Questions tagged [earthquakes]

Questions regarding a sudden release of seismic waves into the Earth's crust. As well as the causes of earthquakes, their consequences and physics.

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Can mining trigger earthquakes?

Are earthquakes more common in mining regions than they would otherwise be? e.g. is the frequency of earthquakes in those regions different when mining is occurring than when it is not? I am ...
naught101's user avatar
  • 5,425
44 votes
6 answers
108k views

Are Richter-magnitude 10 earthquakes possible?

The largest earthquake since 1900 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was Richter-9.5 magnitude quake in Chile in 1960. Are magnitude 10 earthquakes possible? If so, what is the ...
blunders's user avatar
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19 votes
1 answer
346 views

Can large (and wet) storms really trigger large magnitude Earthquakes?

At the 2011 AGU Fall meeting, this poster claimed that the water erosion from Taiwan's wettest storms could prematurely trigger large magnitude earthquakes , $ M \ge 6.0 $. If this was true, this ...
Neo's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
2k views

Characterizing earthquakes using accelerometer data

Is there a way to use accelerometer data to characterize earthquake intensity, e.g., on Richter scale?
Michael Rogers's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
167 views

Relationship between tides and earthquakes

Ide et al. (2016) suggest that earthquakes (especially those of high magnitudes) are more probable during periods of high tidal stress (during full and new moons). While they show a comprehensive ...
arkaia's user avatar
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32 votes
8 answers
3k views

Is earthquake prediction possible?

After the Tohoku and East Coast quakes, I skimmed over several books discussing the validity of earthquake prediction as a discipline, yet found no significant breakthroughs. What should change in our ...
Deer Hunter's user avatar
  • 2,093
20 votes
2 answers
931 views

How does one measure what causes earthquakes?

I know that they occur when energy that was previously stored is released in seismic waves. But how is the energy stored in the earth in the first place, and what can trigger the release of such ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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20 votes
2 answers
48k views

How do seismologists locate the epicenter and focus of an earthquake?

I know the focus of an earthquake is where the earthquake originated from, but what I could never figure out is, how to scientists find out where exactly the focus (and epicenter) are located?
Azzie Rogers's user avatar
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13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why does the "Ring of Fire" pretty much define "Pacific Rim"

The Pacific Rim is pretty much defined by the so-called "Ring of Fire." It consists of the "stomping ground" for a disproportionate number of earthquakes and volcanoes, and the affected territory ...
Tom Au's user avatar
  • 2,244
12 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can climate change cause earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruptions?

Different scientists have brought forth a theory that climate change can cause earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. For example: Professor Bill McGuire of University College London in his ...
THelper's user avatar
  • 420
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

Why do some earthquakes and volcanoes occur within plates?

I know that volcanoes and earthquakes occur on plate margins. But, do some of them also occur within plates?
user1's user avatar
  • 101
8 votes
2 answers
246 views

Prompt gravity signal induced by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake - could this really be useful for warnings?

Edit: Two new items may shed more light on this question: BBC: Gravity signals rapidly show true size of giant quakes links to: Science: Observations and modeling of the elastogravity signals ...
uhoh's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
314 views

Are there any seasonal or diurnal trends in earthquakes?

Though I imagine it's unlikely there is any significant correlation because daily and annual temperature variation really only impact a fairly shallow layer of the crust, I wondered whether the actual ...
JeopardyTempest's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
4k views

Can two earthquakes happen at the same time?

I wanted to know if two earthquakes can happen at the same time in the same area? I "think" this can happen, but I'm not totally sure? I understand tectonic plates sliding against each other can cause ...
Desi Love's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
212 views

Does the moon have any affect on earthquakes being created? [duplicate]

Here, in New Zealand, we just had a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit. Alot of people are saying that the super moon caused this. I have doubts as to the super moon actually 'causing' it but could have it ...
AnonDCX's user avatar
  • 143
3 votes
1 answer
977 views

Do planetary alignments affect Earth's seismic activity?

There is a widely circulated tweet by Frank Hoogerbeets where it seems he has predicted Turkey's earthquake a few days before. The tweet says: Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in ...
polfosol ఠ_ఠ's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
4k views

Is there any correlation between Grand Solar Minimums (GSM) and earthquakes? [closed]

I've found many claims arguing that the periods of minimum solar activity are associated with increases earthquakes and volcanic activities. Some of these claims are supported by articles in ...
stormy's user avatar
  • 167
16 votes
1 answer
358 views

Potential explanations of Red Sea crossing

I am looking for a believable explanation of the Red Sea Crossing in the Bible. This would involve either strong winds(which is mentioned in the Bible) or plate tectonics which could cause land to ...
user1278255's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
620 views

Did the Geothermal Power Plant contribute to Pahoa's Lava Fissures?

There was lava in the area near the wells that the Puna Geothermal Venture facility created. The plant has nine wells that run as deep as 8,000 feet, according to Wil Okabe, managing director for ...
Travis J's user avatar
  • 253
13 votes
4 answers
425 views

Can an earthquake occurring within two plates trigger another earthquake in a far away plate boundary?

Can an earthquake occurring between two plates, like the Pacific Plate and North American Plate cause any effect which would trigger an earthquake in a far away place like the boundary between the ...
user2990's user avatar
  • 131
13 votes
3 answers
14k views

If the Bennu asteroid were to hit within a 500 mile radius of Yellowstone National Park, will it trigger a super volcano at Yellowstone?

I am curious to know if it would be highly probable that if the Bennu asteroid were to hit the Earth in 2182, and the point of impact is within a 500 mile radius of Yellowstone National Park, will it ...
user57467's user avatar
  • 411
13 votes
1 answer
5k views

Using accelerometer as a seismograph

I'm using ADXL345 accelerometer with Raspberry Pi to build a seismograph. I've successfully hooked it up and can plot the accelerometer data in three axis. Is there any way to express these data in ...
yode's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is it possible for Earth to experience Polar Shift?

Many accounts claim that the Magnetic Field of the Earth has been seriously degrading for the past centuries and we are currently in the process of the so called Polar Shift. How likely would it be ...
stack's user avatar
  • 232
12 votes
2 answers
18k views

How to compare earthquake magnitudes

On the USGS website, it says Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; However my book says ...
TeamA1's user avatar
  • 121
12 votes
4 answers
2k views

What do the derivative or the integral of amplitude of a seismogram mean?

I'm doing a project in which I'm analyzing earthquake seismogram waves. I used a program to graph the exact amplitudes and how they changed over the course of a single earthquake. For the project I ...
Neeeedhelp's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
575 views

Where and how can seismic data for earthquakes and volcanoes be downloaded?

I need it in this format. I went to USGS and IRIS websites but couldn't understand the downloading procedure
shrey's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
5k views

Is the epicenter always directly above the hypocenter?

All the graphics I've seen showing epicenters with a hypocenter (labeled focus in the graph below) appear to show that epicenters are always directly above their related hypocenters. Is this correct?
blunders's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
2k views

What impact on climate did 2011 earthquake and tsunami have?

The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was one of the biggest in modern history; the earthquake even moved Earth's axis for a very small, but measurable bit. The four years since then is not enough ...
Pavel V.'s user avatar
  • 976
10 votes
2 answers
368 views

What is the reasoning behind the statement "Faulting will occur along the plane where the shear stress is the highest"?

In "An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes and Earth Structure", authors Seth Stein and Michael Wysession made the statement: "Faulting will occur along the plane where the shear stress is the ...
shrey's user avatar
  • 1,489
8 votes
1 answer
572 views

Does the Moon affect earthquakes?

Does the Moon, through factors like its location (if it is at an apsis i.e closest point or furthest point in its orbit) or some changes in density, affect earthquakes on the Earth? Earthquakes are a ...
user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
196 views

How do they know the 2016 Kaikoura (NZ) Earthquake was 'complex', involved six different faults?

The BBC news article New Zealand quake: The geological impact of a 'complex' tremor says: The powerful earthquakes which hit New Zealand were some of the most complex ever recorded, say scientists. ...
uhoh's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
898 views

Are volcanoes formed from earthquakes?

I know that some earthquakes are caused by volcanoes and that some earthquakes can trigger volcanic eruptions close to where the earthquake is. But what if a great earthquake(8.0 or above) occurs and ...
Caters's user avatar
  • 567
5 votes
2 answers
8k views

Are there more earthquakes near the equator or poles?

When comparing the average distance of the all known earthquake epicenters to the nearest pole, is the longitudinal distance to the equator or the poles the smallest of the two? Please note that any ...
blunders's user avatar
  • 4,611
4 votes
5 answers
153 views

Is There a Correlation Between Earthquake Magnitude and the Deformation Observed in the Rock?

I've been doing a little geology research. One of the topics that I noticed was the existence of "deformations" that appear in the rock layers if an earthquake has occurred. Smaller ...
Mathematician's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
268 views

Catalog of all significant earthquakes since 1900?

Where can I find a list of all earthquakes that happened on Earth since 1900?I need time, longitude/latitude, and power -- preferably in .csv format.
Kristjan's user avatar
  • 201
2 votes
1 answer
233 views

Are seismometers over the world "feeling" the small earthquakes caused by air raids and shelling on Gaza Strip?

When watching news about earthquakes, I think most people are used to hear about the Richter scale, a logarithmic scale used to measure earthquake intensity. A very strong earthquake, like the 2011 ...
ksousa's user avatar
  • 23
1 vote
1 answer
399 views

What would a graph of magnitude >7.5 earthquakes over last 400 years compared to Grand Solar Minimums look like?

I am a novice here and I really appreciate the graph of magnitude >7 earthquakes related to 11(22)yr solar minimum cycles. I was wondering what the correlation would be (if any) if we changed the ...
Caro's user avatar
  • 11
-6 votes
1 answer
686 views

Is it possible that the recent droughts are signs of epic crust failure? [closed]

The full question is: Is it possible that the recent, successive, long droughts from Australia to the West Coast of both American continents are signs of epic crust failure? The question is aimed ...
Teki Haken's user avatar