Term | Definition |
P waves | Waves that travel the fastest and don't do any damage. |
Fault | Place where 2 plates meet to create earthquake. Most famous one is in California. |
Focus | Point in the earth's crust where an earthquake begins |
Moment Magnitude Scale | more accurate than richter scale, combines seismograph readings and rock movement. |
Modified Mercalli Scale | Records visual damage as an indication of strength, 12 grades on the scale. |
Animal Behaviour (Predicting Earthquakes) | Not scientific. Animals can detect P waves which humans cant & they react to them. |
Historical Records (Predicting Earthquakes) | General prediction, unreliable. Earthquake once every 100 yrs = 10% chance every decade. |
Rock Stress (Predicting Earthquakes) | Most reliable but not exact prediction. Use strainmeters, tiltmeters, Satellite/GPS, siesmographs. |
Foreshocks | Tremors before earthquake happens |
San Andreas Fault | Most famous fault line in the world |
The Big One | Large earthquake that is predicted to occur before 2032 along San Andreas Fault. |
Rift Valleys | Where earthquakes occur when convection currents split the continent apart in places such as the East African Rift Valley. |
Seismograph | Equipment used to measure strength of earthquake |
Richter scale | Readings from a seismograph that measures the magnitude (strength) of an earthquake. |
Tsunami | Destructive wave caused by an underwater earthquake. Japan 2011. |
Elastic rebound | It is the most common cause of earthquakes, as layers of rock are exposed to pressure from opposite sides. |
What year did the Haitian earthquake happened | The Haitian earthquake of 2010 |
How many people are killed in Haitian earthquake | 160,000 people died |
What was the mean reason people were injured | 300,000 people estimated to have been injured-mostly from falling debris |
Liquefaction | Intense shaking causes ground water to mix with mud turning the soil into liquid, structures collaspe.eg kobe japan 5000 deaths |
Continental-continental | Both continental and light so neither subduct. Both plates buckle and are pushed upward. Mountain ranges are created. E.g Indo-Australian plate and Eurasian plate buckled to create The Himalayas. |
Epicentre | Directly above the focus, shortest distance to the surface,
seismic waves strongest here,most damage caused |
Seismic Waves | Vibrations from the focus, cause damage in urban areas,
Eg. Haiti 2010 |