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Gill Sans Bold Senior Science HSC Course Stage 6 Disasters Part 4: Earthquakes 0 0 2 I er b to T S c O EN g in D M t a r EN o p or AM c n 2 Number: 43171 Title: Disasters This publication is copyright New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), however it may contain material from other sources which is not owned by DET. We would like to acknowledge the following people and organisations whose material has been used: Diagrams showing floor plans, courtesy of Rod Bashford, Division of Life and Environmental Science, Macquarie University Part 6 pp 49-50 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969 WARNING This material has been reproduced and communicated to you on behalf of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (Centre for Learning Innovation) pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act). The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain copyright permissions. All claims will be settled in good faith. Published by Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI) 51 Wentworth Rd Strathfield NSW 2135 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _ Copyright of this material is reserved to the Crown in the right of the State of New South Wales. Reproduction or transmittal in whole, or in part, other than in accordance with provisions of the Copyright Act, is prohibited without the written authority of the Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI). © State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2008. Senior Science Stage 6 HSC Course Lifestyle chemistry Medical technology – bionics Information systems Option – Disasters • Disaster – natural or human? • Air pressure • Cyclones • Earthquakes • Bushfires • Detection and prevention Contents Introduction ............................................................................... 3 What is an earthquake? ............................................................ 4 What causes earthquakes? .................................................................6 The moving Earth ...................................................................... 8 Mercalli scale........................................................................................9 Seismographs.....................................................................................10 Richter scale.......................................................................................12 Predicting earthquakes ......................................................................13 Earthquake waves................................................................... 14 Making waves.....................................................................................14 Finding the epicentre............................................................... 18 Comparing P and S waves ................................................................18 Locating the epicentre........................................................................22 Suggested answers................................................................. 25 Exercises – Part 4 ................................................................... 27 Part 4: Earthquakes 1 Introduction This part is the first of two dealing with how, even with current technology, disasters such as earthquakes and bushfires are not easy to predict. Specifically, in this part you will be looking at earthquakes which occur globally, but with emphasis on the Australian setting. In Part 4, you will be given opportunities to learn to: • outline differences in P, S and L energy waves produced by an earthquake • identify energy transfers and transformations involved in L waves as they travel along the Earth’s crust • explain how the difference in time of arrival of P and S waves can be used to locate an earthquake’s epicentre • describe the difficulties of monitoring and predicting earthquakes. In Part 4, you will be given opportunities to: • gather and process information from secondary sources to determine the location of an earthquake’s epicentre • gather and process information from secondary sources on the use of • – seismographs – Richter scale – Mercalli scale to record and monitor earthquakes. Extracts from Senior Science Stage 6 Syllabus © Board of Studies NSW, Amended October 2002. The most up-to-date version is to be found at http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/index.html Part 4: Earthquakes 3 What is an earthquake? An earthquake is a ground movement caused by shock waves. These movements result from stresses built up by the rocks in the Earth’s crust. What causes earthquakes? Before we can answer that we need to look more closely at the layered structure of the Earth. lithosphere (rigid solid) oceanic crust 100 km continental crust 700 km upper mantle inner core 1216 km outer core asthenosphere (capable of flow) mantle 2270 km 2185 km upper mantle 700 km 6371 km 4 Disasters The Earth’s crust consists of about twelve rigid plates. The convection currents in the mantle cause the plates to move. Some plates move together, some apart, others move sideways past each other. The way these plates can move past each other is shown in the diagrams below. • Divergent. Plates move away from each other creating new lithosphere. • Transform. Plates slide past each other. • Convergent. Plates move towards each other, thereby destroying lithosphere. Relative plate motion. The plates are relatively stable. Earthquakes occur mainly at the plate boundaries. For example, the Anatolian Fault in Turkey and the San Andreas Fault in California in the United States. Before people scientifically studied earthquakes there were all sorts of reasons and causes proposed for them. These were not very useful in preparing people to take the necessary steps and lessen the effects of Part 4: Earthquakes 5 earthquake disasters. But over time, as the scientific knowledge of them increased, people found out what causes them. What causes earthquakes? The forces in the Earth’s crust result in elastic deformation of rocks. Stresses build up and rocks break or else move along a fracture. The sudden movement and release of energy establishes shock waves which form an earthquake. The aftershocks are caused by the transfer of strain to other blocks of rock. Blocks of rocks can be displaced along fault lines in different directions. The point where the rocks snap or fracture is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the Earth’s surface is called the epicentre. Focus and epicentre. 6 Disasters Earthquake waves are also called shock waves or earth tremors. These waves travel through different substances at different speeds. Waves travel faster through a solid than they do through a liquid. As the waves move away from the source they become smaller and less violent. This means the closer you are to the source of an earthquake the more damage you can expect to sustain or experience. Features of a wave. Few earthquake waves are generated in the world’s oldest continent. Darwin Brisbane Sydney Perth Adelaide Canberra Melbourne = earthquake location Hobart There are questions on earthquakes in Exercise 4.1 at the end of this section. Part 4: Earthquakes 7 The moving Earth What are the chances of an earthquake? Well, that depends on where on the globe you live. At some locations the chances are far greater than at others. In spite of all the advances in seismology (study of earthquakes) scientists still can’t say for certain when and where exactly an earthquake will happen. The chance of earthquakes (and volcanoes for that matter) occurring is much greater where two plates come together. These places are shown on the map below. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 km 23 12 ∞ N 0∞ 23 12 ∞ S 180∞ Volcanoes Earthquake belt 0∞ Location of volcanoes and earthquakes. On the 28th December 1989, at 10:27 am, Newcastle (Australia’s sixth most populated city) was severely damaged by a moderate earthquake. This was the first earthquake with fatalities in Australia since European settlement, claiming 13 lives. The devastation to buildings and other structures was extensive. 8 Disasters In other countries it is not uncommon to have regular earthquakes killing hundreds or thousands of people at a time. The Australian Seismological Centre in Canberra estimates that, on average, the Australian region experiences an earthquake the size of the Newcastle earthquake, or larger, about every ten months. Most of these, however, occur in areas of low population so we don’t tend to pay much attention. Many people in Australia thought major earthquakes just didn’t happen here. The Newcastle experience dispelled this myth! Still, the chance of an earthquake like the Newcastle one devastating a major town or city in this country is very low. However other places may not be so lucky. American scientists predict the chance a major earthquake striking somewhere in the San Francisco Bay area in the next three decades is about 90 percent. We could draw a probability line to compare the chance of a major earthquake at Sydney with that at San Francisco in the near future. impossible 0 certain 0.5 Sydney 1 San Francisco Scientists study the Earth and all the conditions which might contribute to earthquakes. They also look at how many earthquakes, and their intensities, have occurred in a particular region. From this information they are in a position to say how likely, or unlikely, it is for an earthquake to occur. So earthquakes can be a potential hazard to Australians. Mercalli scale The Mercalli scale assigns an intensity to an earthquake that is based on the effects of the earthquake on people’s homes. After the earthquake surveys ask people to rate the effects of the earthquake on their location. Earthquakes are rated with Roman numerals from I (not felt) to XII (total destruction). The rating of the amount of damage will depend on the geology of the foundations, methods of building construction and population density. A location built on sand will experience more effects than a location built on granite. Part 4: Earthquakes 9 Mercalli was an Italian who telephoned various locations after earthquakes to find out the intensity of effects. His scale was modified in 1931 to fit Californian building conventions. This Modified Mercalli scale is the one that is most used today. Modified Mercalli scale of earthquake intensities Intensity rating Description Effects I Negligible Not felt, only detected by instruments II Lightest Suspended objects swing III Light Many people indoors but few outdoors notice IV Moderate Windows and dishes rattle; parked cars rock V Rather strong Windows and dishes break VI Strong Everyone feels; furniture moves VII Very strong Most people run outdoors; felt in moving cars VIII Destructive Drivers have trouble steering; furniture overturned IX Ruinous Foundations damaged; underground pipes break X Disastrous Ground cracks; railways lines bent XI Very disastrous Most buildings collapse; large cracks in ground XII Catastrophic Ground moves in waves; objects thrown into air Seismographs How can you tell if an earthquake is ‘the biggest’, the ‘most destructive’, or where the earthquake originated, and so on? Sophisticated recording devices take measurements and the information, when analysed, can provide answers to these questions. A seismograph is an instrument that ‘feels’ the shaking of the Earth. These earth movements are recorded by a seismograph. The seismic records produced are useful mainly for working out the focus or source of the earthquake. 10 Disasters A seismograph. This kind of seismograph is designed to measure horizontal ground motion. Seismographs that measure vertical ground motion have the rotating drum aligned vertically. The records obtained from seismographs, called seismograms, provide a great deal of information concerning the behaviour of seismic (earthquake) waves. Describe how this seismograph works. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Check your answers. Part 4: Earthquakes 11 Richter scale The Richter magnitude scale based on seismograph measurements is more quantitative than the Mercalli scale that describes shocks felt in a particular location. The Richter scale devised by the American seismologist Charles F Richter in 1935 measures the magnitude of an earthquake. The magnitude is a measure of the maximum amplitude of S waves. Earthquake magnitude is measured from 0 to about 9. Each number step represents an increase of ten times in measured amplitude. For example an earthquake of magnitude 6 is ten times larger than those of 5, and 100 times (10 ¥ 10) larger than one of magnitude 4, and so on. As an estimate of energy, however, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value. Richter magnitude < 2.5 Effect of earthquake Approximate number per year recorded, although generally not felt 900 000 2.5 – 5.4 generally only minor damage detected 30 000 5.5 – 6.0 slight damage to structures 500 6.1 – 6.9 can be destructive in populated regions 100 7.0 – 7.9 serious damage inflicted; major earthquake 20 ≥ 8.0 total destruction to populated areas; great earthquakes about one every year or so Earthquakes with magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually referred to as micro-earthquakes; they are not commonly felt by people and are generally recorded only on local seismographs. Events with magnitudes of about 4.5 or greater are strong enough to be recorded by sensitive seismographs all over the world. Great earthquakes have magnitudes of 8.0 or higher. On the average, one earthquake of such size occurs somewhere in the world each year. Although the Richter Scale has no upper limit, the largest known shocks have had magnitudes in the 8.8 to 8.9 range. Recently, another scale called the moment magnitude scale that measures energy released has been devised for more precise study of great earthquakes. 12 Disasters Predicting earthquakes Where an earthquake could occur is easier to predict than when an earthquake could occur. Prediction is sometimes based on the historical record of earthquakes in an area. If two severe earthquakes have occurred each century then one could be expected every 50 years. Measurements of the build up of strain (eg. elongation) in rocks across faults using lasers or Global Positioning Satellites could be useful. Particularly if the extent of strain reached when previous earthquakes occurred has been recorded. Japan has underwater seismometers off it’s east coast to measure warning shocks and estimate the size of resulting tsunamis. Russia has used measurements of a P-wave velocity change of 10–15% just before the earthquake as a prediction tool. Ground tilting, increased emission of radioactive radon gas from underground and changes in electrical conductivity of rocks have all been monitored to try to predict earthquakes. Part 4: Earthquakes 13 Earthquake waves Earlier you saw that an earthquake occurs at a point below the Earth’s surface called the focus. In some 90% of cases the focus is within about 8 km from the surface. In only 2% of cases is it further than 30 km deep. The point directly above the focus, on the surface, is the epicentre. Generally the most intensity of the earthquake is felt at, or near, the epicentre. The intensity of the earthquake decreases with increasing distance from the focus. On the surface this appears as concentric circles (or ellipses) radiating from the epicentre. Each of these (almost) circles joins all points having the same earthquake intensity and is called an isoseismal line (iso- same; seismal- earthquake). The focus and epicentre of an earthquake. Making waves Seismologists have discovered there are different kinds of waves produced during an earthquake. There are basically two kinds of waves which are created at the focus and travel through the Earth’s interior. 14 Disasters These two body waves are called primary or P waves, and secondary or S waves. P waves travel the fastest and are compression waves. That is, they push-pull the rocks in the direction the wave is travelling. They can travel through both liquids and solids. P waves cause the particles in the material to move back and forth in the same direction the wave moves. direction of particle vibration direction of movement Compression waves produced by push-pull on the end of a slinky spring. S waves travel slower than P waves and are transverse waves. They shake or shear the rock particles at right angles to the direction of travel. They can travel through solids, but not through liquids. S waves oscillate at right angles to the direction the wave moves. This is similar to creating a wave by flicking a rope. S waves are transverse waves. There is a third group of complex waves, collectively known as L waves. They are made up of waves which move in elliptical or horizontal transverse motions. They are generated at the surface when P and S waves reach there. L waves travel only on the surface of the Earth and are responsible for most damage done. Because these surface waves are confined to a narrow region near the surface, they are not spread throughout the Earth as are P and S waves. They therefore maintain their maximum amplitude Part 4: Earthquakes 15 longer. L wave energy transfers through greater distances than either P and S waves. L wave energy transformations produce kinetic energy and potential energy of stress in structures on the Earth’s surface. The L wave energy can destroy natural and human structures on the Earth’s surface. Because the surface L waves have longer periods (time between crests or troughs) they are sometimes referred to as long waves. Relative motion of P, S and L waves. 1 The speed of P waves through granite in the crust is about 6 kms–1; S waves travel at 3.5 kms–1. Use the formula, time = distance speed a) How long does it take P waves to travel through 1000 km of granite? ___________________________________________ b) How long does it take S waves to travel through 1000 km of granite? ___________________________________________ c) What is the difference in time between P and S waves travelling a distance of 1000 km? _______________________________ 2 The speed of P waves through water is 1.5 kms–1. How long does it take P waves to travel through 1000 km of water? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ 16 Disasters 3 After an earthquake, the difference between the arrival times for P and S waves at a seismic station is 2 min 30 s. It is known that through this portion of the Earth P waves travel at 7.5 km/s, while S waves travel at 4.4 kms–1. a) How much further than an S wave can a P wave travel in 1 s? _________________________________________________ b) How much further than an S wave can a P wave travel in i) 1 min? _______________________________________ ii) 2 min? _______________________________________ iii) 5 min? _______________________________________ c) Looking at your answers to b, what can you say about the distance between a P wave and an S wave as time increases? _________________________________________________ d) With a time difference of 2 min 30 s between the arrival of the two waves, it is known that a P wave can travel 465 km further than an S wave. Which of the values marked x, y, or z on the diagram corresponds to this distance? __________________ seismic detection station focus P wave S wave x y z Check your answers. There are some questions on earthquake waves in Exercise 4.2. Part 4: Earthquakes 17 Finding the epicentre In the previous section you saw that an earthquake is a vibration in the Earth caused by the rapid release of energy. This energy radiates in all directions from its source, the focus. It does this through P and S waves, generated at the source and through L waves generated on the surface of the Earth. Even though the energy dissipates rapidly with increasing distance from the focus, instruments located around the world can record the event. In this section you will explore some techniques seismologists use to determine the location of the epicentre of an earthquake. Comparing P and S waves Seismologists use the differing speed and arrival times of P and S waves to calculate how far away an earthquake occurred. Although wave speeds vary by a factor of ten or more in the Earth (depending on the material they are passing through), the ratio between the average speeds of a P wave and of its following S wave is quite constant. This fact enables seismologists to simply time the delay between the arrival of the P wave and the arrival of the S wave to get a quick and reasonably accurate estimate of the distance of the earthquake from the observation station. To find the difference in arrival times of P and S waves scientists examine a seismogram drawn by a seismograph. A seismogram is just a record produced on paper or film of an earthquake. It takes scientists plenty of experience to be able to interpret such records. For this course you will consider only simple cases. 18 Disasters A seismogram. Notice there are three conspicuous pulses shown on such a seismograph. The first pulse begins with the arrival of the P wave. Then comes the S wave (almost 5 min later on the diagram above). Now there are two waves being recorded, both the P and S. The size of the S waves should indicate to you the amount of energy they carry and the amount of damage they can do. The L wave arrived just 7 min after the P wave. In this region of the seismograph all three waves are shown. However, in this region the L waves are dominant as P and S waves have expended much of their energy by the time they arrive at the seismic station. Only P and S waves are required to locate an earthquake. Because L waves can be generated at a number of points on the surface and are complex they are not used. Can you see that the time difference between P and S wave arrival on this seismogram is about 4 min 45 s? Now a travel-time graph is needed to translate this time difference into a distance. Travel-time graph A travel-time graph (sometimes called a time-distance curve) is used to turn the P-S time difference found from the seismogram into a distance from the earthquake’s epicentre. From the seismogram above, a time difference of 4 min 45 s was found between when the first P waves arrived and when the first S waves arrived. Part 4: Earthquakes 19 Take a ruler, or piece of paper, and measure the length represented by this time on the vertical axis. Now move this ruler or paper across until the time difference between the P wave and S wave also measures this amount. Dropping your vertical line down to the horizontal axis gives the distance the earthquake is from the recording station. As you can see, from the diagram below, this distance is about 3200 km for a time difference of 4 min 45 s. 20 Disasters 1 Below are three seismograms. a) Which seismogram is closest to the recording station? How do you know? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ b) Which seismogram is furthest from the recording station? How do you know? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Part 4: Earthquakes 21 2 Each of the seismograms in question 1 has been drawn to the following time scale. 0 100 200 300 400 500 time (seconds) 600 700 For each of the seismograms measure the time difference between the arrival of the P and S waves, then use the travel-time graph to determine how far each is from the recording station. Seismogram Time difference (s) Distance (km) X Y Z Check your answers. Locating the epicentre It is one thing to know that an earthquake occurred so many kilometres away, but in which direction? Suppose an earthquake occurred 1000 km from Sydney. On a map this could be anywhere on the rim of the circle shown. It could have occurred in western NSW, or somewhere in Victoria or Tasmania, or even out under the ocean. 22 Disasters If we knew that the earthquake occurred 980 km from Sydney, 2560 km from Perth, and 2450 km from Darwin, it now becomes easier to locate the epicentre of the earthquake. Generally three different seismological stations pool their results to find the epicentre. Each draws a circle around its location. Where the three circles intersect is the earthquake’s epicentre. Suppose the three seismograms provided in the previous set of questions were recorded at Brisbane (seismogram X), Perth (seismogram Y) and Adelaide (seismogram Z). The earthquake’s epicentre is located about 3300 km from Brisbane. The scale for the Map of Australia on the next page shows that 1000 km is represented by 2.8 cm. So, 3300 km is represented by 3.3 ¥ 2.8 = 9.2 cm . a) Use your compass to draw a circle (or part of a circle) having this radius on the map of Australia on the next page. b) Calculate the radius on the map around Perth and Adelaide for this earthquake. Draw arcs (part circles) on the map. _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Part 4: Earthquakes 23 c) Mark the position of the epicentre of this earthquake. Check your answers. There is another exercise in locating epicentre in Exercise 4.3 at the end of this section. 24 Disasters Suggested answers Seismographs The inertia of the suspended mass tends to keep it motionless. The recording drum is anchored to the bedrock and vibrates in response to the seismic waves. Thus, the stationary mass provides a reference point from which to measure the amount of displacement occurring as the seismic wave passes through the ground below. Another way of describing this is to think of a seismograph as a simple pendulum. When the ground shakes, the base and frame of the instrument move with it, but inertia keeps the pendulum bob in place. It will then appear to move, relative to the shaking ground. As it moves it records the pendulum displacements as they change with time, tracing out a record called a seismogram. Earthquake waves 1 2 3 1000 = 167 s 6 1000 b) t = = 286 s 3◊5 a) t = c) difference in time = 286 – 167 = 119 s (just under 2 minutes). 1000 time = = 667 s = 11 min 7 s. (Notice how P waves travel 1◊ 5 slower through water than granite.) a) In one second, a P wave can travel 7.5 km while an S wave travels 4.4 km. So a P wave can travel 3.1 km further. b) i ii 3.1 ¥ 60 = 186 km 3.1 ¥ 120 = 372 km iii 3.1 ¥ 300 = 930 km Part 4: Earthquakes 25 c) Distance between two wave fronts increases as time increases. d) y Travel-time graph 1 a) Y is closest as the difference in time between the arrival of P and S waves is least. b) X is furthest as the difference in time between the arrival of P and S waves is greatest. 2 (Your values may differ slightly from the ones given here to small inaccuracies in reading the seismograms and travel-time graph.) Seismogram Time difference (s) Distance (km) X 300 3300 Y 70 700 Z 190 1800 Locating the epicentre On your map, the radius around Perth is 2.0 cm and Adelaide, 5.0 cm. 26 Disasters Exercises – Part 4 Exercises 4.1 to 4.3 Name: _________________________________ Exercise 4.1: What is an earthquake? 1 What is an earthquake? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 2 Describe how an earthquake may occur. _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 3 With the aid of a diagram explain the difference between the earthquake’s focus and epicentre. Part 4: Earthquakes 27 Exercise 4.2: Earthquake waves 1 Briefly describe the differences between P, S and L waves. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ 2 In any solid material P waves travel about 1.7 times faster than S waves, while L waves can be expected to travel 0.9 times the speed of S waves. a) Through a certain material the velocity of an S wave has been measured to be 5 kms–1. What is the estimated speed of i) a P wave? _______________________________________________ ii) an L wave? _______________________________________________ b) Through a particular part of the upper mantle of the Earth, the speed of P waves was measured at 8.1 kms–1. What is the estimated speed for: i) an S wave? _______________________________________________ ii) an L wave? _______________________________________________ c) After an earthquake it takes 4 min 50 s for the P wave to reach a seismic station, 2500 km away. i) How many seconds in 4 min 50 s? _______________________________________________ ii) Calculate the speed of this P wave. _______________________________________________ iii) What is the speed for the corresponding S wave? _______________________________________________ iv) How long would it take the S wave to arrive? _______________________________________________ v) Approximately how much later is the S wave expected to arrive? _______________________________________________ 28 Disasters Exercise 4.3: Finding the epicentre Suppose an earthquake occurred somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Three seismic stations located at San Francisco, Tokyo and Canberra recorded the following seismograms for it. This is the time scale for each of the seismograms. 0 Part 4: Earthquakes 2 4 6 8 10 time (minutes) 12 14 29 Use the time scale and the travel-time graph from the notes to complete the table. Seismogram location Time difference (min) of P-S wave arrival Distance (km) (nearest 100 km) San Francisco Tokyo Canberra Now use the information in the table to locate the earthquake epicentre on the map. 30 Disasters