Seismotectonics Lecture Earthquakes global tectonics and man folks
Seismotectonics Lecture Earthquakes, global tectonics and man folks Gly 326 Autumn, of the current year lecture from K. Sieh
Motivations for studying earthquakes It is the legitimate ambition of every properly constituted geologist to see a glacier, witness an eruption and feel an earthquake. G. K. Gilbert, in D. S. Jordan (ed. ), The Investigation of the California Earthquake of 1906, 1907
The glacier is always ready, awaiting his visit; the eruption has a course to run, and alacrity only is needed to catch its more important phases; but the earthquake, unheralded and brief, may elude him through his entire lifetime.
It had been my fortune to experience only a single weak tremor, and I had, moreover, been tantalized by narrowly missing the great Inyo earthquake of 1872 and the Alaska earthquake of 1899. When, therefore, I was awakened in Berkeley on the eighteenth of April last by a tumult of motions and noises, it was with unalloyed pleasure that I became aware that a vigorous earthquake was in progress. …
Bam 2003 (Mw 6. 8) Another motivation 100, 000 population 40, 000 dead Courtesy of James Jackson
Location date magnitude deaths Tabas, Iran 1978 7. 2 11, 000 v. rural Rudbar, Iran 1990 7. 3 40, 000 rural Zirkuh, Iran 1995 7. 2 1, 600 Bam, Iran 2003 6. 5 50, 000 v. rural town Loma Prieta, Ca 1989 6. 9 62 urban Northridge, Ca 1994 6. 7 51 urban
number of earthquakes per century killing > 10, 000 people Courtesy of James Jackson
Sweden Norway Canada Denmark USA Ireland UK Israel Netherlands Germany Turkey Taiwan Belgium China Hong Kong Luxembourg Hong Kong Taiwan Switzerland France Jamaica Puerto Rico Israel Mexico Venezuela Guatemala Colombia Greece. Turkey Spain Philippines Italy Portugal Ecuador Peru Chile Africa Indonesia South Africa Australia New Zealand Areas of the World scaled according to Property Insurance Premium Income The world seen economically… RMS Ltd
Turkey 1999 Iran 2003 Pakistan 2005 Taiwan 1999 India 2001 Indonesia 2004
Cities with more than 500, 000 inhabitants Within 100 km of an active fault system Not within 100 km of a major active fault system
Some examples of large potential seismic disasters Istanbul 100, 000 s Himalayan front millions Tehran millions West Sumatra 500, 000
TEHRAN Destroyed in: 4 th century BC 855 AD 958 1177 1830 population: 10 -12 million
fold Tehran J. Hollingsworth & M. J. Bolourchi
North Tehran Fault Tehran J. Hollingsworth & M. J. Bolourchi
Some examples of large potential seismic disasters Himalayan front millions
2005; 54, 000 dead Tibet Islamabad India
Tibet India
Tibet India
The biggest natural disaster ever? Earthquakes: 1556 1920 1923 1976 Shensi, China Haiyuan, China Tokyo, Japan Tangshan, China dead 830, 000 235, 000 143, 000 >243, 000 Coastal cyclones and windstorms 1737 1876 1881 1970 Calcutta Bangladesh Haifeng, China Bangladesh 300, 000 215, 000 300, 000 1642 1887 1931 1938 1959 China (dam burst) 900, 000 China (Huang Ho) 900, 000 China (Yangtze Kiang) 1, 400, 000 China (dam demolition) 500, 000 N. China 2, 000 Floods Data from Munich Re
Differences between the geologic and seismographic realms
The multi-disciplinary nature of earthquake science
Charles Darwin -- the father of neotectonics!
Two aspects of earthquake geology ✓Neotectonics ✓ Paleoseismology
Neotectonic “domains” of Taiwan (Shyu et al. , 2005, JGR)
Paleoseismology T. Rockwell
Summary of Offsets
- Slides: 34
