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{{Short description|Sudden movement of the Earth's crust}}
{{Otheruses1|the natural seismic phenomenon}}
{{other uses|}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Confusing|date=October 2022|reason=tone switches from too scientific to encyclopedic between sections}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2021}}
]s occur mostly along tectonic plate boundaries, especially on the Pacific ].]]
]
{{Earthquakes}}


An '''earthquake''' is a ] that results from the sudden release of stored energy in the ]'s ] that creates ]s. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes may manifest themselves by a shaking or displacement of the ground and sometimes cause ], which may lead to loss of life and destruction of property. An earthquake is caused by tectonic plates (the making on the earths crust) getting stuck and putting a strain on the ground. The strain becomes so great that rocks give way and fault lines occur. An '''earthquake'''{{snd}}also called a '''quake''', '''tremor''', or '''temblor'''{{snd}}is the shaking of the ]'s surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the ] that creates ]s. Earthquakes can range in ], from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent<!-- Note: the essential point is /abruptness/, not "strength". --> enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage critical infrastructure, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The '''seismic activity''' of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The ] at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume.


In its most general sense, the word ''earthquake'' is used to describe any seismic event that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes can occur naturally or be induced by human activities, such as ], ], and ]. The initial point of rupture is called the ] or focus, while the ground level directly above it is the ]. Earthquakes are primarily caused by geological ], but also by ], landslides, and other seismic events. The frequency, type, and size of earthquakes in an area define its seismic activity, reflecting the average rate of seismic energy release.
Earthquakes may occur naturally or as a result of human activities. In its most generic sense, the word ''earthquake'' is used to describe any seismic event—whether a natural ] or an event caused by humans—that generates ]s.
]s, 1963&ndash;1998]]


Significant historical earthquakes include the ] in China, with over 830,000 fatalities, and the ] in Chile, the largest ever recorded at 9.5 magnitude. Earthquakes result in various effects, such as ground shaking and ], leading to significant damage and loss of life. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a ]. Earthquakes can trigger ]s. Earthquakes' occurrence is influenced by ] movements along faults, including normal, reverse (thrust), and strike-slip faults, with energy release and rupture dynamics governed by the ].
]


Efforts to manage earthquake risks involve prediction, forecasting, and preparedness, including ]ting and ] to design structures that withstand shaking. The cultural impact of earthquakes spans myths, religious beliefs, and modern media, reflecting their profound influence on human societies. Similar seismic phenomena, known as ]s and ], have been observed on other celestial bodies, indicating the universality of such events beyond Earth.
==Types of earthquakes==


== Terminology ==
An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of ] resulting from a sudden release of energy in the ] that creates ]s. Earthquakes may also be referred to as ''quakes'', ''tremors'', or ''temblors''. The word ''tremor'' is also used for ].


In its most general sense, an ''earthquake'' is any seismic event—whether natural or caused by humans—that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by the rupture of geological ] but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, ] and ]. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its ] or focus. The ] is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.
===Naturally occurring earthquakes===
]


The ''seismic activity'' of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The ] at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume.
'''GDP!!!!!!!!!!''' Most naturally occurring earthquakes are related to the tectonic nature of the ]. Such earthquakes are called ''tectonic earthquakes''. The Earth's ] is a patchwork of plates in slow but constant motion caused by the heat in the Earth's mantle and Planetary core. ] boundaries grind past each other, creating frictional ]. When the frictional stress exceeds a critical value, called ''local strength'', a sudden failure occurs. The boundary of tectonic plates along which failure occurs is called the '']''. When the failure at the fault plane results in a violent displacement of the Earth's ], the elastic ] energy is released and ] are radiated, thus causing an earthquake. This process of strain, stress, and failure is referred to as the ]. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake ] growth and is converted into heat. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available potential energy, though these losses are negligible.<ref na my name is leah and i am realy boardme="USGS1">{{cite web | last = Spence | first = William | coauthors = S. A. Sipkin, G. L. Choy | title = Measuring the Size of an Earthquake | publisher = ] | date = ] |''']]]]]]] url = http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/topics/measure.php|accessdate = 2006-11-03 }}</ref>


==Major examples==
The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at depths not exceeding a few tens of kilometers. In ], where older and colder ] descends beneath another tectonic plate, earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (up to hundreds of kilometers). These seismically active areas of subduction are known as ]s. ]s are another phenomenon associated with a subducting slab. These are earthquakes that occur at a depth at which the subducted ] should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep focus earthquakes is faulting caused by ] undergoing a ] into a ] structure.<ref name="olivine">{{cite journal
{{Main|Lists of earthquakes}}
| last = Greene
| first = H. W.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Burnley, P. C.
| title = A new self-organizing mechanism for deep-focus earthquakes
| journal = Nature
| volume = 341
| issue =
| pages = 733-737
| publisher =
| date = ], ]
| url =
| doi = 10.1038/341733a0
| id =
| accessdate = 2006-11-03 }}</ref>


]
Earthquakes may also occur in volcanic regions and are caused by the movement of ] in ]es. Such quakes can be an early warning of volcanic eruptions.
]


One of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history was the ], which occurred on 23 January 1556 in ], China. More than 830,000 people died.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php |title=Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101175733/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php |archive-date=November 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref> Most houses in the area were ]s—dwellings carved out of ] hillsides—and many victims were killed when these structures collapsed. The ], which killed between 240,000 and 655,000 people, was the deadliest of the 20th century.<ref>Spignesi, Stephen J. (2005). ''Catastrophe!: The 100 Greatest Disasters of All Time''. {{ISBN|0-8065-2558-4}}</ref>
A recently proposed theory suggests that some earthquakes may occur in a sort of ], where one earthquake will trigger a series of earthquakes each triggered by the previous shifts on the fault lines, similar to ]s, but occurring years later, and with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern was observed in the sequence of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the ] in Turkey in the 20th Century, the half dozen large earthquakes in ] in 1811-1812, and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the Middle East and in the Mojave Desert.


The ] is the largest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph, reaching 9.5 magnitude on 22 May 1960.<ref name="usgsfacts"/><ref name="wp100414"/><!----url does not contain box statistics that print edition does and is included for info only----> Its epicenter was near Cañete, Chile. The energy released was approximately twice that of the next most powerful earthquake, the ] (27 March 1964), which was centered in ], Alaska.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gps.caltech.edu/uploads/File/People/kanamori/HKjgr77.pdf |title=The Energy Release in Great Earthquakes |author=Kanamori Hiroo |publisher=Journal of Geophysical Research |access-date=2010-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723182215/http://www.gps.caltech.edu/uploads/File/People/kanamori/HKjgr77.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/how_much_bigger.php |title=How Much Bigger? |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=2010-10-10 |archive-date=2011-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607144219/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/how_much_bigger.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The ten largest recorded earthquakes have all been ]s; however, of these ten, only the ] is simultaneously one of the deadliest earthquakes in history.
===Induced earthquakes===
Some earthquakes have ] sources, such as extraction of minerals and fossil fuel from the Earth's crust, the removal or injection of fluids into the crust, reservoir-induced seismicity, massive explosions, and collapse of large buildings. Seismic events caused by human activity are referred to by the term '']''. They however are not strictly earthquakes and usually show a different seismogram than earthquakes that occur naturally.


Earthquakes that caused the greatest loss of life, while powerful, were deadly because of their proximity to either heavily populated areas or the ocean, where earthquakes often create ] that can devastate communities thousands of kilometers away. Regions most at risk for great loss of life include those where earthquakes are relatively rare but powerful, and poor regions with lax, unenforced, or nonexistent seismic building codes.
A rare few earthquakes have been associated with the build-up of large masses of water behind ]s, such as the ] in ], ], and with the injection or extraction of fluids into the Earth's crust (e.g. at certain ] plants and at the ]). Such earthquakes occur because the strength of the Earth's crust can be modified by fluid pressure. Earthquakes have also been known to be caused by the removal of ] from subsurface deposits, for instance in the northern ]. The world’s largest reservoir-induced earthquake occurred on ] 1967 in the Koyna region of western Maharashtra in India. It had a magnitude of 6.3 on the ]. However, the U.S. geological survey reported the magnitude of 6.8.<ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/gshap/ict/india.html
| title=A Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map of India and Adjoining Regions
| author=S C Bhatia, M Ravi Kumar and H K Gupta
| publisher=Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program
| accessdate=2006-08-14
}}</ref>


==Occurrence==
The detonation of powerful ]s, such as ], can cause low-magnitude ground shaking. Thus, the 50-megaton nuclear bomb code-named ] detonated by the ] in 1961 created a seismic event comparable to a magnitude 7 earthquake, producing the ] so powerful that it was measurable even on its third passage around the Earth. In an effort to promote ], the ] uses the tools of ] to detect illicit activities such as ]s tests. The ] routinely monitor each other's activities through networks of interconnected ]s which allow precise location of a nuclear explosion.
[[File:Fault types.svg|thumb|Three types of faults:<br />
A. ]<br />
B. ]<br />
C. ]
]]


] earthquakes occur anywhere on the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a ]. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and ] only if there are no irregularities or ] along the fault surface that increases the frictional resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities, which leads to a form of ]. Once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and, therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the ].<ref name="Ohnaka">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bp0gAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 | title=The Physics of Rock Failure and Earthquakes | publisher=Cambridge University Press | author=Ohnaka, M. | year=2013 | page=148 | isbn=978-1-107-35533-0}}</ref> This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic ] ],<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Vassiliou | first1 = Marius | last2 = Kanamori | first2 = Hiroo | year = 1982 | title = The Energy Release in Earthquakes | journal = Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. | volume = 72 | pages = 371–387 }}</ref> frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the ]. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake ] growth or is converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available ] and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the ]<ref name="USGS1">{{cite web|last=Spence |first=William |author2=S.A. Sipkin |author3=G.L. Choy |title=Measuring the Size of an Earthquake |publisher=United States Geological Survey|year=1989 |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/topics/measure.php |access-date=2006-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901233601/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/topics/measure.php |archive-date=2009-09-01 }}</ref>
Sports games have been known to inadvertently produce ]s. This phenomenon was first seen in 1988 with the ] at ], in which fans stamped their feet and jumped up and down vigorously enough to have the effect register on the campus seismograph.


===Fault types===
Earthquakes happen every day around the world, but most of them go unnoticed and cause no damage. Large earthquakes, however, can cause serious destruction. They may be caused by the ground shaking, a tidal wave or ], fire or by gas or petrol leaks. Most large earthquakes are accompanied by other, smaller ones that can occur either before or after the 'main shock'. The power of an earthquake covers a large area, but in a very large earthquake, it can even cover the whole planet. Scientists can locate the point from which the earthquake started. That point is called its focus or hypocenter. The location on the surface of the earth directly above the hypocenter is known as the epicenter.
{{main|Fault (geology)}}
There are three main types of fault, all of which may cause an ]: normal, reverse (thrust), and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip, where the displacement along the fault is in the direction of ] and where movement on them involves a vertical component. Many earthquakes are caused by movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known as oblique slip. The topmost, brittle part of the Earth's crust, and the cool slabs of the tectonic plates that are descending into the hot mantle, are the only parts of our planet that can store elastic energy and release it in fault ruptures. Rocks hotter than about {{cvt|300|C||}} flow in response to stress; they do not rupture in earthquakes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sibson |first1=R.H. |year=1982 |title=Fault Zone Models, Heat Flow, and the Depth Distribution of Earthquakes in the Continental Crust of the United States |journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=151–163}}</ref><ref>Sibson, R.H. (2002) "Geology of the crustal earthquake source" International handbook of earthquake and engineering seismology, Volume 1, Part 1, p. 455, eds. W H K Lee, H Kanamori, P C Jennings, and C. Kisslinger, Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-0-12-440652-0}}</ref> The maximum observed lengths of ruptures and mapped faults (which may break in a single rupture) are approximately {{cvt|1000|km|||}}. Examples are the earthquakes in ], ], and ], all in subduction zones. The longest earthquake ruptures on strike-slip faults, like the ] (], ]), the ] in Turkey (]), and the ] in Alaska (]), are about half to one third as long as the lengths along subducting plate margins, and those along normal faults are even shorter.


== Measuring earthquakes == ==== Normal faults ====
Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is being ] such as a ]. Earthquakes associated with normal faults are generally less than magnitude 7. Maximum magnitudes along many normal faults are even more limited because many of them are located along spreading centers, as in Iceland, where the thickness of the brittle layer is only about {{convert|6|km|spell=in||}}.<ref>Hjaltadóttir S., 2010, "Use of relatively located microearthquakes to map fault patterns and estimate the thickness of the brittle crust in Southwest Iceland"</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Reports and publications &#124; Seismicity &#124; Icelandic Meteorological office |url=http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/reports-and-publications/ |access-date=2011-07-24 |publisher=En.vedur.is |archive-date=2008-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414235419/http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/reports-and-publications/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{main|Seismic scale}}


==== Reverse faults ====
] by date.]]
Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being ] such as at a ]. Reverse faults, particularly those along convergent boundaries, are associated with the most powerful earthquakes (called ]s) including almost all of those of magnitude 8 or more. Megathrust earthquakes are responsible for about 90% of the total seismic moment released worldwide.<ref>{{citation |last1=Stern |first1=Robert J. |title=Subduction zones |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |volume=40 |issue=4 |page=17 |year=2002 |bibcode=2002RvGeo..40.1012S |doi=10.1029/2001RG000108 |s2cid=247695067|doi-access=free }}</ref>


==== Strike-slip faults ====
Because seismologists cannot directly observe rupture in the Earth's interior, they rely on seismograms, geodetic measurements, and numerical modeling to analyze ]s and accurately assess the size and other physical characteristics of earthquakes. The size of an earthquake can be expressed quantitatively as a '''magnitude''' and the local strength of shaking as an '''intensity'''. The inherent size of an earthquake is expressed using a ''magnitude''.
]s are steep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Strike-slip faults, particularly continental ], can produce major earthquakes up to about magnitude 8. Strike-slip faults tend to be oriented near vertically, resulting in an approximate width of {{cvt|10|km|||}} within the brittle crust.<ref>{{cite web |title=Instrumental California Earthquake Catalog |url=http://wgcep.org/data-inst_eq_cat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725021215/http://wgcep.org/data-inst_eq_cat |archive-date=2011-07-25 |access-date=2011-07-24 |publisher=WGCEP}}</ref> Thus, earthquakes with magnitudes much larger than 8 are not possible.


], northwest of Los Angeles]]
The empirically-defined ] is a famous (and the original) example of a such a scale. However, the Richter scale is not well-suited to accurately measure earthquakes with magnitudes over approximately 6.8, and was furthermore originally defined by ] to apply to earthquakes only in southern California. Most researchers (and increasingly the media) now calculate and report magnitudes using the ]. The ] and its associated moment magnitude scale are based on the fundamental faulting parameters of best fit planar fault area, average fault slip, and the ] of the surrounding medium.


In addition, there exists a hierarchy of stress levels in the three fault types. Thrust faults are generated by the highest, strike-slip by intermediate, and normal faults by the lowest stress levels.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Schorlemmer | first1 = D. | last2 = Wiemer | first2 = S. | last3 = Wyss | first3 = M. | year = 2005 | title = Variations in earthquake-size distribution across different stress regimes | journal = Nature | volume = 437 | issue = 7058| pages = 539–542 |bibcode = 2005Natur.437..539S |doi = 10.1038/nature04094 | pmid = 16177788 | s2cid = 4327471 }}</ref> This can easily be understood by considering the direction of the greatest principal stress, the direction of the force that "pushes" the rock mass during the faulting. In the case of normal faults, the rock mass is pushed down in a vertical direction, thus the pushing force (''greatest'' principal stress) equals the weight of the rock mass itself. In the case of thrusting, the rock mass "escapes" in the direction of the least principal stress, namely upward, lifting the rock mass, and thus, the overburden equals the ''least'' principal stress. Strike-slip faulting is intermediate between the other two types described above. This difference in stress regime in the three faulting environments can contribute to differences in stress drop during faulting, which contributes to differences in the radiated energy, regardless of fault dimensions.
The use of intensities has largely been superseded by the development and widespread deployments of strong-motion seismometers capable of recording ground accelerations that are an appreciable fraction of g. However, intensity estimates based on common effects of strong shaking are still useful for assessing pre-instrumental earthquakes. The ], which measures the effects of the ]s, is a commonly referenced intensity scale.


=== Energy released ===
==Seismic maps==
For every unit increase in magnitude, there is a roughly thirty-fold increase in the energy released. For instance, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 releases approximately 32 times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake and a 7.0 magnitude earthquake releases 1,000 times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake. An 8.6-magnitude earthquake releases the same amount of energy as 10,000 atomic bombs of the size used in ].<ref>Geoscience Australia.{{full citation needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>
] showing the instrument-recorded intensities of the ] of ] ].]]


This is so because the energy released in an earthquake, and thus its magnitude, is proportional to the area of the fault that ruptures<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wyss |first1=M. |year=1979 |title=Estimating expectable maximum magnitude of earthquakes from fault dimensions |journal=Geology |volume=7 |issue=7| pages=336–340 |bibcode=1979Geo.....7..336W |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1979)7<336:EMEMOE>2.0.CO;2}}</ref> and the stress drop. Therefore, the longer the length and the wider the width of the faulted area, the larger the resulting magnitude. The most important parameter controlling the maximum earthquake magnitude on a fault, however, is not the maximum available length, but the available width because the latter varies by a factor of 20. Along converging plate margins, the dip angle of the rupture plane is very shallow, typically about 10 degrees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalcmt.org/CMTsearch.html |title=Global Centroid Moment Tensor Catalog |publisher=Globalcmt.org |access-date=2011-07-24 |archive-date=2011-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719183137/http://www.globalcmt.org/CMTsearch.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus, the width of the plane within the top brittle crust of the Earth can reach {{cvt|50–100|km|||}} (such as in ], or in ]), making the most powerful earthquakes possible.
] showing the intensity of shaking felt by humans during the Nisqually earthquake; locality divisions are by ].]]


===Focus===
To show the extent of various levels of seismic effects within a particular locality, seismologists compile special maps called '''isoseismal maps'''. An isoseismal map uses contours to outline areas of equal value in terms of ground shaking intensity, ground surface ], ], or other seismic effects. Typically, these maps are created by combining historical instrument-recorded data with responses to postal questionnaires that are sent to each post office near the earthquake and to a sparser sample of post offices with increasing distance from the earthquake. This way of preparing a seismic hazard map can take months to complete. In contrast to the old method, a newer method of information collection takes advantage of the Internet to generate initial hazard maps almost instantly. Data are received through a questionnaire on the Internet answered by people who actually experienced the earthquake, reducing the process of preparing and distributing a map for a particular earthquake from months to minutes.
{{Main|Depth of focus (tectonics)}}
] metropolis, after the shallow ]]]


The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate in the Ring of Fire at depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than {{cvt|70|km|||}} are classified as "shallow-focus" earthquakes, while those with a focal depth between {{cvt|70|and|300|km|}} are commonly termed "mid-focus" or "intermediate-depth" earthquakes. In ] zones, where older and colder ] descends beneath another tectonic plate, ]s may occur at much greater depths (ranging from {{cvt|300|to|700|km|}}).<ref>{{cite web| publisher = ]| title = M7.5 Northern Peru Earthquake of 26 September 2005| date = 17 October 2005| url = ftp://hazards.cr.usgs.gov/maps/sigeqs/20050926/20050926.pdf| access-date = 2008-08-01| archive-date = 25 May 2017| archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525100314/ftp://hazards.cr.usgs.gov/maps/sigeqs/20050926/20050926.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> These seismically active areas of subduction are known as ]s. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth where the subducted ] should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes is faulting caused by ] undergoing a ] into a ] structure.<ref name="olivine">{{cite journal| last1 = Greene II | first1 = H.W.| last2 = Burnley | first2 = P.C.| title = A new self-organizing mechanism for deep-focus earthquakes| journal = Nature| volume = 341| issue = 6244| pages = 733–737| date = October 26, 1989| doi = 10.1038/341733a0| bibcode=1989Natur.341..733G| s2cid = 4287597}}</ref>
Seismic hazard maps have many applications. They are used by insurance companies to set insurance rates for properties located in earthquake-risky areas, by civil engineers to estimate the stability of hillsides, by organizations responsible for the safety of nuclear waste disposal facilities, and also by ]s developers as the basis of design requirements.


===Volcanic activity===
In ]s, the shaking-hazard maps are converted into '''seismic zone maps''', which are used for ] of structural components of buildings. The seismic zone maps depict seismic hazards as zones of different risk levels. Such zones are typically designated as Seismic Zone 0, Seismic Zone 1, Seismic Zone 2 and so on. The seismic zone maps usually show the severity of expected earthquake shaking for a particular level of probability, such as the levels of shaking that have a 1-in-10 chance of being exceeded in a 50-year period. Buildings and other structures must be designed with adequate strength to withstand the effects of probable seismic ground motions within the Seismic Zone where the building or structure is being constructed.
{{main|Volcano tectonic earthquake}}


Earthquakes often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both by ] faults and the movement of ] in ]es. Such earthquakes can serve as an early warning of volcanic eruptions, as during the ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Foxworthy and Hill|year=1982|title=Volcanic Eruptions of 1980 at Mount St. Helens, The First 100&nbsp;Days: USGS Professional Paper 1249}}</ref> Earthquake swarms can serve as markers for the location of the flowing magma throughout the volcanoes. These swarms can be recorded by ] and ]s (a device that measures ground slope) and used as sensors to predict imminent or upcoming eruptions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/volcano.html|title=Volcanoes and Earthquakes|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=January 7, 1998|author=Watson, John|author2=Watson, Kathie|access-date=May 9, 2009|archive-date=March 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326093352/http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/volcano.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Size and frequency of occurrence==


===Rupture dynamics===
Small earthquakes occur every day all around the world, and often multiple times a day in places like ] and ] in the U.S., as well as ], ] in ] and ].<ref>
A tectonic earthquake begins as an area of initial slip on the fault surface that forms the focus. Once the rupture has been initiated, it begins to propagate away from the focus, spreading out along the fault surface. Lateral propagation will continue until either the rupture reaches a barrier, such as the end of a fault segment, or a region on the fault where there is insufficient stress to allow continued rupture. For larger earthquakes, the depth extent of rupture will be constrained downwards by the ] and upwards by the ground surface. The mechanics of this process are poorly understood because it is difficult either to recreate such rapid movements in a laboratory or to record seismic waves close to a nucleation zone due to strong ground motion.<ref name="NRS"/>
{{cite web

| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
In most cases, the rupture speed approaches, but does not exceed, the ] (S wave) velocity of the surrounding rock. There are a few exceptions to this:
| title=Earthquake Hazards Program

| publisher=]
==== Supershear earthquakes ====
| accessdate=2006-08-14
] ruptured along segments of the ] at supershear speeds; more than 50,000 people died in both countries.<ref name="MelgarEtAl23">{{cite journal |last1=Melgar |first1=Diego |last2=Taymaz |first2=Tuncay |last3=Ganas |first3=Athanassios |last4=Crowell |first4=Brendan |last5=Öcalan |first5=Taylan |last6=Kahraman |first6=Metin |last7=Tsironi |first7=Varvara |last8=Yolsal-Çevikbilen |first8=Seda |last9=Valkaniotis |first9=Sotiris |last10=Irmak |first10=Tahir Serkan |last11=Eken |first11=Tuna |last12=Erman |first12=Ceyhun |last13=Özkan |first13=Berkan |last14=Dogan |first14=Ali Hasan |last15=Altuntaş |first15=Cemali |title=Sub- and super-shear ruptures during the 2023 Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.6 earthquake doublet in SE Türkiye |journal=Seismica |year=2023 |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=387 |doi=10.26443/seismica.v2i3.387|s2cid=257520761 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023Seism...2..387M }}</ref>]]
}}</ref> Large earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being ]; namely, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) ], for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are:
] ruptures are known to have propagated at speeds greater than the S wave velocity. These have so far all been observed during large strike-slip events. The unusually wide zone of damage caused by the ] has been attributed to the effects of the ] developed in such earthquakes.

==== Slow earthquakes ====
] ruptures travel at unusually low velocities. A particularly dangerous form of slow earthquake is the ], observed where the relatively low felt intensities, caused by the slow propagation speed of some great earthquakes, fail to alert the population of the neighboring coast, as in the ].<ref name="NRS">{{cite book|last=National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Science of Earthquakes|title=Living on an Active Earth: Perspectives on Earthquake Science|chapter-url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10493&page=282|access-date=8 July 2010|year=2003|publisher=National Academies Press|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-309-06562-7|page=|chapter=5. Earthquake Physics and Fault-System Science|url=https://archive.org/details/livingonactiveea0000unse/page/418}}</ref>

====Co-seismic overpressuring and effect of pore pressure====
During an earthquake, high temperatures can develop at the fault plane, increasing pore pressure and consequently vaporization of the groundwater already contained within the rock.<ref name=Sibson>{{cite journal|last1=Sibson |first1= R.H.|year=1973|title=Interactions between Temperature and Pore-Fluid Pressure during Earthquake Faulting and a Mechanism for Partial or Total Stress Relief|journal= Nat. Phys. Sci. |volume=243|issue= 126|pages=66–68|doi= 10.1038/physci243066a0|bibcode= 1973NPhS..243...66S}}</ref><ref name=Rudnicki>{{cite journal|last1=Rudnicki |first1= J.W.|last2=Rice |first2= J.R.|year=2006|title=Effective normal stress alteration due to pore pressure changes induced by dynamic slip propagation on a plane between dissimilar materials|journal= J. Geophys. Res. |volume= 111, B10308|issue= B10|doi=10.1029/2006JB004396|bibcode= 2006JGRB..11110308R|s2cid= 1333820|url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/1/2668811/1/Rice_PorePressDynSlip.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502041503/https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/2668811/Rice_PorePressDynSlip.pdf;jsessionid=071046244FA1B0E26418CE95B726BA0E?sequence=1|archive-date=2019-05-02|archive-format=PDF}}</ref><ref name=Guerriero>{{cite journal|last1=Guerriero |first1= V |last2=Mazzoli |first2= S.|year=2021|title=Theory of Effective Stress in Soil and Rock and Implications for Fracturing Processes: A Review|journal=Geosciences |volume=11|issue= 3 |pages=119|doi=10.3390/geosciences11030119|bibcode= 2021Geosc..11..119G |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the coseismic phase, such an increase can significantly affect slip evolution and speed, in the post-seismic phase it can control the ] sequence because, after the main event, pore pressure increase slowly propagates into the surrounding fracture network.<ref name=Nur>{{cite journal|last1=Nur |first1= A |last2=Booker |first2= J.R.|year=1972|title=Aftershocks Caused by Pore Fluid Flow?|journal=Science |volume=175|issue= 4024 |pages=885–887|doi= 10.1126/science.175.4024.885 |pmid= 17781062 |bibcode= 1972Sci...175..885N |s2cid= 19354081 }}</ref><ref name=Guerriero />
From the point of view of the ], an increase in fluid pressure reduces the normal stress acting on the fault plane that holds it in place, and fluids can exert a lubricating effect. As thermal overpressurization may provide positive feedback between slip and strength fall at the fault plane, a common opinion is that it may enhance the faulting process instability. After the mainshock, the pressure gradient between the fault plane and the neighboring rock causes a fluid flow that increases pore pressure in the surrounding fracture networks; such an increase may trigger new faulting processes by reactivating adjacent faults, giving rise to aftershocks.<ref name=Nur /><ref name=Guerriero /> Analogously, artificial pore pressure increase, by fluid injection in Earth's crust, may ].

===Tidal forces===
{{main|Tidal triggering of earthquakes}}
] may trigger some ].

===Clusters===
Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of location and time.<ref name=WAAFEC>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/step/explain.php|title=What are Aftershocks, Foreshocks, and Earthquake Clusters?|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511175245/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/step/explain.php|archive-date=2009-05-11}}</ref> Most earthquake clusters consist of small tremors that cause little to no damage, but there is a theory that earthquakes can recur in a regular pattern.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/parkfield/repeat.php|title=Repeating Earthquakes|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=January 29, 2009|access-date=May 11, 2009|archive-date=April 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403074132/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/parkfield/repeat.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Earthquake clustering has been observed, for example, in Parkfield, California where a long-term research study is being conducted around the ] cluster.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Parkfield, California, Earthquake Experiment |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/parkfield/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |archive-date=2022-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024200153/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/parkfield/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Aftershocks====
{{Main|Aftershock}}
] and ] and ] and the aftershocks (which continued to occur after the period shown here)]]
An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. Rapid changes of stress between rocks, and the stress from the original earthquake are the main causes of these aftershocks,<ref name=Britannica>{{Cite web|title=Aftershock {{!}} geology|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/aftershock-geology|access-date=2021-10-13|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=2015-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823124854/https://www.britannica.com/science/aftershock-geology|url-status=live}}</ref> along with the crust around the ruptured ] as it adjusts to the effects of the mainshock.<ref name="WAAFEC" /> An aftershock is in the same region as the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude, however, they can still be powerful enough to cause even more damage to buildings that were already previously damaged from the mainshock.<ref name=Britannica/> If an aftershock is larger than the mainshock, the aftershock is redesignated as the mainshock and the original main shock is redesignated as a ]. Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displaced ] adjusts to the effects of the mainshock.<ref name=WAAFEC/>

====Swarms====
{{Main|Earthquake swarm}}
Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a short period. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series of ]s by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is the main shock, so none has a notably higher magnitude than another. An example of an earthquake swarm is the 2004 activity at ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2004/Apr04Swarm.html|title=Earthquake Swarms at Yellowstone|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2008-09-15|archive-date=2008-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513060550/http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2004/Apr04Swarm.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2012, a swarm of earthquakes shook ]'s ], showing the most recorded activity in the area since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Duke|first=Alan|title=Quake 'swarm' shakes Southern California|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/us/california-quake-swarm/index.html|publisher=CNN|access-date=27 August 2012|archive-date=27 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827120248/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/us/california-quake-swarm/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in what has been called an ''earthquake storm'', where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or ] of the previous earthquakes. Similar to ]s but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern was observed in the sequence of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the ] in Turkey in the 20th century and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Poseidon's Horses: Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Storms in the Late Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |year=2000 |author=Amos Nur |issn=0305-4403 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=43–63 |url=http://water.stanford.edu/nur/EndBronzeage.pdf |doi=10.1006/jasc.1999.0431 |last2=Cline |first2=Eric H. |bibcode=2000JArSc..27...43N |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325050459/http://water.stanford.edu/nur/EndBronzeage.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/earthquakestorms.shtml |title=Earthquake Storms |work=] |date=1 April 2003 |access-date=2007-05-02 |archive-date=2019-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016045550/http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/earthquakestorms.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Frequency===
] and tsunami took about 80,000 lives on December 28, 1908, in ] and ].<ref name="CFTI5">{{Cite web |url=https://storing.ingv.it/cfti/cfti5/quake.php?21318IT |title=1908 12 28, 04:20:27 Calabria meridionale-Messina (Italy) |last=Guidoboni E. |last2= Ferrari G. |website=CFTI5 Catalogue of Strong Earthquakes in Italy (461 BC – 1997) and Mediterranean Area (760 B.C. – 1500) |last3=Mariotti D. |last4=Comastri A. |last5=Tarabusi G. |last6=Sgattoni G. |last7=Valensise G}}</ref>]]


It is estimated that around 500,000 earthquakes occur each year, detectable with current instrumentation. About 100,000 of these can be felt.<ref name="usgsfacts">{{cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/cool-earthquake-facts|title=Cool Earthquake Facts|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2021-04-21|archive-date=2021-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420165152/https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/cool-earthquake-facts|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wp100414">{{Cite news | first=Margaret Webb | last=Pressler | title=More earthquakes than usual? Not really. | department=KidsPost | work= The Washington Post| pages= C10 | date=14 April 2010 }}</ref><!----url does not contain box statistics that print edition does and is included for info only----> Minor earthquakes occur very frequently around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Pakistan, the ] in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, India, Nepal, and Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/ |title=Earthquake Hazards Program |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=2006-08-14 |archive-date=2011-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513032733/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being ]; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524161817/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php|url-status=dead|title=USGS Earthquake statistics table based on data since 1900|archivedate=May 24, 2010}}</ref> In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are:
*an earthquake of 3.7 or larger every year
an earthquake of 3.7–4.6 every year, an earthquake of 4.7–5.5 every 10&nbsp;years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/hazard/Hazard_UK.htm |title=Seismicity and earthquake hazard in the UK |publisher=Quakes.bgs.ac.uk |access-date=2010-08-23 |archive-date=2010-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106121058/http://quakes.bgs.ac.uk/hazard/Hazard_UK.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> This is an example of the ].
*an earthquake of 4.7 or larger every 10 years
*an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years.


The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in ] to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past because of the vast improvement in instrumentation (not because the number of earthquakes has increased). The ] estimates that, since ], there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0-7.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable.<ref> The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the number of earthquakes. The ] (USGS) estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0–7.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable.<ref>
{{cite web {{cite web
| title=Common Myths about Earthquakes |title = Common Myths about Earthquakes
| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=6&faqID=110 |url = https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=6&faqID=110
| publisher=] |publisher = United States Geological Survey
| accessdate=2006-08-14 |access-date = 2006-08-14
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> In fact, in recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has actually decreased. More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the USGS.<ref>
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060925135349/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=6&faqID=110
|archive-date = 2006-09-25
}}</ref> In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, though this is probably a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630233346/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/increase_in_earthquakes.php |date=2014-06-30 }}, USGS Science of Changing World. Retrieved 30 May 2014.</ref> More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the United States Geological Survey.<ref>
{{cite web {{cite web
| title=Earthquake Facts and Statistics: Are earthquakes increasing? |title=Earthquake Facts and Statistics: Are earthquakes increasing?
| url=http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html |url=http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html
| publisher=] |publisher=United States Geological Survey
| accessdate=2006-08-14 |access-date=2006-08-14
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812060818/http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html
|archive-date=2006-08-12
}}</ref> A recent increase in the number of major earthquakes has been noted, which could be explained by a cyclical pattern of periods of intense tectonic activity, interspersed with longer periods of low intensity. However, accurate recordings of earthquakes only began in the early 1900s, so it is too early to categorically state that this is the case.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930084024/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/the-10-biggest-earthquakes-in-recorded-history.htm/ |date=2013-09-30 }}, Australian Geographic, March 14, 2011.</ref>


Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000 km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the ''']''', also known as the '''Pacific Ring of Fire''', which for the most part bounds the ].<ref> Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the {{convert|40000|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}}, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the Pacific ], which for the most part bounds the ].<ref>
{{cite web {{cite web
| title=Historic Earthquakes and Earthquake Statistics: Where do earthquakes occur? |title = Historic Earthquakes and Earthquake Statistics: Where do earthquakes occur?
| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=11&faqID=95 |url = https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=11&faqID=95
| publisher=] |publisher = United States Geological Survey
| accessdate=2006-08-14 |access-date = 2006-08-14
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060925142008/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/faq.php?categoryID=11&faqID=95
|archive-date = 2006-09-25
}}</ref><ref> }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web {{cite web
| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php?termID=150 |url = https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php?termID=150
|publisher = United States Geological Survey
| title=Visual Glossary - Ring of Fire
|title = Visual Glossary – Ring of Fire
| accessdate=2006-08-14
|access-date = 2006-08-14
}}</ref> Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the ].
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060828152638/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php?termID=150
|archive-date = 2006-08-28
}}</ref> Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries too, such as along the ].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jackson | first1 = James | year = 2006 | title = Fatal attraction: living with earthquakes, the growth of villages into megacities, and earthquake vulnerability in the modern world | url = http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1845/1911.full | journal = ] | volume = 364 | issue = 1845 | pages = 1911–1925 | doi = 10.1098/rsta.2006.1805 | pmid = 16844641 | bibcode = 2006RSPTA.364.1911J | s2cid = 40712253 | access-date = 2011-03-09 | archive-date = 2013-09-03 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130903085953/http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1845/1911.full | url-status = live }}</ref>


With the rapid growth of ] such as Mexico City, Tokyo, and Tehran in areas of high ], some seismologists are warning that a single earthquake may claim the lives of up to three million people.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920015358/http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/UrbanEarthquakesGlobal.html |date=2011-09-20 }}." Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science.</ref>
==Effects/impacts of earthquakes==

]
===Induced seismicity===
]
{{main|Induced seismicity}}
]
While most earthquakes are caused by the movement of the Earth's ]s, human activity can also produce earthquakes. Activities both above ground and below may change the stresses and strains on the crust, including building reservoirs, extracting resources such as coal or oil, and injecting fluids underground for waste disposal or ].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fougler, Gillian R. |author2=Wilson, Miles |author3=Gluyas, Jon G. |author4=Julian, Bruce R. |author5=Davies, Richard J. |author-link1=Gillian Foulger |title=Global review of human-induced earthquakes |journal=] |date=2018 |volume=178 |pages=438–514 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.008 |bibcode=2018ESRv..178..438F |doi-access=free }}</ref> Most of these earthquakes have small magnitudes. The 5.7 magnitude ] is thought to have been caused by disposing wastewater from oil production into ],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fountain |first1=Henry |title=Study Links 2011 Quake to Technique at Oil Wells |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/science/earth/2011-oklahoma-quake-tied-to-wastewater-disposal-at-oil-wells.html |access-date=July 23, 2020 |date=March 28, 2013 |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723135240/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/science/earth/2011-oklahoma-quake-tied-to-wastewater-disposal-at-oil-wells.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and studies point to the state's oil industry as the cause of other earthquakes in the past century.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hough, Susan E. |author-link1=Susan Hough |author2=Page, Morgan |title=A Century of Induced Earthquakes in Oklahoma? |journal=] |date=2015 |volume=105 |issue=6 |pages=2863–2870 |doi=10.1785/0120150109 |bibcode=2015BuSSA.105.2863H |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/105/6/2863/331910/A-Century-of-Induced-Earthquakes-in-Oklahoma-A?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723210546/https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/105/6/2863/331910/A-Century-of-Induced-Earthquakes-in-Oklahoma-A?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> A ] paper suggested that the 8.0 magnitude ] was induced by loading from the ],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klose |first1=Christian D. |title=Evidence for anthropogenic surface loading as trigger mechanism of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake |journal=Environmental Earth Sciences |date=July 2012 |volume=66 |issue=5 |pages=1439–1447 |doi=10.1007/s12665-011-1355-7|arxiv=1007.2155 |bibcode=2012EES....66.1439K |s2cid=118367859 }}</ref> though the link has not been conclusively proved.<ref>{{cite news |last1=LaFraniere |first1=Sharon |title=Possible Link Between Dam and China Quake |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06quake.html |access-date=July 23, 2020 |date=February 5, 2009 |archive-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127101432/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06quake.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
There are many effects of earthquakes including, but not limited to the following:

=== ] and ] rupture===
==Measurement and location==
Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe ] to ] or other ] ]. The ] of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake ], the ] from ], and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may ] or ] ]. The ground-shaking is measured by ground ].
{{Main|Seismic magnitude scales|Seismology}}

The instrumental scales used to describe the size of an earthquake began with the ] in the 1930s. It is a relatively simple measurement of an event's amplitude, and its use has become minimal in the 21st century. ] travel through the ] and can be recorded by ]s at great distances. The ] was developed in the 1950s as a means to measure remote earthquakes and to improve the accuracy for larger events. The ] not only measures the amplitude of the shock but also takes into account the ] (total rupture area, average slip of the fault, and rigidity of the rock). The ], the ], and the ] are based on the observed effects and are related to the intensity of shaking.

=== {{anchor|Magnitude}}Intensity and magnitude ===
The shaking of the earth is a common phenomenon that has been experienced by humans from the earliest of times. Before the development of strong-motion accelerometers, the intensity of a seismic event was estimated based on the observed effects. Magnitude and intensity are not directly related and calculated using different methods. The magnitude of an earthquake is a single value that describes the size of the earthquake at its source. Intensity is the measure of shaking at different locations around the earthquake. Intensity values vary from place to place, depending on the distance from the earthquake and the underlying rock or soil makeup.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Earle |first1=Steven |date=September 2015 |title=Physical Geology |edition=2nd |chapter=11.3 Measuring Earthquakes |chapter-url=https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/11-3-measuring-earthquakes/|access-date=2022-10-22 |archive-date=2022-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021040843/https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/11-3-measuring-earthquakes/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ] was developed by ] in 1935. Subsequent scales (]) have retained a key feature, where each unit represents a ten-fold difference in the amplitude of the ground shaking and a 32-fold difference in energy. Subsequent scales are also adjusted to have approximately the same numeric value within the limits of the scale.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chung|Bernreuter|1980|p=1}}.</ref>

Although the mass media commonly reports earthquake magnitudes as "Richter magnitude" or "Richter scale", standard practice by most seismological authorities is to express an earthquake's strength on the ] scale, which is based on the actual energy released by an earthquake, the static seismic moment.<ref>{{cite web |title=USGS Earthquake Magnitude Policy (implemented on January 18, 2002) |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/docs/020204mag_policy.php |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504144754/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/docs/020204mag_policy.php |archive-date=2016-05-04 }} A copy can be found at {{cite web |title=USGS Earthquake Magnitude Policy |url=http://dapgeol.tripod.com/usgsearthquakemagnitudepolicy.htm |access-date=2017-07-25 |archive-date=2017-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731230704/http://dapgeol.tripod.com/usgsearthquakemagnitudepolicy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bormann |first1=P |last2=Di Giacomo |first2=D |date=2011 |title=The moment magnitude Mw and the energy magnitude Me: common roots and differences |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-010-9219-2 |journal=Journal of Seismology |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=411–427 |doi=10.1007/s10950-010-9219-2 |via=Springer Link}}</ref>

=== Seismic waves ===
Every earthquake produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different velocities:
* Longitudinal ] (shock- or pressure waves)
* Transverse ] (both body waves)
* ]s – (] and ]s)

==== Speed of seismic waves ====
] of the seismic waves through solid rock ranges from approx. {{Convert|3|km/s|mi/s|abbr=on}} up to {{Convert|13|km/s|mi/s|abbr=on}}, depending on the ] and ] of the medium. In the Earth's interior, the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx. relation 1.7:1). The differences in travel time from the ] to the observatory are a measure of the distance and can be used to image both sources of earthquakes and structures within the Earth. Also, the depth of the ] can be computed roughly.

'''P wave speed'''
* Upper crust soils and unconsolidated sediments: {{Convert|2-3|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second
* Upper crust solid rock: {{Convert|3-6|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second
* Lower crust: {{Convert|6-7|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second
* Deep mantle: {{Convert|13|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second.

'''S waves speed'''
* Light sediments: {{Convert|2-3|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second
* Earths crust: {{Convert|4-5|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second
* Deep mantle: {{Convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}} per second

==== Seismic wave arrival ====
As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earthquake arrive at an observatory via the Earth's mantle.

On average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the number of seconds between the P- and S wave times 8.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/PamelaSpiegel.shtml |title=Speed of Sound through the Earth |publisher=Hypertextbook.com |access-date=2010-08-23 |archive-date=2010-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125091130/http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/PamelaSpiegel.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Slight deviations are caused by inhomogeneities of subsurface structure. By such analysis of seismograms, the Earth's core was located in 1913 by ].

S waves and later arriving surface waves do most of the damage compared to P waves. P waves squeeze and expand the material in the same direction they are traveling, whereas S waves shake the ground up and down and back and forth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsela.com/articles/govt-science-earthquakes/id/26756/|title=Newsela {{!}} The science of earthquakes|website=newsela.com|access-date=2017-02-28|archive-date=2017-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301005337/https://newsela.com/articles/govt-science-earthquakes/id/26756/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Location and reporting ===
{{main|Earthquake location}}

Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where they occur. The world is divided into 754 ] (F-E regions), which are based on political and geographical boundaries as well as seismic activity. More active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong to larger F-E regions.

Standard reporting of earthquakes includes its ], date and time of occurrence, ] of its ], depth of the epicenter, geographical region, distances to population centers, location uncertainty, several parameters that are included in USGS earthquake reports (number of stations reporting, number of observations, etc.), and a unique event ID.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geographic.org/earthquakes/real_time_details.php?id=recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000f1s0.php&lat=-10.7377&lon=165.1378 |title=Magnitude 8.0 – SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS Earthquake Details |work=Global Earthquake Epicenters with Maps |author=Geographic.org |access-date=2013-03-13 |archive-date=2013-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514143205/http://geographic.org/earthquakes/real_time_details.php?id=recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000f1s0.php&lat=-10.7377&lon=165.1378 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although relatively slow seismic waves have traditionally been used to detect earthquakes, scientists realized in 2016 that gravitational measurement could provide instantaneous detection of earthquakes, and confirmed this by analyzing gravitational records associated with the ] ("Fukushima") earthquake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/changes-to-earths-gravity-offer-early-earthquake-warning|title=Earth's gravity offers earlier earthquake warnings|access-date=2016-11-22|archive-date=2016-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123201125/https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/changes-to-earths-gravity-offer-early-earthquake-warning|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/gravity-shifts-could-sound-early-earthquake-alarm|title=Gravity shifts could sound early earthquake alarm|access-date=2016-11-23|archive-date=2016-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124100006/https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/gravity-shifts-could-sound-early-earthquake-alarm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Effects==
] in ruins and in flames after the ], which killed an estimated 60,000 people. A ] overwhelms the ships in the harbor.]]

The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:

===Shaking and ground rupture===
], ], January 2010]]

Shaking and ] are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake ], the distance from the ], and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/doc/contents.html |title=On Shaky Ground, Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco, reports 1995,1998 (updated 2003) |publisher=Abag.ca.gov |access-date=2010-08-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921082202/http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/doc/contents.html |archive-date=2009-09-21 }}</ref> The ground-shaking is measured by ].

Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shaking on the ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally due to the transfer of the ] motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and the effects of seismic energy focalization owing to the typical geometrical setting of such deposits.

Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several meters in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as ], bridges, and ] and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any that are likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_49/Documents/note_49.pdf|title=Guidelines for evaluating the hazard of surface fault rupture, California Geological Survey|publisher=California Department of Conservation|year=2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009065422/http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_49/Documents/note_49.pdf|archive-date=2009-10-09}}</ref>


Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shaking on the ] surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local ]. It is principally due to the transfer of the ] motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and to effects of seismic energy focalization owing to typical geometrical setting of the deposits.
===] and ]===
Earthquakes can cause landslides and avalanches, which may cause damage in hilly and mountainous areas.
===Fires===
Following an earthquake, ] can be generated by break of the ] or gas lines.
===Soil liquefaction=== ===Soil liquefaction===
{{Main|Soil liquefaction}}
] occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated ] material temporally loses their strength and transforms from a ] to a ]. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, as buildings or bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits.
Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated ] material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. For example, in the ], soil liquefaction caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1964_03_28.php |title=Historic Earthquakes – 1964 Anchorage Earthquake |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=2008-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623111831/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1964_03_28.php |archive-date=2011-06-23 }}</ref>
===]s===

See, for example, the ].
===Human impacts=== ===Human impacts===
], which collapsed during the ]]]
Earthquakes may result in ], lack of basic necessities, loss of life, higher insurance premiums, general property damage, road and bridge damage, and collapse of buildings or destabilization of the base of buildings which may lead to collapse in future earthquakes.


Physical damage from an earthquake will vary depending on the intensity of shaking in a given area and the type of population. Underserved and developing communities frequently experience more severe impacts (and longer lasting) from a seismic event compared to well-developed communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The wicked problem of earthquake hazard in developing countries |url=https://www.preventionweb.net/news/wicked-problem-earthquake-hazard-developing-countries |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=preventionweb.net |date=7 March 2018|archive-date=2022-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103025507/https://www.preventionweb.net/news/wicked-problem-earthquake-hazard-developing-countries |url-status=live }}</ref> Impacts may include:
==Preparation for earthquakes==
* Injuries and loss of life
*]
* Damage to critical infrastructure (short and long-term)
*]
** Roads, bridges, and public transportation networks
*]
** Water, power, sewer and gas interruption
*]
** Communication systems
*]
* Loss of critical community services including hospitals, police, and fire
*]
* General ]
* Collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings


With these impacts and others, the aftermath may bring disease, a lack of basic necessities, mental consequences such as panic attacks and depression to survivors,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types/natural-disasters/earthquakes |title=Earthquake Resources |date=30 January 2018 |publisher=Nctsn.org |access-date=2018-06-05 |archive-date=2018-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321183320/http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types/natural-disasters/earthquakes |url-status=live }}</ref> and higher insurance premiums. Recovery times will vary based on the level of damage and the socioeconomic status of the impacted community.
==Specific fault articles==
*]
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===Landslides===
==Misplaced Pages articles on major earthquakes==
{{further|Landslide}}
===Pre-20th Century===
*] (1138).
*] (1356). Major earthquake that struck Central Europe in 1356.
*] earthquake (1511). A major earthquake that shook a large portion of South-Central Europe. Its epicenter was around the town of ], in today's ]. It caused great damage to structures all over Carniola, including ], and minor damage in ], among other cities.
*] (1556). Deadliest known earthquake in history, estimated to have killed 830,000 in ].
*] (1580).
*] (1700).
*] (1737 and 1952).
*] (1755), one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in history, killing between 60,000 and 100,000 people.
*] (1811) and another tremor (1812), both struck the small Missouri town, reportedly to been the strongest ever in ] and made the ] temporarily change its course.
*] (1857). Estimated Richter Scale above 8, said the strongest earthquake in Southern California history.
*] (1872). Might been strongest ever measured in California with an estimated Richter Scale of 8.1 said ].
*] (1886). Largest earthquake in the southeastern United States, killed 100.
*] (14. IV. 1895), a series of powerful quakes that ultimately had a vital impact on the city of ], being a ] of its urban renewal.
*] (1897). Large earthquake that destroyed all masonry structures, measuring more than 8 on the Richter scale.


Earthquakes can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel is attempting rescue work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/landslides/|title=Natural Hazards – Landslides|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2008-09-15|archive-date=2010-09-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905124145/http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/landslides/|url-status=live}}</ref>
] which claimed more than 25,000 peoples lives and leaving more than 500,000 homeless.]]


===Fires===
14 Total
]]]


Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging ] or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the ] were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php|title=The Great 1906 San Francisco earthquake of 1906|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2008-09-15|archive-date=2017-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211170826/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===20th Century===
*] (1906). Between 7.7 and 8.3 magnitudes; killed approximately 3,000 people and caused around $400 million in damage; most devastating earthquake in California and U.S. history.
*] (1923). On the Japanese island of ], killing over 140,000 in ] and environs.
*] (1931). 256 dead.
*]
*] at Quetta, Pakistan measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale. Anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 people died
*] (1950). Earthquake in ], India measures 8.6M.
*] (1952 and 1737).
*] (1952). This was second strongest tremor in Southern California history, epicentered 60 miles North of Los Angeles. Major damage in ] and ], while it shook the Los Angeles area.
*] (1959) Formed a lake in southern Montana, USA
*] (1960). Biggest earthquake ever recorded, 9.5 on Moment magnitude scale, and generated ]s throughout the Pacific ocean.
*] (1964) In Alaska, it was the third biggest earthquake recorded, measuring 9.2M. and generated tsunamis throughout the Pacific ocean.
*] (1970). Caused a ] that buried the town of ]; killed over 40,000 people.
*] (1971). Caused great and unexpected destruction of freeway bridges and flyways in the ], leading to the first major ]s of these types of structures, but not at a sufficient pace to avoid the next California freeway collapse in 1989.
*] (1972), which killed more than 10,000 people and destroyed 90% of the city. The earthquake took place on ] 1972 at midnight.
*] (1976), Which killed more than 2.000 people in Northeastern Italy on the 6th of May
*] (1976). The most destructive earthquake of modern times. The official death toll was 255,000, but many experts believe that two or three times that number died.
*] (1976). Causing 23,000 deaths, 77,000 injuries and the destruction of more than 250,000 homes.
*] (1983). 6.5 on the Richter scale on a section of the San Andreas Fault. Six people killed, downtown ] devastated and oil field blazes.
*] (1985). Killed over 6,500 people (though it is believed as many as 30,000 may have died, due to missing people never reappearing.)
*] (October 10, 1986). Killed over 1,500 people.
*] (1987).
*] (1988). Killed over 25,000.
*] (1989). Severely affecting ], ] and ] in ]. This is also called the ] Earthquake. It struck as Game 3 of the ] was just getting underway at ] in ]. Revealed necessity of accelerated seismic retrofit of road and bridge structures.
*] (1990). On ] 1990, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the island of ].
*] (1992). Serious damage in the small town of ] and was felt across 10 states in Western U.S. Another tremor measured 6.4 struck 3 hours later and felt across Southern California.
*] (1994). Damage showed seismic resistance deficiencies in modern low-rise apartment construction.
*] (1995). Killed over 6,400 people in and around ], ].
*] (1999) Also called the 921 earthquake. Struck ] on ] 1999. Over 2,000 people killed, destroyed or damaged over ten thousand buildings. Caused world computer prices to rise sharply.
*] (1999) 6.2 on the Richter scale, Killed over 2,000 in the Colombian Coffee Grown Zone.
*] (1999) Killed over 17,000 in northwestern Turkey.
*] (1999). 7.1 on the Richter scale, epicentered 30 miles east of ], widely felt in California and ].
*] (1999)


===Tsunami===
32 Total
]]]
{{main|Tsunami}}


Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water—including when an earthquake ]. In the open ocean, the distance between wave crests can surpass {{convert|100|km|mi}}, and the wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600–800&nbsp;kilometers per hour (373–497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.<ref name=Noson>{{Cite book|last1=Noson|first1=L.L.|last2=Qamar|first2=A.|last3=Thorsen|first3=G.W.|publisher=Washington State Earthquake Hazards|year=1988|title=Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Information Circular 85|url=http://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/ger_ic85_earthquake_hazards_wa.pdf|access-date=2019-12-01|archive-date=2020-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204162651/https://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/ger_ic85_earthquake_hazards_wa.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
===21st Century===
*] (2000).
*] (2001).
*] (2001). 7.9 (]) and 6.6 (]) magnitudes, killed more than 1,100 people.
*] (] 2001).
*] (2002).
*] (2003). Over 40,000 people are reported dead.
*] (2004). Not large (6.0), but the most anticipated and intensely instrumented earthquake ever recorded and likely to offer insights into predicting future earthquakes elsewhere on similar slip-strike fault structures.
*] (2004).
*] (26 December 2004). Second largest earthquake in recorded history, registering a moment magnitude of 9.3. Epicentered off the coast of the ]n island of ], this massive temblor triggered a series of gigantic ]s that smashed onto the shores of a number of nations, causing more than 229,000 fatalities.
*] (2005).
*] (2005).
*] (2005) (also known as Pakistan earthquake). Killed over 79,000 people; and many more injured.
*] (2005).
*] (2006).
*] which triggered ]s (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2006).
*] (2007).
*] (2007).
24 Total


Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 do not cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.<ref name=Noson/>
==Earthquakes in mythology==
In ], earthquakes were explained as the violent struggling of the god ]. When Loki, ] of mischief and strife, murdered ], god of beauty and light, he was punished by being bound in a cave with a poisonous serpent placed above his head dripping venom. Loki's wife ] stood by him with a bowl to catch the poison, but whenever she had to empty the bowl the poison would drip on Loki's face, forcing him to jerk his head away and thrash against his bonds, causing the earth to tremble.<ref>] by ]</ref>
Another myth is in Greece. The God Zeus created lightning and struck the Earth whenever something bad happened.


==See also== ===Floods===
{{further|Flood}}
{{wiktionarypar|earthquake}}
*]
*]
*]
*]s
*]
*'']''
*]
*]
*]
*] environment nail
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
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*The ] to predict earthquakes


Floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/historical/historical_listing.htm |title=Notes on Historical Earthquakes |publisher=] |access-date=2008-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516173115/http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/historical/historical_listing.htm |archive-date=2011-05-16 }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}


The terrain below the ] in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flooding if the ] formed by the earthquake, known as the ], were to fail during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly five million people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3120693.stm|title=Fresh alert over Tajik flood threat|date=2003-08-03|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2008-09-15|archive-date=2008-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122134305/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3120693.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
== External links ==
{{commons|Earthquake}}


===Educational=== ==Management==
* - detailed statistics and integrated with Google Maps and Google Earth
*, ]
* — an educational booklet by Kaye M. Shedlock & Louis C. Pakiser
*
* Answers to FAQs about Earthquakes and Earthquake Preparedness
* - an educational presentation by ]
* — an educational 3D presentation system for looking at and understanding earthquake data (click on the Visualizations menu entry)
* - educational site explaining how epicenters are located and magnitude is determined
* — Another site showing how to locate an earthquake's epicenter
*
* - geological information for kids
*
*
* - View in near-real time all of the recent earthquake events on the planet.


===Prediction===
===Seismological data centers===
{{Main|Earthquake prediction}}
====Europe====
*
*
*
*
*
*
*


] is a branch of the science of ] concerned with the specification of the time, location, and ] of future earthquakes within stated limits.<ref>{{Harvnb|Geller|Jackson|Kagan|Mulargia|1997|p=1616}}, following {{Harvtxt|Allen|1976|p=2070}}, who in turn followed {{Harvtxt|Wood|Gutenberg|1935}}</ref> Many methods have been developed for predicting the time and place in which earthquakes will occur. Despite considerable research efforts by ]s, scientifically reproducible predictions cannot yet be made to a specific day or month.<ref name="ludwin"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007165545/http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/INFO_GENERAL/eq_prediction.html |date=2009-10-07 }}. Ruth Ludwin, U.S. Geological Survey.</ref> Popular belief holds earthquakes are preceded by ], in the early morning.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lafee |first=Scott |date=April 9, 2010 |title=Quake myths rely on cloudy facts |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2010/04/09/quake-myths-rely-on-cloudy-facts/ |access-date=July 3, 2024 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Is there earthquake weather? |url=https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/there-earthquake-weather |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303155939/https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/there-earthquake-weather |archive-date=March 3, 2024 |access-date=July 3, 2024 |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref>
====United States====


===Forecasting===
*
{{Main|Earthquake forecasting}}
*
*
*
* An Earthquake Science and Preparedness Handbook produced by SCEC
*
*
*, earthquake database and software
* - world map of recent earthquakes
* - seismogram archives of significant earthquakes of the world


While ] is usually considered to be a type of ], ] is often differentiated from ]. Earthquake forecasting is concerned with the probabilistic assessment of general earthquake hazards, including the frequency and magnitude of damaging earthquakes in a given area over years or decades.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kanamori|2003}}, p. 1205. See also {{Harvnb|International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting for Civil Protection|2011}}, p. 327.</ref> For well-understood faults the probability that a segment may rupture during the next few decades can be estimated.<ref>Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities in the San Francisco Bay Region, 2003 to 2032, 2003, {{cite web |title=Bay Area Earthquake Probabilities|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/wg02/index.php |access-date=2017-08-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218174649/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/wg02/index.php |archive-date=2017-02-18 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pailoplee|first=Santi|date=2017-03-13|title=Probabilities of Earthquake Occurrences along the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone|journal=Open Geosciences|volume=9|issue=1|pages=4|doi=10.1515/geo-2017-0004|issn=2391-5447|bibcode=2017OGeo....9....4P|s2cid=132545870|doi-access=free}}</ref>
===Seismic scales===
*


]s have been developed that can provide regional notification of an earthquake in progress, but before the ground surface has begun to move, potentially allowing people within the system's range to seek shelter before the earthquake's impact is felt.
===Scientific information===

* {{cite web
===Preparedness===
| url=http://simscience.org/crackling/Advanced/Earthquakes/GutenbergRichter.html
{{main|Earthquake preparedness}}
| title=Earthquake Magnitudes and the Gutenberg-Richter Law

| publisher=
The objective of ] is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings, bridges, tunnels, roadways, and other structures, and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage. Existing structures can be modified by ] to improve their resistance to earthquakes. ] can provide building owners with financial protection against losses resulting from earthquakes. ] strategies can be employed by a government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences.
| accessdate=2006-08-14

}}
] may help to assess buildings and plan precautionary operations. The Igor ] is part of a mobile laboratory that supports the procedures leading to the seismic assessment of masonry buildings and the planning of retrofitting operations on them. It has been applied to assess buildings in ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Salvaneschi|first1=P.|last2=Cadei|first2=M.|last3=Lazzari|first3=M.|date=1996|title=Applying AI to Structural Safety Monitoring and Evaluation|journal=IEEE Expert|volume=11|issue=4|pages=24–34|doi= 10.1109/64.511774}}</ref>
* {{cite journal

| author=Hiroo Kanamori, Emily E. Brodsky
Individuals can also take preparedness steps like securing ] and heavy items that could injure someone, locating shutoffs for utilities, and being educated about what to do when the shaking starts. For areas near large bodies of water, earthquake preparedness encompasses the possibility of a tsunami caused by a large earthquake.
| title=The Physics of Earthquakes

| journal=Physics Today
==In culture==
| year=2001

| month=June
===Historical views===
| volume=54
]
| issue=6

| pages=34
From the lifetime of the Greek philosopher ] in the 5th century BCE to the 14th century CE, earthquakes were usually attributed to "air (vapors) in the cavities of the Earth."<ref name=World>{{cite encyclopedia
| url=http://www.physicstoday.org/pt/vol-54/iss-6/p34.html
|title=Earthquakes
|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Environmental History
|volume=1: A–G
|pages=358–364
|publisher=Routledge
|year=2003 }}</ref> ] of Miletus (625–547 BCE) was the only documented person who believed that earthquakes were caused by tension between the earth and water.<ref name=World/> Other theories existed, including the Greek philosopher Anaxamines' (585–526 BCE) beliefs that short incline episodes of dryness and wetness caused seismic activity. The Greek philosopher Democritus (460–371 BCE) blamed water in general for earthquakes.<ref name=World/> ] called earthquakes "underground thunderstorms".<ref name=World/>

===Mythology and religion===
In ], earthquakes were explained as the violent struggle of the god ]. When Loki, ] of mischief and strife, murdered ], god of beauty and light, he was punished by being bound in a cave with a poisonous serpent placed above his head dripping venom. Loki's wife ] stood by him with a bowl to catch the poison, but whenever she had to empty the bowl, the poison dripped on Loki's face, forcing him to jerk his head away and thrash against his bonds, which caused the earth to tremble.<ref>{{cite book|last=]|title=Prose Edda|year=1220|isbn=978-1-156-78621-5|title-link=Prose Edda}}</ref>

In ], ] was the cause and god of earthquakes. When he was in a bad mood, he struck the ground with a ], causing earthquakes and other calamities. He also used earthquakes to punish and inflict fear upon people as revenge.<ref name="Dimock1990">{{cite book|author=George E. Dimock|title=The Unity of the Odyssey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hS1acr-lOeEC&pg=PA179|year=1990|publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-0-87023-721-8|page=179}}</ref>

In ], ] (鯰) is a giant ] who causes earthquakes. Namazu lives in the mud beneath the earth and is guarded by the god ], who restrains the fish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.worldhistory.org/Namazu/|title=Namazu|encyclopedia=World History Encyclopedia|access-date=2017-07-23}}</ref>

In the ], ] refers to earthquakes occurring both after the ] (], 54) and at his ] (]).<ref>Allison, D., ''56. Matthew'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), , p. 884</ref> Earthquakes form part of the picture through which Jesus portrays the beginning of the ].<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|13:8}} and ]</ref>

===In popular culture===
In modern popular culture, the portrayal of earthquakes is shaped by the memory of great cities laid waste, such as ] or ].<ref name="Van Riper 60">{{cite book|last=Van Riper|first=A. Bowdoin|title=Science in popular culture: a reference guide|url=https://archive.org/details/sciencepopularcu00ripe|url-access=limited|publisher=]|location=Westport|year=2002|page=|isbn=978-0-313-31822-1}}</ref> Fictional earthquakes tend to strike suddenly and without warning.<ref name="Van Riper 60" /> For this reason, stories about earthquakes generally begin with the disaster and focus on its immediate aftermath, as in ''Short Walk to Daylight'' (1972), '']'' (1968) or '']'' (1999).<ref name="Van Riper 60" /> A notable example is Heinrich von Kleist's classic novella, '']'', which describes the destruction of Santiago in 1647. ]'s short fiction collection '']'' depicts the consequences of the Kobe earthquake of 1995.

{{anchor|big one}}The most popular single earthquake in fiction is the hypothetical "Big One" expected of California's ] someday, as depicted in the novels '']'' (1996), '']'' (1977), '']'' (2009), and '']'' (2015), among other works.<ref name="Van Riper 60" /> Jacob M. Appel's widely anthologized short story, ''A Comparative Seismology'', features a con artist who convinces an elderly woman that an apocalyptic earthquake is imminent.<ref>JM Appel. A Comparative Seismology. Weber Studies (first publication), Volume 18, Number 2.</ref>

Contemporary depictions of earthquakes in film are variable in the manner in which they reflect human psychological reactions to the actual trauma that can be caused to directly afflicted families and their loved ones.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Goenjian | first1 = Najarian | last2 = Pynoos | first2 = Steinberg | last3 = Manoukian | first3 = Tavosian | last4 = Fairbanks | first4 = AM| year = 1994 | title = Posttraumatic stress disorder in elderly and younger adults after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia | journal = Am J Psychiatry | volume = 151 | issue = 6| pages = 895–901 | pmid = 8185000 | last5 = Manoukian | first5 = G | last6 = Tavosian | first6 = A | last7 = Fairbanks | first7 = LA | doi=10.1176/ajp.151.6.895}}</ref> Disaster mental health response research emphasizes the need to be aware of the different roles of loss of family and key community members, loss of home and familiar surroundings, and loss of essential supplies and services to maintain survival.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = Gao | last2 = Shinfuku | first2 = Zhang | last3 = Zhao | first3 = Shen | year = 2000 | title = Longitudinal Study of Earthquake-Related PTSD in a Randomly Selected Community Sample in North China | journal = Am J Psychiatry | volume = 157 | issue = 8| pages = 1260–1266 | doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.8.1260 | pmid = 10910788 | last4 = Zhang | first4 = H | last5 = Zhao | first5 = C | last6 = Shen | first6 = Y }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Goenjian | first1 = Steinberg | last2 = Najarian | first2 = Fairbanks | last3 = Tashjian | first3 = Pynoos | year = 2000 | title = Prospective Study of Posttraumatic Stress, Anxiety, and Depressive Reactions After Earthquake and Political Violence | url = http://smrrc.org/PDF+files/mass_fatality/Posttraumatic+Stress+and+Depressive+Reactions.pdf | journal = Am J Psychiatry | volume = 157 | issue = 6 | pages = 911–916 | doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.6.911 | pmid = 10831470 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170810011421/http://www.smrrc.org/PDF%20files/mass_fatality/Posttraumatic%20Stress%20and%20Depressive%20Reactions.pdf | archive-date = 2017-08-10 }}</ref> Particularly for children, the clear availability of caregiving adults who can protect, nourish, and clothe them in the aftermath of the earthquake and help them make sense of what has befallen them is more important to their emotional and physical health than the simple giving of provisions.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Coates | first1 = SW | author-link = Susan Coates | author-link2 = Daniel Schechter | last2 = Schechter | first2 = D | year = 2004 | title = Preschoolers' traumatic stress post-9/11: relational and developmental perspectives. Disaster Psychiatry Issue | journal = Psychiatric Clinics of North America | volume = 27 | issue = 3| pages = 473–489 | doi=10.1016/j.psc.2004.03.006 | pmid=15325488}}</ref> As was observed after other disasters involving destruction and loss of life and their media depictions, recently observed in the ], it is also believed to be important not to pathologize the reactions to loss and displacement or disruption of governmental administration and services, but rather to validate the reactions to support constructive problem-solving and reflection.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Schechter | first1 = DS | author-link = Daniel Schechter | author-link2 = Susan Coates | last2 = Coates | first2 = SW | last3 = First | first3 = E | year = 2002 | title = Observations of acute reactions of young children and their families to the World Trade Center attacks | journal = Journal of ZERO-TO-THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families | volume = 22 | issue = 3| pages = 9–13 }}</ref>

==Outside of earth==
{{main|Quake (natural phenomenon)}}
Phenomena similar to earthquakes have been observed on other planets (e.g., '']s'' on Mars) and on the Moon (e.g., '']s'').

==See also==
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link|Alpide belt}}
* {{annotated link|Helioseismology|space_cat=no}}
* {{annotated link|European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre|abbr=EMSC|aka=Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen|aka_lang=fr|only=explicit}}
* {{annotated link|Injection-induced earthquakes}}
* {{annotated link|IRIS Consortium}}
* ]
* {{annotated link|Seismological Society of America|abbr=SSA}}
* {{annotated link|Seismotectonics}}
* {{annotated link|Vertical displacement}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation
|last1= Allen |first1= Clarence R.
|date= December 1976
|title= Responsibilities in earthquake prediction
|journal= Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
|volume= 66 |issue= 6 |pages= 2069–2074
|doi= 10.1785/BSSA0660062069
|bibcode= 1976BuSSA..66.2069A
}}.
* {{Citation
|last1= Bolt
|first1= Bruce A.
|year= 1993
|title= Earthquakes and geological discovery
|publisher= Scientific American Library
|isbn= 978-0-7167-5040-6
|url-access= registration
|url= https://archive.org/details/earthquakesgeolo0000bolt
}}.
* {{Citation
|first1= D.H.
|last1= Chung
|first2= D.L.
|last2= Bernreuter
|date= 1980
|title= Regional Relationships Among Earthquake Magnitude Scales.
|doi= 10.2172/5073993
|osti= 5073993
|url= https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/5073993/
|access-date= 2017-07-21
|archive-date= 2020-01-22
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200122134130/https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5073993/
|url-status= live
|doi-access= free
}}, NUREG/CR-1457.
* Deborah R. Coen. ''The Earthquake Observers: Disaster Science From Lisbon to Richter'' (]; 2012) 348 pages; explores both scientific and popular coverage
* {{citation
|last1= Geller
|first1= Robert J.
|first2= David D.
|last2= Jackson
|first3= Yan Y.
|last3= Kagan
|first4= Francesco
|last4= Mulargia
|date= 14 March 1997
|title= Earthquakes Cannot Be Predicted
|journal= Science
|volume= 275
|issue= 5306
|page= 1616
|doi= 10.1126/science.275.5306.1616
|s2cid= 123516228
|url= http://moho.ess.ucla.edu/~kagan/Geller_et_al_1997.pdf
|access-date= 29 December 2016
|archive-date= 12 May 2019
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190512161821/http://moho.ess.ucla.edu/~kagan/Geller_et_al_1997.pdf
|url-status= dead
}}.
* {{citation
|author= International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting for Civil Protection
|date= 30 May 2011
|title= Operational Earthquake Forecasting: State of Knowledge and Guidelines for Utilization
|journal= Annals of Geophysics
|volume= 54
|issue= 4
|pages= 315–391
|doi= 10.4401/ag-5350
|s2cid= 129825964
|url= https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_243738_1/component/file_243737/17246.pdf
|url-status= live
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210717180146/https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/rest/items/item_243738_1/component/file_243737/content
|archive-date= 17 July 2021
|archive-format= PDF
}}.
* {{citation
|last1= Kanamori |first1= Hiroo
|year= 2003
|title= Earthquake Prediction: An Overview
|journal= International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology
|volume= 616 |pages= 1205–1216
|isbn= 978-0-12-440658-2
|doi=10.1016/s0074-6142(03)80186-9
|series= International Geophysics
}}.
* {{Citation
|first1= H.O. |last1= Wood
|first2= B. |last2= Gutenberg
|date= 6 September 1935
|title= Earthquake prediction
|journal= Science
|volume= 82 |issue= 2123 |pages= 219–320
|bibcode = 1935Sci....82..219W |doi = 10.1126/science.82.2123.219
|pmid= 17818812
}}.
{{refend}}
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box
|by=no
|onlinebooksabout=yes
|about=yes
|label=Earthquakes
|viaf= |lccn= |lcheading=earthquakes |wikititle=
}} }}
* {{cite book |title=Natural Hazards and Disasters |first1=Donald |last1=Hyndman |first2=David |last2=Hyndman |isbn=978-0-495-31667-1 |publisher=Brooks/Cole: ] |year=2009 |edition=2nd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8jg5oRWHXmcC&pg=PT54 |chapter=Chapter 3: Earthquakes and their causes }}
* {{cite journal | last1=Liu | first1=ChiChing | last2=Linde | first2=Alan T. | last3=Sacks | first3=I. Selwyn | title=Slow earthquakes triggered by typhoons | journal=Nature | volume=459 | issue=7248 | date=2009 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature08042 | pages=833–836| pmid=19516339 | bibcode=2009Natur.459..833L | s2cid=4424312 }}


===Miscellaneous=== ==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*
{{commons}}
*
{{Wikivoyage|Earthquake safety}}
* - a list of the worst earthquakes ever recorded
{{wiktionary}}
*
* of the U.S. Geological Survey
*
* – IRIS Consortium
*
*
*- official PETSAAF system which relies on strange or atypical animal behavior to predict earthquakes.
*
*
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Latest revision as of 22:04, 24 November 2024

Sudden movement of the Earth's crust For other uses, see Earthquake (disambiguation).

This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, tone switches from too scientific to encyclopedic between sections. Please help clarify the article. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (October 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Earthquake epicenters occur mostly along tectonic plate boundaries, especially on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Global plate tectonic movement
Part of a series on
Earthquakes
Types
Causes
Characteristics
Measurement
Prediction
Other topics

An earthquake – also called a quake, tremor, or temblor – is the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage critical infrastructure, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The seismic activity of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The seismicity at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes can occur naturally or be induced by human activities, such as mining, fracking, and nuclear tests. The initial point of rupture is called the hypocenter or focus, while the ground level directly above it is the epicenter. Earthquakes are primarily caused by geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, and other seismic events. The frequency, type, and size of earthquakes in an area define its seismic activity, reflecting the average rate of seismic energy release.

Significant historical earthquakes include the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China, with over 830,000 fatalities, and the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile, the largest ever recorded at 9.5 magnitude. Earthquakes result in various effects, such as ground shaking and soil liquefaction, leading to significant damage and loss of life. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can trigger landslides. Earthquakes' occurrence is influenced by tectonic movements along faults, including normal, reverse (thrust), and strike-slip faults, with energy release and rupture dynamics governed by the elastic-rebound theory.

Efforts to manage earthquake risks involve prediction, forecasting, and preparedness, including seismic retrofitting and earthquake engineering to design structures that withstand shaking. The cultural impact of earthquakes spans myths, religious beliefs, and modern media, reflecting their profound influence on human societies. Similar seismic phenomena, known as marsquakes and moonquakes, have been observed on other celestial bodies, indicating the universality of such events beyond Earth.

Terminology

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes may also be referred to as quakes, tremors, or temblors. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling.

In its most general sense, an earthquake is any seismic event—whether natural or caused by humans—that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by the rupture of geological faults but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, fracking and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its hypocenter or focus. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

The seismic activity of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The seismicity at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume.

Major examples

Main article: Lists of earthquakes
Earthquakes (M6.0+) since 1900 through 2017
Earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 and greater from 1900 to 2018. The apparent 3D volumes of the bubbles are linearly proportional to their respective fatalities.

One of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history was the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, which occurred on 23 January 1556 in Shaanxi, China. More than 830,000 people died. Most houses in the area were yaodongs—dwellings carved out of loess hillsides—and many victims were killed when these structures collapsed. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed between 240,000 and 655,000 people, was the deadliest of the 20th century.

The 1960 Chilean earthquake is the largest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph, reaching 9.5 magnitude on 22 May 1960. Its epicenter was near Cañete, Chile. The energy released was approximately twice that of the next most powerful earthquake, the Good Friday earthquake (27 March 1964), which was centered in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The ten largest recorded earthquakes have all been megathrust earthquakes; however, of these ten, only the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is simultaneously one of the deadliest earthquakes in history.

Earthquakes that caused the greatest loss of life, while powerful, were deadly because of their proximity to either heavily populated areas or the ocean, where earthquakes often create tsunamis that can devastate communities thousands of kilometers away. Regions most at risk for great loss of life include those where earthquakes are relatively rare but powerful, and poor regions with lax, unenforced, or nonexistent seismic building codes.

Occurrence

Three types of faults:
A. Strike-slip
B. Normal
C. Reverse

Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere on the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the fault surface that increases the frictional resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities, which leads to a form of stick-slip behavior. Once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and, therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy. This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the Earth's deep interior.

Fault types

Main article: Fault (geology)

There are three main types of fault, all of which may cause an interplate earthquake: normal, reverse (thrust), and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip, where the displacement along the fault is in the direction of dip and where movement on them involves a vertical component. Many earthquakes are caused by movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known as oblique slip. The topmost, brittle part of the Earth's crust, and the cool slabs of the tectonic plates that are descending into the hot mantle, are the only parts of our planet that can store elastic energy and release it in fault ruptures. Rocks hotter than about 300 °C (572 °F) flow in response to stress; they do not rupture in earthquakes. The maximum observed lengths of ruptures and mapped faults (which may break in a single rupture) are approximately 1,000 km (620 mi). Examples are the earthquakes in Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Sumatra (2004), all in subduction zones. The longest earthquake ruptures on strike-slip faults, like the San Andreas Fault (1857, 1906), the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey (1939), and the Denali Fault in Alaska (2002), are about half to one third as long as the lengths along subducting plate margins, and those along normal faults are even shorter.

Normal faults

Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is being extended such as a divergent boundary. Earthquakes associated with normal faults are generally less than magnitude 7. Maximum magnitudes along many normal faults are even more limited because many of them are located along spreading centers, as in Iceland, where the thickness of the brittle layer is only about six kilometres (3.7 mi).

Reverse faults

Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being shortened such as at a convergent boundary. Reverse faults, particularly those along convergent boundaries, are associated with the most powerful earthquakes (called megathrust earthquakes) including almost all of those of magnitude 8 or more. Megathrust earthquakes are responsible for about 90% of the total seismic moment released worldwide.

Strike-slip faults

Strike-slip faults are steep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Strike-slip faults, particularly continental transforms, can produce major earthquakes up to about magnitude 8. Strike-slip faults tend to be oriented near vertically, resulting in an approximate width of 10 km (6.2 mi) within the brittle crust. Thus, earthquakes with magnitudes much larger than 8 are not possible.

Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of Los Angeles

In addition, there exists a hierarchy of stress levels in the three fault types. Thrust faults are generated by the highest, strike-slip by intermediate, and normal faults by the lowest stress levels. This can easily be understood by considering the direction of the greatest principal stress, the direction of the force that "pushes" the rock mass during the faulting. In the case of normal faults, the rock mass is pushed down in a vertical direction, thus the pushing force (greatest principal stress) equals the weight of the rock mass itself. In the case of thrusting, the rock mass "escapes" in the direction of the least principal stress, namely upward, lifting the rock mass, and thus, the overburden equals the least principal stress. Strike-slip faulting is intermediate between the other two types described above. This difference in stress regime in the three faulting environments can contribute to differences in stress drop during faulting, which contributes to differences in the radiated energy, regardless of fault dimensions.

Energy released

For every unit increase in magnitude, there is a roughly thirty-fold increase in the energy released. For instance, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 releases approximately 32 times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake and a 7.0 magnitude earthquake releases 1,000 times more energy than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake. An 8.6-magnitude earthquake releases the same amount of energy as 10,000 atomic bombs of the size used in World War II.

This is so because the energy released in an earthquake, and thus its magnitude, is proportional to the area of the fault that ruptures and the stress drop. Therefore, the longer the length and the wider the width of the faulted area, the larger the resulting magnitude. The most important parameter controlling the maximum earthquake magnitude on a fault, however, is not the maximum available length, but the available width because the latter varies by a factor of 20. Along converging plate margins, the dip angle of the rupture plane is very shallow, typically about 10 degrees. Thus, the width of the plane within the top brittle crust of the Earth can reach 50–100 km (31–62 mi) (such as in Japan, 2011, or in Alaska, 1964), making the most powerful earthquakes possible.

Focus

Main article: Depth of focus (tectonics)
Collapsed Gran Hotel building in the San Salvador metropolis, after the shallow 1986 San Salvador earthquake

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate in the Ring of Fire at depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km (43 mi) are classified as "shallow-focus" earthquakes, while those with a focal depth between 70 and 300 km (43 and 186 mi) are commonly termed "mid-focus" or "intermediate-depth" earthquakes. In subduction zones, where older and colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic plate, deep-focus earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 to 700 km (190 to 430 mi)). These seismically active areas of subduction are known as Wadati–Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth where the subducted lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes is faulting caused by olivine undergoing a phase transition into a spinel structure.

Volcanic activity

Main article: Volcano tectonic earthquake

Earthquakes often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both by tectonic faults and the movement of magma in volcanoes. Such earthquakes can serve as an early warning of volcanic eruptions, as during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Earthquake swarms can serve as markers for the location of the flowing magma throughout the volcanoes. These swarms can be recorded by seismometers and tiltmeters (a device that measures ground slope) and used as sensors to predict imminent or upcoming eruptions.

Rupture dynamics

A tectonic earthquake begins as an area of initial slip on the fault surface that forms the focus. Once the rupture has been initiated, it begins to propagate away from the focus, spreading out along the fault surface. Lateral propagation will continue until either the rupture reaches a barrier, such as the end of a fault segment, or a region on the fault where there is insufficient stress to allow continued rupture. For larger earthquakes, the depth extent of rupture will be constrained downwards by the brittle-ductile transition zone and upwards by the ground surface. The mechanics of this process are poorly understood because it is difficult either to recreate such rapid movements in a laboratory or to record seismic waves close to a nucleation zone due to strong ground motion.

In most cases, the rupture speed approaches, but does not exceed, the shear wave (S wave) velocity of the surrounding rock. There are a few exceptions to this:

Supershear earthquakes

The 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes ruptured along segments of the East Anatolian Fault at supershear speeds; more than 50,000 people died in both countries.

Supershear earthquake ruptures are known to have propagated at speeds greater than the S wave velocity. These have so far all been observed during large strike-slip events. The unusually wide zone of damage caused by the 2001 Kunlun earthquake has been attributed to the effects of the sonic boom developed in such earthquakes.

Slow earthquakes

Slow earthquake ruptures travel at unusually low velocities. A particularly dangerous form of slow earthquake is the tsunami earthquake, observed where the relatively low felt intensities, caused by the slow propagation speed of some great earthquakes, fail to alert the population of the neighboring coast, as in the 1896 Sanriku earthquake.

Co-seismic overpressuring and effect of pore pressure

During an earthquake, high temperatures can develop at the fault plane, increasing pore pressure and consequently vaporization of the groundwater already contained within the rock. In the coseismic phase, such an increase can significantly affect slip evolution and speed, in the post-seismic phase it can control the Aftershock sequence because, after the main event, pore pressure increase slowly propagates into the surrounding fracture network. From the point of view of the Mohr-Coulomb strength theory, an increase in fluid pressure reduces the normal stress acting on the fault plane that holds it in place, and fluids can exert a lubricating effect. As thermal overpressurization may provide positive feedback between slip and strength fall at the fault plane, a common opinion is that it may enhance the faulting process instability. After the mainshock, the pressure gradient between the fault plane and the neighboring rock causes a fluid flow that increases pore pressure in the surrounding fracture networks; such an increase may trigger new faulting processes by reactivating adjacent faults, giving rise to aftershocks. Analogously, artificial pore pressure increase, by fluid injection in Earth's crust, may induce seismicity.

Tidal forces

Main article: Tidal triggering of earthquakes

Tides may trigger some seismicity.

Clusters

Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of location and time. Most earthquake clusters consist of small tremors that cause little to no damage, but there is a theory that earthquakes can recur in a regular pattern. Earthquake clustering has been observed, for example, in Parkfield, California where a long-term research study is being conducted around the Parkfield earthquake cluster.

Aftershocks

Main article: Aftershock
Magnitude of the Central Italy earthquakes of August and October 2016 and January 2017 and the aftershocks (which continued to occur after the period shown here)

An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. Rapid changes of stress between rocks, and the stress from the original earthquake are the main causes of these aftershocks, along with the crust around the ruptured fault plane as it adjusts to the effects of the mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region as the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude, however, they can still be powerful enough to cause even more damage to buildings that were already previously damaged from the mainshock. If an aftershock is larger than the mainshock, the aftershock is redesignated as the mainshock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock. Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displaced fault plane adjusts to the effects of the mainshock.

Swarms

Main article: Earthquake swarm

Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a short period. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series of aftershocks by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is the main shock, so none has a notably higher magnitude than another. An example of an earthquake swarm is the 2004 activity at Yellowstone National Park. In August 2012, a swarm of earthquakes shook Southern California's Imperial Valley, showing the most recorded activity in the area since the 1970s.

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in what has been called an earthquake storm, where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern was observed in the sequence of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey in the 20th century and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the Middle East.

Frequency

The Messina earthquake and tsunami took about 80,000 lives on December 28, 1908, in Sicily and Calabria.

It is estimated that around 500,000 earthquakes occur each year, detectable with current instrumentation. About 100,000 of these can be felt. Minor earthquakes occur very frequently around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, India, Nepal, and Japan. Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3.7–4.6 every year, an earthquake of 4.7–5.5 every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years. This is an example of the Gutenberg–Richter law.

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the number of earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0–7.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable. In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, though this is probably a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend. More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the United States Geological Survey. A recent increase in the number of major earthquakes has been noted, which could be explained by a cyclical pattern of periods of intense tectonic activity, interspersed with longer periods of low intensity. However, accurate recordings of earthquakes only began in the early 1900s, so it is too early to categorically state that this is the case.

Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-kilometre-long (25,000 mi), horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains.

With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo, and Tehran in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single earthquake may claim the lives of up to three million people.

Induced seismicity

Main article: Induced seismicity

While most earthquakes are caused by the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, human activity can also produce earthquakes. Activities both above ground and below may change the stresses and strains on the crust, including building reservoirs, extracting resources such as coal or oil, and injecting fluids underground for waste disposal or fracking. Most of these earthquakes have small magnitudes. The 5.7 magnitude 2011 Oklahoma earthquake is thought to have been caused by disposing wastewater from oil production into injection wells, and studies point to the state's oil industry as the cause of other earthquakes in the past century. A Columbia University paper suggested that the 8.0 magnitude 2008 Sichuan earthquake was induced by loading from the Zipingpu Dam, though the link has not been conclusively proved.

Measurement and location

Main articles: Seismic magnitude scales and Seismology

The instrumental scales used to describe the size of an earthquake began with the Richter scale in the 1930s. It is a relatively simple measurement of an event's amplitude, and its use has become minimal in the 21st century. Seismic waves travel through the Earth's interior and can be recorded by seismometers at great distances. The surface-wave magnitude was developed in the 1950s as a means to measure remote earthquakes and to improve the accuracy for larger events. The moment magnitude scale not only measures the amplitude of the shock but also takes into account the seismic moment (total rupture area, average slip of the fault, and rigidity of the rock). The Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale, the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale, and the Mercalli intensity scale are based on the observed effects and are related to the intensity of shaking.

Intensity and magnitude

The shaking of the earth is a common phenomenon that has been experienced by humans from the earliest of times. Before the development of strong-motion accelerometers, the intensity of a seismic event was estimated based on the observed effects. Magnitude and intensity are not directly related and calculated using different methods. The magnitude of an earthquake is a single value that describes the size of the earthquake at its source. Intensity is the measure of shaking at different locations around the earthquake. Intensity values vary from place to place, depending on the distance from the earthquake and the underlying rock or soil makeup.

The first scale for measuring earthquake magnitudes was developed by Charles Francis Richter in 1935. Subsequent scales (seismic magnitude scales) have retained a key feature, where each unit represents a ten-fold difference in the amplitude of the ground shaking and a 32-fold difference in energy. Subsequent scales are also adjusted to have approximately the same numeric value within the limits of the scale.

Although the mass media commonly reports earthquake magnitudes as "Richter magnitude" or "Richter scale", standard practice by most seismological authorities is to express an earthquake's strength on the moment magnitude scale, which is based on the actual energy released by an earthquake, the static seismic moment.

Seismic waves

Every earthquake produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different velocities:

Speed of seismic waves

Propagation velocity of the seismic waves through solid rock ranges from approx. 3 km/s (1.9 mi/s) up to 13 km/s (8.1 mi/s), depending on the density and elasticity of the medium. In the Earth's interior, the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx. relation 1.7:1). The differences in travel time from the epicenter to the observatory are a measure of the distance and can be used to image both sources of earthquakes and structures within the Earth. Also, the depth of the hypocenter can be computed roughly.

P wave speed

  • Upper crust soils and unconsolidated sediments: 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) per second
  • Upper crust solid rock: 3–6 km (1.9–3.7 mi) per second
  • Lower crust: 6–7 km (3.7–4.3 mi) per second
  • Deep mantle: 13 km (8.1 mi) per second.

S waves speed

  • Light sediments: 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) per second
  • Earths crust: 4–5 km (2.5–3.1 mi) per second
  • Deep mantle: 7 km (4.3 mi) per second

Seismic wave arrival

As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earthquake arrive at an observatory via the Earth's mantle.

On average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the number of seconds between the P- and S wave times 8. Slight deviations are caused by inhomogeneities of subsurface structure. By such analysis of seismograms, the Earth's core was located in 1913 by Beno Gutenberg.

S waves and later arriving surface waves do most of the damage compared to P waves. P waves squeeze and expand the material in the same direction they are traveling, whereas S waves shake the ground up and down and back and forth.

Location and reporting

Main article: Earthquake location

Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where they occur. The world is divided into 754 Flinn–Engdahl regions (F-E regions), which are based on political and geographical boundaries as well as seismic activity. More active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong to larger F-E regions.

Standard reporting of earthquakes includes its magnitude, date and time of occurrence, geographic coordinates of its epicenter, depth of the epicenter, geographical region, distances to population centers, location uncertainty, several parameters that are included in USGS earthquake reports (number of stations reporting, number of observations, etc.), and a unique event ID.

Although relatively slow seismic waves have traditionally been used to detect earthquakes, scientists realized in 2016 that gravitational measurement could provide instantaneous detection of earthquakes, and confirmed this by analyzing gravitational records associated with the 2011 Tohoku-Oki ("Fukushima") earthquake.

Effects

1755 copper engraving depicting Lisbon in ruins and in flames after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which killed an estimated 60,000 people. A tsunami overwhelms the ships in the harbor.

The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Shaking and ground rupture

Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 2010

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake magnitude, the distance from the epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation. The ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration.

Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shaking on the ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally due to the transfer of the seismic motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and the effects of seismic energy focalization owing to the typical geometrical setting of such deposits.

Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several meters in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as dams, bridges, and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any that are likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.

Soil liquefaction

Main article: Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. For example, in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, soil liquefaction caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves.

Human impacts

Ruins of the Għajn Ħadid Tower, which collapsed during the 1856 Heraklion earthquake

Physical damage from an earthquake will vary depending on the intensity of shaking in a given area and the type of population. Underserved and developing communities frequently experience more severe impacts (and longer lasting) from a seismic event compared to well-developed communities. Impacts may include:

  • Injuries and loss of life
  • Damage to critical infrastructure (short and long-term)
    • Roads, bridges, and public transportation networks
    • Water, power, sewer and gas interruption
    • Communication systems
  • Loss of critical community services including hospitals, police, and fire
  • General property damage
  • Collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings

With these impacts and others, the aftermath may bring disease, a lack of basic necessities, mental consequences such as panic attacks and depression to survivors, and higher insurance premiums. Recovery times will vary based on the level of damage and the socioeconomic status of the impacted community.

Landslides

Further information: Landslide

Earthquakes can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel is attempting rescue work.

Fires

Fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself.

Tsunami

The tsunami of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Main article: Tsunami

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water—including when an earthquake occurs at sea. In the open ocean, the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometres (62 mi), and the wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600–800 kilometers per hour (373–497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.

Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 do not cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.

Floods

Further information: Flood

Floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods.

The terrain below the Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flooding if the landslide dam formed by the earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, were to fail during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly five million people.

Management

Prediction

Main article: Earthquake prediction

Earthquake prediction is a branch of the science of seismology concerned with the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of future earthquakes within stated limits. Many methods have been developed for predicting the time and place in which earthquakes will occur. Despite considerable research efforts by seismologists, scientifically reproducible predictions cannot yet be made to a specific day or month. Popular belief holds earthquakes are preceded by earthquake weather, in the early morning.

Forecasting

Main article: Earthquake forecasting

While forecasting is usually considered to be a type of prediction, earthquake forecasting is often differentiated from earthquake prediction. Earthquake forecasting is concerned with the probabilistic assessment of general earthquake hazards, including the frequency and magnitude of damaging earthquakes in a given area over years or decades. For well-understood faults the probability that a segment may rupture during the next few decades can be estimated.

Earthquake warning systems have been developed that can provide regional notification of an earthquake in progress, but before the ground surface has begun to move, potentially allowing people within the system's range to seek shelter before the earthquake's impact is felt.

Preparedness

Main article: Earthquake preparedness

The objective of earthquake engineering is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings, bridges, tunnels, roadways, and other structures, and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage. Existing structures can be modified by seismic retrofitting to improve their resistance to earthquakes. Earthquake insurance can provide building owners with financial protection against losses resulting from earthquakes. Emergency management strategies can be employed by a government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences.

Artificial intelligence may help to assess buildings and plan precautionary operations. The Igor expert system is part of a mobile laboratory that supports the procedures leading to the seismic assessment of masonry buildings and the planning of retrofitting operations on them. It has been applied to assess buildings in Lisbon, Rhodes, and Naples.

Individuals can also take preparedness steps like securing water heaters and heavy items that could injure someone, locating shutoffs for utilities, and being educated about what to do when the shaking starts. For areas near large bodies of water, earthquake preparedness encompasses the possibility of a tsunami caused by a large earthquake.

In culture

Historical views

An image from a 1557 book depicting an earthquake in Italy in the 4th century BCE

From the lifetime of the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras in the 5th century BCE to the 14th century CE, earthquakes were usually attributed to "air (vapors) in the cavities of the Earth." Thales of Miletus (625–547 BCE) was the only documented person who believed that earthquakes were caused by tension between the earth and water. Other theories existed, including the Greek philosopher Anaxamines' (585–526 BCE) beliefs that short incline episodes of dryness and wetness caused seismic activity. The Greek philosopher Democritus (460–371 BCE) blamed water in general for earthquakes. Pliny the Elder called earthquakes "underground thunderstorms".

Mythology and religion

In Norse mythology, earthquakes were explained as the violent struggle of the god Loki. When Loki, god of mischief and strife, murdered Baldr, god of beauty and light, he was punished by being bound in a cave with a poisonous serpent placed above his head dripping venom. Loki's wife Sigyn stood by him with a bowl to catch the poison, but whenever she had to empty the bowl, the poison dripped on Loki's face, forcing him to jerk his head away and thrash against his bonds, which caused the earth to tremble.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the cause and god of earthquakes. When he was in a bad mood, he struck the ground with a trident, causing earthquakes and other calamities. He also used earthquakes to punish and inflict fear upon people as revenge.

In Japanese mythology, Namazu (鯰) is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes. Namazu lives in the mud beneath the earth and is guarded by the god Kashima, who restrains the fish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.

In the New Testament, Matthew's Gospel refers to earthquakes occurring both after the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:51, 54) and at his resurrection (Matthew 28:2). Earthquakes form part of the picture through which Jesus portrays the beginning of the end of time.

In popular culture

In modern popular culture, the portrayal of earthquakes is shaped by the memory of great cities laid waste, such as Kobe in 1995 or San Francisco in 1906. Fictional earthquakes tend to strike suddenly and without warning. For this reason, stories about earthquakes generally begin with the disaster and focus on its immediate aftermath, as in Short Walk to Daylight (1972), The Ragged Edge (1968) or Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999). A notable example is Heinrich von Kleist's classic novella, The Earthquake in Chile, which describes the destruction of Santiago in 1647. Haruki Murakami's short fiction collection After the Quake depicts the consequences of the Kobe earthquake of 1995.

The most popular single earthquake in fiction is the hypothetical "Big One" expected of California's San Andreas Fault someday, as depicted in the novels Richter 10 (1996), Goodbye California (1977), 2012 (2009), and San Andreas (2015), among other works. Jacob M. Appel's widely anthologized short story, A Comparative Seismology, features a con artist who convinces an elderly woman that an apocalyptic earthquake is imminent.

Contemporary depictions of earthquakes in film are variable in the manner in which they reflect human psychological reactions to the actual trauma that can be caused to directly afflicted families and their loved ones. Disaster mental health response research emphasizes the need to be aware of the different roles of loss of family and key community members, loss of home and familiar surroundings, and loss of essential supplies and services to maintain survival. Particularly for children, the clear availability of caregiving adults who can protect, nourish, and clothe them in the aftermath of the earthquake and help them make sense of what has befallen them is more important to their emotional and physical health than the simple giving of provisions. As was observed after other disasters involving destruction and loss of life and their media depictions, recently observed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, it is also believed to be important not to pathologize the reactions to loss and displacement or disruption of governmental administration and services, but rather to validate the reactions to support constructive problem-solving and reflection.

Outside of earth

Main article: Quake (natural phenomenon)

Phenomena similar to earthquakes have been observed on other planets (e.g., marsquakes on Mars) and on the Moon (e.g., moonquakes).

See also

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