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Why does an earthquake get weaker as you move further away from the epicentre?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
This is because the waves fade as they get further away from the epicentre.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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Why does an earthquakes damage decrease the further away you are?
Energy in seismic waves is lost as they travel through the ground. As such the further they travel from the epicentre of the earthquake, the greater the energy loss and the less damage they can do.
What does the term earthquake epicentre mean?
The tectonic plates placed deep inside earth's crust [range may vary, say 5-100km]. As such, epicentre is defined as the centre point of the tectonic activity projected on earth's surface. Thus the epicentre can also lie on the surface of Sea/ Ocean also. Ocean water remains only up to 10 to 12 km deep [maximum being Marina Trench]The tectonic activity lies much below !!The epicentre is the point on the earth's surface directly above the earthquake's focus or hypocentre (the point within the earth where the fault rupture or movement actually occurs).As such, the seismic waves produced by an earthquake radiate away from this point. This is similar to the way waves or ripples in a pond move outwards in concentric circles from the point where you throw a stone into the water.
How can a mercalli scale be used to determine the epicenter of an earthquake?
It may potentially be used to find the epicentre of an earthquake, but there would be significant practical problems which would introduce potentially very significant errors in the location estimate. For an explanation, see the following: The Mercalli scale allocates a value to an earthquake based on the perceived shaking in a specific area (as well as from amplitudes of seismic waves measured on seismometers). The ground acceleration and amplitude of seismic waves (and hence the perceived shaking) is not just a function of the distance from the epicentre (if it were you could plot contours of Mercalli values to estimate the epicentre based on where the highest reported shaking occurred). However the amplitude of seismic waves is also a function of the local geology. Seismic waves have much larger amplitudes in soft sediments than in hard rock masses. As such, an area located close to the earthquake epicentre but with ground conditions characterised by hard rock may actually experience significantly lower amplitude vibrations than an area a longer distance away with soft sediments. As such people would report a lower perceived level of shaking (and this would be confirmed by seismometer readings) in the area that was actually closer to the earthquake. The earth is composed of naturally formed materials which therefore have great lateral variability. This therefore can cause great variability in the perceived shaking that bears little relation to the origin of the earthquake. As such a contour plot on a map of Mercalli values may give some indication of the location of the earthquake epicentre however as described above there are potentially numerous sources of error! For information on how seismologists locate the epicentre of an earthquake, please see the related question.
Why do some earthquake with small magnitude result in more death than earthquake with lager magnitude?
There is no direct correlation between deaths and magnitude. It all depends on the earthquake's location in terms of population areas, and depth.A 6.5 magnitude quake directly under a large city, might kill 50,000, but an 8.5 magnitude quake situated slightly further away from the city might only kill 500 or so.
How far away from the earthquake is the receiving station?
360 Km
Why does an earthquakes damage decrease the further away you are?
Energy in seismic waves is lost as they travel through the ground. As such the further they travel from the epicentre of the earthquake, the greater the energy loss and the less damage they can do.
What is the definition of an epicentre of an earthquake?
The epicentre of an earthquake is the point on the earth's surface away from which the seismic waves produced by an earthquake radiate. This is similar to the way waves or ripples in a pond move outwards in concentric circles from the point where you throw a stone into the water. As such the epicentre is the point on the earth's surface directly above the earthquake's focus or hypocentre (the point within the earth where the fault rupture or movement actually occurs).
Where is the epicenter of an earthquake if the arrival time difference between P and S waves is zero?
Your standing on it! P-waves travel faster than S-waves through the Earth. As such the further away a seismometer station is from the epicentre of an Earthquake, the larger the difference between arrival times will be. By the same logic this means that the closer you get to the epicentre, the smaller the difference in arrival time will be until your at the epicentre when the difference will be zero!
What do geologists use to locate a earthquakes epicenter?
The S-P time method is perhaps the simplest method seismologists use to find an earthquake's epicenter. +++ No it's not. That finds its Focus. The Epicentre is the point of maximum movement on the land surface above the slip itself.
Where would earthquake damage be more - near the epicenter or away from the epicenter?
All other factors being equal, the seismic waves will be felt most strongly at or near to the epicentre of the earthquake.
How far away from the epicenter were the effects felt from the Illinois earthquake on February 10 2010?
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Earthquake was felt up to 50 km away from the epicentre. Please see the related link for a contour map of earthquake intensity from the USGS.
What happens to the strength of this gravitational field as an objects moves further away from Earth?
The further away from the Earth's surface you travel - the weaker the gravitational pull is.
A seismograph station can determine its distance from an earthquake's epicenter by .?
P-waves and S-waves are released by an earthquake at the same time and travel out from the epicentre in all directions. However P-waves travel faster than S-waves so the further away from the earthquake's epicentre the greater the lead the P-waves have on the S-waves. Observation of the seismogram trace at the seismometer station will allow the scientists to find the P-wave and S-wave arrival times and measure the difference between them. As the P-waves are faster they always arrive first (hence their name - primary wave). The greater the difference between the time that the P-waves and S-waves first arrive (i.e. the greater the lead the P-waves have), the further the distance to the epicentre. They are able to use the time difference along with an estimate of the speed of the P-waves and S-waves to find the distance from the station to the earthquakes epicentre. For more information on this please see the related question.
What does the term earthquake epicentre mean?
The tectonic plates placed deep inside earth's crust [range may vary, say 5-100km]. As such, epicentre is defined as the centre point of the tectonic activity projected on earth's surface. Thus the epicentre can also lie on the surface of Sea/ Ocean also. Ocean water remains only up to 10 to 12 km deep [maximum being Marina Trench]The tectonic activity lies much below !!The epicentre is the point on the earth's surface directly above the earthquake's focus or hypocentre (the point within the earth where the fault rupture or movement actually occurs).As such, the seismic waves produced by an earthquake radiate away from this point. This is similar to the way waves or ripples in a pond move outwards in concentric circles from the point where you throw a stone into the water.
Where is the most earthquake damage in an earthquake?
The most earthquake damage tends to occur at the epicentre, which is the point on the surface above the hypocentre, or focus, of an earthquake. It is the point in the Earth's crust where the rock first breaks.However, many earthquakes do not actually break the earth's surface. It has been found that the most damage in an earthquake tends to result from the secondary effects, especially the movement of seismic waves away from the epicenter. These secondary effects include landslides, liquefaction, fissuring and aftershocks.
Which areas of New South Wales were affected by earthquakes in 1989?
Newcastle was the city affected by an earthquake in 1989. The epicentre for the earthquake, which killed 13 people, was at Boolaroo, a Newcastle suburb 19 kilometres west of the CBD.Effects of the Newcastle earthquake were felt throughout central-eastern New South Wales. There were reports of damage to buildings in Scone, Gladstone and Sydney, the latter some 800km away.
How safe are you if you are 14km away from epicentre of an atomic blast?
absolutely fine...IF YOU'RE ME! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
