...The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12, were three large earthquakes that happened near New Madrid, Missouri, from December 1811 to February 1812. There were thousands of aftershocks, about 1,874 of them were so large that they could be felt 190 miles away as far as Louisville, Kentucky. It is unknown how many lives were lost during the quakes. Scholars say that the number most likely wasn’t very large. The area that was affected by the quakes had a small population. The main one of the shocks produced by this quake happened around in the morning on December 16th in 1811. It is thought to have happened because of movement along the a fault in Arkansas. It was then followed by three considerably large aftershocks that had magnitudes that ranged...
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...“Earthquake - Shake, Rattle, & Roll” Submitted by: Dana Peebles For Instructor: Stephen Underwood July 14, 2014 PHSC 210-A02 Liberty University Online Elements of Earth Science I. Introduction Music can be calming and even sometimes relaxing. However, the only music that might describe an earthquake, would be the song “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”. The very nature of earthquakes cause us to get anxious, and there is nothing calming about the “earth moving under your feet.” In this short report, I will be giving a general overview of how earthquakes are formed and what causes them. I will also discuss the methods that seismologist use to study these occurrences. As humans, curiosity can get the best of us. This curiosity causes us to ask questions and seek further discoveries as to why these events happen. In addition, I will also talk about the new inquiries concerning earthquakes and what leads up to these questions that may still be unanswered. II. General Overview To understand how earthquakes form, what causes them, and the components that make it up, one must know exactly what an earthquake is. Webster’s Dictionary states that an earthquake is the “shaking or trembling of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in origin.” While this describes the movement and the cause, it doesn’t describe why. Earthquakes happen when the underground rock immediately burst against the fault. This activity causes seismic waves that travel along the earth’s crust...
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...Can Earthquakes Be Caused by Fracking? Paragraph 1: According to an article “WHATS THE FRACKING PROBLEM?” Fracking begins once a pre-drilled well that reaches the reservoir is cased with steel and cement (Bierstedt, 2015). Briersedt states that the cement and steel pipe are to protect any water supply around. The article states that after the pipe is finished water mixed with sand and chemicals are flowed through the pipe with pressure. The purpose is to restore fractures that are in the reservoir to ensure best outcomes of pumping the natural gas and oils. The chemicals are said to each have a specific purpose such as; protecting metal pipe, fixing mud damage, reducing mud damage, and stopping micro-organisms (Bierstedt, 2015). So essentially...
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...Earthquakes are one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces and have plagued our lives for as long as people have inhabited the earth. These dangerous acts of the earth have been the cause of many deaths in the past century. So what can be done about these violent eruptions that take place nearly without warning? Predicting an earthquake, until now, has almost been technologically impossible. However, with recent improvements in technology and science, many lives have been saved and many more will be. What is an earthquake and how do they occur? Did you know that most of the famous mountains are a result of an earthquake? (Cosmeo, 2008) That tidbit of information was just a little side note; now back to the paper. Earth is a planet that is made up of multiple layers. These layers include an inner layer and an outer layer and layer in between. The inner layer of the earth is a ball of molten rock that rotates within the earth. The other layers that are on top of the inner layer are floating about as a pliable ball of molten rock. The outer layer is what we refer to as the crust. The crust is very thin when compared to the other layers of the Earth. For example, think of the outer layer of an orange as it relates to the interior of the orange. This example relates closely to what the Earth looks like when we examine the crust. The crust and other layers floats upon the mantle core. The crust of the earth is made up of multiple pieces. Each of these giant pieces is called a tectonic...
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...Course Date Earthquakes: the Same Effects but Different Responses Introduction When there are faults on the crust of the earth earthquake is investable. Basically, this is the primary cause of the earthquake. Faults lines are cracks that the cracks that slips the earth intensely causing the occurrence of the earthquake. At the hypocenter, or the centre there originates the source of the earthquake. The concerti waves are produced due the earth movement hence defining the intense or the rate of the earthquake. This process however has devastating effects which include change of the river cause, loss of lives and properties as well. Different nations respond to effect and causes of the earthquakes differently depending on many factors but mainly the responses are dependent on the economic status of a given country. Naturally the earth is stable and any kinds of disturbance bring the imbalance of the state of the earth. For example tectonic movements causes the psychical features state of the earth to change. This creates various features which were previously non existence. They include rift valleys, mountains and plateaus. The rocks are also exposed to a lot of pressure and stress beyond what they can contain due to tectonic forces this causes rock breakage causing what commonly known as faults. At times, there are volcanic eruptions which are very violet and bring about eruptions. The volcanic eruptions causes volcano which when blocked may cause earth tremors at...
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...Assignment: Earthquakes Axia Colleges of the University of Phoenix By To understand why the Earth moves the way that it does along and through its diverse layers, we must have a better understanding of the physical science surrounding both plate tectonics, and earthquakes. This is a summation on earthquakes; what causes earthquake to occur, the effects of earthquakes on surroundings, how the strength of earthquakes are measured, and the regions in which earthquakes are most likely to take place. There are two types of plate margins exist; divergent margins and convergent margins. Convergent margins are the boundaries which are on two plates that proceed into one another and return (Murck, Skinner, & Mackenzie, 2008). As a result, this leads to the two distinctive forms of plate margins; it is dependent upon if the boundary is in between two continental plates, in between two pelagic plates, or in between both. However, divergent margins are by far different from convergent margins in that these margins are boundaries along two plates traveling apart from one another; taking place within the pelagic or continental crusts (Murck, Skinner, & Mackenzie, 2008). Earthquakes have a tendency to be most frequent along these boundaries being the most unmistakable expression of dynamic...
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...of choice that I chose to write about for my short report paper is Earthquakes. I chose earthquakes because I am fascinated by them, and would like to learn as much information as I can about them. I have found out that these are phenomenons of nature and I am going to enlighten you on what the causes are behind them, the tools we use to track them, and some of the worst ones that have ever happened in history. The following paragraphs will be a complete review of all of the information I have found. I hope you enjoy my paper and let’s get started. First off let’s ask ourselves do we really know what an earthquake is? Not many people do but they have heard of them before, and know that they can be catastrophic. “An earthquake is a sudden and violent shaking of the ground caused by pieces of the crust that violently shift.”( ) Now let’s ask ourselves do we know what causes an earthquake? I have found that what causes an earthquake to form is that when the pieces of our earths four major layers move around they bump into each other, and we call these pieces tectonic plates. The edges of these plates which we call boundaries are made up of faults, these faults are most of the earthquakes in the world today occur. Since the edges of the plates are rough they get stuck together while all the other plates are moving. And then finally when the plates have moved to far from these edges that is when an earthquake will occur. () So how does this movement of these plates shack the...
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...What is EARTHQUAKE ? An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that createsseismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2014), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.[1] At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking...
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...What is fracking? Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc., so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas. Many believe in Oklahoma that fracking or hydraulic fracturing have been causing more and stronger earthquakes. I don’t believe fracking is causing earthquakes, but is dangerous for the environment. In the article provided by the USGS (United States Geological Survey), fracking is not the cause the of earthquakes. Wastewater disposal is the primary cause in the rise of seismic activity in the U.S. and Oklahoma. As stated in the article by the USGS “Wastewater disposal, runs longer than hydraulic fracturing and injects more liquids as well.” Another thing stated in the article is “Wastewater disposal wells not always induce earthquakes other factors like injection rate and the total amount of wastewater injected help induce the quake.” Also wastewater isn't only produced at hydraulic fracturing sites, but at oil well sites...
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...WHAT IS EARTHQUAKE? Earthquakes are the vibrations caused by rocks breaking under stress. The underground surface along which the rock breaks and moves is called a fault plane. Earthquakes in Australia are usually caused by movements along faults as a result of compression in the Earth’s crust. The size or magnitude of earthquakes is determined by measuring the amplitude of the seismic waves recorded on a seismograph and the distance of the seismograph from the earthquake. These are put into a formula which converts them to a magnitude, which is a measure of the energy released by the earthquake. For every unit increase in magnitude, there is roughly a thirty-fold increase in the energy released. For instance, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake releases approximately 30 times more energy than a magnitude 5.0 earthquake, while a magnitude 7.0 earthquake releases approximately 900 times (30x30) more energy than a magnitude 5.0. A magnitude 8.6 earthquake releases energy equivalent to about 10 000 atomic bombs of the type developed in World War II. Fortunately, smaller earthquakes occur much more frequently than large ones and most cause little or no damage. Earthquake magnitude was traditionally measured on the Richter scale. It is often now calculated from seismic moment, which is proportional to the fault area multiplied by the average displacement on the fault. The focus of an earthquake is the point where it originated within the Earth. The earthquake epicentre is the point on...
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...physical causes of tectonic hazards, including the significance of differing plate boundaries and other factors. Research the spatial pattern of tectonic hazards and their causes in contrasting tectonic locations. For question 1, you would probably need to go into some detail about continental and oceanic plates and how they move (by convection currents in the core). You should consider the following types of plate boundary: 1. Destructive boundaries These are sub-divided into: -Oceanic-continental boundaries -Continental-continental boundaries (collision zones) -Oceanic-oceanic boundaries 2. Constructive boundaries 3. Conservative/transform boundaries You should research what happens at each type of boundary, the resulting tectonic hazards and any landforms that are produced. Remember that different plate boundaries vary considerably - some produce very violent earthquakes and explosive volcanic activity whereas others produce gentle eruptions and earthquakes. I would also note down some named examples of each type of boundary and perhaps case studies of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that were caused by a specific boundary. For question 2, it seems to me that they might be looking for some human factors to be mentioned, i.e. factors that make one particular tectonic hazard much more severe than others. For example: degree of preparation, population density, distance from epicentre, secondary impacts (e.g. tsunami, fire), magnitude of earthquake etc ...
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...Eartquake What is an earthquake? An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock! Causes of earthquakes and How earthquakes happen The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. (figure 2) The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate...
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...Earthquakes If one could have stood out in space for a fantastically long time and looked back at the Earth, one would have seen the continents themselves in motion, drifting apart on their crustal plates, held afloat by the fire beneath. That is a poetically turned phrase from Lewis Thomas, which beautifully sums up the mechanics behind plate tectonics, and ultimately behind earthquakes. The following is a brief sketch on earthquakes, their cause and effect, how they are measured, and an area where they frequently occur. Plate Margins There are two different plate margins. These are convergent margins and divergent margins. When two plates move and finally come together it is called convergent margins. Divergent margins are the exact opposite than convergent margins. Instead of moving towards each other the plates move away from each other. Measuring Earthquakes Just by looking at the mass destruction left behind by earthquakes one can see that they vary in size and strength. Earthquakes are measured in size and strength by what is called the Richter scale. The Richter scale was developed by a man names Charles Richter. The majorities of the earthquakes that occur each year are a magnitude of 2.5 or less and go unnoticed by humans. The Richter scale can measure both small and very large earthquakes; this could be ripples in the earth that not one person could feel or it could be earthquakes of mass destruction just like the earthquake of Japan. Also the movement magnitude...
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...asking what he could say about the earthquake, because the seismometers had been 152 knocked out by its severity. He told them the direction from which it came, along with its approximate distance (based on the time between different waves, but not the P and S that are normally used, as described earlier). From these he guessed that the earthquake was near Santa Cruz, and he was also able to roughly guess its strength. He boasted to me that for several hours his information was the best available. I must mention, however, that this “expert” is the same friend who bought a house on dredged coastal fill, the worst possible place to be in an earthquake; that is why he was able to view this earthquake so well. Scope of the problem To begin to see the scope of the problem of earthquakes and people, let’s consider a few statistics: • ~150 earthquakes each year are potentially damaging (Mw 6); • ~20 earthquakes each year cause severe damage (Mw 7); • in the 1990’s, more than 100,000 people were killed in earthquakes, especially those in Iran, India, Russia, and Japan. This was a worse death toll than usual, not because of more earthquakes but because they happened to affect highly populated areas. By comparison, storm surges killed 300,000 people in 1992 alone, mostly in Bangladesh. • the largest earthquake of the last 40 years, the Mw 9.2 Sumatra earthquake, created a tsunami that killed 228,000 people; • globally, the risk of being killed by an earthquake is ~1...
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...Survey (USGS) one of the leading agency that monitor real time earthquake in the state of Los Angeles, states it is a very high risk for frequent damaging earthquakes. These earthquakes are results from many fault systems that moving through Los Angeles that leads to earthquakes of many different types and sizes. South California has more than 10,000 earthquakes every year; many of them are very small and sometime never even cause any damage or even felt. However, Los Angeles do have large earthquake that create after shocks the causes many damages and sometimes these aftershock can create sequence of additional earthquake that can occur for months. On March 10, 1933 at 5:54 p.m. magnitude 6.4 earthquakes hit the Newport-Inglewood Fault, causing serious damage in Long Beach and other communities. The earthquake resulted in 120 deaths and more than $50 million in property damage. Most of the damaged buildings were of unreinforced masonry. The most recent earthquake in South California caused severe structural damage to buildings but did not caused any deaths, however, on February 9, 1971 caused the city about $500 million in damages and 65 deaths. On October 1, 1987 at 7:42 a.m. an earthquake of the magnitude 5.9. struck the city causing eight deaths and $358 million property damages. Earthquake is caused when the two sided of a fault slip suddenly against each other. The frictions between the plates will cause stress this then in turn will release blocks of crust that will...
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