Earthquakes: Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Hazards

192 Pages·2008·11.21 MB·English

by  Timothy M. Kusky

EarthquakEs
Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Hazards

EarthquakEs
Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Hazards
timothy kusky, Ph.D.
EARTHQUAKES: Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Hazards
Copyright © 2008 by Timothy Kusky, Ph.D.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kusky, Timothy M.
Earthquakes: plate tectonics and earthquake hazards / Timothy Kusky.
p. cm.—(Hazardous Earth)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6462-5 (acid-free paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8160-6462-8 (acid-free paper)
1. Earthquakes. 2. Plate tectonics. I. Title.
QE534.3.K87 2008
551.22—dc22 2007020832
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
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Text design by Erika K. Arroyo
Illustrations by Richard Garratt
Printed in the United States of America
VB FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper and contains 30 percent post-consumer
recycled content.
To the Himalayan villagers whose lives were changed
by the Kashmir earthquake of October 8, 2005
n  n  n

Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
Part I : Plate Tectonics
1
General Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics 3
Physiography: Shape of the Surface of the Planet 4
Historical Development of the Plate Tectonics Theorem 6
Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880–1930) 8
Alexander Logie Du Toit (1878–1948) 11
Plate Tectonics and the Hazardous Earth 12
How Plate Tectonics Works 13
Conclusion 18
2
Divergent Plate Boundaries 20
Divergent Plate Boundary Processes 20
Divergent Plate Boundaries in Continents 21
Kevin C. Burke (1929– ) 22
Modes of Extension 23
Divergent Plate Boundaries in the Oceans 25
Transition from Continental to Oceanic Rifting:
The Afar Triangle 26
Conclusion 32
3
Transform Plate Boundaries and Transform Faults 34
Transform Margin Processes 35
Transform Boundaries in the Continents 36
Transform Boundaries in the Oceans 40
Tanya Atwater (1942– ) 41
Conclusion 42
4
Convergent Margins 44
Convergent Plate Margin Processes 46
Southern Alaska’s Convergent Margin 46
Arcs 50
Variations between Different Types of Convergent
Margin Arcs 52
Collisions 56
The Tibetan Plateau 59
Conclusion 63
Part II : Earthquakes
5
Earthquakes 67
Areas at Risk for Significant Earthquakes in the
United States 69
Origins of Earthquakes 74
Method of Locating Epicenters Using Three
Intersecting Circles 76
Measuring Earthquakes 78
Earthquake Magnitude 80
Conclusion 82
6
Earthquake Hazards 84
Ground Motion 85
Ground Breaks 88
Mass Wasting 89
Liquefaction 90
Changes in Ground Level 92
Tsunami and Seiche Waves 92
Damage to Utilities (Fires, Broken Gas Mains,
Transportation Network) 96
Conclusion 97
7
Earthquake Prediction, Preparation, and Response 98
Earthquake Statistics 98
Predicting Earthquakes 99
China’s Liaoning Earthquake: Successful
Earthquake Prediction 102
Seismic Hazard Zones and Risk Mapping 103
Paleoseismicity: Understanding Ancient Earthquakes 104
Architecture and Building Codes 106
Agencies That Deal with Earthquakes 107
Earthquake Response 107
Utilities Infrastructure and Emergency Response 108
Earthquake Readiness 108
Conclusion 110
8
Descriptions of Earthquake Disasters 111
Earthquakes That Struck Convergent Margins 112
Earthquakes That Struck Transform Margins 128
Earthquakes That Struck Intraplate Regions and
Divergent Margins 131
Conclusion 139
Summary 140
Appendix 143
Glossary 144
Further Reading and Web Sites 153
Index 161