Essentials of Geology

David Sallee
Earthquakes and
Earth’s Interior

Chapter 14

An aerial view of the San Andreas fault

in the Carrizo Plain, Central California

What is the Elastic Rebound

What are Earthquakes?
„ The shaking or trembling caused by the
Theory?
„ Explains how
sudden release of energy energy is stored
„ Usually associated with faulting or in rocks
breaking of rocks • Rocks bend until
the strength of the
„ Continuing adjustment rock is exceeded
• Rupture occurs
of position results in and the rocks
aftershocks quickly rebound to
an undeformed
shape
• Energy is released
in waves that
radiate outward
from the fault

What is Seismology? What is Seismology?

„ The point
within Earth Seismographs
„
where faulting record earthquake
begins is the events
focus, or
hypocenter
„ The point
directly above „ At convergent boundaries,
boundaries,
the focus on focal depth increases
the surface is along a dipping seismic
the epicenter zone called a Benioff zone
„ The Focus and Epicenter of an
Earthquake

1
 Where Do Earthquakes Occur Where do Earthquakes Occur
and How Often? and How Often?
„ ~80% of all
earthquakes occur in
the circum-
circum-Pacific belt
• most of these result from
convergent margin
activity
• ~15% occur in the
Mediterranean-
Mediterranean-Asiatic
belt
• remaining 5% occur in
the interiors of plates and
on spreading ridge
centers
• more than 150,000
quakes strong enough to
be felt are recorded each
year Damage in Oakland, CA, 1989

What are Seismic Waves? What are Seismic Waves?

„ Body waves
• P or primary waves
„ Response of
fastest waves
material to the
„

„ travel through solids,

arrival of liquids, or gases
compressional wave,
energy fronts „
material movement is
released by in the same direction
as wave movement
rupture
• S or secondary waves
„ Two types: „ slower than P waves
travel through solids
„ Body waves „
only
• P and S „ shear waves - move
material perpendicular
„ Surface waves to wave movement
• R and L

What are Seismic Waves? How is an Earthquake’s

Epicenter Located?
„ Seismic wave
behavior
• P waves arrive first,
then S waves, then L
and R
• Average speeds for all
these waves is known
• After an earthquake,
the difference in
„ Surface Waves arrival times at a
• Travel just below or along the ground’s surface seismograph station
can be used to
• Slower than body waves; rolling and side-
side-to-
to-side calculate the distance
movement from the seismograph
• Especially damaging to buildings to the epicenter.

2
 How is an Earthquake’s
Epicenter Located?
„ Time-
Time-distance
graph showing the
average travel
times for P-
P- and S-S-
waves. The farther
away a seismograph
is from the focus of
an earthquake, the
longer the interval
between the
arrivals of the P-
P-
and S-
S- waves
How is an Earthquake’s
Epicenter Located?
„ Three seismograph
stations are needed
to locate the
epicenter of an
earthquake
„ A circle where the
radius equals the
distance to the
epicenter is drawn
„ The intersection of
the circles locates
the epicenter

How is the Size and Strength How is the Size and Strength of
of an Earthquake Measured? an Earthquake Measured?
„ Magnitude
„ Intensity
• Richter scale measures
• subjective total amount of energy
measure of released by an
the kind of earthquake;
damage independent of
done and intensity
people’s
• Amplitude of the
reactions to
largest wave produced
it
by an event is
• isoseismal corrected for distance
lines and assigned a value
identify on an open-
open-ended
areas of logarithmic scale
„ Modified Mercalli Intensity Map equal
• 1994 Northridge, CA earthquake, magnitude 6.7 intensity

What are the Destructive What are the Destructive

Effects of Earthquakes? Effects of Earthquakes?
„ Ground „ Building
Shaking collapse
• amplitude, „ Fire
duration, „ Tsunami
and
„ Ground
damage
failure
increases
in poorly
consolidat
ed rocks

3
Can Earthquakes be Predicted? Can Earthquakes be
„ Earthquake Precursors
• changes in elevation or tilting of land surface,
Predicted?
fluctuations in groundwater levels, magnetic field, „ Earthquake Prediction Programs
electrical resistance of the ground • include laboratory and field studies of rocks before, during, and
and
after earthquakes
• seismic dilatancy model
• monitor activity along major faults
• seismic gaps • produce risk assessments

Can Earthquakes be What is Earth’s Interior Like?

Controlled? „ Crust, mantle, core
„ Graph showing the • behavior and travel
relationship between times of P and S
the amount of waste waves helps define
injected into wells interior structure
per month and the • velocity of waves is
average number of dependent on the
Denver earthquakes
per month density and elasticity
of material they
„ Some have
suggested that travel through
pumping fluids into • waves are bent
seismic gaps will (refracted) or
cause small bounced (reflected)
earthquakes while as they pass through
preventing large different materials in
ones
Earth

What is Earth’s Interior Like? The Core

„ A profile showing
seismic velocities „ Density and
versus depth Composition of the Core
• several discontinuities • behavior of P and S
waves indicates a solid
indicate changes in inner and liquid outer
Earth materials or their core
properties • inner core is iron/nickel,
• discontinuities are the rotates more rapidly than
basis for subdividing outer core
Earth’s interior into • outer core is iron mixed
concentric layers with sulfur, density of 9.9
to 12.3 gm/cm3

4
 The Mantle The Mantle
„ Structure and
Composition of the
Mantle
• Seismic wave velocities
generally increase with
depth, but several other
discontinuities exist
• The low-
low-velocity zone is
inferred to represent
zones of partial melting in
the asthenosphere
• Composition believed to
„ Discontinuities be that of the igneous
rock peridotite
• Sharp velocity increase in wave travel times at a
depth of about 30km - called the Moho
• The Moho separates the crust from the mantle

Seismic Tomography The Crust

„ Three-
Three-dimensional „ Continental crust
models of Earth’s
interior • Overall composition similar to granite
• More complete • Low density (2-
(2-3gm/cm²)
analysis of seismic • Averages 35km thick, more under mountain
waves indicated hot
and cold areas ranges
within the mantle „ Oceanic crust
• Hot areas underlie
spreading centers • Gabbro/basalt composition
and volcanic areas • Higher density (3gm/cm²)
• Cold areas underlie
the older interior • Between 5 and 10 km thick
portions of the large
continents

Earth’s Internal Heat

„ Geothermal gradient
• Temperature increases with depth
• Averages 25°C/km
• Gradient is higher in areas of active or
recently active volcanism
• Most heat is generated by radioactive decay
• Maximum temperature at the center of the
core is estimated to be about 6,500°C