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GEOLOGIC PROCESSES AND HAZARDS Stress on Rocks

Did you know? • Tension – rocks move away from each other (divergent)
− Magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Mindanao happened past • Compression – rocks move together (convergent)
midnight of August 17, 1976 • Shearing – rocks slide past each other (transform)
− The Philippines experience up to 20 earthquakes every Three Types of Faults/Slips
day, but not all of these can be felt 1. Normal Fault
The Internal Structure of the Earth − Moves vertically and is associated with diverging
• Crust plates
• Mantle − Tension – weakens and fractures the Earth’s crust
• Inner Core causing the other block of rock to move downward
• Outer Core relative to the other
Lithosphere − One side is steady, the other side goes down
− Broken into segments called tectonic plates 2. Reverse Fault/Thrust Fault
− These plates are moved by the hot plastic mantle − Reverse of normal fault
beneath the lithosphere − Occurs when a plate below the ocean is moving
Tectonic Plates under another plate, thrusting its edge upward
− Large solid pieces of the lithosphere − Caused by compression which forces a fault block
− Constantly shifting as they drift around on the viscous, or upward
slowly flowing, mantle layer below − One side is steady, the other side goes up
− Alfred Wegener − As it goes up, there is an energy release
− Boundaries – ends of these plates 3. Strike-Slip Fault
Boundaries − Occurs when two faults move past each other
• Convergent – move towards each other horizontally
• Divergent – move away from each other − Caused by shearing
• Transform – slide past each other − Sliding, horizontal movement
EARTHQUAKES MAGNITUDE
− Sudden movement or vibration of Earth caused by the − Strength of an earthquake
release of energy in rocks 2.5 or less Usually not felt, but can be
− Happens when 2 plates of the earth suddenly slip past recorded by seismograph
one another 2.5 to 5.4 Often felt, but only causes
− Associated with faulting or breaking of rock minor damage
− Slight or violent shaking of the ground 5.5 to 6.0 Slight damage to buildings
− Can be due to a volcanic activity or movement of and other structures
tectonic plates 6.1 to 6.9 May cause a lot of damage
− Usually occur in active faults in very populated areas
− 500,000 earthquakes – occur every year 7.0 to 7.9 Major earthquake. Serious
damage
100,000 – can be felt
8.0 or greater Great earthquake. Can
100 – can cause damage
totally destroy communities
What causes earthquakes?
near the epicenter.
− When two plates meet and slide past or push against Where do earthquakes originate?
each other, pressure can build below the surface Focus or Hypocenter
− Plates shift suddenly, pressure and energy are released, − Point of origin of an earthquake
sending out waves that causes earthquakes − Within the Earth’s crust
FAULT − Where pressure accumulates
− Planar fracture between two rocks facing each other − Original source of energy, tremors, or waves
− Caused by forces which may be vertical, horizontal, or Epicenter
inclined at an angle − Point on the Earth’s surface directly above the
− Result of the moving boundaries hypocenter/focus
Parts of a Fault − Energy is released from the focus, goes up and would hit
• Fault Plane – flat surface where slipping occurs the epicenter
• Footwall – block located below a fault plane; goes − Wherever the epicenter is, deep down the focus is there
upward during movement Seismic Waves
• Fault Line or Fault Trace– the trace of a fault boundaries − Energy waves that travel either through the Earth’s interior
on the surface of the Earth; line/fracture that separates or along or near the Earth’s surface
two planes/rocks − Pressure or energy is being released in the form of waves
• Fault Scarp – looks like a step on the Earth’s surface
Body Waves Surface Waves
• Hanging Wall – a side that moves downward Travel through the Earth’s Travel across the Earth’s
interior surface
Example: P-waves and S- Example: L-waves and R-
waves waves
Body Waves
Primary Waves (P-waves) – first wave that is being detected
by the seismograph

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Secondary Waves (S-waves) – come after the P-waves
Surface Waves
Love Waves (L-waves) – fastest surface wave
Rayleigh Waves (R-waves)

Seismograph
− Instrument that can record seismic waves
− Less powerful earthquake – short wiggly lines
− Powerful earthquake – long wiggly lines

ACTIVE FAULTS INACTIVE FAULTS

A fault is considered active A fault that has moved in
if it has moved repeatedly in the distant past and is
the past and is likely to unlikely to move again
move again

Earthquake Formation
Stresses → Rock Slips → Release Energy → Shaking →
Earthquake

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