Question: Research the current state of earthquake prediction. Have we made any progress in recent years? Are other countries making progress? How far away are seismologists from being able to accurately predict earthquakes? Go beyond what was discussed in class. The Current State of Earthquake Prediction For my research project I have chosen the topic of earthquake prediction and the current state and accuracy at which this is possible. Earthquake prediction is a very tricky business in the first place. Unlike predicting a volcanic eruption, predicting and earthquake does not generally come with the precursors that tell us that one is coming. Seismic activity is very random and for the most part comes without warning. There have been several attempts over the years and little to none of them have been successful in accurately predicting the event. The first thing I would like to do is explain the current process that we use to attempt to predict these natural disasters. The act of predicting an earthquake is normally described as “as the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of a future earthquake within stated limits.” (Earthquake Prediction) Now this is also a completely different process than earthquake forecasting which is more so distinguished as the general assessment of the hazards that an earthquake presents within a given area, including the magnitude and frequency that is associated with that earthquake. We have in place, in a lot of countries, and early warning system, but this can also be distinguished from predicting earthquakes because of the fact that these systems only give about a couple of seconds of warning compared to what we would like it to be. When we speak about the prediction of ... ... middle of paper ... ... of about 2.5-3 magnitude that ended up happening on August 1 at a magnitude of 2.6. Since then the account has been discredited since no other earthquake has ever been predicted in the same area. Overall, the area of seismology has made some significant progress in the last 50 years. Although no scientist has been able to say without a doubt when a specific event will occur, seismologists have made a great deal of progress that could lead to a future of being able to accurately predict earthquakes. We would all like to see this in the nearest future, and the reality is that it could very well be within our lifetime. Earthquakes are a very regular occurrence on Earth since the plates beneath our feet are always moving. Through my research I can say that this field will continue to develop at a rapid rate until the problem of predicting earthquakes is solved.
Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
There are many pro’s for attempting to forecast an earthquake or volcano. Forecasting an earthquake or eruption saves lives and property, mainly by preparation, as there is no way to prevent these events with today technology.
Although there is no way of knowing exactly when an earthquake is going to occur. Scientists have been able to predict an earthquakes range for them to occur. For example, if a fault hasn’t gone off for around 20 years, then this fault is likely to go off in the next five years. This is as close as scientists can get to exactly knowing when an earthquake will occur, although this can still help people to be prepared to some extent. We know that an earthquake will occur with the tectonic plates movements and with them either colliding, sliding or doing both against each other. An earthquake will occur with the force of these movements, but depending on the strength of the movements depends how strong the earthquake is on the Richter Scale (see source 5) or on a Seismograph (see source 6).
I think being prepared and educated will save many lives if and when we get the big one in the Cascadia region. Works Cited http://www.crew.org/cascadia http://www.crew.org/sites/default/files/cascadia_subduction_scenario_2013.pdf http://www.pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/crustalfaults www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/education_and_outreach/aotm/5/2.Subduction_Rebound_Background.pdf www.crew.org/sites/default/files
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...
Healy, J. H., Rubey, W. W., Griggs, D. T., & Raleigh, C. B. (1968, September). The Denver Earthquakes. Science, 161(3848), 1301-1310. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Problem Statement: Earthquakes are a natual part of the environment. They do,however,cause devistating effect on the environment. Since Earthquakes can not be avoided, maybe there is a way to determine when they are going to occur so precautions can be taken to get people to safety and protect as much of
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
benchmark for the future, and integrated investigation into the effects of earthquakes in the U.S.
On the morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906 an earthquake struck the City of San Francisco at 5:12 according to seismograph records. It was remembered as especially violent and everyone in the vicinity woke up to white dust in the air from fallen debris. As remembered by a bystander of the event, “I was awakened by a very severe shock of earthquake. The shaking was so violent that it nearly threw me out of bed... As soon as it was over I got up and went to the window, and saw the street filled with a white dust.” (Stetson, 21.) The strong shaking lasted from 45 to 60 seconds which were felt as far north as southern Oregon and past Los Angeles in the south. The water supply became shut off by the earthquake and then when fires broke out all ove...
Earthquakes commonly have consequences that are unexpected by an environment they occur in. The consequences may be tsunamis, buildings collapsing, structures distorting, landslides, and liquefaction.
This leads to formulating certain survival procedures, researching new technology and preparing and for an earthquake and volcanic eruptions. To overcome the effects of earthquakes, scientists and engineers have designed earthquake resistant infrastructure. This was created because common infrastructures fail in earthquakes as there are heavy and can 't stand seismic waves. The major cause of death during earthquakes is being killed by a falling building. However, in earthquake resistant building the main concept is to make the building as rigid, strong and out of the lightest material possible so if it does fall individuals have a possibility of surviving. At the bottom of earthquake resistant building, there would be some sort of shock absorber, so it can absorb the seismic waves reducing the impact. Then, the building will incorporate a sheer core and sheer walls, to reduce the rocking movements of an earthquake. Along with this, walls will have two steam beams for added security. In developing countries, a similar type of plan is used but the building is made out of more cheaper and everyday objects. Another defence systems humans use to adapt to earthquakes and volcanoes is monitoring and warning systems. Monitoring and warning systems are usually controlled by local or national governments. In earthquake situations, sensors (which are distributed in the region prone to earthquakes) send information to the alert centre when a seismic wave is detected, there the information is investigated. Afterwards, the information from the alert centre is immediately transmitted to the individuals of the region warning them about the expected intensity and arrival time of earthquake by text message or call. After that, it is advised that individuals turn off all electrical appliances and follow their local earthquake
Natural Disasters can occur anywhere at anytime. Some are more predictable than others, but they all bring hardship to everyone’s life. Examples of natural disasters are Earthquakes (Haiti 2010), Tornadoes, Tsunami, Hurricanes, Wild Fires, Winter Storms, Heat waves, Mudslides and Floods. Regardless of what kind of disaster occurs, bottom line, everyone needs to be prepared mentally and physically to deal with the aftermath. Education is the first step to prepare you to deal with any major disaster. Three of the major disasters that can potentially disrupt normal day to day operations in our lives, are Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Tornadoes.
Earthquakes are vibrations felt at the surface of the earth which are caused by disturbances of the energy in the earth's interior. These vibrations are known as seismic waves. (Skinner Robinson McVerry 1) There are different type sof seisimc waves such as Primary (P) waves, whcih travel the fastest, Secondary (S) waves which cause the earth to vibrate vertically, Surface (L) waves. P and S waves are "affected by changes in the density and the rigidity of the materials through which they pass." (Columbia Encyclopedia) Earthquakes vary in their intensity and duration. Often times they are strong enough to cause massive destriction. Tall buildings often suffer as a result of these natural disasters. In recent years this has become a larger and larger threat with both the number of large buildings, and their number of occupants increasing. In an effort to try to minimize the damage caused by earthquakes many some engineers focus primarily on designing and constructing earthquake resistant buildings. Earthquake engineers have gathered much of their information from analyzing past earthquakes, and learning which buildings can and can't withstand the tremors. The goals of these engineers is to design buildings that can withstand moderate earthquakes and obtain minimal damage, and that the buildings will not collapse lowering the probability of human deaths.
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).