Earthquake: A sudden release of energy in the earth's crust or upper mantle, usually caused by movement along a fault plane or by volcanic activity and resulting in the generation of seismic waves which can be destructive Related: Seismic
Elastic Rebound: Geology a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake.
Focus: The focus or hypocenter of an earthquake is where the earthquake originated from,
usually underground on the fault zone.
usually underground on the fault zone.
Epicenter: The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the surface of Earth directly above
the epicenter.
the epicenter.
Seismology: Seismology is the study of earthquakes. People who study earthquakes are called Seismologists.
Seismograph: An instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration.
Magnitude: Magnitude is used to describe the size of the Earthquake . There are a number of different ways to calculate the magnitude of an earthquake, including the Richter Scale. In Australia, seismologists prefer the use of the moment magnitude scale, which calculates the magnitude of an earthquake based on physical properties such as the area of movement (slip) along the fault plane.
Intensity: The intensity is a number (written as a Roman numeral) describing the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effects on the earth's surface and on humans and their structures.
Tsunami: a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance.
Seismic Gap: A Seismic Gap is a segment of an active fault known to produce significant earthquakes, that has not slipped in an unusually long time when compared with other segments along the same structure.