Causes of earthquake pdf

Earthquake causes damage to the building, bridges, dams. Scientists can explain how most earthquakes are caused using simplified theories. This has long been apparent from early catalogs of felt earthquakes and is even more readily discernible in modern seismicity maps, which show instrumentally determined epicentres. People have known about earthquakes for thousands of years, of course, but they didnt know what caused them.

Definition, causes, measures and other details with diagram. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. Some political declarations about earthquake causes are just incredible philip lole march 7, 201811. Figure 34 graphically displays where the major earthquake zones lie. It is caused due to the energy release, which triggers waves that travel in all. An earthquake is sudden ground movement caused by the sudden release of energy stored in rocks, called the elastic rebound theory. It causes great damage to life and property of people living in coastal areas as well as to tourists.

Earthquakes are actually a type of way that the earth gets rid of. Pdf earthquake is one of the most devastating natural calamities which causes sudden shaking of the earth surface. The movement of earths crust resulting from the release of built up potential energy between two stuck tectonic plates. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, and wreak destruction across entire cities. An earthquake is a sudden shaking of the surface of the earth by the passage of the seismic waves through earths rocks. This is because most deaths from earthquakes are caused by buildings or other human construction falling down during an earthquake. An earthquake also known as a quake, tremor or temblor is the shaking of the surface of the earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the earths lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes happen when so much stress builds up in the rocks that the rocks rupture. Actually earthquakes occur daily around the world according to one estimate, about 8000 occur every year, but most of them are too mild to be noticeable. Earthquakes occur when the ground is subjected to so much force that it fractures or breaks. The most of the earthquakes take place along the pacific ring of fire which covers the coastal region of the pacific. Scientists cant tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger.

Earthquakes are caused by disturbances in the interior of the earth and other causes. Great explosions, landslides, slips on steep coasts, dashing of sea waves, avalanches, railway trains, heavy trucks, some large engineering projects cause minor tremors. Earthquake, any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through earths rocks. Volcanic eruptions can release huge amounts of energy that can be felt as earthquakes. A seismograph record of the 2011 tohoku, japan earthquake, recorded on the other side of the pacific ocean at the hawaii volcanoes national park. The surface of the earth, called the crust, is not one solid piece. It was the subject of fanciful folklore and equally fanciful learned speculation by peoples throughout the world. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earths crust and cause the shaking that we feel in california there are two plates the pacific plate and the. Compare this map of world earthquake activity to the map of the earths plates in figure 31. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. What is an earthquake and what causes them to happen. Earthquakes can be violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities.

Earthquakes occur over much of the world and the united states. The study of an earthquake is known as seismology to find out the causes of earthquake. Earthquake science explained is a series of short articles for students, teachers, and parents originally published as weekly features in. Earthquakes are caused by sudden tectonic movements in the earths crust.

The shaking motion of an earthquake is the result of a sudden release of stress building up within rocks of the earths crust. This article talks about earthquakes, its magnitude scale, causes, types, etc. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and. The main cause is that when tectonic plates collide, one rides over the other, causing orogeny mountain building, earthquakes and volcanoes.

Earthquake hazards and risks earthquake risk zmany seismologists have said that earthquakes dont kill people, buildings do. Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometers across. Causes and effects of earthquakes linkedin slideshare. These convection currents result in a circulation of the earth s mass. Volcanoes and human activity also cause earthquakes. Surface waves travel on earths surface and cause much of the destruction associated with earthquakes. According to wikipedia, an earthquake also known as a quake, tremor or temblor is the perceptible shaking of the surface of the earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the earths crust that creates seismic waves. Each year there are more than 150,000 earthquakes strong enough to be felt by people and 900,000 recorded by seismometers. This is all due the the diffraction and spreading of the waves.

Folding and faulting compression causes rocks to fold and ultimately. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. An earthquake is shaking or trembling of the earths surface, caused by the seismic waves or earthquake waves that are generated due to a sudden movement sudden release of energy in the earths crust shallowfocus earthquakes or upper mantle some shallowfocus and all intermediate and deepfocus earthquakes a seismograph, or seismometer, is an instrument used to. The main causes of earthquakes fall into five categories. In laymans language, an earthquake is the shaking of the earth by some sudden underground activities. Nepal is a nation which does not sit on a single structural plate. It is caused when magma leaving the volcano are filled by rocks being pushed to the. Data on patients injured during the darfield 4 september 2010 and christchurch 22 february.

Some of what you will be tested on includes tectonic plates and. An earthquake may last only a few seconds, but the processes that cause earthquakes have operated within the earth for millions and millions of years. The most common form of earthquakes, it is caused by the movement of loose fragmented pieces of land on earths crust knowns as tectonic plates volcanic earthquake. Earthquakes are a sudden and quick shock of the earths surface. Lets take a look at all you need to know about earthquakes and fill your brain with knowledge. Earthquakes can be humanmade or natural, although the latter is more abundant. An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. Levin encyclopedia of life support systems eolss figure 2.

Earthquakes are caused by the movements of plates under the surface of the earths crust. The origin of tectonic earthquakes is explained with the help of elastic rebound theory. Most of what we know about the interior of the earth comes from the study of seismic waves from earthquakes. Schematic drawing of the tsunami generation by the bottom oscillating motion in some instances, the earthquake may initiate faults and fractures in bottom rock. The sudden shaking or rolling of the earths surface is called an earthquake. The less prevalent compared to the tectonic variety, these earthquakes happen before or after the eruption of a volcano. Movement between two plates is not smooth and it causes elastic energy to gradually build up over time. The most important earthquake belt is the circumpacific belt. Landslides, triggered by earthquake, often cause more destruction than the earthquake themselves. Asked in earthquakes, geography, volcanoes, plate tectonics. Can the extraction of crude oil and natural gas trigger such a massive earthquake.

Evaluate the knowledge you have gained about the causes of earthquakes with this quiz and worksheet. Causes and measurements earthquakes the objectives of this part of the course will to be gain an understanding of the science of earthquakes so that we can answer the following questions. The lecture will be enhanced if the instructor presents. Earthquakes are the result of slowmoving processes that operate within earth.

In particular, people believed that the breaks in the earths surfacefaultswhich appear after earthquakes, were caused by the earthquakes rather than the cause. The disturbances inside the earth are called tectonic movements. This release of energy causes intense ground shaking in the area near the source of the earthquake and sends waves of elastic energy, called seismic waves, throughout the earth. Rocks crack and slip past each other causing seismic waves that make the surface of the earth vibrate. The strain that builds up in the rock will ruptures when the elastic limit of the rock is exceeded thus released the elastic energy as seismic waves. It sits on the limits of two structural plates, for example, indian plate and eurasian plate additionally called tibetan plate. The main cause is that when tectonic plates, one rides over the other, causing orogeny collide mountain building, earthquakes.

The nature and cause of earthquakes kitp online talks. Earthquake magnitude earthquake severity richter magnitude earthquake effects less than 3. Tsunami caused by an earthquake in the sea near sumatra on 26th dec, 2004 hit southeast asian countries including india and sri lanka. Prior to knowing the causes of earthquake in nepal, we have to think about the land arrangement of nepal. Surface causes volcanic causes tectonic causes surface cause. Where an earthquake occurs affects the damage it can cause. Its like when youre teacher loses their marbles because youve asked them the same question 7 times in a row. When we feel the ground is moving or shaking this energy is released as seismic waves from the epic centre.

Various societies have produced earthquake legends to explain these natural occurrences. Earthquake in oceans is known as tsunami, which is equally devastating. Causes and effects of earthquakes engineering essay. Until very recently, the cause of earthquakes was an unsolved mystery.

The deeper the earthquake, the more damage it causes. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. Faulting also occurs in response to shearing stresses. Ncert notes on important topics for the upsc civil services exam. Earths major earthquakes occur mainly in belts coinciding with the margins of tectonic plates. Earthquakes can sometimes be really scary things, but they are very interesting in how they form and why they do. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking po, ssc, state civil services exams and so on. Earthquake is a sudden violent shaking of the ground, typically causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earths crust or volcanic action. Page 34 earthquake causes and characteristics maps of earthquake activity throughout the world show that earthquakes most frequently occur at the boundaries of plates. Causes, effects and geographical distribution of earthquakes. Some major causes of earthquakes on basic of its causes are.

The most important earthquake belt is the circumpacific belt, which. Earthquake in many cases, can cause great loss of life. An earthquake is a sudden tremor or movement of the earths crust, which originates naturally at or below the surface. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is.

These forces bring about changes on the earth surface and physical features like mountains, plateaus and rift valleys are formed. Causes, consequences, prediction, and response boris w. Undulations of the land surface during an earthquake. Stick simulation of earthquakes fault action game map scales to. Earthquakes earthquakes occur when energy stored in elastically strained rocks is suddenly released. The word natural is important here, since it excludes shock waves caused by french nuclear tests, man made explosions and landslides caused by building work. An earthquake is the shaking that radiates out from the breaking rock. Earth was hot when it formed, and has been cooling ever since near the surface, for each km into earth, the temperature rises by about 30deg. Causes of earthquake earthquakes originate due to various reasons, which fall into two major categories via nontectonic and tectonic. The aim of this study was to investigate causes of injury during the 20102011 canterbury earthquakes. Earthquakes are caused by tectonic movements in the earths crust. Causes of earthquake in nepal geographical analysis. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Radiating out from the epicenter, surface waves move the ground up and down and side to side, which is what causes all the damage an earthquake produces.