Earthquakes: What You Didn’t Learn in Earth Science Class

In earth science they talk a lot about different Earthquakes, volcanoes, the weather, different rocks, and etc. But never did you really get in details of what is any of them. Well I did research and found out that an earthquake which is also known as a quake, tremor or temblor is a result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

Now I bet you didn’t know that from your Earth Science class. Well I’m going to put out more interesting facts about Earthquakes in this Essay so get ready?. First fun fact: earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes are none to be smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories which are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also none as the Richter scale.

These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Earthquakes that are magnitude 3 or lower are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude that was slightly over 9, although there isn’t really a limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9. 0 or larger was a 9. 0 magnitude earthquake that took place in Japan in the year of 2011.

And it was also another in October 2012, and it was happen to be the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal. Second fun fact: at the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be showed sufficiently to cause a tsunami.

Earthquakes can also cause landslides, and sometimes volcanic activity. Third fun fact: in its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event, whether natural or caused by humans. That generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is known as its focus or hypocenter.

The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter. Now for my conclusion I would like to post my opinion on Earthquakes. I know earthquakes are very deadly but at the end of the day their not much that humans can do for the simple fact earthquakes is Earth on doing. We can’t prevent it nor can we stop it. But with all the knowledge we know about earthquakes we should know when one is about to hit and be already prepared for any damages or effects it may cause.

Cite this Page

Earthquakes: What You Didn’t Learn in Earth Science Class. (2016, Aug 27). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/earthquakes/

copy to clipboard