The Himalayan Physics Vol.

6 & 7, April 2017 (86-91) ISSN 2542-2545

Siesmic Activity and its Periphery
Min Raj Lamsal
Department of Physics, Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara
E-mail: min_lamsal@yahoo.com
Abstract: Earthquake is a series of vibrations within the earth's crust. It occurs when the earth's crust break due to
geological forces on the rock and adjoining plate. Earthquake refers to a movement or tremor of the earth’s crust that
originates naturally and below the surface. An earthquake is a vibration or oscillation of the surface of the earth caused
by a transient disturbance of the elastic or gravitational equilibrium of the rocks at or beneath the surface. There are
two causes of earthquakes. One is religious concept and the other is modern concept. Earthquakes are of different types
according to their place of origin and location. There are so many effects of earthquakes.
Key words: Seismology, Seismograph, Seismic Waves, Faults, Tectonic plates, Richter scale, Hypocentre, Epicentre

1. INTRODUCTION of the earthquake or hypocentre. The hypocentre of most

Why and how earthquake occurs is the most frequently earthquakes lies less than 70 km beneath the surface. The
asked question which cann't be answered till we don't know deepest known hypocentre has been found nearly 700 km
what is earthquake. An earthquake can be defined as a below the surface of the earth. The point on the surface of the
series of vibrations within the earth’s crust that are caused earth directly above the hypocentre is known as the epicentre
by the rupture of its rocks. This rupture is due to gradual of the earthquake. The strongest shaking of the earthquake is
accumulation of elastic strain within the crust. Earthquakes usually felt near the epicentre. When an earthquake occurs,
are the manifestations of the slippage at a geological fault. the violent breaking of rock releases energy that travels
The majority occur at tectonic plate boundaries .Earthquakes through the earth in the form of vibrations called seismic
and volcanic activity are closely related, they often develop waves. These seismic waves move out from the hypocentre
simultaneously, and both are fundamentally related to the in all directions and when they travel long distance from
margins of continental plates and to a mountain- building. the hypocentre, they become weaker. Therefore, the ground
There are different types of faults in the earth. Basically, the generally shakes less farther away from the hypocentre.
faults responsible for earthquakes are Parallel Fault, Normal
Fault, Reverse Fault, Step Fault, Dip Fault and Tear Fault. 2. Measurement of earthquake
Earthquake occurs when the earth’s crust breaks due to The Richter magnitude scale assigns a magnitude number to
geological forces on rocks and adjoining plates that cause quantify the energy released by an earthquake. Magnitude
physical and chemical changes. is based on measurement of the maximum motion recorded
by a seismograph. Two types of scale are used to define the
magnitude of earthquakes. In the logarithmic Richter scale
each unit is ten times the intensity of the next lower on the
scale. The intensity is recorded by seismographs. There is no
upper limit but the greatest magnitude yet recorded is 8.9.

Fig. 1 Internal Structure of earth

Earthquakes usually begin deep in the ground. The point
in the earth where the rocks first break is called the focus

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 Siesmic Activity and its Periphery
the tectonic plates are moving very slowly but they get stuck
at their edges due to friction. So seismic waves are produced
which make the ground shake.
Plate tectonics embodies the idea that the earth’s surface is
broken into several rigid plates, like a huge cracked sphere.
The plates consist of portions of both continents and oceans
and are moving in various directions. The new molten
volcanic material from depth fills the void created by their
separation where the plates are pulling apart. The continental
rocks are often squeezed and buckled into mountain where
the plates come together eventually one plate descends under
the other and is absorbed back inside the earth.
Fig. 2 Measurement of Earthquakes
The Modified Mercalli Earthquake Intensity Scale is 4. Tectonic Plates
in common use. It is based on the observed effects of an
earthquake. At the lowest end, the numeral I means the shock
is felt by only a few people under special circumstances. A
shock felt generally, with minor breakages indoors is classed
as V. The general alarm is equivalent to VIII and ‘Panic’
with varying categories of total destruction are graded IX
to XII.

3. CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKE
What causes of earthquake is a matter of discussion this days Fig 3 Tectonics Plate
and it can not be clearly explained scientifically with out any The exact number of plates is unknown but at least seven
knowledge of physics. There are two causes of earthquake. large ones and several small ones have been identified. The
According to religious concept, long ago, Great Spirit made largest plate is the Pacific Plate whose area is 103300000 km2
a beautiful land that turtles carried on their backs in lakes and carries most of the Pacific Ocean. The North American
and rivers. One day the turtles began to argue and started to Plate consists of that continent and the western half of the
move along different directions. Three of them swam east, Atlantic Ocean whose area is 75900000 km2 and the entire
the other three swam west. The earth shook and cracked. The unit is moving to the west where it is colliding with the Pacific
turtles could not swim far because their load was heavy. So Plate. The eastern side of the Atlantic is part of the Eurasian
they made up. But once in a while, the turtles argue again. Plate (area 67800000 km2 ) which is moving in the opposite
Each time, the earth shakes. Religion is a matter of faith direction and colliding with the western edge of the Pacific
and cannot be explained scientifically except a few aspects Plate. Thus, the Atlantic Ocean is opening and the Pacific
which have come to light. So, it will be futile to discuss the Ocean is closing. The size of African Plate is 61300000km2.
religious reasoning behind origin of earthquakes and find a Similarly, the sizes of Antarctic Plate, Indo-Australian Plate,
scientific analogue to it. Australian Plate and South American Plate are 6090000
According to modern concept, the plate tectonic theory gives km2, 58900000 km2, 47000000 km2, and 43600000 km2
the most convincing explanation for the cause of earthquakes. respectively. Since continental crust is composed of low-
According to this theory, there are so many tectonic plates density materials and is more buoyant than ocean crust, it
in the earth. When underground rocks or tectonic plates cannot be subducted. Consequently, the Pacific Plate, which
suddenly break along a fault in the earth’s rocky outermost is composed of oceanic crust, is descending under the North
crust then sudden release of energy takes place. Actually all American and Eurasian Plates carrying continental crust,

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 Min Raj Lamsal
and undergoes subduction into the deep sea trenches. The a. Volcanic Earthquakes
driving mechanism for plate movement is unknown but is b. Tectonic Earthquakes
still thought to involve huge convection currents of some c. Isostatic Earthquakes
sort. d. Plutonic Earthquakes
On the basis of movement, there are two kinds of earthquakes.
5. Formation of Earthquake They are- horizontal quake and vertical quake. Horizontal
Most earthquakes occur along a fault; a fracture in the earth’s quake is a to and fro or left and right movement of the earth.
rock where sections of rock repeatedly slide past each other. Vertical quake is the up and down movement of the earth.
Faults occur in weak areas of the earth’s rock. Most faults lie Earthquakes occur when bombs are exploded on the earth’s
beneath the surface of the earth but some are visible on the crust during the construction of roads, tunnels, etc. These
surface. The stress on the earth causes large blocks of rocks types of earthquakes are called artificial earthquakes.
along a fault to bend. The rocks break and snap into a new Depending on the structure of the land surface, there are
position, when the bending is too much, it results in shaking two types of earthquake- Interplate and Intraplate. The
of the earth. earthquake that occurs between two adjoining megaplates
is called interplate earthquake whereas the earthquake that
occurs in the centre of the megaplate is called intraplate
earthquake.

7. Types of Seismic waves

Earthquakes generate three types of seismic waves. They
are- Primary waves (P-waves), Secondary waves (S-waves)
and Surface waves. Primary and secondary waves arrive at
seismic recording stations one after another. Both primary
and secondary waves penetrate the interior of the earth
Fig 4 formation of earthquake
while surface waves do not. Due to this reason, primary
and secondary waves are also known as body waves. The
6. TYPES OF EARTHQUAKE speed of P wave is 1.7 times the speed of S-wave. When
these waves appear on the surface, another wave spread on
There are different types of earthquake depending upon
the surface called surface wave or L-wave. This L wave
their place of origin, location, movement and structure of
damages human made properties.
the land surface. Earthquakes are relatively small vibratory
movements of the earth’s crust. Probably they are all initiated
by the sudden displacement of the rocks along the fault line.
According to their place of origin, there are three types of
earthquakes. If the hypocentre lies below 50-70 km from the
surface of the earth then that is called Normal Earthquakes.
If the hypocentre lies below 70-250 km from the surface of
the earth then that is called Intermediate Earthquakes. If the
hypocentre lies below 250 km or greater than that from the
surface of the earth then that is called Deep Earthquake.
According to their location, there are two types of
earthquakes. They are- Continental Earthquakes and Oceanic
Earthquakes. On the basis of their cause there are four types Fig 5 Formation of Seismic Waves
of Natural Earthquakes. They are- When an earthquake occurs, the seismic waves move out

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 Siesmic Activity and its Periphery
in all directions from the hypocentre. These seismic waves subduction zone. Earthquakes do not occur below a depth of
cause ground motions. An instrument called seismograph 700 km because the descending lithosphere becomes molten
is used to detect ground motion caused by seismic waves and behaves more like a plastic than a brittle solid.
from both near and distant earthquakes. So, the strength and
location of earthquake are determined by seismograph. 9. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS OF
A large earthquake is generally followed by a series of EARTHQUAKE
other shocks. Aftershock is the vibration of the earth’s crust There are so many environment hazards of earthquake.
after the main earthquake waves have passed. Aftershock Earthquake is the most damaging natural disaster. Buildings,
originates at or near the same seismic focus, due to minor bridges and other structures collapse due to earthquake.
adjustments of the rocks after their main rupture. These Various changes occur on the surface of the earth due
shocks may go on for hours, days, months or even years. to large earthquakes. Small mountains may convert into
plains and plains may convert into small mountains due
8. REGIONS OF EARTHQUAKE OCCURRENCE: to deposition of rocks, soil, etc. Landslides and floods that
Although there are so many regions, there are four basic occur due to earthquakes destroy agricultural land, forest,
regions of earthquake occurrence. One is along the mid- etc. The environmental hazards of earthquakes are those of
ocean ridges, where high heat flow and volcanic activity ground-shaking, fault rupture, the creation of tsunamis (tidal
occur, caused by the stretching of the earth’s surface. wave) and the dislodgement of landslides, mud flows and
These mid-ocean earthquakes are usually shallow-focus, avalanches. It sometimes causes a permanent change of level
originating at depths of less than 70 km. Most volcanic and at the surface but generally the damage done by the shaking
earthquake activity occurs in the vicinity of the deep sea gives the only lasting visible effect. Secondary effects
trenches and island arcs. Both volcanism and earthquakes include falling debris from buildings and the ignition of fires
are now known to be direct by-products of plate movements caused by the disruption of fuel and electrical systems. The
and subductions. The second area of earthquake occurrence discussion here will be limited to ground shaking and fault
is along transform fault zones- where one section of the rupture.
earth’s crust is sliding by another- such as the San Andreas
Fault in California or the Anatolian fault in Northern Turkey.
Earthquakes here are also shallow but without associated
volcanic activity. Third area of earthquake occurrence is a
belt of shallow focus earthquakes which extends from the
Himalayas to the Alps. It is apparently associated with the
compressive forces responsible for the creation of these
mountains. In general, shallow focus earthquakes pose the
greatest danger to human populations, since they are most
numerous and involve the greatest release of energy. The
last earthquake area is the deep sea trenches and volcanic
island arcs that surround the Pacific Ocean. Earthquake
Fig 6 Environmental hazards
foci occurring in this region may be shallow, intermediate,
or as deep as 700 km depending on their exact location This is a list of earthquakes in Nepal. It includes those events
in the subduction zone. The tracing of earthquake foci in with their epicentre in the country and those that occurred
these areas has revealed that the deeper earthquakes occur outside the country, but caused significant damage in Nepal.
in an inclined zone that dips away from the deep sea trench.
Therefore, by using a network of sensitive seismographs
around the earth to locate the foci of these earthquakes, it
is possible to establish the position and steepness of the

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 Min Raj Lamsal

Date Place Latitude Longitude Fatalities Magnitude

1255, 7 June Kathmandu 27.7 85.3 2,200 7.8
1260 Sagarmatha 27.1 86.8 100 7.1
1344 Mechi 27.5 87.5 100 7.9
1408 August Near Nepal-Tibet Border, Bagmati zone 27.9 86.0 2,500 8.2
1505, 6 June Near Saldang, Karnali zone 29.5 83.0 6,000 8.8
1681 January Northern Koshi zone 27.6 87.1 4,500 8.0
1767 July Northern Bagmati zone 28.0 85.5 4,000 7.9
1833, 26 August Kathmandu/Bihar 27.9 85.5 6,500 8.0
1869, 7 July Kathmandu 27.7 85.3 750 6.5
1916, 28 August Nepal/Tibet 30.0 81.0 3,500 7.7
1934, 15 January Nepal/India/Tibet 26.773 86.762 8,519 8.4
1966, 27 June Nepal/India border 29.554 80.854 80 6.3
1980, 29 July Nepal/Pithoragarh 29.598 81.092 200 6.5
2011, 18 September Sikkim, India 27.33 88.62 111 6.9
2015, 25 April Kathmandu/India/Tibet 28.147 84.708 8,922 7.8
2015, 12 May Nepal/China/India 27.97 85.96 213 7.3
The shaking during earthquakes is caused by seismic the vertical displacement of rock along fault zones exposes
waves created by the sudden displacement of the earth along the rock, providing a view of what lies underground. This
a fault. This displacement may result in both vertical and is particularly useful for the discovery and extraction of
horizontal movement of the ground with intense vibrations. mineral deposits.
Shaking of the ground is the single greatest hazard associated
with earthquakes. The major danger in heavily populated 11. CONCLUSION
areas comes from debris falling from damaged buildings,
Earthquake occurs when the earth's crust breaks due to
those constructed from rigid and unreinforced material such
geological forces on rocks and adjoining plates that cause
as concrete, masonry or adobe are particularly susceptible
physical and chemical changes. When earthquake occur
to earthquake damage. Wooden structures have the greatest
the violent breaking of rock releases energy that travels
resiliency. In Japan, Nepal, Chile, Peru and other countries
though the earth in the form of vibrations called seismic
where earthquakes have taken such a devastating toll in
wave. Earthquake occurs as global plate motion. Some plate
recent years, the typical house has a tile roof and adobe
boundaries glide past each other smoothly while others are
block walls veneered with plaster.
punctuated by catastrophic failures causing into earthquake.
Some earthquakes stop only after a few hundred aftershocks.
10. BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF EARTHQUAKES
The Richter magnitude scale assigns a magnitude number to
Although there are so many harmful effects of earthquake, quantify the energy released by an earthquake. Magnitude is
there are also beneficial aspects of earthquake. The beneficial based on measurement of the maximum motion recorded by
aspects of earthquakes are fewer than those of volcanoes, but a seismograph.
seismic activity provides some benefits for man. Earthquakes An earthquake can be defined as a series of vibrations within
are fundamentally related to the creation of initial relief and the earth’s crust that are caused by the rupture of its rocks.
mountain building with all its ramifications. In addition, This rupture is due to gradual accumulation of elastic strain

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 Siesmic Activity and its Periphery
within the crust. Fault zones and fault systems have a key (6) P. C. Paudel, 1989, Physical Geography, Ratna Pustak
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Seismic-waves_full_size_landscape.jpg/291944603/
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