Earthquakes!

Earth is a dynamic planet of a pretty dangerous sort!

Earthquakes occur along faults. A fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been signicant displacement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. There are three main types of faults: !

A normal fault occurs when the crust is extended. The hanging wall moves downward relative to the footwall!

A thrust fault occurs when the crust is compressed. The hanging wall moves upward relative to the footwall!

The fault surface is usually near vertical and motion results from shearing forces.!

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The elastic rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is spread during earthquakes. As rocks on opposite sides of a fault are subjected to force and shift, they accumulate stress energy and slowly deform (strain) until their internal strength is exceeded. At that time, a sudden movement occurs along the fault, releasing the accumulated energy, and the rocks snap back to their original undeformed shape.! ! In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the rst theory to satisfactorily explain earthquakes. !

Following the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Harry Fielding Reid examined the displacement of the ground surface around the San Andreas Fault. From his observations he concluded that the earthquake must have been the result of the elastic rebound of previously stored elastic stress energy in the rocks on either side of the fault. In an interseismic period, the Earth's plates move relative to each other except at most plate boundaries where they are locked. ! ! Suppose that rocks in the region of the locked fault have bilt up elastic stress energy in the form of elastic deformation (strain) over a time period of many years.! ! When the accumulated strain is ! great enough to overcome the ! strength of the rocks, ! an earthquake occurs on the! fault plane at Time 0. !

During the earthquake, the portions of the rock around the fault that were locked and had not moved 'spring' back, relieving the strain (accumulated over several years) in a few seconds. Like an elastic band, the more the rocks are strained the more elastic energy is stored and the greater potential for an event. The stored energy is released during the rupture partly as heat, partly in damaging the rock, and partly as elastic waves. Modern measurements using GPS largely support Reid"s theory as the basis of seismic movement, though actual events are often more complicated.!

An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock. Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displaced fault plane adjusts to the effects of the main shock.!

An earthquake's hypocenter is the position where the strain energy stored in the rock is rst released, marking the point where the fault begins to rupture. This occurs at the focal depth below the epicenter. ! The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter, the point where an earthquake originates.! !

There are two types of seismic waves, body wave and surface waves. Body waves originate in the hypocenter and propagate spherically through the interior of the Earth. They follow raypaths refracted by the varying density and modulus (stiffness) of the Earth's interior. The density and modulus, in turn, vary according to temperature, composition, and phase. There are two types of body waves: P-waves and S-waves.! Surface waves are analogous to water waves and travel along the Earth's surface. They travel slower than body waves. Because of their low frequency, long duration, and large amplitude, they can be the most destructive type of seismic wave. There are two types of surface waves: Rayleigh waves and Love waves.!

The P-wave, where P stands for Primary wave or Pressure wave, can travel through gases, solids and liquids, including the Earth. It has the highest velocity (5-8 km/s during an earthquake) and is therefore the rst to be recorded, and it is formed from alternating compressions and rarefactions. In isotropic and homogeneous solids, the polarization of a P-wave is always longitudinal; thus, the particles in the solid have vibrations along (or parallel to) the travel direction of the wave energy.! The velocity of P-waves in a homogeneous isotropic medium is given by!

where K is the modulus of incompressibility, # is the modulus of rigidity or shear, $ is the density of the material through which the wave propagates.!

The S-wave, where S stands for Secondary wave orShear wave, moves as a shear or transverse wave, so motion is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation: S-waves are like waves in a rope. S-waves can travel only through solids, as uids (liquids and gases) do not support shear stresses. S-waves are slower than P waves, and speeds are typically around 60% of that of P waves in any given material.! The velocity of S-waves in a homogeneous isotropic medium is given by!

where # is the modulus of rigidity or shear, $ is the density of the material through which the wave propagates.!

Nafe-Drake curve!
An important empirical relation exists between P and S waves velocity and density.! ! P and S velocities increase with density of medium, i.e., in less dense sedimentary rocks, waves travel slower (black dots for S waves) than in denser igneous and metamorphic rocks (white dots for S waves).! ! Seismic waves travel more quickly through denser materials and therefore generally travel more quickly with depth. !

P! S!

However, as noted from the velocity equations, if density increases, P and S waves velocity decrease: !

Thus, the other properties, incompressibility K and rigidity or shear must increase with depth in the Earth at a greater rate than density increases. This explain the experimantal results illustrated in the Nafe-Drake curve.! However, anomalously hot areas slow down seismic waves. Seismic waves move more slowly through a liquid than a solid. Molten areas within the Earth slow down P waves and stop S waves because in a liquid, rigidity or shear = 0; shearing motion cannot be transmitted through a liquid). Partially molten areas may slow down the P waves and attenuate or weaken S waves.! ! Therefore, the actual velocity of P and S waves depends on the interplay between rock type, depth, and temperature. !

Velocit onde P (") e onde S (#)

Dipendono dalle caratteristiche del mezzo in cui viaggiano:!

K = modulo di incompressibilit del mezzo = modulo di rigidit o di taglio (shear) del mezzo ! = densit del mezzo
La velocit delle onde S sempre minore della velocit delle Onde P in quanto manca il termine K. Le onde P vengono avvertite (arrivano) prima delle S.!

In un mezzo fluido (liquido o gas), K!0, = 0 ovvero i fluidi sono comprimibili ma non ammettono taglio. Quindi: $ Le onde P possono K! viaggiare nei solidi, liquidi e gas Le onde S possono viaggiare nei solidi, ma NON nei liquidi e gas

#=0

La velocit delle onde P e S tende ad aumentare all"aumentare della densit ! del mezzo (curva di Nafe-Drake) poich all"aumentare della densit ! di una roccia i moduli di incompressibilit K e rigidit o shear della roccia aumentono in proporzione maggiore. ! !! !Ci avviene ad esempio all"aumentare della profondit nella crosta: aumenta la pressione litostatica e l"incompressibilit K e rigidit delle rocce aumentano maggiormente dell"aumento di densit !!

Ma la velocit delle onde P e S tende a diminuire all"aumentare della temperatura poich aumentando la temperatura del mezzo i moduli di incompressibilit K e rigidit o shear del mezzo diminuiscono maggiormente rispetto alla densit !. Ci avviene ad esempio all"aumentare della profondit nella crosta (gradiente geotermico). ! ! Dunque l"aumento di velocit in profondit legato all"aumento di pressione litostatica contrastato dalla diminuzione di velocit causata dall"aumento di temperatura. ! ! LA VELOCITA" DELLE ONDE E" CONTROLLATA DALLE CONDIZIONI GEOLOGICHE #LOCALI" !

Surface waves - Rayleigh and Love waves - are generated by the interaction of P- and S- waves at the surface of the earth, and travel with a velocity that is lower than the P-, S- wave velocities. ! ! They emanate outward from the epicenter (surface projection of hypocenter, where P- and S-waves are generated) of an earthquake.!

Rayleigh!

Love!

Rayleigh waves, also called ground roll, are surface waves that are conned to the Earth"s surface where they travel as ripples with motions that are similar to those of waves on the surface of water. The surface particles move in ellipses in planes normal to the surface and parallel to the direction of propagation. At the surface and at shallow depths this motion is retrograde (unlike water waves). Particles deeper in the material move in smaller ellipses with an eccentricity that changes with depth. ! ! The speed of Rayleigh waves on bulk solids, of the order of 25 km/s, is slightly less than the S-waves velocity.! Rayleigh wave velocity: VR = ~0.9#! i.e., ~90% of S-waves!

Love waves are surface seismic waves that cause horizontal shifting of the earth during an earthquake. The particle motion of a Love wave forms a horizontal line perpendicular to the direction of propagation (i.e. are transverse waves). The amplitude, or maximum particle motion, often decreases rapidly with depth. !

Love waves travel with a slower velocity VL than P- or S- waves, but faster than Rayleigh waves: VR

< VL < # !

The amplitude of Surface waves decays as function of 1/sqrt(x) whereas the amplitude of Body waves decays as function of 1/x2, where x is the radial distance from the epicenter for S waves or from the hypocenter for Body waves. Surface waves therefore decay more slowly with distance than do body waves, which spread out in three dimensions from a point source (hypocenter).! ! Surface waves therefore tend to be more destructive than body waves.!

A!

Body waves! A = f(x-2)!

x! A! Surface waves! A = f(x-0.5)!

x!

Surcial expression of waves

P waves!

Love waves!

Rayleigh waves!

S waves!

Sismogra Wood-Anderson $

Un terremoto viene registrato attraverso un sismografo che consiste essenzialmente in un pendolo ed un apparato di registrazione. Il passaggio dellonda sismica provoca il movimento del supporto del pendolo.

Fig. 19.4!

The difference of arrival time of P- and S-waves at a seismograph is function of distance of earthquake epicenter.! ! A 11-minute difference equals to a distance of ~8600 km; a 8-minute difference equals to ~5600 km; a 3minute difference equals to ~1500 km, and so on. !

The arrival time difference of P- and S-waves measured at three seismographic stations reveals the location of the epicenter by smallcircles intersection.!

The difference in arrival time between P and S waves is used! In Japan for the Early Warning System !

Local Magnitude (ML) or Richter scale. The Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs (adjustments are included to compensate for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquake). The original formula is: Richter magnitude ML = log10A - log10A0(%)! Where A is the maximum excursion of the seismograph; the empirical correction function A0 depends only on the epicentral distance of the station, %.! ! The Richter scale is obsolete and has been replaced by the MMS scale.!

The moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as Mw) was developed in the 1970s to succeed the 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale (ML). The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake M0, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped.! = rigidity or shear modulus! Seismic moment M0 = AD$ A = LW = fault plane area! in dyne centimeters (10&7 Nm) D = mean displacement along fault plane!

In order to create a moment magnitude scale (Mw) consistent with older magnitude scales such as the Local Moment (or "Richter") scale the seismic moment (M0) is converted into a logarithmic scale using the following equation: ! ! Moment magnitude Mw = 2/3log10(M0) 10.7!

The Moment Magnitude Scale based on the Seismic moment M0 and calculated as Mw = 2/3log10(M0) 10.7 is comparable to the old Richter scale and extends from Mw = 0 to Mw = 10!

Exercise 1!

Exercise 2. Suppose you want to estimate the proportional difference f%E in energy release between earthquakes of two different moment magnitudes Mw1 and Mw2, where Mw1 is larger than Mw2!
!

Starting from the equation of Moment magnitude ! Mw = 2/3log10(M0) 10.7! and solving for M0 we obtain:! log10(M0) = 3/2(Mw + 10.7) ! and! M01 = 103/2(Mw1 + 10.7) ! M02 = 103/2(Mw2 + 10.7) ! ! f&E = M01 / M02! = (103/2(Mw1 + 10.7)) / (103/2(Mw2 + 10.7))! = 103/2(Mw1-Mw2) !

The difference f%E in energy release between earthquakes of ! two different moment magnitudes Mw1 > Mw2 is:! ! f&E = 103/2(Mw1-Mw2)!
An increase of 1 on the moment magnitude Mw logarithmic scale corresponds to a 101.5 ' 32 times increase in the amount of energy released, an increase of 2 corresponds to a 103 = 1000 times increase in energy, an increase of 3 corresponds to a 104.5 = 31622 times increase in energy etc.! Japan earthquake of Friday, March 11, 2011; Mw1 = 9.0; Depth 32 km! L"Aquila earthquake of Monday, April 06, 2009; Mw2 = 6.3; Depth 8.8 km! ! Mw1-Mw2 = 2.7! ! fDE = 103/2(2.7) = 11.220 The Japan quake was eleven thousands times more energetic than the L"Aquila earthquake!

Each earthquake has only one magnitude, but the effects of any one earthquake can vary greatly from place to place. The Modied Mercalli Intensity scale generally deal with the manner in which the earthquake is felt by people. The higher numbers of the scale are based on observed structural damage.!

1. Focal mechanisms

Elastic Rebound

1. Focal mechanisms

No offset Earthquake break

No offset

1. Focal mechanisms

Volume decrease (compression)

Volume increase (dilation)

Volume increase (dilation)

Volume decrease (compression)

1. Focal mechanisms Direction of P-wave first motion

1. Focal mechanisms Direction of P-wave first motion

1. Focal mechanisms Orientation of fault plane can be represented by beach balls

Normal or rift faulting

1. Focal mechanisms Different orientations of different faults

La Rete Sismica Nazionale (INGV) registra pi di 2000 terremoti l'anno in Italia. Il catalogo sismico strumentale riporta circa 35.000 terremoti vericatisi in Italia a partire dal 1975. La sismicit crostale rappresenta la maggior parte dell'attivit sismica registrata (Fig. 1). Terremoti intermedi e profondi (Fig.2) avvengono nella zona del Tirreno meridionale verso i 300 km di profondit, dove i terremoti possono raggiungere anche M = 7. Questi terremoti suggeriscono un processo di subduzione attiva (Fig. 3).! Fig. 1! Fig. 2!

Fig. 3!

Rischio sismico in Italia. Guardando il record storico di terremoti di media e forte intensit Mercalli (cio estendendo il record strumentale indietro nel tempo utilizzando archivi stoirici), risulta che negli ultimi 2500 anni, l"Italia stata interessata da pi di 30.000 terremoti di intensit superiore al IV-V grado Mercalli) e da circa 560 eventi sismici di intensit uguale o superiore all"VIII grado della scala Mercalli. ! ! Solo nel XX secolo, ben 7 terremoti hanno ! avuto una magnitudo uguale o superiore! a 6.5 (X e XI grado Mercalli). ! ! La sismicit pi elevata si concentra ! nella parte centro-meridionale della ! penisola lungo la dorsale appenninica ! (Val di Magra, Mugello, Val Tiberina,! Val Nerina, Aquilano, Fucino, ! Beneventano, Irpinia) - in Calabria ! e Sicilia, ed in Friuli e parte del Veneto.!

Peak ground acceleration (PGA) is a measure of earthquake acceleration on the ground. It is not a measure of a quake magnitude (Richter or MMS scales) but rather a measure of how hard the earth shakes in a given geographic area. The PGA scale is ! measured by accelerographs ! and it generally correlates ! well with the Mercalli scale.! ! Thanks to the scientists of! INGV, we have a detailed ! PGA Map of Italy!

Prior to the introduction of modern seismic codes in the late 1960s for developed countries (US, Japan) many structures were designed without adequate detailing and reinforcement for seismic protection. !

Example: Casa dello Studente, L"Aquila!

non sono necessari controlli periodici su palazzi costruiti negli anni 60 (prima dellentrata in vigore delle normative in materia di ! edilizia anti-sismica) in una zona ! a classe di massima pericolosit ! sismica. !

Professore dica qualcosaSeismic retrotting is the modication of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers, the need of seismic retrotting is well acknowledged. Example from San Francisco:! Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS)! The CAPSS project will make policy ! recommendations to the Department ! of Building Inspection (DBI) regarding ! the earthquake performance of ! most privately-owned, existing ! buildings in the city. When enacted, ! these policy recommendations would ! reduce future earthquake damage ! and facilitate the repair of buildings ! damaged by earthquakes. !

Tsunami can be generated when the sea oor abruptly deforms and
vertically displaces the overlying water. When earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. More specically, a tsunami can be generated when thrust faults associated with convergent or destructive plate boundaries move abruptly, resulting in water displacement, owing to the vertical component of movement involved. Movement on normal faults will also cause displacement of the seabed, but the size of the largest of such events is normally too small to give rise to a signicant tsunami.!

Tsunamis in pills:! While everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about 100 metres and a height of roughly 2 metres, a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about 200 kilometres. Such a wave travels at well over 800 kilometres per hour over deep water. ! ! As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow, wave shoaling compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80 kilometres per hour. Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20 kilometres and its amplitude grows enormously. Since the wave still has the same very long period (time from crest to ! crest), the tsunami may ! take minutes to reach full ! height. Except for the very ! largest tsunamis, ! the approaching wave does ! not break, but rather appears ! like a fast-moving tidal bore. !

Note the enormous wavelenght (~200 km) of Tsunami waves!

Small amplitude! theory for wave celerity!

Wave celerity (speed):! where g is acceleration of gravity! 980 cm/sec2! Wave Period, which is the length of time it takes for a wave to pass a xed point (crest to crest), is:!

T = L / C!

T = L / C!
In the open ocean, a Tsunami typical wave lenght L is 200 km. Therefore, the term d/L is very small, on the order of 0.03; hence, the equation of celerity C becomes:!

C =!

= sqrt(980 X 600.000) = 873 km/h (for a 6 km-deep ocean)!

And the Period T of such a wave is:!

T = L / C = 200 / 873 = 14 min!

Whereas a typical amplitude of a Tsunami is of only about 1 metre. ! ! Long periods and small amplitudes make tsunamis difcult to detect over deep water. Ships rarely notice their passage.!

As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow, wave shoaling compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80 kilometres per hour: !

C =! = sqrt(980 X 5000) = ! 80 km/h (for a 50 m-deep ocean)!

Its wavelength L diminishes to less than 20 kilometres and its amplitude grows enormously, whereas he Period T remains the same:!

T = L / C = 20 / 80 = 15 min!
Since the wave still has the same very long period, the tsunami may take minutes to reach full height. The approaching wave does not usually break, but rather appears like a fast-moving tidal bore.!

Since the wave still has the same very long period, the approaching wave appears like a fast-moving tidal bore. The whole ocean is coming upon land! e.g The 26 Dec 2004 Indian Ocean Mw 9.2 earthquake & tsunami

Ancient Mediterranean Tsunami May Strike Again!

A map depicts the Mediterranean Sea (green) and the degree of sea-level displacement caused by a tsunami after the Crete earthqake (magnitude ~8) that wracked the Mediterranean region in A.D. 365.! ! Such tsunamis are relatively frequent in the region, striking perhaps as often as every 800 years.!

Professore dica qualcosa 6 Aprile 2009 - L"Aquila!

31 Ottobre 2001 - San Giuliano di Puglia - crollo scuola: 27 bambini morti"quella sopraelevazione - ha ricordato il procuratore generale della Cassazione, Francesco Iacoviello - stata costruita senza rispettare le norme antisismiche necessarie in una zona, come quella di San Giuliano, ad elevato rischio sismico e il sindaco non avrebbe dovuto consentire l'apertura di quella scuola senza nemmeno un certicato di collaudo". !