Good morning, as we know that earthquakes are caused by faults, but only a few faults have had their names and locations identified. How far away does a fault cause earthquakes in its surroundings? Is there a maximum distance between the fault and the epicenter of an earthquake?
Dear Imanuela Indah Pertiwi ,
Earthquakes are not caused by faults, but they play a role in the formation of earthquakes, determining the magnitude of earthquakes... There are also cases when no fault can be found on the earth's surface, but an earthquake still occurs... An excellent example of this is the earthquakes in the Vrancea zone (Romania)
Regards,
Laszlo
Yes thank you. But if an earthquake occurs around a fault, at what maximum distance can the fault be said to have caused the earthquake?
The distance between a fault and an earthquake's epicentre can vary significantly based on the fault system's size, complexity, and the nature of the tectonic stress triggering the quake. The epicentre is not always located directly on the fault line, as seismic waves radiate outward from the rupture point. Typically, it lies within a range of a few kilometres to several tens of kilometres from the fault. This distance is influenced by the fault's geometry and the specific characteristics of the rupture.
oohh, so if an earthquake occurs at a distance of 20 kilometers from the location of a fault, then the earthquake was caused by that fault
Dear Imanuela Indah Pertiwi ,
Imagine an earthquake like a pigeon locked in a house with no openings.
The pigeon will never fly out of the house. If we make a window for it, the pigeon will fly out. Someone in the distance assumes that the window of the house created the pigeon!
If there are no pigeons in the house, you will never see a pigeon flying out of the house!
Well, that's the same with earthquakes. It won't happen if there are no faults. There may be cracks, but if there is no tendency for an earthquake to occur in that area, then there will be no earthquake.
I have predicted several earthquakes, I know what I am talking about. Also, see:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/There_is_a_need_for_an_European_Earthquake_like_Disasters_Prediction_Centre
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Who_knows_what_happened_with_the_earthquake_in_question
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-do-You-see-the-Earthquakes-Prediction-Forecast-or-Random-events
Regards,
Laszlo
yes, thanks for the explanation. I mean, if an earthquake occurs at a distance of more than 20 kilometers from an identified fault, can we say that the fault is still the cause of the earthquake? Or do we just say active faults?
Without further information/investigtions it is not possible to say if an earthquake with an epicenter 20km far away from an identified fault is related to that fault.
Just from this information, it is also not possible to know if the faut is active.
Please consider e.g. the length of the fault, its dip direction, dip angle (if available),...
okay, thank you for all the very interesting and useful discussions
There are many interesting things on this topic on my page. everything is simple and understandable at the school level.
It is not faults that cause earthquakes, but on the contrary, and that is not always the case. Why and how earthquakes occur is on my page. THE NEW VIEW AT THE PHYSICS OF THE PLANET EARTH
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