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Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On: A History of Seismicity

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the history of Seismicity – seismic movement of the earth’s tectonic plates and their associated effects (i.e. Earthquakes, Tsunamis). Our review will include an understanding of the history of earthquakes from ancient times to the present-day. This review will include the evolving understanding of the cause of earthquakes as well as the geology/seismology of the earth itself. As well, this overview will include the development of scales by which effects, energy and/or intensity of seismic activity can be/is measured accurately.

Of great interest will be the evolving science of seismology in the wake of two of the 20th Century’s greatest natural disasters; the April 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and the September 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which devastated Tokyo and its environs. In the aftermath of both calamities, a greater emphasis on the study of the causes/effects of earthquakes resulted in technologies that enabled science to better understand the behavior of the earth’s tectonic plates. The technologies to measure/record/predict earthquakes and their evolution will be discussed in-depth as will be the advancement of earthquake-resistant structures.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the evolution of the understanding of the causes of earthquakes from superstition, in ancient times, to the advanced science of tectonic plate movement;
• Understand/appreciate some of the most catastrophic historical earthquakes and their causes;
• Understand/appreciate the development of scales to measure intensity, effects and/or energy caused by seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the evolution of the study/science of plate tectonics;
• Understand/appreciate the evolution of the understanding of the makeup of the earth’s core;
• Understand/appreciate the major and minor plates that makeup the earth’s crust;
• Understand/appreciate the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire” and how it affects both seismic and/or volcanic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the significant differences between oceanic and continental crust;
• Understand/appreciate the process of subduction of tectonic plates;
• Understand/appreciate the differences between converging and/or diverging tectonic plates;
• Understand/appreciate the formation of the Japanese archipelago and its vulnerabilities to seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the origin/generation/effects of Tsunami waves as a result of “Seaquakes”;
• Understand/appreciate the need for and deployment of Tsunami Warning Systems (TWS) in Tsunami-prone zones;
• Understand/appreciate the art/science of earthquake prediction;
• Understand/appreciate the work of Dr. Andrew C. Lawson, Professor of Geology at UC Berkeley, in the advancement of the understanding of plate tectonics;
• Understand/appreciate the effects of tidal action on the earth’s crust;
• Understand/appreciate the applications of astronomical observations in the study of seismology;
• Understand/appreciate the power of earthquakes to, literally, move mountains;
• Understand/appreciate how Liquefaction can/does occur as a result of seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the causes/effects of two of the great earthquakes of the 19th Century: New Madrid, Missouri (1811-12) and Fort Tejon, California (1857);
• Understand/appreciate the establishment of seismological stations at strategic points around the globe in the early 20th Century as a key step in collecting seismic data;
• Understand/appreciate the P (Primary) and S (Secondary) waves generated by seismic movement;
• Understand/appreciate the nature of seismic “faults” and their various configurations;
• Understand/appreciate the development of the Seismograph (a/k/a “Seismomenter”) – both vertical and horizontal and “Strong Motion” detectors as key in understanding seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the development/methodology of the Richter Magnitude Scale by seismologist Charles Richter in the 1930s;
• Understand/appreciate the development of the Moment Magnitude Scale in the 1970s as a replacement for the Richter Scale;
• Understand/appreciate the various earthquake measurement scales used around the world by various nations (i.e. China, Japan);
• Understand/appreciate the causes/effects of the Good Friday 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Anchorage, AK;
• Understand/appreciate how variations in soil type/condition can/does effect the propagation of seismic wave energy (a/k/a “Soil-Structure Interaction”);
• Understand/appreciate the concept of “Seismic Zoning” (a/k/a “Seismic Microzonation”) in urban areas;
• Understand/appreciate the concept of “Dynamic Compaction” for densifying loose soils;
• Understand/appreciate how “Microseisms” are used to study seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate how the State of California is affected by seismic activity and how it deals with it – past, present and future;
• Understand/appreciate the use of more flexible materials (i.e. HDPE pipe) can insure undisturbed water supplies in seismic zones;
• Understand/appreciate the danger to dams in seismic zones and the consequences of their failure;
• Understand/appreciate the causes for the failure of flared columns on elevated highways during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and remediation efforts taken before and after the quake;
• Understand/appreciate how “Shaking Tables” are effectively used to study the effects of seismicity on model structures;
• Understand/appreciate the dangers of Un-reinforced Masonry Buildings (UMBs) in seismic zones;
• Understand/appreciate how the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and its effects on the campus of Stanford University stimulated the development of its seismological laboratory;
• Understand/appreciate the importance of the March 1933 Long Beach Earthquake in the evolution of seismology as the first well-recorded seismic event and the impetus in its aftermath to create building codes for earthquake-resistant structures is seismic zones (i.e. “Field Act”);
• Understand/appreciate the real and imagined associations between weather phenomena and seismic activity;
• Understand/appreciate the causes and effects of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the rise of modern Tokyo in its aftermath;
• Understand/appreciate the successful performance of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel during and after the Great Kanto Earthquake;
• Understand/appreciate the performance of steel-framed structures in seismic zones and measures taken to resist failure (i.e. Moment-Resistant Steel Frames);
• Understand/appreciate the dangers of nuclear power plants located in the vicinity of faults and densely populated areas (i.e. Indian Point north of NYC);
• Understand/appreciate the importance of providing/safeguarding an adequate water supply to fight the fires generated by earthquakes;
• Understand/appreciate steps to be taken for occupants of buildings if/when an earthquake occurs;
• Understand/appreciate the danger of resonance (sympathetic vibrations) to structures caused by seismic waves;
• Understand/appreciate the action/reaction of various building configurations/sizes due to dynamic (i.e. wind) and seismic forces;
• Understand/appreciate the great and significant contributions of the Jesuit Order/Universities to the science of seismology;
• Understand/appreciate the art/science of predicting earthquakes;
• Understand/appreciate the work of various organizations/agencies (i.e. National Earthquake Information Center or NEIC) in studying/predicting/forewarning of seismic events;
• Understand/appreciate the efforts to use materials/methods/systems to make structures earthquake-resistant (i.e. reinforced masonry);
• Understand/appreciate the concept of underground buildings/cities as an alternative in seismic zones;
• Understand/appreciate technologies that reduce the risk of fire in seismic zones (i.e. automatic gas shut-off valves);
• Understand/appreciate the technologies developed to isolate structures from ground movement (i.e. “Base Isolation”);
• Understand/appreciate the danger presented by “Soft-Story” structures and methods of remediation (i.e. “Seismic Damping/Retrofitting”);
• Understand/appreciate the use of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) in order to stabilize tall buildings from excessive movement caused by ground movement and/or wind;
• Understand/appreciate active systems (i.e. sensors and jacks operating a tendon system) to counteract seismic forces in tall, lightweight buildings;
• Understand/appreciate NASA’s seismic experimentation/investigation of the earth’s only natural satellite – the moon as deployed by the various Apollo missions (starting with Apollo 11) to the moon for the study of the moon’s seismology and its findings (i.e. Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package or ALSEP);
• Understand/appreciate the on-going efforts of science to understand earthquakes through a wide variety of technologies (i.e. acoustics, satellite imagery etc.).

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design/construction professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into one of the most complex and powerful forces in the natural world: Earthquakes.

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing of videos.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On: A History of Seismicity (printable handout in PDF, 17 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On: A History of Seismicity (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 77 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Archival/Documentary Film:

TITLE: Japan's Killer Quake
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTmOYvQxrkg
DURATION: 54:36
TITLE: Megaquake Could Hit North America (BBC)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEgLjgnv_3c
DURATION: 47:53

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Course Summary

It seems counterintuitive, after all our strongest instinct is survival, yet millions of people spend their lives knowing that in a matter of a seconds, or minutes, their life and those of their loved ones, friends and neighbors can be snuffed out by the unstable land beneath their feet. Perhaps it’s a case of cognitive dissonance – a psychological condition that allows a human being to knowingly accept what would otherwise be unacceptable. When a moderate earthquake struck southern California in March of 1933, the effects on Long Beach, California and the surrounding towns of the Los Angeles Basin were devastating. Hardest hit were the school buildings, which collapsed in on themselves from the shock of the horizontal and vertical thrusts of the quake in the soft soil. Fortunately, the temblor struck in the late afternoon when school was out for the day, but the question everyone asked, whether consciously or subconsciously, was: what if it had struck just a few hours earlier? By this time, the science of seismology – the study of earthquakes, had advanced significantly - well enough to record and document the event for future study. In fact, the lessons learned from the failed structures inspired the first-ever seismic building codes to be adapted by the State of California. To those of us not in Harm’s Way, living in “Earthquake Country” seems to be a death wish, but for those in the line-of-fire, it’s a calculated risk. For the geologists, seismologists, architects and engineers, the task at hand is to understand and minimize that risk.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlatEoiwq44
(Video – Long Beach Earthquake March 10, 1933 – Part 1/3 – 10:16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncMNusSfeVE
(Video – Long Beach Earthquake March 10, 1933 – Part 2/3 – 10:16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVsFNUqnx5k
(Video – Long Beach Earthquake March 10, 1933 – Part 3/3 – 10:17)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VKC26H-FxA
(Video – NYC Earthquakes: Fact or Fiction – 56:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OlyO1UsfLw
(Video – UC Berkeley Campanile Light & Music Show – 9:41)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paQFaQj15Uc
(Video – Collapse of Soft-Story Model on Shaking Table – 0:54)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9ZA6-Mc09s
(Video - Though the Earth be Moved - the 1964 Alaska Earthquake - 46:04)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ZTHUmcW-A
(Salesforce Tower: Building San Francisco's Vertical Village - 05:40)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T9btpIMh8Y
(Building Los Angeles' Earthquake-Proof Bridge - 05:49)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRUFaNuxoEM
(Film: Why Aren't These Skyscrapers Falling Down? - 47:38)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.