Types of Earthquakes

o A tectonic earthquake is one that occurs when the earth's crust breaks due to geological
forces on rocks and adjoining plates that cause physical and chemical changes.
o A volcanic earthquake is any earthquake that results from tectonic forces which occur in
conjunction with volcanic activity.
o A collapse earthquake are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that
are caused by seismic waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface.
o An explosion earthquake is an earthquake that is the result of the detonation of a
nuclear and/or chemical device.
Types of Faults
o Normal faults form when the hanging wall drops down. The forces that create normal
faults are pulling the sides apart, or extensional.
o Reverse faults form when the hanging wall moves up. The forces creating reverse faults
are compressional, pushing the sides together.
o Transcurrent or Strike-slip faults have walls that move sideways, not up or down.
o
Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the Earth's layers, and are a result of an
earthquake, explosion, or a volcano that imparts low-frequency acoustic energy. Many other
natural and anthropogenic sources create low amplitude waves commonly referred to as
ambient vibrations. Seismic waves are studied by geophysicists called seismologists. Seismic
wave fields are recorded by a seismometer, hydrophone (in water), or accelerometer.
The propagation velocity of the waves depends on density and elasticity of the medium.
Velocity tends to increase with depth, and ranges from approximately 2 to 8 km/s in the Earth's
crust up to 13 km/s in the deep mantle.
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Earthquakes create various types of waves with different velocities; when reaching seismic
observatories, their different travel time help scientists to locate the source of the earthquake
hypocenter. In geophysics the refraction or reflection of seismic waves is used for research into
the structure of the Earth's interior, and man made vibrations are often generated to
investigate shallow, subsurface structures.




Effects of Earthquakes
Structural damage and fire. Surface trembling from seismic waves often damages buildings.
Depending on the severity of the earthquake, gas mains may break, starting numerous fires.
Foreshocks, small earthquakes that sometimes precede the main earthquake, can be used as a
warning system that a large shock may be on the way. Thousands of aftershocks may follow an
earthquake and can be quite destructive, especially to those structures that have already been
weakened and damaged.
Masswasting events. Ground motion may trigger landslides and other rapid masswasting
events that result in loss of life and damage to buildings. A masswasting variation is a landslide
by liquefaction, in which watersoaked sediment moves downslope like a slurry. Buildings that
were built on solid sediment may sink if liquefaction occurs.
Rocks can be permanently displaced during an earthquake. Fault blocks may move vertically,
forming a new scarp along the fault plane. Horizontal movement can tear apart roads,
pipelines, and any other structures that are built across the fault zone. Displacement rarely
exceeds about 7 meters (25 feet).
Seismic sea waves. If the sea floor suddenly shifts upward or downward, the sudden
displacement of water results in seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. Unlike even the greatest
storm waves, tsunamis can be up to 90 meters (300 feet) high and move at speeds of up to 400
miles per hour. Tsunamis have wavelengths that can be as long as 160 kilometers (100 miles),
and the water does not quickly withdraw from the coast after the tsunami breaks. The water
continues to rise for up to ten minutes until the long wavelength has passed through, resulting
in widespread coastal damage.
Earthquake magnitude
Earthquake magnitude is a measure of the energy released by an earthquake, or its
"size". Because earthquakes vary a lot in size, earthquake magnitude scales are
logarithmic. For a one-step increase in magnitude the amount of energy released increases
about 32 times. So a magnitude 7 earthquake is 32 times bigger than a magnitude 6
earthquake, and a magnitude 8 earthquake is 1000 bigger.
The Richter Scale was the first earthquake magnitude scale to be devised, in the
1930s. However, the Richter Scale is not very accurate for measuring the size of earthquakes
above about magnitude 6.5, so other magnitude scales, such as local or moment magnitude,
are now used (although news readers still ofter talk about "the Richter Scale"). These new
scales are set up so that the numbers used are similar to the Richter Scale so that they can be
easily compared.
Earthquake intensity
Earthquake intensity describes how much ground shaking occurred, or how "strong" an
earthquake was, at a particular location. Earthquake waves weaken as they travel away from
the earthquake source, so an earthquake generally feels less strong the further away from the
source you are.
The intensity of earthquake shaking at a particular location depends on the magnitude of the
earthquake (how much energy was released), and how deep and how far away it was. Local
topography, geology and soils also influence the amount of earthquake shaking.
There are a number of different intensity scales, but in New Zealand intensity is measured using
the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. This is a descriptive scale from 1 to 12 based on how
people feel an earthquake, the damage to buildings and their contents, and how the natural
environment responds.