School Seismology Dave Waltham Department of Earth Sciences Royal Holloway University of London
Japan, March 11, 2011
RHUL Recording
P-waves, S-Waves & Mexican Waves
Surface Waves
RHUL Recording PSSurface Waves ~10 mins 05:56:37
:10. Hence, earthquake at 05:56:37 – 00:10:10 = 05:46:27
Epicentral Distance RHUL Japan
With Plate Boundaries
Texas Epicentral Distance=90°
Conclusions Off-shore Japan Occurred at 05:46:27 Large!
Large Foreshock Wednesday 9/3/11 Friday 11/3/11
Aftershocks
Earthquake Seismology RHUL’s Seismometer Greece 14 Feb 2008 Magnitude 6.7 With aftershock China 12 May 2008 Magnitude fatalities Herefordshire 26 Oct 2008 Magnitude 3.6
Frequencies 1 Hz 0.1 Hz
Conclusions School equipment can be used to detect and characterize distant earthquakes. We don’t know how to predict earthquakes. Can the next generation of scientists find a way? Until then, rigorous building codes save lives.