical rock motion. The pen records the ground motion
on the seismogram as the spring stretches and compresses with up and down movement of
the spring. Frame and recording drum move with the ground. Inertia of the weight keeps it
and the needle relatively motionless.
 Measuring Earthquakes (cont.)
Seismogram: the paper record of each
vibration
 Determining the Location of an
Earthquake
 Travel-time curve: a plot of seismic-wave arrival
times against distance
A travel time curve is used to determine
the distance to an earthquake. Note that
the time interval between the first
arrival of P and S waves increases with
distance from the epicenter. Seismogram
X has a 3-minute interval between P and
S waves corresponding to a distance of
2,000 km from the epicenter, Y has an
interval of 8 minutes, so the earthquake
occurred 5,300 km away, and Z an
interval of 12 minutes, and is a distance
of 9,000 km from the epicenter.
 Determining the Location of an
Earthquake
Depth of focus: the distance between focus and
epicenter
Locating an earthquake: The distance
from each of three stations (Denver,
St. Johns, and Lima) is determined
from seismograms and the travel-
time curves shown in figure. Each
distance is used for the radius of a
circle about the station. The location
of the earthquake is just offshore of
Vancouver, British Columbia, where
the three circles intersect.
 Classifications of Earthquakes
Quakes are classified into three according to the
depth of focus :
Shallow focus: 0-70 kms deep, most common
and account for 85% of the total quake energy
released
Intermediate focus: 70-350 kms deep, about
12%
Deep focus: 350-670 kms deep, around 3%,
rarer because most deep rocks flow in a ductile
manner when stressed or deformed, unable to
store and sudden release energy as brittle rocks
 Measuring the size of an Earthquake
It is measured in two ways –
 Based on intensity (Mercelli Intensity Scale)
 Based on magnitude (Richter Magnitude Scale)
 To find out how much and what kind of damage the
quake has caused on people and buildings, i.e.
Intensity
 Damage generally lessens with distance from a
quake’s epicenter
 Intensity maps are useful for assessing how
different areas respond to seismic waves and
provide valuable information for earthquake
planning
Measuring the size of an Earthquake
Measuring the size of an Earthquake
 Measuring the size of an earthquake
 Richter scale- used to measure the size of the quake
by calculating the amount of energy released. This is
the numerical scale of magnitude
 This is done by measuring the height (amplitude) of
one of the wiggles on a seismogram.
 The larger the quake, the more the ground vibrates
and the larger the wiggle
 After measuring a specific wave on seismogram and
for the distance from the quake earth scientists
assign a number(magnitude) based on
measurement of energy released
 Effects of Earthquakes
 Ground motion
 Fire
 Landslides
 Liquefaction (a
special type of
ground failure)
 Permanent Earthquake causing Fire
displacement of
the land surface
 Aftershocks: small
earthquakes that
follow the main
shock
Earthquake causing landslide
 Effects of Earthquakes

A) An example of permanent displacement of the B) Liquefaction of soil by a 1964 earthquake in

land surface – fence compressed by ground Niigata, Japan, caused earthquake-resistant
movement, Gallatin County, Montana, 1959. apartment buildings to topple over intact.
 Tsunami
It’s a Japanese term which is also known as
seismic sea waves
Sudden movement of the sea floor upward or
downward during a submarine earthquake
can generate very large sea wave i.e. Tsunami
Usually caused by great earthquakes
(magnitude 8+) that disturb the sea floor
associated with subduction zone
They result from submarine landslides or
volcanic explosions as well.
 Tsunami
 When a large section of the sea
floor suddenly rises or falls
during a quake, all water over
the moving area is lifted or
dropped for an instant.
 Water returns to the sea level
setting up long, low wave that
spread very rapidly over the
ocean
 Vertical motion of the sea floor
is most conductive
 Speeds up to 725kmh(450mph)
and wavelength may have 15 to
30m near shoreline
World Distribution of Earthquakes
Circum-Pacific belt: the most important
concentration of earthquakes which encircles
the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Approximately
80% of the world's shallow-focus quakes, 90%
of the intermediate-focus quakes, and nearly
100% of the deep-focus quakes occur there.
Mediterranean-Himalayan belt: a major
concentration of earthquakes which runs
through the Mediterranean Sea, crosses the
Middle East and the Himalayas, and passes
through the East Indies to meet the circum-
Pacific belt north of Australia
World Distribution of Earthquakes
 World Distribution of Earthquakes
 Benioff zones: distinct earthquake zone that begins
at an oceanic trench and slopes landward and
downward into the earth at an angle of about 30o
to 60o
 Island arc: Benioff zones that slope under a
continent or a curved line of islands
 First-Motion Studies of Earthquakes
 By studying seismograms on a distinct fault,
geologists can tell which way rocks moved along
that fault. Each seismogram station can tell
whether the first rock motion recorded there was a
push or a pull. If the rock moved toward the station
(a push), then the pen drawing the seismogram is
deflected up. If the first motion is away from the
station (a pull), then the pen is deflected
downward.

Map view of two possible solutions for the same pattern of first motion. Each solution has a different fault
orientation. If the fault orientation is known, the correct solution can be chosen. The star marks the
epicenter, and rock motion is shown by arrows.
Earthquakes at Divergent boundaries
Where plates move away from each other
The rock motion that is deduced from first-
motion studies shows that the faults here are
normal faults, parallel to the rift valley
 Earthquakes at Transform boundaries
Where plates move horizontally past each
other
First-motion studies indicate strike-slip motion
on faults parallel to the boundary

Narrow band of shallow-focus earthquakes shown as stars along single fault

Broad band of earthquakes along a system of parallel faults

 Earthquake at Convergent boundaries
Where plates move toward each other
Two general types - one marked by the collision
of two continents, the other marked by
subduction of the ocean floor under a continent