The science of earthquakes explained
8 years, 1 month ago

The science of earthquakes explained

ABC  

Earthquakes can cause immense damage to buildings and infrastructure, trigger tsunamis, and reshape the Earth's surface with their force. The largest earthquakes happen where one plate collides and slips under another or collides with and slips past another Megathrust earthquakes Plate boundaries converge, a process that can generate earthquakes. " "Once the strain reaches a certain point, that locked section of the subduction interface will break and that's effectively what the earthquake is," Dr Allen said. Slip-strike earthquakes A separate type of earthquake is caused by a transform fault, also known as a strike-slip fault, which involves two plates sliding past each other, rather than pulling away or pushing together. "In the 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquake sequence, we saw there was a very large earthquake that occurred in September 2010, and was preceded by a very active aftershock sequence, and we continued to see large earthquakes gradually migrating along a network of faults from the west to the east," Dr Allen said.

India Japan New Zealand Earthquakes Developing Countries Earthquake California Pacific Surface Plate North America Allen Plates Dr Allen Fault Magnitude Building Codes Occur Plate Boundaries  magnitude  science  earthquakes  allen  plate  fault  earthquake  earths  surface  occur  explained  plates

History of this topic

Quake prompts brief tsunami warning on the West Coast. Here’s what to know about tsunamis
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Quake prompts brief tsunami warning on the West Coast. Here’s what to know about tsunamis

Associated Press  

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The powerful earthquake that struck in Northern California on Thursday prompted a brief tsunami warning affecting about 5 million people along a stretch of the West Coast — from Northern California to Oregon — before being canceled. A tsunami, a word that comes from the Japanese characters for harbor and wave, is a series of extremely long …

Earthquake with 4.1 magnitude hits Nepal's Kathmandu
1 year, 5 months ago

Earthquake with 4.1 magnitude hits Nepal's Kathmandu

India TV News  

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 on the Richter Scale hit Nepal's Kathmandu at 4:17 am on Tuesday, said the National Center for Seismology. "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.1, Occurred on 24-10-2023, 04:17:29 IST, Lat: 31.11 & Long: 86.47, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 393km NNE of Kathmandu," posted National Center for Seismology on X. "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.3, Occurred on 22-10-2023, 17:18:57 …

Why earthquakes happen, and how to measure them
2 years, 1 month ago

Why earthquakes happen, and how to measure them

Hindustan Times  

NEW DELHI: Turkey is known to be prone to earthquakes, lying as it does at the junction of three tectonic plates — Eurasian, Arabian and African. Of the two major fault systems running across the Anatolian Plate, the North Anatolian Fault has been at the centre of many previous earthquakes. In Turkey, the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 happened on the …

Earthquake measuring 4.0 on Richter Scale hits Mizoram's Champhai
2 years, 6 months ago

Earthquake measuring 4.0 on Richter Scale hits Mizoram's Champhai

India TV News  

Highlights The tremors were felt 50 km east of Champhai The depth of the earthquake was 13 km There were no reports of any casualties or damage to property due to the earthquake An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale struck Mizoram in the wee hours on Wednesday. The earthquake occurred at 12.55 am on the intervening night of …

Explained | How are earthquakes measured?
2 years, 8 months ago

Explained | How are earthquakes measured?

The Hindu  

The story so far: Recently a powerful earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale struck a remote town in Afghanistan, killing over a thousand and injuring many more. According to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, a 5.9 on the Richter scale is roughly equivalent to 37 times the energy released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. According …

US researchers develop new explanation for destructive earthquakes
5 years ago

US researchers develop new explanation for destructive earthquakes

India TV News  

Geophysicists at Brown University have a new explanation for how those high-frequency vibrations of earthquakes may be produced, according to a new study published Tuesday. In the paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, Brown faculty members Victor Tsai and Greg Hirth propose that rocks colliding inside a fault zone as an earthquake happens are the main generators of high-frequency vibrations. …

HOW ARE EARTHQUAKES MEASURED?
6 years, 11 months ago

HOW ARE EARTHQUAKES MEASURED?

Daily Mail  

Earthquakes are detected by tracking the size, or magnitude, and intensity of the shock waves they produce, known as seismic waves. The magnitude of an earthquake refers to the measurement of energy released where the earthquake originated. A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California on Thursday at 10.30am According to the United States …

New Zealand earthquake: How does a bigger quake cause less damage?
8 years, 4 months ago

New Zealand earthquake: How does a bigger quake cause less damage?

ABC  

New Zealand seismologists say Sunday's magnitude-7.8 earthquake was less destructive than the smaller magnitude-6.2 Christchurch earthquake in 2011 because it was further away from major population centres. Key points: A powerful magnitude-7.5 earthquake strikes New Zealand killing at least two people The 2011 Christchurch quake which left the city in ruins was magnitude-6.2 Sunday's quake caused visibly less damage, although …

On shaky ground
10 years, 2 months ago

On shaky ground

The Hindu  

There’ve been many earthquakes in the last couple of years. Be it the quake on Republic Day in Bhuj, Gujarat, in 2001, the Indian Ocean earthquake right after Christmas in 2004, the Haiti quake in 2010 which resulted in 3,16,000 deaths or the 9.03 magnitude upheaval that devastated Japan in 2011— survivors have stood mute witnesses to the destruction. In …

Tracking The Geologic Impacts Of Earthquakes
15 years ago

Tracking The Geologic Impacts Of Earthquakes

NPR  

Tracking The Geologic Impacts Of Earthquakes The earthquake that shook Chile last weekend was powerful enough to push up the Andes a few feet, shift Earth's axis and even speed up the planet’s spin. Mr. STEIN: That's right, and so in this earthquake we calculate that the coastline of Chile for three, 400 miles was uplifted several feet during this …

Earthquakes and science
15 years, 1 month ago

Earthquakes and science

The Hindu  

The 7-magnitude shallow-depth earthquake of January 12, which had its epicentre about 15 kilometres southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, ruptured the long Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault for a length of about 75 km and width of 13 km to 15 km. While the quake relieved a certain amount of accumulated stress, the Fault, according to the United States Geologic Survey, has …

Prediction gets tougher
15 years, 5 months ago

Prediction gets tougher

The Hindu  

Despite years of unrelenting efforts, predicting earthquakes — the holy grail of seismology — has only got tougher. A series of high magnitude earthquakes that struck different parts of the globe in recent years has made scientists realise that rocks respond to strain and seismic waves in a far more dynamic manner than was originally assumed. But the occurrence of …

Mega-quakes rare but can occur anywhere › News in Science (ABC Science)
17 years ago

Mega-quakes rare but can occur anywhere › News in Science (ABC Science)

ABC  

News in Science Mega-quakes rare but can occur anywhere We can expect an average three catastrophic, magnitude 9 or greater earthquakes around the world each century, according to a new study. "The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake happened in one of the least likely places," says seismologist Dr Robert McCaffrey of New Zealand's government research agency GNS Science. As for why McCaffrey's model …

Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes › Ask an Expert (ABC Science)
20 years, 1 month ago

Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes › Ask an Expert (ABC Science)

ABC  

Ask an Expert Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes Massive crustal movements have been big news lately. — Clive Colins, seismologist, Geoscience Australia ^ to top Tectonics Regarding the December Earthquake and the following Tsunami. — David Love, PIRSA ^ to top Australia and earthquakes Why are some parts of Australia earthquake risk areas when Australia is entirely on the Indo-Australian tectonic …

Discover Related