STATISTICAL USE ON EARTHQUAKES

WHAT IS SEISMIC ACTIVITY?

• -defined as the types, frequency and size of earthquakes that happen over a period of time in a certain area.

HOW DO SEISMOGRAPHS WORK?

• Seismographs can detect quakes that are too small for humans to feel.
• Moves up and down, can pinpoint roughly where and how strong

HOW ARE THEY MEASURED?

• By magnitude, Richter Scale-1934. Developed by Charles F. Richte
• each increase in whole number=tenfold increase in amplitude
• Step up in magnitude=31x more energy

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SOME EQUATIONS USED

• The energy of an earthquake can be determined from magnitude using log10E = 11.8 + 1.5MS
• Rupture area (increases with magnitude): log10(Area) = 2/3M-2.28.
• log10 N=a–bM for frequency of earthquakes
• Gutenberg–Richter law (GR law)

PREDICT OR FORECAST?

• Forecast: more about probability, odds of it happening
• Prediction: whether it will or will not happen

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PREDICT?

• Scientists have tried lots of different ways of predicting earthquakes..none have been successful...pretty good idea of where an earthquake is most likely to hit but still can't tell exactly when it will happen.
• T=n/n
• T=(n+1)/m

KINDS OF FORECASTS

• long, intermediate, and short term
• Long&intermediate- gov decision
• Short-emergency procedures

WHY ITS IMPORTANT

• Could save many lives if able to predict accurately with enough time to evacuate before disaster
• Proper safety measures able to be performed, adjust future events

SOURCES

• https://idoubtit.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/big-difference/
• http://www.planet-science.com/categories/over-11s/natural-world/2011/03/can...
• http://www.livescience.com/6210-seismographs-work.html
• http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php
• http://www.physics.buffalo.edu/phy410-505/midterm/img/wiemer-earthquake-pre...
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_earthquakepredi...