Earthquakes
The major earthquake that struck offshore from Japan in March, 2011, was one of the largest earthquakes experienced in that region of the world in many years. It caused massive damage and it spawned a powerful tsunami that literally wiped many Japanese towns off the map. The causes of earthquakes are known to scientists, although science has not yet become sophisticated enough to predict when and where an earthquake will occur. This paper reviews the many aspects of earthquakes and the ramifications of those disruptions of the earth's crust.
Causes of earthquakes: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) explains that an earthquake happens "when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another." The surface of the ground where the slippage took place is called the "fault" or the "fault plane." The earth actually has "four major layers, the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust," the USGS explains. The "skin" of the planet is the "mantle" and it is made up not of one solid piece, but of a number of pieces joined together in jagged edges "like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth"; what's more, these jagged pieces keep moving, they slide past one another, they crash into each other, and they are actually called "tectonic plates" (USGS).
The great majority of earthquakes result from these tectonic plates interacting with one another. The edges are jagged, as noted previously, and they are very rough, so they lock together over many years. But when the pressure has built up sufficiently they become un-stuck, and that break causes an earthquake.
How are earthquakes measured? The USGS explains that the intensity of the earthquake depends on the "amount of slip on the fault," and it is measured with seismogram recordings on the surface of the earth. The seismograph records the intensity of the earth's movement at the fault line. The slippage at the fault line causes the seismograph to create wiggly lines on the seismograph; short lines that "don't wiggle very much" means a small earthquake has taken place, but a long wiggly line that "wiggles a lot" means it was a large earthquake; the "length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle" reflects the amount of slip on the tectonic plates (USGS).
How do earthquakes cause damage? According to the College of Charleston the damage from an earthquake is caused according to the way energy moves through the earth matched with how the geology of that area allows the energy to flow through. For example, a very hard rock like limestone or granite, might "vibrate very quickly with short movements" but it won't likely break apart. But when the earthquake happens in wet sand, or silt, the shaking will likely be more intense; in this case the soil may respond like a liquid, hence the word "liquefaction" comes into play. When an earthquake happens in a sandy area, and liquefaction takes place, great damage can occur and buildings, roads and other items on the earth will tend to sink with liquefaction. However, a wooden building tends to bend in an earthquake while masonry "tends to shatter"; that means that building made of reinforced steel will stand a violent shaking more than buildings that are not supported with steel (South Carolina Earthquake Education & Preparedness Program -- College of Charleston).
The Limitations of Earthquake Prediction: The USGS admits that they cannot predict earthquakes; no scientists from USGS or from Caltech "…nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake." That having been said, it is true that "probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes," the USGS explains. The USGS gives an example in that scientists have estimated that within the next "30 years" there is a probability that a major earthquake will occur in the San Francisco Bay area; there is a 67% chance that a huge earthquake will happen in San Francisco, the USGS asserts, and there is a 60% chance of a major earthquake in southern California. Since they can't be certain as to when a big one will happen, what needs to be focused on, the USGS continues, is to help improve "the safety of structures" rather than trying to accomplish any prediction as to exactly when one will happen.
Geological change from earthquakes: The massive 9.0 magnitude quake that caused enormous damage in Japan caused changes to the geology of that area of the world. According to Inquisitr.com, the USGS reported some "startling information" regarding the geological changes following the Japanese quake. For example, Earth's axis apparently shifted "10 inches" resulting from the earthquake....
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