1. Monitoring Faults

2. Instruments for short-range predictions
creep meter
laser-ranging
tiltmeter
satellites

3. Creep meter
measures HORIZONTAL movement along a fault line. (Transform boundary – strike-slip fault)
a wire is placed across the fault
it is attached to a weight that can slide if the fault moves.
Geologists measure how much the weight has moved.
Faults & Earthquakes

4. Laser-ranging device measures HORIZONTAL movement.
The laser is on one side of the fault and a reflector is on the other side of the fault.
Any change in the time needed for the laser beam to travel across to the reflector and back indicates fault movement.
The more time it takes, the farther the reflector is getting as the fault moves.

5. Tiltmeter measures VERTICAL movement
It consists of two bulbs that are filled with a fluid and connected by a hollow tube.
If the land rises or falls, fluid will flow from one bulb to the other.
Each bulb contains a scale to measure the depth of the fluid.

6. Satellite monitoring A satellite measures VERTICAL movement.
It bounces waves off the ground and back into space measuring the distance between the satellite and the ground.
If the distance from the satellite to the ground changes, then geologists can detect changes in elevation.
YouTube:
Monitoring
Himalayas

7. Why can’t scientists predict the exact time and place an earthquake is going to occur?
Even though a fault can be monitored, it is still impossible for geologists to know exactly WHERE on the fault the stress will be released.