Martin Karne on 18/4/2006 at 03:16
Depth? What depth? That stinking crack is right on the surface, max damage is guaranteed or you get the money back.
:erg:
Dario on 18/4/2006 at 06:27
Ohhh, I see... lol :cheeky: :thumb:
Cats are teh pwn.
Ko0K on 18/4/2006 at 06:43
Quote Posted by Martin Karne
Depth? What depth? That stinking crack is right on the surface, max damage is guaranteed or you get the money back.
:erg:
I think tungsten means the depth below the epicenter where earthquake occurs, which is commonly referred to as the "hypocenter," but in reality it's the surface area of the rupture along the fault that matters. Just to give you an idea as to how complicated the dynamics of an earthquake are, consider that all these are variables:
Rupture surface area - No fault is perfectly planar, so each time a given fault slips, its rupture surface geometry will vary. In any case, the larger the surface area, the more energy the quake will generate.
Type of rock/sediment being offset - Keep in mind that most areas in California are underlain by many different types of rocks and sediments, and once a fault slips, the next slip may occur between different substrates than the last.
Duration of quake - The longer it lasts, the more likely a building will 'resonate' to the quake's frequency. Quake duration also depends on the earth material type; softer sediments are thought to be more prone to longer shaking duration than hard rocks, which are typically more susceptible to quick and strong jolts.
Topography - Sometimes the seismic waves bounce off of the surface, and in the case of a ridge, the waves may eventually become focused and amplified as they travel toward the crest of the ridge. On the other hand, a canyon filled with softer sediments whose walls are solid rocks may behave much like a bowl of jello.
Type of faulting - There are three types of faults: Normal, reverse, and strike-slip. Anyone can look these up, so I'm not going to bother explaining those, but in any case, reverse and strike slip faults typically generate larger quakes than normal faults.
There are more factors, but I'm not a seismologist, so I can only think of the above off the top of my head. Even if those are the only factors at play, it's plenty complicated when you consider that all those, not just one or two, are variables. Also, there are probably as many unknown faults under the surface (remember that the fault that caused the 1994 Northridge quake is still unmapped because it's a "blind" fault) as there are known ones. Try estimating dollar amounts in damages or the number of casualties now. I know that politicians have to use figures to plan a course of action, but all we can do so far is just provide the best (and in most cases the most conservative) estimate. In other words, impossible by today's study methods.
Dia on 18/4/2006 at 13:51
Quote Posted by Komag
All my life I've been hearing that there will be a huge quake and the west coast will fall off into the ocean and millions of people will die.
From what a geologist friend of mine told me that's pretty much a myth. He said the San Andreas Fault is the kind where the two land masses are sliding by each other horizontallly, not pulling apart. He said that if anything the land mass on west side of the fault would move further northwest.
If that happens, so much for the saying that 'it never rains in California'. ;)
P.S. You make a cute pregnant guy, Komag! :cheeky:
D'Juhn Keep on 18/4/2006 at 15:39
Not that it matters, Yellowstone's gonna get you guys anyway :(
Koki on 18/4/2006 at 15:43
The Day After Tommorow, actually
D'Juhn Keep on 18/4/2006 at 16:14
Nah, China can't invade North America until it's dealt with the Russians and Indians.
Starrfall on 18/4/2006 at 16:29
Quote Posted by Komag
So my question is, what happened to MILLIONS dead??? All my life I've been hearing that there will be a huge quake and the west coast will fall off into the ocean and millions of people will die. But only 5800?
Because any time you heard that, whoever said it was either joking or exaggerating, as I'm hoping you are. Earthquakes usually just make some stuff fall down, and then sometimes it catches on fire. Even if there ends up being seperation along the West Coast (not particularly likely to a significant degree as I understand) the part of land that seperates probably won't just magically disapear into the ocean, it'll still BE there. However if you believe the scientists (shady characters) given enough time Los Angeles will ride the Pacific plate north and end up right next to San Francisco. I can't IMAGINE the traffic horror that would be.
Dia on 18/4/2006 at 19:05
Quote Posted by D'Juhn Keep
Not that it matters, Yellowstone's gonna get you guys anyway :(
Whoa. I remember reading about the super volcano which exists under Yellowstone. Now
that's scary because if that thing blew it would affect ALL OF US HERE ON MOTHER EARTH! :wot:
Can anyone say hello Ice Age?
