Earthshaking Science (eBook)

What We Know (and Don't Know) about Earthquakes

Susan Elizabeth Hough (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2018
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
9780691186870 (ISBN)

Infos

This is the first book to really make sense of the dizzying array of information that has emerged in recent decades about earthquakes. Susan Hough, a research seismologist in one of North America's most active earthquake zones and an expert at communicating this complex science to the public, separates fact from fiction. She fills in many of the blanks that remained after plate tectonics theory, in the 1960s, first gave us a rough idea of just what earthquakes are about. How do earthquakes start? How do they stop? Do earthquakes occur at regular intervals on faults? If not, why not? Are earthquakes predictable? How hard will the ground shake following an earthquake of a given magnitude? How does one quantify future seismic hazard?As Hough recounts in brisk, jargon-free prose, improvements in earthquake recording capability in the 1960s and 1970s set the stage for a period of rapid development in earthquake science. Although some formidable enigmas have remained, much has been learned on critical issues such as earthquake prediction, seismic hazard assessment, and ground motion prediction. This book addresses those issues.Because earthquake science is so new, it has rarely been presented outside of technical journals that are all but opaque to nonspecialists. Earthshaking Science changes all this. It tackles the issues at the forefront of modern seismology in a way most readers can understand. In it, an expert conveys not only the facts, but the passion and excitement associated with research at the frontiers of this fascinating field. Hough proves, beyond a doubt, that this passion and excitement is more accessible than one might think.

Autor

Susan Elizabeth Hough is a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena, California, and has published more than forty articles in journals such as Nature, Science, Natural History, and the Journal of Geophysical Research. She has also written occasional editorials on earthquakes for the Los Angeles Times.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.6.2018
• Verlagsort: Princeton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Schlagworte: 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes • 1906 San Francisco earthquake • 1964 Alaska earthquake • 1975 Haicheng earthquake • 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens • 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake • 1992 Landers earthquake • 1994 Northridge earthquake • 2001 Nisqually earthquake • Active fault • Arthur Holmes • Asperity (materials science) • Brent Dalrymple • Cascadia Subduction Zone • catastrophic failure • catastrophism • continental crust • Crust (geology) • damage mechanics • Dan McKenzie (geophysicist) • disaster • Drummond Matthews • Earthquake Engineering • Earthquake location • Earthquake Prediction • Earthquake Rupture • earth science • Elastic-rebound theory • epicenter • Exhumation (geology) • Extrapolation • Fault (geology) • Fault gouge • Focal mechanism • foreshock • Frederick Vine • geologist • Geology • Geophysics • Hazard map • Hebgen Lake • Hiroo Kanamori • Hypocenter • Iben Browning • Intraplate earthquake • John Vidale • liquefaction • Lucy Jones • Maximum magnitude • Mercalli Intensity Scale • Moment magnitude scale • New Madrid Seismic Zone • North America • Oceanic basin • Oceanic Crust • orogeny • Paleoliquefaction • Paleoseismology • Parkfield earthquake • peak ground acceleration • Plate Tectonics • Plutonism • Post-glacial rebound • Prediction • Preparedness • Probability • P-wave • Radioactive decay • resonance • Richard Doell • Richter magnitude scale • Rift zone • San Andreas Fault • San Gorgonio Pass • Seattle Fault • Sediment • Sedimentary basin • seismic gap • Seismic hazard • Seismic moment • Seismic noise • Seismic risk • seismic source • Seismic Wave • Seismology • Seismometer • Setback (architecture) • Southern California • subduction • supercontinent • Tanya Atwater • Tectonics • thrust fault • Tidal force • transform fault • Tsunami • Types of volcanic eruptions • Uniformitarianism • Wasatch Fault • Weather rock
• ISBN-13: 9780691186870 / 9780691186870