Chapter 9

Earth's Internal Structure Crust - Mantle - Core

374

Teaching Plate Tectonics

Teaching Plate Tectonics Convergent Boundary

Earth's Internal Structure Transform Boundary

Divergent Boundary Tectonic Features Map

Three Parts of Earth's Interior: Knowledge of earth's interior is essential for understanding plate tectonics. A good analogy for teaching about earth's interior is a piece of fruit with a large pit such as a peach or a plum. Most students are familiar with these fruits and have seen them cut in half. In addition the sizes of the features are very similar. If we cut a piece of fruit in half we will see that it is composed of three parts: 1) a very thin skin, 2) a seed of significant size located in the centre and 3) most of the mass of the fruit being contained within the flesh. Cutting the earth we would see: 1) a very thin crust on the outside, 2) a core of significant size in the centre, and 3) most of the mass of the Earth contained in the mantle.

Earth's Crust: There are two different types of crust: thin oceanic crust that underlies the ocean basins and thicker continental crust that underlies the continents. These two different types of crust are made up of different

types of rock. The thin oceanic crust is composed of primarily of basalt and the thicker continental crust is composed primarily of granite. The low density of the thick continental crust allows it to "float" in high relief on the much higher density mantle below.

Earth's Mantle: Earth's mantle is thought to be composed mainly of olivine-rich rock. It has different temperatures at different depths. The temperature is lowest immediately beneath the crust and increases with depth. The highest temperatures occur where the mantle material is in contact with the heat-producing core. This steady increase of temperature with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. The geothermal gradient is responsible for different rock behaviors and the different rock behaviors are used to divide the mantle into two different zones. Rocks in the upper mantle are cool and brittle, while rocks in the lower mantle are hot and soft (but not molten). Rocks in the upper mantle are brittle enough to break under stress and produce earthquakes. However, rocks in the lower mantle are soft and flow when subjected to forces instead of breaking. The lower limit of brittle behavior is the boundary between the upper and lower mantle.

Earth's Core: Earth's Core is thought to be composed mainly of an iron and nickel alloy. This composition is assumed based upon calculations of its density and upon the fact that many meteorites (which are thought to be portions of the interior of a planetary body) are iron-nickel alloys. The core is earth's source of internal heat because it contains radioactive materials which release heat as they break down into more stable substances. The core is divided into two different zones. The outer core is a liquid because the temperatures there are adequate to melt the iron-nickel alloy. However, the inner core is a solid even though its temperature is higher than the outer core. Here, tremendous pressure, produced by the weight of the overlying rocks is strong enough to crowd the atoms tightly together and prevents the liquid state.

earthquake

Earthquake View Poster

Headlines
Aid Flows in to Haiti Glimmers of Hope Amid Devastation in Haiti How Haiti's Earthquake Unfolded An earthquake is a tremor of the earth's surface usually triggered by the release of underground stress along fault lines. This release causes movement in masses of rock and resulting shock waves. In spite of extensive research and sophisticated equipment, it is impossible to predict an earthquake, although experts can estimate the likelihood of an earthquake occurring in a particular region. In 1935, American seismologist Charles Richter developed a scale that measures the magnitude of seismic waves. Called the Richter scale, it rates earth tremors on a scale from 1 to 9, with 9 being the most powerful and each number representing an increase of ten times the energy over the previous number. According to this scale, any quake that is higher than 4.5 can cause damage to stone buildings; quakes rated a magnitude of 7 and above are considered very severe. A lessknown scale, the Mercalli scale, was devised by Italian seismologist Giuseppe Mercalli to measure the severity of an earthquake in terms of its impact on a particular area and its inhabitants and buildings. Some earthquakes are too small to be felt but can cause movement of the earth, opening up holes and displacing rocks. Shock waves from a very powerful earthquake can trigger smaller quakes hundreds of miles away from the epicenter. Approximately 1,000 earthquakes measuring 5.0 and above occur yearly. Earthquakes of the greatest intensity happen about once a year and major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) occur about 18 times a year. Strong earthquakes (6.0-6.9) occur about 10 times a month and moderate earthquakes (5.0-5.9) happen more than twice daily. Most earthquakes are not even noticed by the general public, since they happen either under the ocean or in unpopulated areas. Sometimes an earthquake under the ocean can be so severe, it will cause a tsunami, responsible for far greater damage. The greatest danger of an earthquake comes from falling buildings and structures and flying glass, stones and other objects.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/earthquake#ixzz1hNcWQ5Qp

What causes earthquakes?

The short answer is that earthquakes are caused by faulting, a sudden lateral or vertical movement of rock along a rupture (break) surface. Here's the longer answer: The surface of the Earth is in continuous slow motion. This is plate tectonics--the motion of immense rigid plates at the surface of the Earth in response to flow of rock within the Earth. The plates cover the entire surface of the globe. Since they are all moving they rub against each other in some places (like the San Andreas Fault in California), sink beneath each other in others (like the Peru-Chile Trench along the western border of South America), or spread apart from each other (like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge). At such places the motion isn't smooth--the plates are stuck together at the edges but the rest of each plate is continuing to move, so the rocks along the edges are distorted (what we call "strain"). As the motion continues, the strain builds up to the point where the rock cannot withstand any more bending. With a lurch, the rock breaks and the two sides move. An earthquake is the shaking that radiates out from the breaking rock. People have known about earthquakes for thousands of years, of course, but they didn't know what caused them. In particular, people believed that the breaks in the Earth's surface--faults--which appear after earthquakes, were caused *by* the earthquakes rather than the cause *of* them. It was Bunjiro Koto, a geologist in Japan studying a 60-mile long fault whose two sides shifted about 15 feet in the great Japanese earthquake of 1871, who first suggested that earthquakes were caused by faults. Henry Reid, studying the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, took the idea further. He said that an earthquake is the huge amount of energy released when accumulated strain causes a fault to rupture. He explained that rock twisted further and further out of shape by continuing forces over the centuries eventually yields in a wrenching snap as the two sides of the fault slip to a new position to relieve the strain. This is the idea of "elastic rebound" which is now central to all studies of fault rupture. Dr. Gerard Fryer

Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior

This page last updated on 24-Oct-2003

Earthquakes Earthquakes occur when energy stored in elastically strained rocks is suddenly released. This release of energy causes intense ground shaking in the area near the source of the earthquake and sends waves of elastic energy, called seismic waves, throughout the Earth. Earthquakes can be generated by bomb blasts, volcanic eruptions, and sudden slippage along faults. Earthquakes are definitely a geologic hazard for those living in earthquake prone areas, but the seismic waves generated by earthquakes are invaluable for studying the interior of the Earth.

Origin of Earthquakes

Most natural earthquakes are caused by sudden slippage along a fault zone. The elastic rebound theory suggests that if slippage along a fault is hindered such that elastic strain energy builds up in the deforming rocks on either side of the fault, when the slippage does occur, the energy released causes an earthquake. This theory was discovered by making measurements at a number of points across a fault. Prior to an earthquake it was noted that the rocks adjacent to the fault were bending. These bends disappeared after an earthquake suggesting that the energy stored in bending the rocks was suddenly released during the earthquake.

Seismology, The Study of Earthquakes When an earthquake occurs, the elastic energy is released and sends out vibrations that travel throughout the Earth. These vibrations are called seismic waves. The study of how seismic waves behave in the Earth is called seismology.

Seismographs - Seismic waves travel through the Earth as vibrations. A seismometer is an instrument used to record these vibrations and the resulting graph that shows the vibrations is called a seismograph. The seismometer must be able to move with the vibrations, yet part of it must remain nearly stationary. This is accomplished by isolating the recording device (like a pen) from the rest of the

Earth using the principal of inertia. For example, if the pen is attached to a large mass suspended by a spring, the spring and the large mass move less than the paper which is attached to the Earth, and on which the record of the vibrations is made.

Seismic Waves. The source of an earthquake is called the focus, which is an exact location within the Earth where seismic waves are generated by sudden release of stored elastic energy. The epicenter is the point on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus. Sometimes the media get these two terms confused. Seismic waves emanating from the focus can travel in several ways, and thus there are several different kinds of seismic waves.

Body Waves - emanate from the focus and travel in all directions through the body of the Earth. There are two types of body waves:

P - waves - are Primary waves. They travel with a velocity that depends on the elastic properties of the rock through which they travel. Vp = [(K + 4/3 )/ ] Where, Vp is the velocity of the P-wave, K is the incompressibility of the material, is the rigidity of the material, and is the density of the material. P-waves are the same thing as sound waves. They move through the

material by compressing it, but after it has been compressed it expands, so that the wave moves by compressing and expanding the material as it travels. Thus the velocity of the P-wave depends on how easily the material can be compressed (the incompressibility), how rigid the material is (the rigidity), and the density of the material. P-waves have the highest velocity of all seismic waves and thus will reach all seismographs first.

S-Waves - Secondary waves, also called shear waves. They travel with a velocity that depends only on the rigidity and density of the material through which they travel: Vs = [( )/ ] S-waves travel through material by shearing it or changing its shape in the direction perpendicular to the direction of travel. The resistance to shearing of a material is the property called the rigidity. It is notable that liquids have no rigidity, so that the velocity of an S-wave is zero in a liquid. (This point will become important later). Note that S-waves travel slower than P-waves, so they will reach a seismograph after the P-wave.

Surface Waves - Surface waves differ from body waves in that they do not travel through the Earth, but instead travel along paths nearly parallel to the surface of the Earth. Surface waves behave like S-waves in that they cause up and down and side to side movement as they pass, but they travel slower than Swaves and do not travel through the body of the Earth.

The record of an earthquake, a seismograph, as recorded by a seismometer, will be a plot of vibrations versus time. On the seismograph, time is marked at regular intervals, so that we can determine the time of arrival of the first P-wave and the time of arrival of the first S-wave. (Note again, that because P-waves have a higher velocity than S-waves, the P-waves arrive at the seismographic station before the S-waves).

Location of Earthquakes - In order to determine the location of an earthquake, we need to have recorded a seismograph of the earthquake from at least three seismographic stations at different distances from the epicenter of the quake. In addition, we need one further piece of information - that is the time it takes for P-waves and S-waves to travel through the Earth and arrive at a seismographic station. Such information has been collected over the last 80 or so years, and is available as travel time curves.

From the seismographs at each station one determines the S-P interval (the difference in the time of arrival of the first Swave and the time of arrival of the first P-wave. Note that on the travel time curves, the S-P interval increases with increasing distance from the epicenter. Thus the S-P interval tells us the distance to the epicenter from the seismographic station where the earthquake was recorded. Thus, at each station we can draw a circle on a map that has a radius equal to the distance from the epicenter. Three such circles will intersect in a point that locates the epicenter of the earthquake.

Magnitude of Earthquakes - Whenever a large destructive earthquake occurs in the world the press immediately wants to know where the earthquake occurred and how big the earthquake was (in California the question is usually - Was this the Big One?). The size of an earthquake is usually given in terms of a scale called the Richter Magnitude. Richter Magnitude is a scale of earthquake size developed by a seismologist named Charles F. Richter. The Richter Magnitude involves measuring the amplitude (height) of the largest recorded wave at a specific distance from the earthquake. While it is correct to say that for each increase in 1 in the Richter Magnitude, there is a tenfold increase in amplitude of the wave, it is incorrect to say that each increase of 1 in Richter Magnitude represents a tenfold increase in the size of the Earthquake (as is commonly incorrectly stated by the Press).

A better measure of the size of an earthquake is the amount of energy released by the earthquake. The amount of energy released is related to the Richter Scale by the following equation: Log E = 11.8 + 1.5 M Where Log refers to the logarithm to the base 10, E is the energy released in ergs, and M is the Richter Magnitude. Anyone with a hand calculator can solve this equation by plugging in various values of M and solving for E, the energy released. I've done the calculation for you in the following table: Richter Magnitude 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Energy (ergs) 2.0 x 1013 6.3 x 1014 2.0 x 1016 6.3 x 1017 2.0 x 1019 6.3 x 10
20

Factor

31 x

31 x

31 x

2.0 x 1022 6.3 x 1023 31 x

From these calculations you can see that each increase in 1 in Richter Magnitude represents a 31 fold increase in the amount of energy released. Thus, a magnitude 7 earthquake releases 31 times more energy than a magnitude 6 earthquake. A magnitude 8 earthquake releases 31 x 31 or 961 times more energy than a magnitude 6 earthquake.

The Hiroshima atomic bomb released an amount of energy equivalent to a magnitude 5.5 earthquake. The largest earthquake recorded, the Alaska earthquake in 1964, had a Richter Magnitude of about 8.6. Note that larger earthquakes are possible, but have not been recorded by humans. Earthquake Risk The risk that an earthquake will occur close to where you live depends on whether or not tectonic activity that causes deformation is occurring within the crust of that area. For the U.S., the risk is greatest in the most tectonically active area , that is near the plate margin in the Western U.S. Here, the San Andreas Fault which forms the margin between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, is responsible for about 1 magnitude 8 or greater earthquake per century. Also in the western U.S. is the Basin and Range Province, where extensional stresses in the crust have created many normal faults that are still active. Historically, large earthquakes have also occurred in the area of New Madrid, Missouri; Charleston, South Carolina; and an area extending from New Jersey to Massachusetts. (See figure 10.10 in your text). Why earthquakes occur in these other areas is not well understood. If earthquakes have occurred before, they are expected to occur again. Earthquake Damage Many seismologists have said that "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do". This is because most deaths from earthquakes are caused by buildings or other human construction falling down during an earthquake. Earthquakes located in isolated areas far from human population rarely cause any deaths. Thus, in earthquake prone areas like California, there are strict building codes requiring the design and construction of buildings and other structures that will withstand a large earthquake. While this program is not always completely successful, one fact stands out to prove its effectiveness. In 1986 an earthquake near San Francisco, California with a Richter Magnitude of 7.1 killed about 40 people. Most were killed when a double decked freeway collapsed. About 10 months later, an earthquake with magnitude 6.9 occurred in the Armenia, where no earthquake proof building codes existed. The death toll in the latter earthquake was about 25,000! Damage from earthquakes can be classified as follows:

Ground Shaking - Shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves near the epicenter of the earthquake is responsible for the collapse of most structures. The intensity of ground shaking depends on distance from the epicenter and on the type of bedrock underlying the area.
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In general, loose unconsolidated sediment is subject to more intense shaking than solid bedrock. Damage to structures from shaking depends on the type of construction. Concrete and masonry structures, because they are brittle are more susceptible to damage than wood and steel structures, which are more flexible.

Ground Rupture - Ground rupture only occurs along the fault zone that moves during the earthquake. Thus structures that are built across fault zones may collapse, whereas structures built adjacent to, but not crossing the fault may survive.

Fire - Fire is a secondary effect of earthquakes. Because power lines may be knocked down and because natural gas lines may rupture due to an earthquake, fires are often started closely following an earthquake. The problem is compounded if water lines are also broken during the earthquake since there will not be a supply of water to extinguish the fires once they have started. In the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco more than 90% of the damage to buildings was caused by fire. Rapid Mass-Wasting Processes - In mountainous regions subjected to earthquakes ground shaking may trigger rapid mass-wasting events like rock and debris falls, rock and debris slides, slumps, and debris avalanches. Liquefaction Liquefaction is a processes that occurs in water-saturated unconsolidated sediment due to shaking. In areas underlain by such material, the ground shaking causes the grains to loose grain to grain contact, and thus the material tends to flow. You can demonstrate this process to yourself next time your go the beach. Stand on the sand just after an incoming wave has passed. The sand will easily support your weight and you will not sink very deeply into the sand if you stand still. But, if you start to shake your body while standing on this wet sand, you will notice that the sand begins to flow as a result of liquefaction, and your feet will sink deeper into the sand.

Tsunamis - Tsunamis are giant ocean waves that can rapidly travel across oceans, as we discussed in the Oceans and Their Margins. Earthquakes that occur along coastal areas can generate tsunamis, which can cause damage thousands of kilometers away on the other side of the ocean.

World Distribution of Earthquakes The distribution of earthquakes is referred to as seismicity. Most earthquakes occur along relatively narrow belts that coincide with plate boundaries (see figure 10.15 in your text).

This makes sense, since plate boundaries are zones along which lithospheric plates move relative to one another. Earthquakes along these zones can be divided into shallow focus earthquakes that have focal depths less than about 70 km and deep focus earthquakes that have focal depths between 75 and 700 km.

Earthquakes at Diverging Plate Boundaries. Diverging plate boundaries are zones where two plates move away from each other, such as at oceanic ridges. In such areas the lithosphere is in a state of tensional stress and thus normal faults and rift valleys occur. Earthquakes that occur along such boundaries show normal fault motion and tend to be shallow focus earthquakes, with focal depths less than about 20 km. Such shallow focal depths indicate that the brittle lithosphere must be relatively thin along these diverging plate boundaries. Earthquakes at Transform Fault Boundaries. Transform fault boundaries are plate boundaries where lithospheric plates slide past one another in a horizontal fashion. The San Andreas Fault of California is one of the longer transform fault boundaries known. Earthquakes along these boundaries show strike-slip motion on the faults and tend to be shallow focus earthquakes with depths usually less than about 50 km. Earthquakes at Converging Plate Boundaries - Convergent plate boundaries are boundaries where two plates run into each other. Thus, they tend to be zones where compressional stresses are active and thus reverse faults or thrust faults are common. There are two types of converging plate boundaries. (1) subduction boundaries, where oceanic lithosphere is pushed beneath either oceanic or continental lithosphere; and (2) collision boundaries where two plates with continental lithosphere collide.
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Subduction boundaries -At subduction boundaries cold oceanic lithosphere is pushed back down into the mantle where two plates converge at an oceanic trench. Because the subducted lithosphere is cold it remains brittle as it descends and thus can fracture under the compressional stress. When it fractures, it generates earthquakes that define a zone of earthquakes with increasing focal depths beneath the overriding plate. This zone of earthquakes is called the Benioff Zone. Focal depths of earthquakes in the Benioff Zone can reach down to 700 km.

Collision boundaries - At collisional boundaries two plates of continental lithosphere collide resulting in fold-thrust mountain belts. Earthquakes occur due to the thrust faulting and range in depth from shallow to about 200 km.

The Earth's Internal Structure Much of what we know about the interior of the Earth comes from knowledge of seismic wave velocities and their variation with depth in the Earth. Recall that body wave velocities are as follows: Vp = [(K + 4/3 )/ ] Vs = [( )/ ] Where K = incompressibility = rigidity = density If the properties of the earth, i.e. K, , and where the same throughout, then Vp and Vs would be constant throughout the Earth and seismic waves would travel along straight line paths through the Earth. We know however that density must change with depth in the Earth, because the density of the Earth is 5,200 kg/cubic meter and density of crustal rocks is about 2,500 kg/cubic meter. If the density were the only property to change, then we could make estimates of the density, and predict the arrival times or velocities of seismic waves at any point away from an earthquake. Observations do not follow the predictions, so, something else must be happening. In fact we know that K, , and change due to changing temperatures, pressures and compositions of material. The job of seismology is, therefore, to use the observed seismic wave velocities to determine how K, , and change with depth in the Earth, and then infer how P, T, and composition change with depth in the Earth. In other words to tell us something about the internal structure of the Earth.

Reflection and Refraction of Seismic Waves. If composition (or physical properties) change abruptly at some interface, then seismic wave will both reflect off the interface and refract (or bend) as they pass through the interface. Two cases of wave refraction can be recognized.

1. If the seismic wave velocity in the rock above an interface is less than the seismic wave velocity in the rock below the interface, the waves will be refracted or bent upward relative to their original path.

If the seismic wave velocity decreases when passing into the rock below the interface, the waves will be refracted down relative to their original path.

If the seismic wave velocities gradually increase with depth in the Earth, the waves will continually be refracted along curved paths that curve back toward the Earth's surface.

One of the earliest discoveries of seismology was a discontinuity at a depth of 2900 km where the velocity of P-waves suddenly decreases. This boundary is the boundary between the mantle and the core and was discovered because of a zone on the opposite side of the Earth from an Earthquake focus receives no direct Pwaves because the Pwaves are refracted inward as a result of the sudden decrease in velocity at the boundary. This zone is called a Pwave shadow zone.

This discovery was followed by the discovery of an S-wave shadow zone. The Swave shadow zone occurs because no Swaves reach the area on the opposite side of the Earth from the focus. Since no direct S-waves arrive in this zone, it implies that no S-waves pass through the core. This further implies the velocity of S-wave in the core is 0. In liquids = 0, so S-wave velocity is also equal to 0. From this it is deduced that the core, or at least part of the core is in the liquid ]state, since no S-waves are transmitted through liquids. Thus, the S-wave shadow zone is best explained by a liquid outer core.

Seismic Wave Velocities in the Earth Over the years seismologists have collected data on how seismic wave velocities vary with depth in the Earth. Distinct boundaries, called discontinuities are observed when there is sudden change in physical properties or chemical composition of the Earth. From these discontinuities, we can deduce something about the nature of the various layers in the Earth. As we discussed way back at the beginning of the course, we can look at the Earth in terms of layers of differing chemical composition, and layers of differing physical properties.

Layers of Differing Composition The Crust - Mohorovicic discovered boundary the boundary between crust and mantle, thus it is named the Mohorovicic Discontinuity or Moho, for short. The composition of the crust can be determined from seismic waves by comparing seismic wave velocities measured on rocks in the laboratory with seismic wave velocities observed in the crust. Then from travel times of waves on many earthquakes and from many seismic stations, the thickness and composition of the crust can be inferred.
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In the ocean basins crust is about 8 to 10 km thick, and has a composition that is basaltic.

Continental crust varies between 20 and 60 km thick. The thickest continental crust occurs beneath mountain ranges and the thinnest beneath lowlands. The composition of continental crust varies from granitic near the top to gabbroic near the Moho.

The Mantle - Seismic wave velocities increase abruptly at the Moho. In the mantle wave velocities are consistent with a rock composition of peridotite which consists of olivine, pyroxene, and garnet. The Core - At a depth of 2900 Km P-wave velocities suddenly decrease and Swave velocities go to zero. This is the top of the outer core. As discussed above, the outer core must be liquid since S-wave velocities are 0. At a depth of about 4800 km the sudden increase in P-wave velocities indicate a solid inner core. The core appears to have a composition consistent with mostly Iron with small

amounts of Nickel.

Layers of Different Physical Properties

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At a depth of about 100 km there is a sudden decrease in both P and S-wave velocities. This boundary marks the base of the lithosphere and the top of the asthenosphere. The lithosphere is composed of both crust and part of the upper mantle. It is a brittle layer that makes up the plates in plate tectonics, and appears to float and move around on top of the more ductile asthenosphere. At the top of the asthenosphere is a zone where both P- and S-wave velocities are low. This zone is called the Low-Velocity Zone (LVZ). It is thought that the low velocities of seismic waves in this zone are caused by temperatures approaching the partial melting temperature of the mantle, causing the mantle in this zone to behave in a very ductile manner. At a depth of 400 km there is an abrupt increase in the velocities of seismic waves, thus this boundary is known as the 400 - Km Discontinuity. Experiments on mantle rocks indicate that this represents a temperature and pressure where there is a polymorphic phase transition, involving a change in the crystal structure of Olivine, one of the most abundant minerals in the mantle. Another abrupt increase in seismic wave velocities occurs at a depth of 670 km. It is uncertain whether this discontinuity, known as the 670 Km Discontinuity, is the result of a polymorphic phase transition involving other mantle minerals or a compositional change in the mantle, or both.

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Seismic wave properties

Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the earth, and are a result of an earthquake, explosion, or a volcano that imparts low-frequency acoustic energy. Many other natural and anthropogenic sources create low amplitude waves commonly referred to asambient vibrations. Seismic waves are studied by seismologists and geophysicists. Seismic wave fields are measured by a seismograph,geophone, hydrophone (in water), or accelerometer.

The propagation velocity of the waves depends on density and elasticity of the medium. Velocity tends to increase with depth, and ranges from approximately 2 to 8 km/s in the Earth's crust up to 13 km/s in the deep mantle.

Earthquakes create various types of waves with different velocities; when reaching seismic observatories, their different travel time enables the scientists to locate the epicenter. In geophysics the refraction or reflection of seismic waves is used for research of the Earth's interior, and artificial vibrations to investigate subsurface structures. [edit]Types

of seismic waves

There are two types of seismic waves, body wave and surface waves. Other modes of wave propagation exist than those described in this article, but they are of comparatively minor importance for earth-borne waves, although they are important in the case ofasteroseismology, especially Jason Chervanev . [edit]Body waves Body waves travel 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. This effect is similar to the refraction of light waves. [edit]Primary waves Main article: P-wave Primary waves (P-waves) are compressional waves that are longitudinal in nature. P waves are pressure waves that are the initial set of waves produced by an earthquake. These waves can travel through any type of material, and can travel at nearly twice the speed of S waves. In air, they take the form of sound waves, hence they travel at the speed of sound. Typical speeds are 330 m/s in air, 1450 m/s in water and about 5000 m/s in granite. [edit]Secondary waves Main article: S-wave Secondary waves (S-waves) are shear waves that are transverse in nature. These waves typically follow P waves during an earthquake and displace the ground perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Depending on the propagational direction, the wave can take on different surface characteristics; for example, in the case of horizontally polarized S waves, the ground moves alternately to one side and then the other. S waves can travel only through solids, as fluids (liquids and gases) do not support shear stresses. S waves are slower than P waves, and speeds are typically around 10% of that of P waves in any given material. [edit]Surface waves Main article: Surface wave 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. [edit]Rayleigh waves Main article: Rayleigh wave

Rayleigh waves, also called ground roll, are surface waves that travel as ripples with motions that are similar to those of waves on the surface of water (note, however, that the associated particle motion at shallow depths is retrograde, and that the restoring force in Rayleigh and in other seismic waves is elastic, not gravitational as for water waves). The existence of these waves was predicted by John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, in 1885. They are slower than body waves, roughly 90% of the velocity of S waves for typical homogeneous elastic media. [edit]Love waves Main article: Love wave Love waves (L-waves) are surface waves that cause circular shearing of the ground. They are named after A.E.H. Love, a British mathematician who created a mathematical model of the waves in 1911. They usually travel slightly faster than Rayleigh waves, about 90% of the S wave velocity, and have the largest amplitude. [edit]P and S waves in Earth's mantle and core When an earthquake occurs, seismographs near the epicenter are able to record both P and S waves, but those at a greater distance no longer detect the high frequencies of the first S wave. Since shear waves cannot pass through liquids, this phenomenon was original evidence for the now wellestablished observation that the Earth has a liquid outer core, as demonstrated by Richard Dixon Oldham. This kind of observation has also been used to argue, by seismic testing, that the Moon has [citation needed] a solid core, although recent geodetic studies suggest the core is still molten . [edit]Notation

Earthquake wave paths

The path that a wave takes between the focus and the observation point is often drawn as a ray diagram. An example of this is shown in a figure above. When reflections are taken into account there are an infinite number of paths that a wave can take. Each path is denoted by a set of letters that describe the trajectory and phase through the Earth. In general an upper case denotes a transmitted wave and a lower case denotes a reflected wave. The two exceptions to this seem to be "g" and "n". [1] [2] The notation is taken from and.

c the wave reflects off the outer core

d a wave that has been reflected off a discontinuity at depth d

g a wave that only travels through the crust

i a wave that reflects off the inner core

I a P-wave in the inner core

h a reflection off a discontinuity in the inner core

J an S wave in the inner core

K a P-wave in the outer core

L a Love wave sometimes called LT-Wave (Both caps, while an Lt is different)

n a wave that travels along the boundary between the crust and mantle

P a P wave in the mantle

p a P wave ascending to the surface from the focus

R a Rayleigh wave

S an S wave in the mantle

s an S wave ascending to the surface from the focus

w the wave reflects off the bottom of the ocean

No letter is used when the wave reflects off of the surface

For example: ScP is a wave that begins traveling towards the center of the Earth as an S wave. Upon reaching the outer core the wave reflects as a P wave. sPKIKP is a wave path that begins traveling towards the surface as an S-wave. At the surface it reflects as a P-wave. The P-wave then travels through the outer core, the inner core, the outer core, and the mantle.

[edit]Usefulness

of P and S waves in locating an event

P- and S-waves sharing with the propagation

In the case of local or nearby earthquakes, the difference in the arrival times of the P and S waves can be used to determine the distance to the event. In the case of earthquakes that have occurred at global distances, four or more geographically diverse observing stations (using a common clock) recording P-wave arrivals permits the computation of a unique time and location on the planet for the event. Typically, dozens or even hundreds of P-wave arrivals are used to calculate hypocenters. The misfit generated by a hypocenter calculation is known as "the residual". Residuals of 0.5 second or less are typical for distant events, residuals of 0.1-0.2 s typical for local events, meaning most reported P arrivals fit the computed hypocenter that well. Typically a location program will start by assuming the event occurred at a depth of about 33 km; then it minimizes the residual by adjusting depth. Most events occur at depths shallower than about 40 km, but some occur as deep as 700 km. A quick way to determine the distance from a location to the origin of a seismic wave less than 200 km away is to take the difference in arrival time of the P wave and the S wave in seconds and multiply by 8 kilometers per second. Modern seismic arrays use more complicated earthquake location techniques. At teleseismic distances, the first arriving P waves have necessarily travelled deep into the mantle, and perhaps have even refracted into the outer core of the planet, before travelling back up to the Earth's surface where the seismographic stations are located. The waves travel more quickly than if they had travelled in a straight line from the earthquake. This is due to the appreciably increased velocities within the planet, and is termed Huygens' Principle. Density in the planet increases with depth, which would slow the waves, but the modulus of the rock increases much more, so deeper means faster. Therefore, a longer route can take a shorter time.

The travel time must be calculated very accurately in order to compute a precise hypocenter. Since P waves move at many kilometers per second, being off on travel-time calculation by even a half second can mean an error of many kilometers in terms of distance. In practice, P arrivals from many stations are used and the errors cancel out, so the computed epicenter likely to be quite accurate, on the order of 1050 km or so around the world. Dense arrays of nearby sensors such as those that exist in California can provide accuracy of roughly a kilometer, and much greater accuracy is possible when timing is measured directly by cross-correlation of seismogram waveforms. [edit]See

also

AdamsWilliamson equation

[edit]References

1. 2.

^ An Introduction to the Theory of Seismology, 4th ed.; K.E. Bullen and Bruce A. Bolt (1993) ^ International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, Volume 1; ed. William Han Kung Lee; accessed through books.google.com

[edit]External

links

Seismic Wave Propagation

Waves on a Seismogram

As you might expect, the difference in wave speed has a profound influence on the nature of seismograms. Since the travel time of a wave is equal to the distance the wave has travelled, divided by the average speed the wave moved during the transit, we expect that the fastest waves arrive at a seismometer first. Thus, if we look at a seismogram, we expect to see the first wave to arrive to be a P-wave (the fastest), then the S-wave, and finally, the Love and Rayleigh (the slowest) waves. Although we have neglected differences in the travel path (which correspond to differences in travel distance) and the abundance waves that reverberate within Earth, the overall character is as we have described. The fact that the waves travel at speeds which depend on the material properties (elastic moduli and density) allows us to use seismic wave observations to investigate the interior structure of the planet. We can look at the travel times, or the travel times and the amplitudes of waves to infer the existence of features within the planet, and this is a active area of seismological research. To understand how we "see" into Earth using vibrations, we must study how waves interact with the rocks that make up Earth. Several types of interaction between waves and the subsurface geology (i.e. the rocks) are commonly observable on seismograms

Refraction Reflection

Dispersion Diffraction Attenuation

We'll examine the two simplest types of interaction refraction and reflection.
Refraction

As a wave travels through Earth, the path it takes depends on the velocity. Perhaps you recall from high school a principle called Snell's law, which is the mathematical expression that allows us to determine the path a wave takes as it is transmitted from one rock layer into another. The change in direction depends on the

When waves reach a boundary between different rock types, part of the energy is transmitted across the boundary. The transmitted wave travels in a different direction which depends on the ratio of velocities of the two rock types. Part of the energy is also reflected backwards into the region with Rock Type 1, but I haven't shown that on this diagram.

Refraction has an important affect on waves that travel through Earth. In general, the seismic velocity in Earth increases with depth (there are some important exceptions to this trend) and refraction of waves causes the path followed by body waves to curve upward.

The overall increase in seismic wave speed with depth into Earth produces an upward curvature to rays that pass through the mantle. A

notable exception is caused by the decrease in velocity from the mantle to the core. This speed decrease bends waves backwards and creates a "P-wave Shadow Zone" between about 100 and 140 distance (1 = 111.19 km).

Reflection

The second wave interaction with variations in rock type is reflection. I am sure that you are familiar with reflected sound waves; we call them echoes. And your reflection in a mirror or pool of water is composed of reflected light waves. In seismology, reflections are used to prospect for petroleum and investigate Earth's internal structure. In some instances reflections from the boundary between the mantle and crust may induce strong shaking that causes damage about 100 km from an earthquake (we call that boundary the "Moho" in honor of Mohorovicic, the scientist who discovered it). A seismic reflection occurs when a wave impinges on a change in rock type (which usually is accompanied by a change in seismic wave speed). Part of the energy carried by the incident wave is transmitted through the material (that's the refracted wave described above) and part is reflected back into the medium that contained the incident wave.

When a wave encounters a change in material properties (seismic velocities and or density) its energy is split into reflected and refracted waves.

The amplitude of the reflection depends strongly on the angle that the incidence wave makes with the boundary and the contrast in material properties across the boundary. For some angles all the energy can be returned into the medium containing the incident wave. The actual interaction between a seismic wave and a contrast in rock properties is more complicated because an incident P wave generates transmitted and reflected P- and S-waves and so five waves are involved. Likewise, when an S-wave interacts with a boundary in rock properties, it too generates reflected and refracted P- and S-waves.

Dispersion

I mentioned above that surface waves are dispersive - which means that different periods travel at different velocities. The effects of dispersion become more noticeable with increasing distance because the longer travel distance spreads the energy out (it disperses the energy). Usually, the long periods arrive first since they are sensitive to the speeds deeper in Earth, and the deeper regions are generally faster.

A dispersed Rayleigh wave generated by an earthquake in Alabama near the Gulf coast, and recorded in Missouri.

P-Waves in Earth

The mathematics behind wave propagation is elegant and relatively simple, considering the fact that similar mathematical tools are useful for studying light, sound, and seismic waves. We can solve these equations or an appropriate approximation to them to compute the paths that seismic waves follow in Earth. The diagram below is an example of the paths P-waves generated by an earthquake near Earth's surface would follow.

Intraplate earthquake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2011)

Distribution of seismicity associated with the New Madrid Seismic Zone (since 1974). This zone of intense earthquake activity is located deep in the interior of the North American plate.

An intraplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, whereas an interplate earthquake is one that occurs at a plate boundary. Intraplate earthquakes are very rare and interplate earthquakes, ones that occur on a plate boundary are quite normal. Nonetheless, very large intraplate earthquakes can inflict heavy damage, particularly because such areas are not accustomed to earthquakes and buildings are usually not seismically retrofitted. Notable examples of damaging intraplate earthquakes are the devastating Gujarat earthquake in 2001, the18111812 earthquakes in New Madrid, Missouri, and the 1886 earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina.

[edit]Fault

zones within tectonic plates

According to the theory of plate tectonics, the surface of the Earth is made up of about a dozen large tectonic plates. These plates move very slowly, owing to convection currents within the mantle below the crust. Because they do not all move in the same direction, plates often directly collide or move laterally along each other, a tectonic environment that makes earthquakes frequent. Relatively few earthquakes occur in intraplate environments; most occur on faults near plate margins. By definition, intraplate earthquakes do not occur near plate boundaries, but along faults in the normally stable interior of plates. These earthquakes often occur at the location of ancient failed rifts, because such old structures may present a weakness in the crust where it can easily slip to accommodate regional tectonic strain.

Compared to earthquakes near plate boundaries, intraplate earthquakes are not well understood, and the hazards associated with them may be difficult to quantify.

[edit]Historic

examples

Historic examples of intraplate earthquakes include those in Mineral, Virginia in 2011 (estimated magnitude 5.8), New Madrid in 1811 and 1812(estimated magnitude as high as 8.1), the Boston (Cape Ann) earthquake of 1755 (estimated magnitude 6.0 to 6.3), earthquakes felt in New York City in 1737 and 1884 (both quakes estimated at about 5.5 magnitude), and the Charleston earthquake in South Carolina in 1886 (estimated magnitude 6.5 to 7.3). The Charleston quake was particularly surprising because, unlike Boston and New York, the area had almost no history of even minor earthquakes. In 2001, a large intraplate earthquake devastated the region of Gujarat, India. The earthquake occurred far from any plate boundaries, which meant the region above the epicenter was unprepared for earthquakes. In particular, the Kutch district suffered tremendous damage, where the death toll was over 12,000.

[edit]Causes
Many cities live with the seismic risk of a rare, large intraplate earthquake. The cause of these earthquakes is often uncertain. In many cases, the causative fault is deeply buried, and sometimes cannot even be found. Under these circumstances it is difficult to calculate the exact seismic hazard for a given city, especially if there was only one earthquake in historical times. Some progress is being made in understanding the fault mechanics driving these earthquakes.

[edit]Prediction
Scientists continue to search for the causes of these earthquakes, and especially for some indication of how often they recur. The best success has come with detailed micro-seismic monitoring, involving dense arrays of seismometers. In this manner, very small earthquakes associated with a causative fault can be located with great accuracy, and in most cases these line up in patterns consistent with faulting. Cryoseisms can sometimes be mistaken for intraplate earthquakes.

Interplate earthquake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

An interplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates. If one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until sufficient stress builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other. The slipping process creates an earthquake with land deformations and resulting seismic waves which travel through the Earth and along the Earth's surface. Relative plate motion can be lateral as along a transform fault boundary or vertical if along a convergent subduction boundary or

a rift at a divergent boundary. At a subduction boundary the motion is due to one plate slipping beneath the other plate resulting in an interplate thrust ormegathrust earthquake. Some areas of the world that are particularly prone to such events include the west coast of North America (especially California andAlaska), the northeastern Mediterranean region (Greece, Italy, and Turkey in particular), Iran, New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, and parts ofChina.

The paths of P-wave energy for a shallow earthquake located at the top of the diagram. The main chemical shells of Earth are shown by different colors and regions with relatively abrupt velocity changes are shown by dashed lines. The curves show the paths of waves, and the lines crossing the rays show mark the wavefront at one minute intervals.

Note the curvature of the rays in the mantle, the complexities in the upper mantle, and the dramatic impact of the core on the wavefronts. The decrease in velocity from the lower mantle to the outer core casts a "shadow" on the P-waves that

extends from about 100 to 140 distance. Other waves such as surface waves and body waves reflecting off the surface are recorded in the "shadow" region, but the P-wave "dies out" near 100. Since the outer core is fluid, and S-waves cannot travel through a fluid, the "S-wave shadow zone" is even larger, extending from about 100 to 180.
Earth's Internal Structure

We have already discussed the main elements in Earth's interior, the core, the mantle, and the crust. By studying the propagation characteristics (travel times, reflection amplitudes, dispersion characteristics, etc.) of seismic waves for the last 90 years we have learned much about the detailed nature of Earth's interior. Great progress was made quickly because for the most part Earth's interior is relatively simple, divided into a sphere (the inner core) surrounded by roughly uniform shells of iron and rock. Models that assume the Earth is perfectly symmetric can be used to predict travel times of P-waves that are accurate to a few seconds for a trip all the way across the planet. The diagram below is a plot of the P- and S-wave velocities and the density as a function of depth into Earth. The top of the Earth is located at 0 km depth, the center of the planet is at 6371 km.

Velocity and density variations within Earth based on seismic observations. The main regions of Earth and important boundaries are labeled. This model was developed in the early 1980's and is called PREM for Preliminary Earth Reference Model.

Several important characteristics of Earth's structure are illustrated in the chart. First note that in several large regions such as in the lower mantle, the outer core, and inner core, the velocity smoothly increases with depth. The increase is a result of the effects of pressure on the seismic wave speed. Although temperature also increases with depth, the pressure increase resulting from the weight of the rocks above has a greater impact and the speed increases smoothly in these regions of uniform composition. The shallow part of the mantle is different; it contains several important wellestablished and relatively abrupt velocity changes. In fact, we often divide the mantle into two regions, upper and lower, based on the level of velocity heterogeneity. The region from near 400 to 1000 km depth is called the transition zone and strongly affects body waves that "turn" at this depth and arrive about 20-

30 distant from a shallow earthquake. In this depth range the minerals that make up the mantle silicate rocks are transformed by the increasing pressure. The atoms in these rocks rearrange themselves into compact structures that are stable at the high pressures and the result of the rearrangement is an increase in density and elastic moduli, producing an overall increase in wave speed. Graphite in "lead" pencils and diamonds are a more common example of atoms rearranging themselves under different conditions - they are both composed of carbon. The different arrangement and bonding of the carbon atoms in the two materials produces dramatically different properties. Diamonds are formed under enormous pressures; all natural diamonds formed at depths of about 150-200 km, and were brought to the surface by volcanic activity. At the high pressures the carbon atoms are squeezed into a tight arrangement that makes them one of the hardest materials. In contrast, the low-pressure arrangement of carbon in graphite creates the slippery, soft character of "lead" that we use for pencils. The two largest contrasts in material properties in the Earth system are located near the surface and the core-mantle boundary. Both are compositional boundaries and the core-mantle boundary is the larger contrast. Other sharp contrasts are observable, the inner-core outer-core boundary is relatively sharp, and velocities increase from the liquid to the solid.

Fold(BANGAR L-7)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur singly as isolated folds and in extensive fold trains of different sizes, on a variety of scales. Folds form under varied conditions of stress, hydrostatic pressure, pore pressure, and temperature - hydrothermal gradient, as evidenced by their presence in soft sediments, the full spectrum of metamorphic rocks, and even as primary flow structures in some igneous rocks. A set of folds distributed on a regional scale constitutes a fold belt, a common feature of orogenic zones. Folds are commonly formed by shortening of existing layers, but may also be formed as a result of displacement on a non-planar fault (fault bend fold), at the tip of a propagating fault (fault propagation fold), by differential compaction or due to the effects of a highleveligneous intrusion e.g. above a laccolith Folds are classified by their size, fold shape, tightness, dip of the axial plane. [edit]Fold
[2]

terminology in two dimensions

Looking at a fold surface in profile the fold can be divided into hinge and limb portions. The limbs are the flanks of the fold and the hinge is where the flanks join together. The hinge point is the point of minimum radius of curvature for a fold. The crest of the fold is the highest point of the fold surface, and the trough is the lowest point. The inflection point of a fold is the point on a limb at which the concavity reverses, on regular folds this is the mid-point of the limb.

[edit]Fold

terminology in three dimensions

The hinge points along an entire folded surface form a hinge line, which can be either a crest line or a trough line. The trend and plunge of a linear hinge line gives you information about the orientation of the fold. To more completely describe the orientation of a fold, one must describe the axial surface. The axial surface is the surface defined by connecting all the hinge lines of stacked folding surfaces. If the axial surface is a planar surface then it is called the axial plane and can be described by the strike and dip of the plane. An axial trace is the line of intersection of the axial surface with any other surface (ground, side of mountain, geological cross-section). Finally, folds can have, but dont necessarily have a fold axis. A fold axis, is the closest approximation to a straight line that when moved parallel to itself, generates the form of the fold. (Davis and Reynolds, 1996 after Donath and Parker, 1964; Ramsay 1967). A fold that can be generated by a fold axis is called a cylindrical fold. This term has been broadened to include near[3][4] cylindrical folds. Often, the fold axis is the same as the hinge line. [edit]Fold

shape

It is necessary to convey a sense of the shape of the fold. A fold can be shaped as a chevron, with planar limbs meeting at an angular axis, as cuspate with curved limbs, as circular with a curved axis, or as elliptical with unequal wavelength. [edit]Fold

tightness

Fold tightness is defined by the angle between the fold's limbs, called the interlimb angle. Gentle folds have an interlimb angle of between 180 and 120 , open folds range from 120 to 70, Close folds [5] from 70 to 30, tight folds from 30 to 0 , and isoclinal folds have an interlimb angle of between 10 and zero, with essentially parallel limbs. [edit]Fold

symmetry

Not all folds are equal on both sides of the axis of the fold. Those with limbs of relatively equal length are termed symmetrical, and those with highly unequal limbs are asymmetrical. Asymmetrical folds generally have an axis at an angle to the original unfolded surface they formed on. [edit]Deformation

style classes

Folds that maintain uniform layer thickness are classed as concentric folds. Those that do not are called similar folds. Similar folds tend to display thinning of the limbs and thickening of the hinge zone. Concentric folds are caused by warping from active buckling of the layers, whereas similar folds usually form by some form of shear flow where the layers are not mechanically active. Ramsay has proposed a classification scheme for folds that often is used to describe folds in profile based upon curvature of the inner and outer lines of a fold, and the behavior of dip isogons. that is, lines [6] connecting points of equal dip:

Ramsay classification of folds by convergence of dip isogons (red lines). [7]

Ramsay classification scheme for folds Class Curvature C 1 1A 1B 1C 2 3 [edit]Fold Cinner = Couter Cinner < Couter Cinner > Couter Comment Dip isogons converge Orthogonal thickness at hinge narrower than at limbs Parallel folds Orthogonal thickness at limbs narrower than at hinge Dip isogons are parallel: similar folds Dip isogons diverge

types

Anticline - USGS

Monocline at Colorado National Monument

Recumbent fold, King Oscar Fjord

Anticline: linear, strata normally dip away from axial center, oldest strata in center. Syncline: linear, strata normally dip toward axial center, youngest strata in center. Antiform: linear, strata dip away from axial center, age unknown, or inverted. Synform: linear, strata dip toward axial centre, age unknown, or inverted. Dome: nonlinear, strata dip away from center in all directions, oldest strata in center. Basin: nonlinear, strata dip toward center in all directions, youngest strata in center. Monocline: linear, strata dip in one direction between horizontal layers on each side. Chevron: angular fold with straight limbs and small hinges Recumbent: linear, fold axial plane oriented at low angle resulting in overturned strata in one limb of the fold. Slump: typically monoclinal, result of differential compaction or dissolution during sedimentation and lithification. Ptygmatic: Folds are chaotic, random and disconnected. Typical of sedimentary slump folding, migmatites and decollement detachment zones. Parasitic: short wavelength folds formed within a larger wavelength fold structure - normally [8] associated with differences in bed thickness Disharmonic: Folds in adjacent layers with different wavelengths and shapes
[8]

(A homocline involves strata dipping in the same direction, though not necessarily any folding.)

[edit]Causes

of folding

Folds appear on all scales, in all rock types, at all levels in the crust and arise from a variety of causes. [edit]Layer-parallel

shortening

When a sequence of layered rocks is shortened parallel to its layering, this deformation may be accommodated in a number of ways, homogeneous shortening, reverse faulting or folding. The response depends on the thickness of the mechanical layering and the contrast in properties between the layers. If the layering does begin to fold, the fold style is also dependent on these properties. Isolated thick competentlayers in a less competent matrix control the folding and typically generate classic rounded buckle folds accommodated by deformation in the matrix. In the case of regular alternations of layers of contrasting properties, such as sandstone-shale sequences, kink-bands, box[9] folds and chevron folds are normally produced.

Rollover anticline

Ramp anticline

Fault-propagation fold

[edit]Fault-related

folding

Many folds are directly related to faults, associate with their propagation, displacement and the accommodation of strains between neighbouring faults.

[edit]Fault bend folding Fault bend folds are caused by displacement along a non-planar fault. In non-vertical faults, the hanging-wall deforms to accommodate the mismatch across the fault as displacement progresses. Fault bend folds occur in both extensional and thrust faulting. In extension, listric faults form rollover [10] anticlines in their hanging walls. In thrusting, ramp anticlines are formed whenever a thrust fault cuts up section from one detachment level to another. Displacement over this higher-angle ramp [11] generates the folding. [edit]Fault propagation folding Fault propagation folds or tip-line folds are caused when displacement occurs on an existing fault without further propagation. In both reverse and normal faults this leads to folding of the overlying [12] sequence, often in the form of a monocline. [edit]Detachment folding When a thrust fault continues to displace above a planar detachment without further fault propagation, detachment folds may form, typically of box-fold style. These generally occur above a good detachment such as in the Jura Mountains, where the detachment occurs on [13] middle Triassic evaporites. [edit]Compaction Folds can be generated in a younger sequence by differential compaction over older structures such [14] as fault blocks and reefs. [edit]Folding

in shear zones

Shear zones that approximate to simple shear typically contain minor asymmetric folds, with the direction of overturning consistent with the overall shear sense. Some of these folds have highly curved hinge lines and are referred to as sheath folds. Folds in shear zones can be inherited, formed [15] due to the orientation of pre-shearing layering or formed due to instability within the shear flow. [edit]Sedimentary

folding

Recently deposited sediments are normally mechanically weak and prone to remobilisation. [edit]Slump folding When slumps form in poorly consolidated sediments they commonly undergo folding, particularly at their leading edges, during their emplacement. The asymmetry of the slump folds can be used to [16] determine paleoslope directions in sequences of sedimentary rocks. [edit]Dewatering Rapid dewatering of sandy sediments, possibly triggered by seismic activity can cause convolute [17] bedding. [edit]Igneous

intrusion

The emplacement of igneous intrusions tends to deform the surrounding country rock. In the case of high-level intrusions, near the Earth's surface, this deformation is concentrated above the intrusion [18] and often takes the form of folding, as with the upper surface of a laccolith.

[edit]Flow

folding

Flow folding: this picture uses artistic license to show the effect of an advancing ramp of rigid rock into compliant layers. Top: low drag by ramp: layers are not altered in thickness; Bottom: high drag: lowest layers tend to crumple.[19]

The compliance of rock layers is referred to as competence: a competent layer or bed of rock can withstand an applied load without collapsing and is relatively strong, while an incompetent layer is relatively weak. When rock behaves as a fluid, as in the case of very weak rock such as rock salt, or any rock that is buried deeply enough, they typically show flow folding (also called passive folding, because little resistance is offered): the strata appear shifted undistorted, assuming any shape impressed upon them by surrounding more rigid rocks. The strata simply serve as markers of the [20] [21] folding. Such folding is also a feature of many igneous intrusions and glacier ice. [edit]Folding

mechanisms

Folding of rocks must balance the deformation of layers with the conservation of volume in a rock mass. This occurs by several mechanisms.

Example of a large-scale crenulation, Glengarry Basin, W.A., an example of chevron-type flexural-slip folds.

[edit]Flexural

slip

Flexural slip allows folding by creating layer-parallel slip between the layers of the folded strata, which, altogether, result in deformation. The best analogy is bending a phone book, where volume preservation is accommodated by slip between the pages of the book. [edit]Buckling Typically, folding is thought to occur by simple buckling of a planar surface and its confining volume. The volume change is accommodated bylayer parallel shortening the volume, which grows in thickness. Folding under this mechanism is typically of the similar fold style, as thinned limbs are shortened horizontally and thickened hinges do so vertically. [edit]Mass

displacement

If the folding deformation cannot be accommodated by flexural slip or volume-change shortening (buckling), the rocks are generally removed from the path of the stress. This is achieved by pressure dissolution, a form of metamorphic process, in which rocks shorten by dissolving constituents in areas of high strain and redepositing them in areas of lower strain. Folds created in this way include examples inmigmatites, and areas with a strong axial planar cleavage. [edit]Mechanics

of Folding

Weathered marble anticline atGeneral Carrera Lake, Chile

Folds in rock are formed in relation to the stress field in which the rocks are located and the rheology, or method of response to stress, of the rock at the time at which the stress is applied. The rheology of the layers being folded determines characteristic features of the folds that are measured in the field. Rocks that deform more easily form many short-wavelength, high-amplitude folds. Rocks that do not deform as easily form long-wavelength, low-amplitude folds.

faults
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. 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, such as occurs on the San Andreas Fault, California. A fault line is the surface trace of a fault, the line of intersection between the fault plane and the [1] Earth's surface.

Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, geologists use the term fault zone when referring to the zone of complex deformation associated with the fault plane. The two sides of a non-vertical fault are known as the hanging wall and footwall. By definition, the [2] hanging wall occurs above the fault plane and the footwall all occurs below the fault. This terminology comes from mining: when working a tabular ore body, the miner stood with the footwall [3] under his feet and with the hanging wall hanging above him.

Mechanics
See also: Fault mechanics

The Junction fault, dividing the Allegheny Plateau and the true Appalachian Mountainsin Pennsylvania, United States

The relative motion of rocks on either side of the fault surface controls the origin and behavior of faults, in both an individual small fault and within larger fault zones which define the tectonic plates. Because of friction and the rigidity of the rock, the rocks cannot glide or flow past each other. Rather, stress builds up in rocks and when it reaches a level that exceeds the strain threshold, the accumulated potential energy is dissipated by the release ofstrain, which is focused into a plane along which relative motion is accommodatedthe fault. Strain is both accumulative and instantaneous depending on the rheology of the rock; the ductile lower crust and mantle accumulates deformation gradually via shearing, whereas the brittle upper crust reacts by fracture - instantaneous stress release - to cause motion along the fault. A fault in ductile rocks can also release instantaneously when the strain rate is too great. The energy released by instantaneous strain release causes earthquakes, a common phenomenon along transform boundaries. [edit]Microfracturing

and AMR theory

Dextral slickenside of pyrite on a possible microfault

Microfracturing, or microseismicity, is often thought of as a symptom caused by rocks under strain, where small-scale failures, perhaps on areas the size of a dinner plate or a smaller area, release stress under high strain conditions. Only when sufficient microfractures link up into a large slip surface can a large seismic event or earthquake occur. According to this theory, after a large earthquake, the majority of the stress is released and the frequency of microfracturing is exponentially lower. A connected theory, accelerating moment release (AMR), claims that the seismicity rate accelerates in a well-behaved way prior to major earthquakes, and that it might provide a helpful tool for earthquake prediction on the scale of days to years. AMR is being increasingly used to predict rock failures within mines, and applications are being attempted for the portions of faults within brittle rheological conditions. Researchers observe like behavior in tremors preceding volcanic eruptions. [edit]Slip,
[by whom?]

heave, throw

A fault in the Grands Causses as seen from Bdarieux, France. The left side moves down while the right side moves up. The warping of the rock layers on the right is likely due to drag folding.

Slip is defined as the relative movement of geological features present on either side of a fault plane, and is a displacement vector. A fault'ssense of slip is defined as the relative motion of the rock on [4] each side of the fault with respect to the other side. In measuring the horizontal or vertical separation, the throw of the fault is the vertical component of the dip separation and the heave of the [5] fault is the horizontal component, as in "throw up and heave out". The vector of slip can be qualitatively assessed by studying the fault bend folding, i.e., the drag folding of strata on either side of the fault; the direction and magnitude of heave and throw can be measured only by finding common intersection points on either side of the fault. In practice, it is usually only possible to find the slip direction of faults, and an approximation of the heave and throw vector.

[edit]Fault

types

Geologists can categorize faults into three groups based on the sense of slip: 1. a fault where the relative movement (or slip) on the fault plane is approximately vertical is known as a dip-slip fault 2. where the slip is approximately horizontal, the fault is known as a transcurrent or strike-slip fault 3. an oblique-slip fault has non-zero components of both strike and dip slip. For all naming distinctions, it is the orientation of the net dip and sense of slip of the fault which must be considered, not the present-day orientation, which may have been altered by local or regional folding or tilting. [edit]Dip-slip

faults

Students look at a section of the exposedWasatch Fault (Normal fault), Utah

Dip-slip faults can occur either as "reverse" or as "normal" faults. 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. A reverse fault is the opposite of a normal faultthe hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall. Reverse faults indicate shortening of the crust. The dip of a reverse fault is relatively steep, greater than 45.

Cross-sectional illustration of normal and reverse dip-slip faults

A thrust fault has the same sense of motion as a reverse fault, but with the dip of the fault plane at less than 45. Thrust faults typically form ramps, flats and fault-bend (hanging wall and foot wall) folds. Thrust faults form nappes and klippen in the large thrust belts. The fault plane is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. Flat segments of thrust fault planes are known as flats, and inclined sections of the thrust are known as ramps. Typically, thrust faults move within formations by forming flats, and climb up section with ramps. Fault-bend folds are formed by movement of the hanging wall over a non-planar fault surface and are found associated with both extensional and thrust faults. Faults may be reactivated at a later time with the movement in the opposite direction to the original movement (fault inversion). A normal fault may therefore become a reverse fault and vice versa. [edit]Strike-slip

faults

The San Andreas Fault, a right-lateral strike-slip fault, caused the massive 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Schematic illustration of the two strike-slip fault types.

The fault surface is usually near vertical and the footwall moves either left or right or laterally with very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faultswith left-lateral motion are also known as sinistral faults. Those [6] with right-lateral motion are also known as dextral faults. A special class of strike-slip faults is the transform fault, where such faults form a plate boundary. These are found related to offsets inspreading centers, such as mid-ocean ridges, and less commonly

within continental lithosphere, such as the Alpine Fault, New Zealand. Transform faults are also referred to as conservative plate boundaries, as lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed. [edit]Oblique-slip

faults

Oblique-slip fault

A fault which has a component of dip-slip and a component of strike-slip is termed an oblique-slip fault. Nearly all faults will have some component of both dip-slip and strike-slip, so defining a fault as oblique requires both dip and strike components to be measurable and significant. Some oblique faults occur within transtensional and transpressional regimes, others occur where the direction of extension or shortening changes during the deformation but the earlier formed faults remain active. The hade angle is defined as the complement of the dip angle; it is the angle between the fault plane and a vertical plane that strikes parallel to the fault. [edit]Listric

fault

A listric fault is a type of fault in which the fault plane is curved. The dip of the fault plane becomes shallower with increased depth. [edit]Ring

fault

Ring faults are faults that occur within collapsed volcanic calderas. Ring faults may be filled by ring dikes. [edit]Fault

rock

Salmon-colored fault gouge and associated fault separates two different rock types on the left (dark grey) and right (light grey). From the Gobi of Mongolia.

Inactive fault from Sudbury toSault Ste. Marie, Northern Ontario,Canada

All faults have a measurable thickness, made up of deformed rock characteristic of the level in the crust where the faulting happened, of the rock types affected by the fault and of the presence and nature of any mineralising fluids. Fault rocks are classified by their textures and the implied mechanism of deformation. A fault that passes through different levels of the lithosphere will have many different types of fault rock developed along its surface. Continued dip-slip displacement tends to juxtapose fault rocks characteristic of different crustal levels, with varying degrees of overprinting. This effect is particularly clear in the case of detachment faults and major thrust faults. The main types of fault rock include: Cataclasite - a fault rock which is cohesive with a poorly developed or absent planar fabric, or which is incohesive, characterised by generally angular clasts and rock fragments in a finergrained matrix of similar composition. Tectonic or Fault breccia - a medium- to coarse-grained cataclasite containing >30% visible fragments. Fault gouge - an incohesive, clay-rich fine- to ultrafine-grained cataclasite, which may possess a planar fabric and containing <30% visible fragments. Rock clasts may be present Clay smear - clay-rich fault gouge formed in sedimentary sequences containing clay-rich layers which are strongly deformed and sheared into the fault gouge. Mylonite - a fault rock which is cohesive and characterized by a well developed planar fabric resulting from tectonic reduction of grain size, and commonly containing rounded porphyroclasts and rock fragments of similar composition to minerals in the matrix Pseudotachylite - ultrafine-grained vitreous-looking material, usually black and flinty in appearance, occurring as thin planar veins, injection veins or as a matrix to pseudoconglomerates or breccias, which infills dilation fractures in the host rock.

[edit]Impacts

on structures and people

In geotechnical engineering a fault often forms a discontinuity that may have a large influence on the mechanical behavior (strength, deformation, etc.) of soil and rock masses in, for example, tunnel, foundation, or slope construction.

The level of a fault's activity can be critical for (1) locating buildings, tanks, and pipelines and (2) assessing the seismic shaking and tsunamihazard to infrastructure and people in the vicinity. In California, for example, new building construction has been prohibited directly on or near faults that [7] have moved within the Holocene Epoch (the last 11,000 years) (Hart and Bryant, 1997). Also, faults that have shown movement during the Holocene plus Pleistocene Epochs (the last 2.6 million years) may receive consideration, especially for critical structures such as power plants, dams, hospitals, and schools. Geologists assess a fault's age by studying soil features seen in shallow excavations andgeomorphology seen in aerial photographs. Subsurface clues include shears and their relationships to carbonate nodules, translocated clay, and iron oxide mineralization, in the case of older soil, and lack of such signs in the case of younger soil. Radiocarbon dating of organic material buried next to or over a fault shear is often critical in distinguishing active from inactive faults. From such relationships, paleoseismologists can estimate the sizes of past earthquakes over the past several hundred years, and develop rough projections of future fault activity.

joints
E. JOINTS are simple fractures with no offset of the rock. 1. Rocks can behave as brittle material. 2. During deformation of crust, they crack & form joints. 3. Often many approximately parallel joints form; these are called a JOINT SET. 4. Often two joint sets intersect ~ 60 o & 120 o these are called a JOINT SYSTEM. 5. Often these joints dip very steeply--vertical is common. 6. Joints become widened by weathering & erosion. 7. Joints form during either Orogeny or Epeirogeny.

PALEOMAGNETISM

Paleomagnetism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about study of paleomagnetism. For other uses, see Paleomagnetism (disambiguation). Paleomagnetism is the study of the record of the Earth's magnetic field in rocks. Certain minerals in rocks lock-in a record of the direction and intensity of the magnetic field when they form. This record provides information on the past behavior of Earth's magnetic field and the past location of tectonic plates. The record of geomagnetic reversals preserved in volcanic andsedimentary rock sequences (magnetostratigraphy) provides a time-scale that is used as a geochronologic tool. Geophysicists who specialize in paleomagnetism are calledpaleomagnetists. Paleomagnetists led the revival of the theory of continental drift and its transformation into plate tectonics.[1] Apparent polar wander paths provided the first clear geophysical evidence forcontinental drift, while marine magnetic anomalies did the same for seafloor spreading. Paleomagnetism continues to extend the history of plate tectonics back in time and are applied to the movement of continental fragments, or terranes.[2] Paleomagnetism relied heavily on new developments in rock magnetism, which in turn has provided the foundation for new applications of magnetism. These include biomagnetism, magnetic fabrics (used as strain indicators in rocks and soils), and environmental magnetism.

History
Main article: History of geomagnetism As early as the 18th century it was noticed that compass needles deviated near strongly magnetized outcrops. In 1797, Von Humboldt attributed this magnetization to lightning strikes (and lightning [1][2] strikes do often magnetize surface rocks). In the 19th century studies of the direction of magnetization in rocks showed that some recent lavas were magnetized parallel to the Earth's magnetic field. Early in the 20th century, work by David, Brunhes and Mercanton showed that many rocks were magnetized antiparallel to the field. Motonori Matuyama showed that the Earth's magnetic [1] field reversed in the mid-Quaternary, a reversal now known as the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal. The British physicist P.M.S. Blackett provided a major impetus to paleomagnetism by inventing a sensitive astatic magnetometer in 1956. His intent was to test his theory that thegeomagnetic field was related to the Earth's rotation, a theory that he ultimately rejected; but the astatic magnetometer became the basic tool of paleomagnetism and led to a revival of the theory of continental drift. Alfred Wegener first proposed in 1915 that continents had once been joined together and had since moved apart. Although he produced an abundance of circumstantial evidence, his theory met with little acceptance for two reasons: (1) no mechanism for continental drift was known, and (2) there was no way to reconstruct the movements of the continents over time. Keith [3] [4] Runcorn and Edward A. Irving constructed apparent polar wander paths for Europe and North America. These curves diverged, but could be reconciled if it was assumed that the continents had been in contact up to 200 million years ago. This provided the first clear geophysical evidence for continental drift. Then in 1963,Morley, Vine and Matthews showed that marine magnetic anomalies provided evidence for seafloor spreading. [edit]Fields

of paleomagnetism

Paleomagnetism is studied on a number of scales:

Secular variation studies look at small-scale changes in the direction and intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic north pole is constantly shifting relative to the axis of rotation of the Earth. Magnetism is a vector and so magnetic field variation is made up of palaeodirectional measurements of magnetic declination and magnetic inclination and palaeointensity measurements.

Earth's magnetic polarity reversals in last 5 million years. Dark regions represent normal polarity (same as present field); light regions represent reversed polarity.

Magnetostratigraphy uses the polarity reversal history of the Earth's magnetic field recorded in rocks to determine the age of those rocks.Reversals have occurred at irregular intervals throughout Earth history. The age and pattern of these reversals is known from the study of sea floor spreading zones and the dating of volcanic rocks.

[edit]Principles

of remanent magnetization

The study of paleomagnetism is possible because iron-bearing minerals such as magnetite may record past directions of the Earth's magnetic field. Paleomagnetic signatures in rocks can be recorded by three different mechanisms. [edit]Thermoremanent

magnetization

Main article: Thermoremanent magnetization Iron-titanium oxide minerals in basalt and other igneous rocks may preserve the direction of the Earth's magnetic field when the rocks cool through the Curie temperatures of those minerals. The Curie temperature of magnetite, a spinel-group iron oxide, is about 580C, whereas most basalt andgabbro are completely crystallized at temperatures above 900C. Hence, the mineral grains are not rotated physically to align with the Earth's field, but rather they may record the orientation of that field. The record so preserved is called a thermoremanent magnetization (TRM). Because complex oxidation reactions may occur as igneous rocks cool after crystallization, the orientations of the Earth's magnetic field are not always accurately recorded, nor is the record necessarily maintained. Nonetheless, the record has been preserved well enough in basalts of the ocean crust to have been critical in the development of theories of sea floor spreading related to plate tectonics. TRM can also be recorded in potterykilns, hearths, and burned adobe buildings. The discipline based on the study of [5] thermoremanent magnetisation in archaeological materials is called archaeomagnetic dating. [edit]Detrital

remanent magnetization

In a completely different process, magnetic grains in sediments may align with the magnetic field during or soon after deposition; this is known asdetrital remanent magnetization (DRM). If the magnetization is acquired as the grains are deposited, the result is a depositional detrital remanent magnetization (dDRM); if it is acquired soon after deposition, it is a post-depositional detrital remanent [6] magnetization (pDRM). [edit]Chemical

remanent magnetization

See also: Chemical remanent magnetization In a third process, magnetic grains grow during chemical reactions, and record the direction of the magnetic field at the time of their formation. The field is said to be recorded by chemical remanent magnetization (CRM). A common form of chemical remanent magnetization is held by the mineral hematite, another iron oxide. Hematite forms through chemical oxidation reactions of other minerals in the rock including magnetite.Redbeds, clastic sedimentary rocks (such as sandstones) are red because of hematite that formed during sedimentary diagenesis. The CRM signatures in redbeds [7] can be quite useful and they are common targets in magnetostratigraphy studies. [edit]Isothermal

remanent magnetization

See also: Remanence Remanence that is acquired at a fixed temperature is called isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM). Remanence of this sort is not useful for paleomagnetism, but it can be acquired as a result of

lightning strikes. Lightning-induced remanent magnetization can be distinguished by its high intensity [8][9] and rapid variation in direction over scales of centimeters. IRM is often induced in drill cores by the magnetic field of the steel core barrel. This contaminant is generally parallel to the barrel, and most of it can be removed by heating up to about 400 or demagnetizing in a small alternating field. In the laboratory, IRM is induced by applying fields of various strengths and is used for many purposes in rock magnetism.

[edit]Paleomagnetic [edit]Collecting

procedure

samples on land

Paleomagnetists, like many geologists, gravitate towards outcrops because layers of rock are exposed. Road cuts are a convenient man-made source of outcrops. "And everywhere, in profusion along this half mile of [roadcut], there are small, neatly cored holes ... appears to be a Hilton for wrens and purple martins." There are two main goals of sampling: 1. Retrieve samples with accurate orientations, and 2. Reduce statistical uncertainty. One way to achieve the first goal is to use a rock coring drill that has a pipe tipped with diamond bits. The drill cuts a cylindrical space around some rock. This can be messy - the drill must be cooled with water, and the result is mud spewing out of the hole. Into this space is inserted another pipe with compass and inclinometer attached. These provide the orientations. Before this device is removed, a mark is scratched on the sample. After the sample is broken off, the mark [11] can be augmented for clarity. [edit]Examples Paleomagnetic evidence, both reversals and polar wandering data, was instrumental in verifying the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics in the 1960s and 70s. Some applications of paleomagnetic evidence to reconstructing histories of terranes have continued to arouse controversies. Paleomagnetic evidence also is used in constraining possible ages for rocks and processes and in reconstructions of the deformational histories of parts of the crust. Reversal magnetostratigraphy is often used to estimate the age of fossil and hominin bearing [12] sites. Paleomagnetic studies are combined with geochronological methods to determine absolute ages for rocks in which the magnetic record is preserved. For igneous rocks such as basalt, commonly used methods include potassium-argon and argon-argon geochronology.
[10]