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Environmental Geology > EARTHQUAKES AND RELATED HAZARD > Flashcards

EARTHQUAKES AND RELATED HAZARD Flashcards

1
Q

is defined as a trembling or shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the rocks beneath the earth’s surface.

A

earthquake

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2
Q

when rocks are subjected under a force, also called ____, they can become deformed and have a corresponding change in their shape (distortion) or volume (dilation), a process known as ____

A

stress; strain

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3
Q

rocks are also considered to be _____, meaning that if the force (stress) is removed they will return to their original shape

A

elastic

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4
Q

brittle materials reach their elastic limit they undergo permanent deformation by _____, whereas ductile materials deform by ______

A

fracturing; flowing plastically

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5
Q

Two types of Earthquake

A

Volcanic and Tectonic

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6
Q

Based on the relationship between stress and strain and the deformation of rocks, earth scientists have developed the _______ that explains the occurrence of earthquakes.

A

elastic rebound theory

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7
Q

vibrational wave energy that radiates outward and causes the ground to shake in what is called _____

A

earthquake

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8
Q

The release of energy generally begins at a point called the _____ whereas the point on the earth’s surface directly above the hypocenter is termed as ______.

A

focus/hypocenter; epicenter

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9
Q

When rocks become more ductile (less brittle) they tend to accumulate less strain, and instead undergo _____.

A

plastic deformation

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10
Q

why can’t earthquakes happen below 700 km the surface?

A

the higher temperatures cause the rocks to become so ductile that they deform only by plastic flow, hence do not rupture

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11
Q

This redistribution of strain commonly produces a series of smaller earthquakes called ______, which may continue to occur for days or weeks after the primary earthquake, sometimes called the ____.

A

aftershocks: main shock

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12
Q
  • refer to vibrational waves that travel through solid earth materials which may be magmatic, tectonic, or artificial in origin.
A

seismic waves

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13
Q

two types of seismic waves

A

Body waves and surface waves

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14
Q

Body waves are subdivided into…

A

o Primary (P)-Waves
o Secondary (S)-Waves

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15
Q

travel trough the earth’s interior, spreading outward from the hypocenter in all directions (like sound in air). It is subdivided into;

A

body waves

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16
Q
  • travel on the earth’s surface away from the epicenter (like ripples on water); slowest wave (typically at a speed that is 10% slower than S-waves), can cause more property damage compared to body waves.
A

surface waves

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17
Q

compressional waves; parallel to direction the wave is travelling, causing rocks to alternately compress and decompress as successive waves pass through

A

p-waves

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18
Q

transverse/ perpendicular to direction of wave propagation

A

s-waves

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19
Q

also known as ground roll, spread to the ground as ripples, similar to rolling waves on the ocean; move both vertically and horizontally in a vertical plane pointed in the direction in which the wave is travelling;

A

rayleigh waves

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20
Q

move the ground from side to side in a horizontal plane but at right angles to the direction of propagation.

A

love waves

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21
Q

Very fast at speeds of 4 to 7 km/sec; first wave to arrive at a station; can pass through solid and liquid

A

p-wave

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22
Q

Slow, at 2-5 km/sec; Arrives at a later time than P-wave does; Can pass through solid but not liquid

A

s-waves

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23
Q

– the instrument used to detect seismic waves.

A
  • Seismometer
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24
Q

a seismometer with a recording device that produces a permanent record of earth motion, usually in the form of wiggly line drawn on a moving strip of paper

A
  • Seismograph
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25
Q

the paper record of earth vibration.

A
  • Seismogram
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26
Q

P and S waves start out from the hypocenter. As they travel, they gradually separate because of their ______

A

different speeds

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27
Q

The interval of the time of arrival between P and S waves increases with increasing distance of the seismic stations from the focus and epicenter; the ______ the time, the greater the distance is.

A

longer

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28
Q

The interval of arrival between S and P waves is used to calculate the _____ of the seismograph station from the earthquake source

A

distance

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29
Q

The intersection of the ____ pinpoints the location of the earthquake.

A

three circles

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30
Q

The depth of focus is determined in a similar procedure, and is used to classify earthquakes as:

A
  1. Shallow – 0-70 km
  2. Intermediate – 70-350 km
  3. Deep – 350-670 km
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31
Q

they measure the strength of the earthquakes by its

A

intensity

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32
Q

In 1902 an Italian seismologist named_______ developed a means of comparing both modern and historical earthquakes through the use of firsthand human observations during earthquakes.

A

Giuseppe Mercalli

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33
Q

earthquakes are ranked based on a set of observations most humans could report objectively, particularly the type of damage sustained by buildings I to XII

A

the Mercalli intensity scale

34
Q
  • is a seismic scale used and developed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to measure the intensity of an earthquake
A

PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS)

35
Q

PIES was developed as a response to the ________ (magnitude ___) and was adopted in the Philippines in 1996

A

1990 Luzon Earthquake ; 7.7

36
Q

one of the first seismic scales developed by Michele Stefano de Rossi and Francois-Alphonse Forel in the late 19th century, to reflect earthquake intensities and was used for about two decades by some countries until the introduction of the Mercalli Intensity Scale in 1902.

A

Rossi-Forel Intensity Scale

37
Q

Intensity scale of PEIS ranges from

A

I to X

38
Q

magnitude scales are useful because they _____ the amount of ground motion during an earthquake, and the energy that was released when the rocks ruptured

A

quantify

39
Q

rates earthquakes based on the size of their seismic waves, as measured by seismographs; governed by amplitude (wave height) and distance

A

Richter Magnitude Scale

40
Q

based on similar types of seismogram measurements as Richter’s, but is more accurate over a wide range of magnitudes and geologic conditions; based on the total amount of energy released and is determined by measuring the surface area of the ruptured fault and how far the land moved along the fault

A

Moment Magnitude Scale

41
Q
  • Although a unit increase on the magnitude scale represents a 10-fold increase in ground motion, this corresponds to about a __-fold increase in energy released at the focus—recall that the release of stored elastic energy is what causes the shaking in the first place
A

30

42
Q

two largest earthquake in san francisco area

A

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the great earthquake of 1906

43
Q

calculate the difference in ground motion of EQ 1 with magnitude 7.8 and EQ 2 with magnitude 6.9

A

8x

44
Q

An earthquake’s Richter’s rating and moment magnitude rating are always the same. true or false

A

false

45
Q

Earthquakes are also divided into several classes based on their magnitude; a class with Major earthquake have ____ magnitude

A

7.0 to 7.9

46
Q

what are the 8 classes of earthquales (based on their magnitude) rank from strongest to weakest (with magnitude)

A

Great - 8.0 or more
Major - 7.0-7.9
Strong - 6.0-6.9
Moderate - 5.0-5.9
Light - 4.0-4.9
Minor - 2.0-3.9
Microearthquake - 1.0-1.9

47
Q

rocks are much ____ under a compressional force compared to a tensional force

A

stronger

48
Q

at convergent boundaries where compressive forces dominate, rocks are able to accumulate much more ____ before rupturing than at divergent boundaries where tensional forces are dominant

A

strain

49
Q
  • The other key factor in the ability of a rock body to store strain is the ___ of the faults
A

frictional resistance

50
Q

In areas where tensional forces dominate the friction along faults is naturally low, allowing them to slip in an almost continuous process known as _____

A

fault creep

51
Q

San Andreas Fault is a ________transform fault that separates the Pacific and North American Plates.

A

right-lateral (dextral)

52
Q

In ______where the San Andreas fault moves offshore the boundary of the North American plate changes from a transform (shear) setting to one of convergence (compression).

A

northern California

53
Q

an earthquake that forms when an oceanic plate is overridden by another plate

A

subduction zone earthquakes

54
Q

reason subduction zone earthquakes are capable of releasing unusually large amounts of energy is partly due to

A

(1) the way the overriding plate buckles and becomes locked.

(2) the surface area over which the slippage or rupture occurs can be quite large compared to that in other plate settings.
(3) the descending oceanic plate is relatively cool, which makes the rocks more brittle and capable of accumulating more strain before rupturing.
(4) some of this energy can be transferred to the ocean, creating tsunamis that reach heights of 100 feet (30 m) as they crash into coastal areas.

55
Q

earthquakes that occur far from a plate boundary or active mountain belt and are generally believed to be related to tectonic forces that are being transmitted through the rigid plates.

A

Intraplate Earthquakes

56
Q

example of a intraplate earthquake

A

1976 Tangshan disaster (7.5)

57
Q

___, is the leading cause of death and property damage in most earthquakes

A

failure of buildings and other manmade structures

58
Q

engineers design a structure they take into account the fact that the structure must be able to withstand a range of different forces, with ___ being the most important.

A

GRAVITY

59
Q

surface waves are the most destructive due to the fact they cause the ground to vibrate in a _____direction, and at the same time, roll up and down like an ocean wave

A

lateral

60
Q

Once a floor becomes free, it naturally falls onto the one below, which can cause additional floors to fail in a cascading manner that engineers call ____

A

pancaking

61
Q

Another important type of structural failure in earthquakes is the sudden ______

A

rupture of steel reinforced concrete columns

62
Q

refers to the vibration of a structure/building at a fixed frequency

A

Natural vibration frequency

63
Q

The matching of frequency then leads to the phenomenon called ____, whereby the amplitudes of the individual waves combine

A

resonance

64
Q

energy of the resulting seismic waves steadily decreases as they travel away from the focus, a process referred to as

A

wave attenuation

65
Q

the most dangerous earthquakes tend to be those with a combination of ____ magnitude and ___ focal depth

A

large; shallow

66
Q

Seismic waves experience different amounts of wave attenuation, depending on the types of geologic materials the waves pass through. true or false?

A

true

67
Q

Loose materials and rocks of lower density will absorb more energy from passing seismic waves compared to rocks that are ____rigid and dense

A

more

68
Q

areas of rigid rocks, seismic waves are able to retain more of their energy as they travel farther. Because the waves undergo ____attenuation, they therefore have the potential to cause damage farther from the focus

A

less

69
Q

what earthquake wherein seismic waves from these earthquakes were able to retain enough energy to ring church bells as far as way as Boston, Massachusetts due to the rigid rocks throughout this region

A

8 mag earthquake, New Madrid

70
Q

When seismic waves travel through weaker materials, they slow down and lose energy at a faster rate. causes wave amplitude to increase, creating a phenomenon known as

A

Ground Amplification

71
Q

SECONDARY EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS

A

fires, landslides, and saturated ground that suddenly turns into a liquid (liquefaction)

72
Q

the displacement of lithospheric plates along subduction zones can generate devastating ___

A

tsunamis

73
Q

compacted sand-rich layers of sediment that are normally in contact with one another behave as fluid

A

Liquefaction

74
Q

The increased water pressure within the saturated sediment can also cause geysers of liquefied sand to erupt onto the surface, creating what are called

A

sand blows

75
Q

rocks on either side of a fault move way from each other horizontally and/or vertically.

A

Ground displacement

76
Q

are large open cracks that typically develop close to the surface in loose sediment where there is little resistance to the rolling and stretching motion associated with surface waves

A

ground fissures

77
Q

earthquakes provide one of the basic triggering mechanisms for the downslope movement of earth materials due to gravity such as landslide (debris slump), rock falls, and mudflows.

A

Earthquake-induced mass wasting

78
Q

underground gas lines are easily broken when surface waves roll through a city and are likely to be ignited by sparks from countless electrical shorts in damaged buildings and downed power lines

A

fire

79
Q

a series of ocean waves that form when energy is suddenly transferred to the water by an earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, or asteroid impact.

A

tsunami

80
Q

EARTHQUAKE PRECURSORS

A
  1. Increase in foreshocks
  2. Slight swelling or tilting of the ground surface
  3. Decreased electrical resistance
  4. Fluctuating water levels in wells
  5. Increased concentration of radon gas in groundwater
  6. Generation of radio signals
81
Q

Sections of an active fault where strain has not been released for an extended period of time are called _____ which can be useful in predicting what areas are most likely to experience a large earthquake.

A

seismic gaps

82
Q

3 ways of reducing Earthquake risk

A
  1. Seismic Engineering
  2. Early Warning Systems
  3. Planning and Education

Environmental Geology (5 decks)

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