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An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes may also be referred to as quakes, tremors, or temblors. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling . In its most general sense, an earthquake is any seismic event ...
Seismology ( / saɪzˈmɒlədʒi, saɪs -/; from Ancient Greek σεισμός ( seismós) meaning "earthquake" and -λογία ( -logía) meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or other planetary bodies. It also includes studies of ...
The Richter scale [1] (/ ˈ r ɪ k t ər /), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, [2] is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and presented in Richter's landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude scale". [3]
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [ 1] is the scientific theory that Earth 's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. [ 2][ 3][ 4] The model builds on the concept of continental ...
Submarine earthquake, an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of water, especially an ocean. [ 17] Supershear earthquake, an earthquake in which the propagation of the rupture along the fault surface occurs at speeds in excess of the seismic shear wave (S-wave) velocity, causing an effect analogous to a sonic boom. [ 18]
Earthquake prediction is a branch of the science of seismology concerned with the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of future earthquakes within stated limits, [1] [a] and particularly "the determination of parameters for the next strong earthquake to occur in a region". [2] Earthquake prediction is sometimes distinguished from ...
Earthquake cycle. A diagram illustrating the interseismic, preseismic, and postseismic periods for a subduction zone earthquake cycle. The over-riding plate bends to accumulate stress during the interseismic period and rebounds back to its previous position to release stress. The earthquake cycle refers to the phenomenon that earthquakes ...
v. t. e. Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at a given location. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake's ...