Worldwide Earthquakes (30 November – 6 December 2014) Earthquakes are the result of plate tectonics, or shifting plates in the crust of Earth. The quakes occur when the frictional stress of gliding plate boundaries builds and causes failure at a fault line. In an earthquake, energy is released as seismic waves (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2010). The observation on the activity of earthquakes for a one week period starting 30 November - 6 December 2014. There was only one earthquake over 6.0 in the week reviewed. This earthquake was a 6.6 on the Richter Scale in Sangay, Philippines at Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) 5:00 AM on 2 December 2014. The depth of this quake was 614.0 km located at the coordinate 6.094°N 123.125°E. During the same period …show more content…
The country outside of the U.S. with the most occurrences during a seven day period was Puerto Rico who had 15 earthquakes, if considered outside of the U.S. because it is a unincorporated territory of the United States. Indonesia was close behind with a total of 12 earthquakes. Puerto Rico is located in the “Trench” because it is the deepest place in the Atlantic Ocean, which is 5 miles below sea level (Marine Conservation Org.) The island of Puerto Rico is located about 75 miles south of the Puerto Rico Trench. Earthquakes are a constant threat because the island lies on an active plate boundary (Brink, 2014). The island and region has high seismicity and large earthquakes, which due to the magnitude of earthquakes that have occurred and tends to be a trend of seismicity meaning in high frequency. Indonesia is located on the convergence between the Indian Ocean and the Eurasian plates known as the Java trench (DRI, DPRI, 2014). Ibrahim et al. (1989) Indonesia earthquakes research data found an average of about 460 earthquakes whose magnitude was greater than 4.0 occurred every year. Below are the two maps to show the country …show more content…
The shallowest was a depth of .2 km and magnitude of 0.4 occurred 3km NNW of The Geysers in California on 6 December 2014. The earthquakes were on two different boundaries as follows: The Geysers in California, U.S. The Geysers geothermal fields produce the majority of the earthquakes as low intensity and are attributed to the commercial extraction of steam (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2010). The quake in Figi was the deepest because is resides on the Australia and Pacific plates. The Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world, which is due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates (USGS,
Tectonic plate movement can occur as close as two and up to 450 miles below the Earth’s surface. According to the Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana’s fault lines are further underground than those in California and Alaska, causing more minor quakes in the Midwest. However, Hoosiers should heed the recent earthquake as a warning for future quakes. Earthquakes can and do happen in Indiana, and almost anywhere else in the world. This is the one natural disaster that people cannot avoid no matter their location on Earth. And, being unprepared can have devastating results.
The Fredonia Earthquake that took place in Fredonia, Arizona on July 21st, 1959 was the largest earthquake to ever strike the state and it triggered a rockslide at Mather Point in the Grand Canyon.
This is one of the most commonly asked questions around the world. Earthquakes are very common because the Earth’s tectonic plates are constantly moving, because they are constantly moving earthquakes are happening quite often across the globe. Statistics show that over 1 million occur each year worldwide (see source 9), but earthquakes don’t have to be felt for them to have occurred. Statistics prove that 1 100 000 earthquakes happen per year worldwide that can’t be felt by humans. Statistics show that about 11 670 earthquakes occur that can be felt in the area of occurrence and sometimes even further
When the plates mash together on a convergent boundary, they can create an earthquake. A place with a convergent boundary is New Zealand. When the plates pull apart, a divergent boundary, they create a hole in the ocean that causes molten lava to rush up and it causes a volcano to form. A place with a divergent boundary is Iceland. With about 130 volcanoes all together, it has the most volcanoes of any country in the world and is on two tectonic plates. Santorini is currently in an area of earth where the African and Eurasian plate meet, and Atlantis disappeared with a rumble that could have come from a volcano or an
The great Lisbon Earthquake would occur on the seismic active region with the plate boundary of Eurasia and Africa. This boundary is believed to be a complex structure with active volcanoes and rifting that is prevalent at Azores. So many factors contributes to the complex nature of this plate boundary. It separates an oceanic crust on both sides of its western side, while on the eastern side it has a continental nature featuring the Mediterranean basin in between the plate boundaries. Specifically, this is a tectonic plate boundary within the mid-Atlantic (John
Earthquakes are best described as a shaking or vibration of the ground caused by breaking of rock. Sometimes they are very strong and other times you would hardly notice them. This shaking occurs when stress that builds up in the crust is suddenly released as the crust breaks free and/or slides against the other pieces of crust. Earthquakes may also be thought of as the breaking of a popsicle stick by applying pressure to both ends at the same time. Should you try this experiment , you will feel the pressure build up as you apply more force until the stick snaps. When the stick snaps you will feel an instant of pain at your fingers as the stress reduces and energy waves move throughout the stick. When the earth's crust is placed under similar types of stress, binding as the stress builds, it will also snap and release the energy into the surrounding rocks, 'ooch'. Thinking about earthquakes will become more clear if you try another experiment.
From studying the science behind the San Francisco earthquake, scientists have made a number of important discoveries involving how earthquakes function. At 5:12 on a fateful April morning in 1906, the mammoth Pacific and North American plates sheared each other at an incredible twenty-one feet along the San Andreas fault, surpassing the annual average of two inches (“San Francisco Earthquake of 1906”) (“The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fires”). A few seconds later, the destructive earthquake occurred. The ground shifted at almost five feet per second, and the shaking could be felt all the way from southern Oregon to southern Los Angeles to central Nevada (“Quick”) (“The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake”). In fact, the earthquake could be registered in a seismograph on Capetown, South Africa, an astounding 10,236 miles away...
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
benchmark for the future, and integrated investigation into the effects of earthquakes in the U.S.
The west coast of the islands is on the edge of a continental shelf created by ancient volcanic movement (Broadhead 5) .This volcanic activity is due to plate tectonic movement which also created the numerous amounts of earthquakes on the island. Compared to the rest of British Columbia, Haida Gwaii has the most earthquake activity (Broadhead 5), the last of which being in a magnitude of 7.7 on t...
The epicenter of the earthquake in Alaska was about 10km east of the College Fiord, approximately 90km west of Valdez and 120km east of Anchorage, Alaska largest city. The earthquake was felt about 1,300,000 square kilometers away from the epicenter. (Christensen, Doug PhD.) About 30 kilometers deep, the first slip occurred under northern Prince William Sound, and an 800 kilometer rupture in the rocks extended horizontally, roughly parallel to the Aleutian trench. (Bolt) The cause of this massive earthquake was the vertical displacement of northwest motion of the Pacific plate. Also, it was estimated that about 200,000 square kilometers of the crust were deformed, making this the greatest area of vertical displacement ever measured. (Bolt)
(“Facts about Japan”) About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. (“Facts about Japan”) Over a thousand earthquakes occur each year in Japan. (“Facts about Japan”)
The Tohoku earthquake caused by the movement of the Pacific plate slides underneath the Eurasia plate at the rate of three inches per year, associated with Japan Trench
They are the earth’s crust; they move very slowly every year. As the tectonic plates slide over each other they cause earthquakes. Earthquakes produce various damaging effects this includes damage to structures of buildings, bridges and other standing formations which then...
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).