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    Earthquake Faults: It's A Snap

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    Kim Smith
    1) An earthquake occurs when built-up stress causes two blocks of earth separated by a fault to suddenly slip past one another, releasing energy. 2) Faults form when the blocks are displaced relative to each other, and earthquakes happen due to the sudden release of stored elastic energy from within the earth. 3) The document uses the analogy of snapping fingers to demonstrate how earthquakes occur via a "stick-slip" process, as accumulated stress overcomes friction until sudden slip releases energy as seismic waves.

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    Earthquake Faults: It's A Snap

    Uploaded by

    Kim Smith
    57 views4 pages
    1) An earthquake occurs when built-up stress causes two blocks of earth separated by a fault to suddenly slip past one another, releasing energy. 2) Faults form when the blocks are displaced relative to each other, and earthquakes happen due to the sudden release of stored elastic energy from within the earth. 3) The document uses the analogy of snapping fingers to demonstrate how earthquakes occur via a "stick-slip" process, as accumulated stress overcomes friction until sudden slip releases energy as seismic waves.

    Original Description:

    Notes on Earthquakes and Faults

    Original Title

    Earthquake Faults

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    1) An earthquake occurs when built-up stress causes two blocks of earth separated by a fault to suddenly slip past one another, releasing energy. 2) Faults form when the blocks are displaced relative to each other, and earthquakes happen due to the sudden release of stored elastic energy from within the earth. 3) The document uses the analogy of snapping fingers to demonstrate how earthquakes occur via a "stick-slip" process, as accumulated stress overcomes friction until sudden slip releases energy as seismic waves.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    57 views4 pages

    Earthquake Faults: It's A Snap

    Uploaded by

    Kim Smith
    1) An earthquake occurs when built-up stress causes two blocks of earth separated by a fault to suddenly slip past one another, releasing energy. 2) Faults form when the blocks are displaced relative to each other, and earthquakes happen due to the sudden release of stored elastic energy from within the earth. 3) The document uses the analogy of snapping fingers to demonstrate how earthquakes occur via a "stick-slip" process, as accumulated stress overcomes friction until sudden slip releases energy as seismic waves.

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    Earthquake

    Faults
    Introduction
    What is A Fault?
    A fault is a rock fracture where the two
    sides have been displaced relative to
    each other. An earthquake is what
    happens when these two blocks of the
    earth, seemingly stuck together, suddenly
    slip past one another. The surface where
    they slip is called the fault or fault plane.
    The slip causes a sudden shaking or It’s a Snap
    vibration in the Earth due to the sudden
    release of energy from within the Earth. Quick Demo
    Because of pressure and friction at depth, It’s a Snap! An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on
    plates rarely slide quietly past each a fault, much like what happens when you snap your
    other.
 Stress builds up between them until fingers.
    it reaches
 a critical strain, and the Put your thumb and middle fi
 nger together. With mild
    accumulated potential energy is released pressure, or with greasy fingers they slide past each other
    as the earthquake. The higher the stress, easily with little stress. With dry fingers and higher stress,
    the greater the energy released. you can affect an audible response. Before allowing your
    (Remember when you first learned about fingers to snap, push them together and sideways. Allow
    the energy release of a rubber band under friction to keep them from slipping. When you apply
    stress?) The relative motion between the enough stress to overcome this friction, your fingers move
    plat es controls what type of a fault results suddenly, releasing energy.
    When you snap your fingers (see box on The same “stick-slip” process goes on in the earth.
    right) the whole “fault plane” moves due
 to Stresses in the earth’s outer layer push the sides of the
    uniform friction release; an earthquake fault together. The friction across the surface of the fault
    happens on a discrete area of the fault holds the rocks together so they do not slip immediately
    plane that becomes un-stuck. when pushed sideways. Eventually enough stress builds
    Fault Slip Occurs in Three Stages: up and the rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves
    that travel through the rock to cause the shaking that we
    1) initiation of sliding on a small part of the
    feel during an earthquake.
    fault,
    Snapping fingers can’t generate an earthquake, but they
    2) growth of the slip surface, and
 3)
    do generate energy in the form of sound waves that travel
    termination of slip and fault healing.
    from fingers to ear. Sound waves are compressive waves;
    Earthquakes occur on preexisting faults the P waves generated from an earthquake are also
    operating in a “stick-slip” mode. compressive waves. [modified from
    Earthquakes are “slip” episodes; they are http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/topics/megaquakes.php]
    followed by periods of no slip (“stick”),
    during which elastic strain increases away
    from the fault. Although some growth of the
    fault may occur with each earthquake, we
    can generally assume that for large earthquakes (M>6) the faulting process primarily involves
    repeated breaking of the same fault segment rather than creation of a new fault surface.”
    Figure 1: Comparative Fault Behavior

    About the Animations


    These animations of four faults are elementary examples of fault motion intended for simple
    demonstrations. Faults are categorized into three general groups based on the sense of slip or
    movement. (Figures above.) If the main sense of movement on the fault plane is up or down, the fault
    is known as a dip-slip fault. Where the main sense
 of slip is horizontal the fault is known as a strike-
    slip fault. Oblique-slip faults have significant components of both strike and dip slip.
    Strike-Slip Fault—the movement of blocks along a fault is horizontal and the fault plane is nearly
    vertical. If the block on the far side of the fault moves to the left, as shown in this animation, the fault
    is called left-lateral (Figure 2). If it moves to the right, the fault is called right-lateral. The fault motion
    of a strike-slip fault is caused by shearing forces. [Other names: transcurrent fault, lateral fault, tear
    fault or wrench fault.] Examples include the San Andreas Fault, California; Anatolian Fault, Turkey.
    Normal Fault—the block above the fault moves down relative to the block below the fault. This fault
    motion is caused by tensional forces and results in extension. [Other names: normal-slip fault,
    tensional fault or gravity fault] Examples include Basin & Range faults.
    Oblique-Slip Faulting suggests both dip-slip faulting and strike-slip faulting. It is caused by a
    combination of shearing and tension or compressional forces. Nearly all faults will have some
    component of both dip-slip (normal or reverse) and strike-slip, so defining a fault as oblique requires
    both dip and strike components to be measurable and significant.
    Reverse fault—the block above the fault moves up relative to the block below the fault. This fault
    motion is caused by compressional forces and results in shortening. A reverse fault is called a thrust
    fault if the dip of the fault plane is small. [Other names: reverse-slip fault or compressional fault.]
    Examples include the Rocky Mountains and the Himalayan Mountains.
    Left Lateral Strike-Slip Fault Right Lateral Strike-Slip Fault

    Figure 2: If the block opposite


    an observer looking across the
    fault moves to the right, the slip
    style is termed right lateral; if
    the block moves to the left, the
    motion is termed left lateral.

    Vocabulary
 To accompany Background files for IRIS’ Animation page. (Definitions


    from usgs.gov; nasa.gov; fema.gov)
    Asperity — Literally “roughness. It is an area on a fault that is stuck or locked. A type of surface
    roughness appearing along the interface of two faults. Physics the elastically compressed region of
    contact between two surfaces caused by the normal force.
    Compression — Fractional decrease of volume due to pressure.

    Crust — The outermost major layer of the earth, ranging from about 10 to 65 km in thickness
    worldwide. The uppermost 15-35 km of crust is brittle enough to produce earthquakes. Oceanic crust
    is thinnest; continental crust is thickest.
    Dip — The angle by which a rock layer or fault plane deviates from the horizontal.
    Dip Slip — Dip-Slip faults can be again classified into the types “reverse” and “normal”. A normal
    fault occurs when the crust is extended. Alternatively such a fault can be called an extensional fault.
    The hanging wall moves downward, relative to the footwall. A downthrown block between two normal
    faults dipping towards each other is called a graben. An upthrown block between two normal faults
    dipping away from each other is called a horst. Low-angle normal faults with regional tectonic
    significance may be designated detachment faults.
    Earthquake — Shaking or trembling of the earth that accompanies rock movements extending
    anywhere from the crust to 680 km below the Earth’s surface. It is the release of stored elastic energy
    caused by sudden fracture and movement of rocks inside the Earth. Part of the energy released
    produces seismic waves, like P, S, and surface waves, that travel outward in all directions from the
    point of initial rupture. These waves shake the ground as they pass by. An earthquake is felt if the
    shaking is strong enough to cause ground accelerations exceeding approximately 1.0
    centimeter/second squared.
    Epicenter — The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
    Fault — A fracture or zone of fractures in rock along which the two sides have been displaced
    relative to each other. If the main sense of movement on the fault plane is up (compressional;
    reverse) or down (extensional; normal), it is called a dip-slip fault. Where the main sense of slip is
    horizontal the fault is known as a strike-slip fault. Oblique-slip faults have both strike and dip slip.
    Fault plane — The plane along which the break or shear of a fault occurs. It is a plane of differential
    movement, that can be vertical as in a strike slip fault or inclined like a subduction zone fault.
    Fault zone — Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, the term fault zone is
    used when referring to the zone of complex deformation that is associated with the fault plane.
    Focus — The point on the fault at which the first movement or break occurred. Directly beneath the
    epicenter at 1–50 km depth.
    Locked fault — A fault that is not slipping because frictional resistance on the fault is greater than
    the shear stress across the fault (it is stuck). Such faults may store strain for extended periods that is
    eventually released in an earthquake when frictional resistance is overcome.
    Seismicity — The geographic and historical distribution (the “where?” and “how often?”) of earthquakes.
    Tectonics — Large-scale deformation of the outer part of the Earth resulting from forces in the Earth.

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