Exercise 16
.-- -
Earthquakes
111 1liltiir.r t17111,ysi?zozle violently to their place, and calnzly itz their place.
FRANCISBACON
Earthquakes are events within the earth that generate
elastic waves. They are usually sudden displacements
of rock masses along faults, zones of weakness in the
crust. The waves from the disturbance propagate out-
ward, transmitting the energy of the earthquake to
other parts of the earth. The particles of matter through
which the waves move simply vibrate back a n d forth
about their normal positions. This process is analo-
gous to transmission of the energy of a storm at sea
to a distant shore by means of ocean waves. The water
itself simply oscillates; only the energy of the wave is
transmitted.
Seismic wnves (from the Greek seismos, shaking) may
vibrate back and forth in the direction in which the
wave front travels, like sound waves. These are com-
pressional waves. They are called primary or P-waves
because they are the first to arrive from a distant earth-
quake. Secondary or 5-waves travel more slowly than
primary waves. In 5-waves, the motion of particles is
from side to side, perpendicular to the direction in
which the wave is traveling. These waves are analo-
gous in their motion to transverse 11ghtwaves. Both
types are illustrated in Figure 16.1.
S-and P-waves are called body waves because they
travel through the interior of the earth. Their veloci-
ties depend on the compressibility, rigidity, a n d den-
sity of the rocks through which they travel, and much
has been learned about the interior structure of the
earth through the study of the complex routes and
travel times of these waves. In a sense the body waves
of earthquakes can be used to x-ray the earth, although
the images obtained are far from simple.
The first part of this laboratory exercise explores
some practical aspects of seismology-how to deter-
mine the e p i c e ~ t e r(the point on the earth's surface
directly above the origin of the earthquake), the origin
time, and the magnitude of an earihquake, and how
-
to determine the sense of motion of the rock masses
that have moved.
To make these measurements requires a permanent
record of the ground movements .produced by the
earthquake. Seismic waves are recorded by seismo-
graphs, instruments containing a heavy mass sus-
pended in such a way that its inertia keeps itl-elatively
immobile while the ground and the rest of the instru-
ment vibrate. There are different ways to =cord the
vibrations, but in a fairly simple system ground motions
are amplified a n d recorded as a line on a revolving
d r u m . A continuous line that is drawn on the seis-
mograph paper as the drum revolves will appear as a
series of parallel lines after the paper has been removed
from the drum. Figure 16.1LB shows part of one line
of such a recording-a seismogram.
DESCRIBING AN EARTHQUAKE
Epicenter
On April 28, 1979, a moderate earthquake occurred in
northern California. Its seismic waves were recorded
o n an extensive array of instruments, three of which
are identified in Figure 16.2. BRK represents the seis-
mographic station on the University of California,
Berkeley campus; MHC is the station at Mount Ham-
ilton (Lick Observatory); and PCC is the one at Pilar-
citos Creek, south of San Francisco. Figure 16.3shows
seismograms obtained from this event at these three
stations. Notice that the arrival of the P-wave is fol-
lowed several seconds later by the arrival of the slower
moving S-wave. The farther the recording station is
from the epicenter of the earthquake, the greater is
the difference between P- a n d S-wave arrival times.
This feature may be used to calculate epicentral dis-
 Earthquakes 273
\

Figure 16.1
A . Diagrammatic representations of P-waves (left) a n d 5-waves (right). B . Seismogram
with P -a n d S-was,es. (From E a r i l l , 4th e d . , by Frank Press a n d Raymond Siever.
Copyright (0197.1, 1978,1982, 1986 IVH. Freeman a n d Company. Reprinted with
p%mssion
274 Exercise 16 !,iL
For the following problems, refer to the seismo-
grams in Figure 16.3.

Problem 1
At what time did the P-wave arrive at MHC?

Problem 2
What was the corresponding S-wave arrival time?

Problem 3
What was the difference (S - P ) in the time of arri-
val between the secondary wave (S) and the primary
wave ( P ) ?

Problem 4
Using the SSP interval a n d the travel-time curves in
Figure 16.4, estimate as accurately as you can the dis-
tance i n kilometers from the epicenter to each of the
three stations.

Epicenter to BRK

a Epicenter to MHC

Epicenter to PCC
-.
. - -
Problem 5
Using the m a p of the ".anFrancisco Bay Area (Figure
16.2), draw arcs around the three stations using the
Figure 16.2 appropriate epicentral distances as r a d i .
Three seismograpl~icstations and major taults of the
Sari Francisco Bay Area.

Problem 6
Lances. Using data from many earthquakes, seismol- Where was the epicenter of the earthquake?
ogists have constructed tri?:~el-time ciirurs, graphs in
which the distances from the epicenters of- earth-
quakes to the recording station are plotted against the
times taken by the seismic waves to reach the same
station. It has been found that these average travel- 7
time curves are valid for everits within the region Was it o n or near a known fault?
studied. 'Ikal,el-time cur\.es for P- and S-~vavesa n d
the S-P intervals for northern California are sho~v11
in Figure 16.4.
 A. Berkeley (BRK) - 1

n
5 seconds -
Enrthqunkes 275

R . Mt. Hamilton ihfl-iC) 'Nood-Anderion

V
-I 60 seconds 1

-.

10 seconds
l--+

C. P~larcjrusCreek IPCC)

Figure 16.3
f1o.11
Sr~sinugrari~ s s r a t i v r ~ sB R K , MHC, ,?nd PCC, April 28, 1979

Origin Time
Fmblem S
The origin time of the earthquake may be calculated
from the MHC record since the exact arrival time of What was the origin time of t h ~ searthquake'
the P-wave is k n o w n for this station. T l ~ es n ~ a l l reg-
,
ular displacements in the seismogram lines are timing
marks placed o n the record by internal clocks. The
beginning of the first timing displacement nn the sec-
ond line in the hIHC record occurs at 3:43:00 P . M . Given Magnitude
the time scale to the right of the hlHC record, you can
determine the exact time at which the P-wave a r r i ~ r e d T h e well-known Ricilrrr .;ci~!e~ c a sdeveloped b\, the late
at that station. You hat.e already calculated t h e dis- Charles E Richter of t h e California Institute ot Tech-
tance from hlHC to the e p i c ~ n t e r ,s o you may read nology a s a niear1.i of cornparins e a r t h c l ~ ~ a k e~vorld- s
the travel time for the P-wave directly oif the travel- wide 011 a quantitative scale that is ~nclepencleritof :he
tirne curve for P-~<,avtls in F:gure 16.4. The origin time d a m a g e they cause. h c h t e r definecl thy I I I ~ ~ ~ I ; I ~t ~ L ! L ~ ~
i l f the earthcluake is its arrival time minus its travel a local earthquake as "the Iov,aritllnl Lo the base 10 of
time. the n ~ ~ u c i m useisrmc
m !va;.e z n ~ p l i t i ~ iin
~ l tm
. m ) recol.cleci
 0 1C! 30 4U 50 60 80 40 100
Distance (kilometers)

o n 'I s t a n d a r d seis~ncigraphat n distance of 100 kilo-

r i ~ e t e r sfronl the earthquake e p i c e ~ l t e r . "As t h e rnng-
nitucle goes L I I ~ u n i t , tilerefore, rhe a n i p l i t u ~ l eof the
seisrrlic 1v;lves increases bv a factor of 10.
lust as tlie size of the ripples rnacle by dropping R
stone into 1 ~ x t t . rdecr-eases is tliev sprcncl, 50 t h e
amplitudt. of seisi~iicwaves d i m i n i s h e s with increas-
ing distance from thc episerlter. Since seisinograpiiic
stations are nt.cessal.il\. at r-andom distance5 frorn
ear-thcluake epicenters, T<icliter de1-ised a n ~ e t h o dof
compwisatit1,~for ciiffel.r~iirsIn epicentl-a1 distance
~ v h e ncn!culating tile Richte~.~ n a g n i t u d e .Figure 16.5
is a nomnjirapli fo~.o t ~ t ~ ~ i nt ihne sm a g n i t u d e of a local
e a r ~ l ~ c l ~ once ~ a k et h e ~',pic.elitrald ~ s t n n c ea11d tlie Inri*- Figure 16.5
irnuin amplitucle h<?\-eb e ~ cnl e t e r ~ n i n e dTt.1 . use Flgure N o m o g r a p l ~for R ~ c l ~ t e r
16.5, piace .I straiglitt.d,ge bet(veen t h e a p p r o p r i ~ t e ~ n a g n i t ~ t dctn. l c ~ l l a t l o ! l .
poii~tson t11c ciist,~nce(left)arid a 1 ~ 1 ~ x i t (riglitj u d ~ scalet.,
c ~ r i rd- c , ~t~l ilt , mL1gnitucledirect]!- troni t h e center scale.
 Earthquakes 277
=." .- "--- .., . -. - ~ .- .-- - ?. ..,= ,-.. ..~
.,
-r

DETERMINATIQN OF THE
~

:{: ,pc>ki 4 pir: '3 SENSE QF MQTION

The seismogram from iviount FIamilton (hfHCj in Fig-
ure 16.3 was recorded on a standard Wood-Anderson Seismograms s h o w the direction in which the ground
horizontal seismograph. What is the distance from at t h e instrument moved, a n d geophysicists use this
MHC to the epicenter? information to interpret the type of faulting that caused
t h e earthquake. The first deviation of the seismogram
trace (produced by the P-wave) shows the first r7zotjo~~
of the ground. P-waves are pushes a n d p~lls-alter-
nating compressions a n d dilatations-of the rocks. If,
1
. ,
_
.,
I
, . ..
for example, the ground at the seismograph first moves
The amplitude of the maximum deviation of the seis- away from the epicenter and toward the seismograph,
mogram trace is most accurately determined by mea- then the first P-wave shows a compressional phase,
suring tlie peak-to-peak distance and, dividing by 2. a n d the first cle~riationot the s e ~ s m o g r ~ l pirace
h is u p .
What is the maximum deviation of the trace on the If the ground moves tciwarcrl the epicenter a n d away
seismogram? from the instrument, then the first movernent s1:ows
a dilatational phase, and the first deviation of the trace
is d o w n . Examination ot the first P-wave motions over
a wide area surrouniling tlie epicenter reveals a rather
1 .r lt,l \ - > ;
simple pattern of pushes a n d pulls on the earth's sur-
What is the !ocd hchter magnitude of the earthquake' face,- centered at or near the epicenter.
Faults are divided into categories that are based on
the sense of motion along the fault plane. The ,fnl.rlt
plarlr is the surface along which the motion of a n
earthquake taltes place. It has a certain orientation in
I t is a popular belief that a reasonable number of
space, described by its strike and d i p , just as contacts
moderate earthcj~~akes will relieve the stress along an
a n d bedding planes d o (see Exercise 7).Faults arc
earthquake fauIt sufficiently to prevent a great earth-
divided into tlvo broad categories, depenciing on
quake (one of niagrtitude greater thaji 8). Seisrnolo-
~ v h e t h e rthe predominant motioil of the sides of the
gists estimate that the energy released in a n earth-
fault plane is parallel to the d i p or parallel to the strike
quiike changes by a factor of 32 for each integral step
of the fault plane.
in the liichter scale. For example, a n earthquake of
magnitude 2 releases 32 times the energv of a n earth-
quake i!f magnitude 1, and a n earthquake of magni- Dip-Slip Faulting
tude 3 releases 1024 (32') times the energy released
In (lip-slip faulting, the two sides of the i a ~ ~slip l t in a
by an earthquake of magnitude 1.
direction parallel to the dip of the fault plane. O n Fig-
u r e 16.6, the fault plane is the shaded surface, and X
is the point o n the fault plane at which the earthquake
originated-the focus, or hypocerlter.
The average recurrence i ~ t e r v a for
l a great earthquake , movement of block B, the upper
In a nortnnl f o l ~ l fthe
on the San Andreas fault is approximately 100 years. block, is d o w n relative to block A . We cannot deter-
How many moderate earthquakes (magnitude 5) every mine the absolute motion. We can only determine the
100 years would be needed to dissipate the energy relative motion of B with respect to A because \ve have
associated with a great earthquake (niagrutude 8) d o n g n o fixed frame of reference on the earth's surface.
the San Andreas fault? How many earthquakes of In a reverse fault the movement of block B is u p rel-
magnitude 5 per year does this correspond to? Show ative to A .
all vour calculations below. Imagine the ~ n o v e m e n tthat seismographs would
detect in these two cases, normal a n d reverse faulting.
During a normal faulting e\.ent (earthquake) xvith the
focus at X on the fault plane, block B s l ~ p sdownward
relative to ii, away from the s e ~ s m o g r a p h slocated on
the surface of B. The crust of tlie earth on B is stretclled
vertically, causing a dilatational first motion. Elock A,
conversely, moves ~ l p ~ v a r(toward
d the instrument) ,
relative to 6;the crust I S compressed 1-ertically, and
278 Exercise 16

I-
Normal Fuult

Figure 16.6
Dip-slip faults. I'o~nt X 1s the focus or hypocen ter, and the circles o n the top
surface represent seismosraphs.

instruments on A record a compressional first motion.

These motions are represented in Figure 16.7A.
I11 a reverse faulting event, block I3 moves u p w a r d
relative to A, toward the seismographs, which register
a compressional first motion. Statlons o n block A reg-
ister a dilatational first motion. Figure 16.78 s h o w s the
pattern recorded for reverse faulting.

T'rsblerm 13 Figure 16.7

X'is the epicenter of the earthquake, t l ~ epoint or, the
earth's surface vertically 'above the focus where the
movement along the fault plane began. Why is X'not
exactly 011 the surface trace of the fault?
~a~ of dip-slip fault zone. A . Normill fault.
B. Reverse fault. X ' is the epicenter, a n d the
symbols represent motions recordeci at
seismographic stations

T h e matter of horizontal crustal co~npressiona n d

Problenl 1 4
Inspect Figure 16.6 closely. In one case the part of the
earth's crust s h o w n in the diagram is being pulled
apart horizontally, or extended; in the other case, the
crust is being compressed horizontally. What type of
faulting, normal or reverse, is associated with exten-
sion of the crust?
-i-,r9bler,-!1.5
What t y ~ ~ofe faulting is associated ~ v i t h crustal
compression?
extension is very important in deciding wliat processes
occur in various regions of t h e earth's crust. We shall
refer to crustal compression a n d extension again in
Exercise 18 o n plate tectonics.
-
Strike-Slip Faulting
In the case of strike-slip faulting, moLrement of the tivv
sides of the fault is in a horizontal direction, that is,
along the strike of the fault plane ( F ~ g u r e16.8).Strike-
slip faults are desisnated a s ltf-li7t~~n11, or si~listral,if
the block of crust on the opposite side of the fault
appears to inove to the left to a n observer tacing the
fault, a n d right-lateral, or ~it..itra!.~f the opposite block
appears ti) move to the right. Notice that ~t iloes nilt
 Earthquakes 279
I

Left - I a t c r ~ l

Figure 16.8
Strike-slip faults. Same symbols as in Figure 16.6. Right - IaterbI

matter which side of the fault the observer is on as A.

long as the observer faces the fault.
Use the same kind of reasoning that you used for
the pattern of compressional and dilatational first
motions in dip-slip faulting to predict the patterns that
would be observed in strike-slip faulting. Consider
the motion of the ground in a strike-slip earthquake
originating at point X, and imagine the first motions
recorded by seismographs at the locations indicated
in Figure 16.8. Figure 16.9 is a map view of the same B.
area shown in Figure 16.8; X' is the epicenter of the
earthquake. Consider stations 1 and 2. In left-lateral
motion along the fault, shown by arrows along the
fault line, the ground moves first toward the epicenter
and away from the seismograph- Instruments at sta-
tions 1 and 2 show dilatational first motions. At sta-
tions 3 and 4, the first movement of the crust is away
Figure 16.9
from the epicenter and toward the instruments, whch A. Map of strike-slip fault zone before and after left-
register compressional first motions. lateral movement along the fault. B. Schematic map
of seismographic stations.
-

Problem 16
What is the sense of first motion at the other stations,
dilatational or compressional?
Problem 17
5. The left map of Figure 16.9B represents the case of
right-lateral motion along the fault. Place the appro-
6.
priate symbols for compression and dilatation at the
7. eight stations.
280 Exercise 16
If you djd not know the surface trace of t h e fault o n
which the earthquake occul-red, a second possible
interpretation of the data exists. Tn see this alternate
interpretation more clearlv, replot the data of the first
map of Figure 16.YB onto the other m a p , v ~ h i c hdoes
not have the fault line drawn ill. What other orienta-
tion tor the fault would be possible for the data shown?
Draw it on the m a p . ,-tnd place arrows to indicate the
sense of motion.
What is the strike of the secor-.<I pc~ssiblefault trace?
Is the sense cf motion ak)n;< the seconcl fault right- or
Iett-lateral?
&
?'lie two pc~ssil3lt~ l a ~ i l pldnes
t are called rloiinl p:ants,
and i t is not possible to disti1ii;uish between them 011
tlie basis ot a first-motion study alone. The choice of
the actual fault trace i i i ~ ~ he s t m a d e o n the basis of
field evidt.nio for faulting i-lr by a study of dfrcr.;horks
(smail earthquakes followjng a inajor event) w h o s e
epicenters lie in the same f a ~ ~plane. lt
A first-motion study. will distinguish between dip-
slip a n J s:i,ilcr-sli~~
f d ~ ~ l t i iLl gI S ~ the
~ I local
~ patkerns of
compressional and dilatational first motions plotted
on a niap. In the case of di~l-slipfaulting, one line
se~)aratesthe region of compressional first motions
frL>nithe region of dilatational first motion o n a local
map. (On a global niap t h ~ sis not the case.) In strike-
slip faulting, t1t.n lines that intersect near tlie epicenter
separate areas ot compressional irom dilatational first
motion. Look back at the examples given previously
to satisfy vourself that this is the case.
In a closely monitored seisnucally acti1.e region, such
as the San Francisco Bay Area, there are many seis-
mographic stations. Sclme of these stations are shoivn
in Fig~lre16.10. The major lault: are shoxvn as dotted
lines.
Figure. 16.11 s l i o ~ v sseismograms from a wide area
a r o u n d the epicenter of the April 1979 earthquakc.
T h e small peaks starting near t h e left margin of the
records and recurring about every inch are timing
marlcs placed automatically o n the records. Notice that
the records are synchronous, s o that the farther the
station is from t h e epicenter, the later (tarther to the
right) the P-wave arri1.e~.Plot the tirst movement at
each seismograph as either compressional or dilata-
tional o n the m a p of Figure 16.11). [Remember that a n
"up" first motion is compressional a n d a "down" first
motion is dilatational.)
Is t h e faulting dip-slip or strike-slip?
Draw i n all possible fault traces 011 Figure 16.10, a n d
indicate ~ v i t l arrows
i the relative motion of the ground
for edch case.
Does the pattern of first motions determine uneclui-
vocally tlie trace of the fault plane? What other evi-
dence might be useful for this task7
WORLDWIDE OCCURRENCE
OF EARTHQUAKES
T h e foitis or ilypocel~terof a n earthquake is its point of
origin. from which the earthquake rupture propagates
along the fault plane. Focal d e p t h s range bvidely from
very s h a l l o ~ vto about 700 km beneath the earth's sur-
face. For s i n i p l i c i t ~ sake,
~ ' ~ focal depths have been cat-
egorized as s h a l l o ~ v(less than 70 k m ) , intermediate
(bettveen 70 a n d 3011 k n ~ ) ,;lnd d e e p (greater than
300 kin).
 And red5 . . @ FRI
IV
"... LLA

Figure 16.10
Seisrnographc stations in northern California.
282 Exercise 16

-
I I

MNV MNV

- NMW
n
NMW
%

LLA
.L L. A.

CBW

CAC CAC

Figure 16.11
Seis~nogramsof April 28, 1979, earthquake recorded at
northern California stations.
 Earthquakes 283

ORV

JAS

PRI

Wac

PCC

BRK

SA 0

FRI

M HC

GCC

NOL

CMC

Figure 16.11
Seismograms of April 28, 1979, earthquake recorded at
northern California stations.
Figure 16.12
LIap of g l ~ b a selsnticity.
l

-----
THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE
'k c<;
.-.>
j y:il 2.5, OF THE EARTH
Figure 16.12 is a map of global seismicity o n which
shallow, intermed~ate,and deep earthquakes have been Much of our information about the internal structure
distinguished Are intermediate- and deep-focus of the earth comes from the study of earthquake waves,
earthquakes associafed with continental margins or particularly those of distant earthquakes whose waves
with mid-oce'in regions? nave traveled through most of the earth's interior. By
plotting travel-time curves for the P- and 5-waves of
many earthquakes and noting anomalous features, the
British seis~nologistR.D.Oldham proposed in 1906
that the interior of the earth is.not homogeneous but
has a central core with a density greater than that of
,.. the crust. In 1909 Andrija Ivlohorovieic of what is now
:~lc.!>j..l~ ;2t;
Yugoslavia published additional evidence that the
Do shallolv-foilis earthquakes occur pnrnanly in ocean earth's interior has a structure. When he plotted P-
basins or on co11t111ents7 wave travel times for earthquakes in the Balkans,
Mohorovieif found a sharp bend in the curves at an
epicentral distance of about 200 k m . He explained this
abrupt rise in P-wave velocity by proposing that there
is art abrupt change in the properties of the earth's
interior at a depth he calculated to be about 40 km.
 -
Earthquakes 285

Seismograph

Epicentral Distance (km)

Figure 16.13
Seismic P-wave paths and travel-time curve for the crust-mantle boundary, the
Mohorovii-i6 discontinuity (Moho).

This change in P-wave velocity marks the boundary earthquake record you will analyze b e p s shortly after
(the Mohorovicii. discontinuity, or Moho) between the 11:28:00.
outermost layer of the earth (the crust) and the middle Notice the very large amplitude waves beginning at
layer (the ~nantle).See Figure 16.13. 11:56. These waves are not body waves (simple P- or
Since these earliest discoveries, the analysis of seis- S-waves or variations of them) but are surface 1oaves.
mograms has revealed the presence of many seismic Surface waves travel only around the surface of the
waves that are not direct P- or S-waves. Many of these earth, not through its interior. They are of two types,
"extra" waves are reflections of ordinary P- and S- designated by Lo and LR. . ,
waves from the mantle-crust boundary; others are
reflections of P-and S-waves from the underside of
the earth's surface. Such reflections occur in the same Problem 27
way a light beam is partly reflected during its passage Although the earthquake itself lasted for only a very
through a pane of glass. One important discovery was few minutes, the disturbance on the seismogram is
the presence near the top of the mantle of the asthen- spread out for well over a n hour Why is this SO?
osphere, a zone of partially molten rock. It is also called
the low-velocity zone, reflecting the fact that seismic
waves travel more slowly there than in the rest of the
upper mantle. Figure 16.14 shows the paths traveled
by some of the common seismic waves identified on
seismograms.
Figure 16.15 is a seismogram from a distant earth-
quake showing typical complexity. Over a dozen dif-
ferent seismic waves arrived during the first 30 min-
utes of the record. The regularly spaced marks are
timing marks at one-minute intervals. Once in each
line appears a wider timing mark, an hour mark. The

Figure 16.14
Cross section of the earth including major structural
boundaries and the paths of some common compressional (P) waves.
Figure 16.16 shows a series o f travel-time curves
similar to those of Figure 16.3, which you u s e d to
determine t h e epicentral distance of a local earth-
quake. There are many more phases in Figure 16.16,
a n d the epicentral distances are m u c h larger. Note that
t h e distance to the epicenter is given in degrees rather
t h a n in kilometers. The earth's full circumference is
Figure 16.15
Seismogram from a distant earthquake on July 28,
1977
P:The direct P-wave travels through crust and/or
mantle from focus to detector.
PP: This wave is a reflechon from the underside of
the earth's surface.
PPP: Here there are two reflections from the earth's
surface.
PCP: This reflected P-wave was bounced off the
mantle-outer core boundary.
PKP: These waves have traversed the mantle and part
of the outer core, having been bent (refracted) at
the interface between mantle and outer core.
PKICP: This wave has traversed the mantle and the
outer core and has been refracted by the
boundary between outer core (liquid) and inner
core (solid).
PKIKI': Here the P-wave has passed through all the
major zones of the earth, crust, mantle, outer
core, and inner core.
Phases analogous to many of these P-wave
derivatives have also been observed for S-
waves. ,
considered a s 360°, a more convenient notation for
distant earthquakes. To identify t h e various seismic
waves in t h e seismogram of Figure 16.15, you will
n e e d t o k n o w accurately the relative time at which
each wave arrived at t h e seismograph. O n the straight
e d g e of a p a p e r held against t h e seismogram, plot a n d
label t h e arrival times of the eight most distinct pulses
 Earthquakes 287

Figure 1 6 . 1 6
'rl.a:-eI-cin~e ilL!r\'e5 lor d i s t a n t eartiiqilakes
288 Exercise 16

Figure 16.18
The earth's interior structi~re
Figure 16.17
Methotl of idel~tifytngphases present i n a
setsmogram.

.p;T (3$1 !:: 9

of energy. Place the strip of paper vertically o n the What was the distance to the epicenter in degrees? 111
travel-time curves with the two time scales parallel (Tlus kilometers?
I S very important!) and move the strip, keeping the
two time scales parallel, until the time 111arksthat you
have plotted o n the strip match a set of travel times
o n the chart. Figure 16.17 s h o ~ v sthis procedure. " .-.--....-.----.A .. ..

Identify eight of the waves present in the seismogram
by placing the appropriate symbols (E 5, P f P c e etc.)
01-1 Figure i6.15 above each p h a s e .
Prrsi~len?30
On the diagratn of the earth's interior in Figure 16.18,
sketch the paths from the focus, X, to the reiorcling
station, Y, of t h e phases you identified. Label each
pat!;.