Earthquakes

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Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs.

The recording they make is


called a seismogram. The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy
weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the
seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is
hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of
the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded. How do scientists measure the size
of earthquakes? The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of
slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape
since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an
earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of
the earth to determine how large the earthquake was (figure 5). A short wiggly line that doesn’t
wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a
large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the
wiggle depends on the amount of slip. The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There
is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an
earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake. How can
scientists tell where the earthquake happened? Seismograms come in handy for locating
earthquakes too, and being able to see the P wave and the S wave is important. You learned
how P & S waves each shake the ground in different ways as they travel through it. P waves are
also faster than S waves, and this fact is what allows us to tell where an earthquake was. To
understand how this works, let’s compare P and S waves to lightning and thunder. Light travels
faster than sound, so during a thunderstorm you will first see the lightning and then you will
hear the thunder. If you are close to the lightning, the thunder will boom right after the
lightning, but if you are far away from the lightning, you can count several seconds before you
hear the thunder. The further you are from the storm, the longer it will take between the
lightning and the thunder. P waves are like the lightning, and S waves are like the thunder. The P
waves travel faster and shake the ground where you are first. Then the S waves follow and
shake the ground also. If you are close to the earthquake, the P and S wave will come one right
after the other, but if you are far away, there will be more time between the two. By looking at
the amount of time between the P and S wave on a seismogram recorded on a seismograph,
scientists can tell how far away the earthquake was from that location. However, they can’t tell
in what direction from the seismograph the earthquake was, only how far away it was. If they
draw a circle on a map around the station where the radius of the circle is the determined
distance to the earthquake, they know the earthquake lies somewhere on the circle. But where?
Scientists then use a method called triangulation to determine exactly where the earthquake
was (figure 6). It is called triangulation because a triangle has three sides, and it takes three
seismographs to locate an earthquake. If you draw a circle on a map around three different
seismographs where the radius of each is the distance from that station to the earthquake, the
intersection of those three circles is the epicenter! What is liquefaction? Liquefaction may occur
when water-saturated sandy soils are subjected to earthquake ground shaking. When soil
liquefies, it loses strength and behaves as a viscous liquid (like quicksand) rather than as a solid.
This can cause buildings to sink into the ground or tilt, empty buried tanks to rise to the ground
surface, slope failures, nearly level ground to shift laterally tens of feet (lateral spreading),
surface subsidence, ground cracking, and sand blows. Why is liquefaction a concern?
Liquefaction has caused significant property damage in many earthquakes around the world,
and is a major hazard associated with earthquakes in Utah. The 1934 Hansel Valley and 1962
Cache Valley earthquakes caused liquefaction, and large prehistoric lateral spreads exist at many
locations along the Wasatch Front. The valleys of the Wasatch Front are especially vulnerable to
liquefaction because of susceptible soils, shallow ground water, and relatively high probability of
moderate to large earthquakes. Where is liquefaction likely to occur? Two conditions must exist
for liquefaction to occur: (1) the soil must be susceptible to liquefaction (loose, water-saturated,
sandy soil, typically between 0 and 30 feet below the ground surface) and (2) ground shaking
must be strong enough to cause susceptible soils to liquefy. Northern, central, and
southwestern Utah are the state's most seismically active areas. Identifying soils susceptible to
liquefaction in these areas involves knowledge of the local geology and subsurface soil and
water conditions. The most susceptible soils are generally along rivers, streams, and lake
shorelines, as well as in some ancient river and lake deposits. How is liquefaction potential
determined? The liquefaction potential categories shown on this map depend on the probability
of having an earthquake within a 100-year period that will be strong enough to cause
liquefaction in those zones. High liquefaction potential means that there is a 50% probability of
having an earthquake within a 100-year period that will be strong enough to cause liquefaction.
Moderate means that the probability is between 10% and 50%, low between 5 and 10%, and
very low less than 5%. What can be done? To determine the liquefaction potential and
likelihood of property damage at a site, a sitespecific geotechnical investigation by a qualified
professional is needed. If a hazard exists, various hazard-reduction techniques are available,
such as soil improvement or special foundation design. The cost of site investigations and/or
mitigation measures should be balanced with an acceptable risk.

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