GEOL 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Surface Wave, Hypocenter, Epicenter
Document Summary
Japan located 200km (~124mi) west of japan trench: paciic plate subducts under eurasian plate, frequent large earthquakes. March 11, 2011: strongest recorded earthquake in japan, greater than expected. Energy released ~600 million imes more than hiroshima bomb. Well engineered buildings reduced the loss of life, tsunami wall-false security. 2011 tohoku earthquake: applying the 5 fundamental concepts. 7. 2 magnitude earthquake detected two days before: this was a size that was predicted to happen any day, did not expect it to be a foreshock to a larger earthquake. Paciic plate slid under the eurasian plate: earthquake 500 imes more powerful than history suggested, also produced larger than predicted tsunami. Automaic alert went out 8 seconds ater p waves conirmed: allowed 10 seconds of preparaion, enough ime for the well-prepared. Lessons learned: help understand, predict, prepare, and survive earthquakes. Scienists have already learned more about the size of the earthquake and tsunami. Us experts have begun a push for a similar warning system.
