8.1: Why It Matters

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INTERPRET TYPES, CAUSES, EFFECTS, AND SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS OF EARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC WAVES

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why California or Japan has so many earthquakes? Have you ever been in an earthquake and felt the solid ground shake beneath your feet?

Imagine you are going about your normal routine for the day and it is time for you to wrap up your day to head home. As you start gathering your things to take home and work your way out to your car, the following happens:

This earthquake measured a 9.0 on the Richter scale and was the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan and the fourth most powerful recorded by humans. Aftershocks numbered over 1,000, with some over a 6.0 on the Richter scale. Almost 16,000 people died, over 6,000 were injured, and 2,500 were missing. The earthquake also damaged a nuclear facility causing major radioactive leaks. The World Bank estimated the economic cost of damage at $235 billion!

Once the shaking subsided, the following happened:

Learning Outcomes

Compare and contrast properties and mechanics of P, S, and Surface waves
Investigate the causes, common locations and hazards of earthquakes
Define and compare magnitude versus intensity
Recognize our limited ability to predict seismic activity
Explain how seismic waves are used to decipher geologic materials in the crust and in the Earth’s deeper interior

Ok, let’s get started!

Contributors and Attributions

Original content from Kimberly Schulte (Columbia Basin College) and supplemented by Lumen Learning. The content on this page is copyrighted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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