Supplemental Readings on Earthquakes © 2008 Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, Dept. of Geological and Environmental Sciences, California State University, Chico* *Supported by NSF Grant #9455371. Permission is granted to reproduce this material for classroom use. A–1 Important Technical Terms stress Pressures exerted on rocks inside the earth, similar to pressures experienced by divers deep under water. differential stress When stresses are stronger in one direction than another. For example, a rock deep underground will feel a squeezing pressure in all directions, but the pressure in a vertical direction may be stronger. This is analogous to a deep-sea diver who has a large walrus sitting on him; he is squeezed harder from above (by the walrus) than from the sides (by the water). strain A change in the shape of a rock body caused by differential stress. For example, a rock may get shorter and thicker or a rock may be bent. In the Earthquakes chapter of the book, when the authors write “strain,” they really mean “elastic strain.” elastic strain A temporary strain that lasts only as long as the differential stress lasts. That is, when you take away the differential stress; any elastic strain disappears and the rock (or other elastic material) goes back to its original shape. Similarly, if you add a little stress, the strain increases a little; if you take away a little stress, the strain decreases a little and the rock gets closer to its original shape. For example, if you stretch a rubber band, you are applying stress to it and it reacts by straining (becoming longer and thinner). If you increase the stress, it stretches more; if you decrease the stress it shrinks back a little. brittle strain A permanent strain that remains, even after all stresses are removed. Brittle strain involves breaking and cracking. Fine china easily undergoes brittle strain. ductile strain A permanent strain that remains, even after all stresses are removed. Ductile strain involves any type of distortion (“morphing”) or bending. Clay easily undergoes ductile strain. elastic potential energy A form of potential energy that is stored in rocks (or any other elastic materials) when they have undergone elastic strain. Elastic potential energy is released whenever stress is released and the rock (or other elastic material) regains some of its original shape. For example, if you stretch a rubber band and then let go, the rubber band suddenly goes back to its original shape; and enough energy may be released to shoot the rubber band across the room. rock strength The “strength” of a rock is a measure of how much elastic strain the rock can take before it strains permanently (breaks, slips along a fault, or “morphs” permanently).A–2 Supplemental Readings on Earthquakes The Elastic Rebound Theory for the Cause of Earthquakes Harry F. Reid formulated the elastic rebound theory as part of his study of the great San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906. Harry F. Reid was one member of an eight-person committee, known as the State Earthquake Investigation Commission. This committee did a very thorough job. It carefully mapped almost the entire 780 mile-long San Andreas fault and discovered that a 270 mile-long segment of the fault had ruptured during the 1906 earthquake (see the diagram on p. A–16 of this course packet). Offset roads, fences and other markers indicated that the region west of the fault had moved north relative to the region east of the fault. The maximum amount of offset measured was 21 feet (6.4 meters). The committee also collected eye-witness accounts of the earthquake, gathered seismograph data from seismic stations worldwide, took hundreds of photographs of the ground rupture, and conducted highly accurate surveys of the land near the part of the fault that had ruptured. Their report, first published in 1910, is in the Special Collections section of the CSU Chico library.1 H. F. Reid published a separate paper on his elastic rebound theory in 1911.2 The specific data that led Reid to his elastic rebound theory consisted of land surveys conducted immediately after the 1906 earthquake and older land surveys that had been completed between 1851 and 1906. When Reid compared the post-earthquake surveys with the older surveys, he detected an interesting pattern. The diagram below shows, in idealized form, the results of these surveys. As you might expect, these data were, at first, rather puzzling. Why should an originally straight survey line become broken and, worse, curved? Reid suspected that the part of California on the west side of the San Andreas fault was moving, very steadily and gradually (a couple of inches a year), northward relative to the part of San Andreas FaultSurvey Line1851Survey LineSurvey LineSan Andreas FaultImmediately After the 1906 Earthquake 1Reid, Harry F., 1908-1910, The mechanics of the earthquake: Volume 2 of The California earthquake of April 18, 1906: Report of the state earthquake investigation commission: Carnegie institution of Washington Publication no. 87. 2Reid, Harry F., 1911, The elastic-rebound theory of earthquakes: University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, v. 6, no. 19, p. 413-444: Berkeley, CA, University of California Press.Supplemental Readings on Earthquakes A–3 California on the east side of the San Andreas fault.3 He also suspected that these two parts of California did not slide smoothly past each other. He suspected, rather, that they stuck together along the San Andreas fault for decades at a time. Now this sticking would not stop the two regions from moving relative to each other, inch by inch year after year. It would just mean that the rocks near the fault would get stretched, compressed, and/or bent as they stubbornly clung to each other despite being pulled in different directions by the two slabs of crust they were attached to (see the diagram on the next page). Now this stretching, compression and bending (called strain) would be elastic, meaning that the rocks would only remain in their distorted condition as long as they were being pulled, squeezed, or otherwise stressed. And the more stress the rocks were subjected to, the more elastic strain they would accumulate. It takes energy to hold the rocks in this strained position. Thus, as the elastic strain accumulated in the rocks, the elastic potential strain energy would too. Now, as you may