What is EARTHQUAKE?

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth (any shaking of the Earth’s interior),
resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that
creates seismic waves. ...
Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as
volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests.
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This
sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two
blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. ... When the rocks
break, the earthquake occurs.

Why Do Earthquakes Happen?

Although the Earth looks like a pretty solid place from the surface, it’s actually extremely active
just below the surface. The Earth is made of four basic layers: a solid crust, a hot, nearly solid
mantle, a liquid outer core and a solid
Inner core.

A diagram of Earth's layers. Earthquakes are caused by shifts in the outer layers of Earth—a region
called the lithosphere.

The solid crust and top, stiff layer of the mantle make up a region called the lithosphere. The
lithosphere isn’t a continuous piece that wraps around the whole Earth like an eggshell. It’s
actually made up of giant puzzle pieces called tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are constantly
shifting as they drift around on the viscous, or slowly flowing, mantle layer below.
Slowly moving tectonic plates cause the strain to build up over time. When the strain is more
important than the resistance of the rocks, energy is released, which generates seismic waves.

Types of Earthquakes
The type of earthquake depends on the region where it occurs and the geological make-up of that
region.
There are two main types of earthquake as to origin: natural and man-made
a. Tectonic earthquakes- occur when rocks in the earth's crust break due to geological forces
created by movement of tectonic plates.
b. Volcanic earthquakes- occur in conjunction with volcanic activity
c. Explosion earthquakes- result from the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices.
Collapse earthquakes are small earthquake in underground caverns and mines.

How to Measure Earthquakes?

The energy from an earthquake travels through Earth in vibrations called seismic waves.
TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES ACCORDING TO CATEGORY

A. body waves (which move throughout entire bodies, such as the Earth)
 Primary waves (P-waves). These are the “first” body waves — the ones that travel the
fastest and through any type of medium (solid, liquid, gas). They propagate
longitudinally on the propagation direction (think of an accordion) and are harmless in
terms of earthquake damage.
 Secondary (S-wave). These are shear waves, which arrive after the P-waves. They’re
also body waves but they only propagate through a solid medium. They also rarely do
any significant damage

B. surface waves (which travel only on different surfaces, not through the whole body) do by
far the most damage.
 Rayleigh (R-wave)- the motion is of a rolling nature, similar to an ocean surface
wave. they propagate on the surface and carry the vast majority of the energy felt
 on the surface - in other words, these are what you feel when you experience
an earthquake.
 Love (L-waves) -have a transversal (perpendicular) movement and are the most
destructive outside the immediate area of the epicenter. Love waves can be
devastating

Why seismic waves are important?

Detecting epicenter

Hypocenter (focus) - the place or the point of origin where the earthquake rupture.
Epicenter- the point on the earth's surface directly above the origin (focus) of an earthquake.
start at the focus and travel outward in all directions. Earthquake waves do not originate at the
epicenter.
This non-stop movement causes stress on Earth’s crust. When the stresses get too large, it
leads to cracks called faults. When tectonic plates move, it also causes movements at the
faults. An earthquake is the sudden movement of Earth’s crust at a fault line.
Scientists can measure these seismic waves on instruments called seismometer. A seismometer
detects seismic waves below the instrument and records them as a series of zig-zags.
Scientists can determine the time, location and intensity of an earthquake from the information
recorded by a seismometer. This record also provides information about the rocks the seismic
waves traveled through.

Ways of Describing the Strength of an Earthquake

 Intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain
location. Intensity is determined from effects on people, human structures, and the natural
environment.

 TYPICAL MAXIMUM MODIFIED MERCALLI INTENSITY

The following table gives intensities that are typically observed at locations near the

epicenter of earthquakes of different magnitudes.

Typical Maximum
Magnitude Modified Mercalli
Intensity

1.0 - 3.0 I

3.0 - 3.9 II - III

 Typical Maximum
Magnitude Modified Mercalli
Intensity

4.0 - 4.9 IV - V

5.0 - 5.9 VI - VII

6.0 - 6.9 VII - IX

7.0 and
VIII or higher
higher

Intensity Shaking Description/Damage

I Not felt Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable conditions.

Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of

II Weak
buildings.

Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of

buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake.
III Weak
Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the
passing of a truck. Duration estimated.

Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some
awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking
IV Light
sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor
cars rocked noticeably.
Intensity Shaking Description/Damage

Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows

V Moderate
broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop.

Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a few

VI Strong
instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight.

Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight

Very
VII to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in
strong
poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.

Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage

in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in
VIII Severe
poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns,
monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.

Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed

IX Violent frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial
buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.

Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and

X Extreme
frame structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent.

 Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake. Magnitude is
determined from measurements on seismographs.
 Richter scale used for shallow-focus earthquakes
Shallow-focus earthquakes occur between 0 and 40 miles deep. Shallow-focus
earthquakes are much more common than deep-focus earthquakes. Crustal plates
moving against each other produce most of the shallow-focus earthquakes here on
Earth. These earthquakes are generally smaller and scientists use the Richter scale
when measuring these earthquakes.
 THE RICHTER SCALE

https://www.zmescience.com/other/feature-post/the-types-of-seismic-waves/
www.geologypage.com/2017/10/what-is-earthquake.html

ttps://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mag_vs_int.php
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mercalli.php