Earthquakes Flashcards
What is an earthquake
Sudden shaking of the crust
What is the common cause of earthquakes
Breakage and displacement of rock, often along a known fault
Where are earthquakes most common
Near plate boundaries
Earthquakes can also cause what other type of natural disaster
Tsunami
Briefly explain the Elastic Rebound Theory that helps explain earthquakes
Energy is stored in the form of elastically deformed rock. When the strain exceeds the strength of the rock it breaks and the energy is released.
What is focus and what is epicenter, and explain the difference
Focus is where the actual earthquake happened and epicentre is the spot closest to the focus on the surface
What kind of boundaries are earthquakes common
All (divergent, convergent, and transform)
What are intraplate earthquakes
Tend to occur in soft, weak areas of plate interiors, caused by stresses transmitted from plate boundaries and are poorly understood
What is the Wadati-Benioff Zone
Occurs along a convergent boundary where one plate is subducting below another, see slide 17
What are magnitude and intensity, and explain their difference
Magnitude measures the size of the earthquake, intensity measures the damage caused by an earthquake. So you can have an earthquake with a magnitude of 10 but an intensity of 1
Look at slide 21-25 to see more on seismic waves
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