Earthquakes

The Earth`s Crust

The outer layer of the earth (the crust) is not continuous. In fact it`s made up of
several separate plates. Each of these plates is about 100 km thick and they move
relative to each other.

The line where two plates meet is called a fault. If two plates next to other move, an
earthquake occurs at the fault.

Earthquakes and Seismic Waves

In an earthquake massive quantities of energy are released by the sudden
movement of part of the earth`s surface. At the source of the earthquakes this often
involves damage to roads, buildings and other structures due to the extent of the
movement

When the earthquake occurs, some of

the energy released is in the form of
waves which radiate away from the
source as it fractures. These seismic
waves are essentially sound waves
which travel through the earth`s
surface and may contain up to 10% of
the energy released during the
earthquake.

There are two types of Seismic Waves.

1. Longitudinal waves, known as Compressional or Primary (P) waves. These
vibrate the ground in the direction of motion of the wave. They travel the
fastest, at speeds between 1.5 and 8 kilometres per second in the earth`s
crust.
2. Transverse waves, known as Shear or Secondary (S) waves. These vibrate the
ground at right angles to their direction of motion. They travel more slowly,
usually at around 60% to 70% of the speed of the P waves.

Seismic waves may be detected by an

instrument known as a seismograph.
This device has a heavy weight fixed to
form a type of pendulum.
When the earth shakes, the base and
frame of the instrument move, but the
inertia of the heavy weight tends to
keep the pendulum in place. The
pendulum and its frame therefore move
relative to each other and this
movement is recorded over time as a
seismograph.
Seismograph stations exists at many
places on the earth , with instrument set
up to record north-south, east-west and
vertical displacement of the ground.

Test your knowledge by filling in the graphs in the following text.

Although the speeds of the Primary (P) and Secondary (S) waves
vary
at
different parts on the earth`s surface, the ratio between the speed of the P wave
and that of its following S wave is relatively constant. This fact enables us to make
reasonable calculations of where the earthquake occurred from seismograms made
at different measurement stations.

If a P wave travels at 10 kilometres per second from the source of the earthquake it
will be detected by a seismograph located 300 km away ____ seconds after the
earthquake occurs.

If the S wave from the same earthquake is travelling at 60 % of the speed of the P
wave, it will have a speed of ____ km/s.
This means it will reach the same seismograph ____ seconds after the earthquake.
Therefore at a point 300 km from the earthquake the Primary and Secondary waves
arrive ____ seconds apart.
What will be delay between the P and S waves at a point 1500 km from the source
of the earthquake? ____
Using similar data from a different earthquake, we can see that waves from the
particular earthquake travel to three different observation stations, as shown:

The ratio between the distance from the source and the S-P delay is constant at
12:1.
This gives a quick and reasonably accurate estimate of the distance of the epicentre
of the earthquake from the observation station which detects it. If the S-P delay in

seconds is multiplied by the factor of 12 km/s the approximate distance in

kilometres will be obtained.