Earthquake prediction and new techniques being developed
Earthquakes are a result of the earth’s surface shaking and releasing energy into the crust of the earth, thus creating seismic waves. An earthquake can be tremendously violent. The earthquakes are brought about by the abnormal motions in the tectonic plates of the earth. The study of an earthquake is referred to as seismology. An earthquake can be brief or even repetitive at times. The rapid discharge of tension within the crust’s tectonic plates transmits energy waves that travel across the earth. The study of seismology involves the frequency, cause, size as well as type of earthquakes. There are two types of earthquakes, namely large and small earthquakes. The large earthquakes can bring down buildings as well as causing injury and death. The earthquake measurements are obtained from seismograph observations. The intensity and the magnitude of the earthquake are regularly registered on the Richter scale. An earthquake that occurs under the ocean or sea can result in a tsunami. A seismometer is a device that is used to measure the impact of an earthquake. The seismometer is used to detect the vibrations brought about by earthquakes. After the seismometer has detected the vibrations, it then inputs the data on the seismograph. This paper is purposefully intended to discuss the prediction of earthquakes and the new techniques being developed.
Scientists have been able to predict where intense earthquakes are possible to happen, though, according to the motion of the earth’s plates and the fault zone location. Through the examination of the earthquakes’ history in a region plus the detection of where the pressure is accumulating along the fault lines, scientists have been able to guess when earthquakes can happen in certain areas. However, the predictions may turn out to not be reliable due to the fact that when strain is emitted along a section of the fault system, it may result in the increase of strain on another region. Scientists have encountered more success in the prediction of aftershocks, which are additional tremors succeeding in the initial earthquake. Various scientists have argued that electromagnetic fields shift in a specific manner minutes before an earthquake occurs. This study area involves the investigation of the connection amid electric and magnetic charges in the rock material as well as earthquakes.
Earthquakes pose a major threat to regions where the continental plates converge. The major issue has been the difficulty in swiftly predicting tremors in these risk-prone regions. A professor of geochemistry and petrology at Stockholm University called Alasdair Skelton has claimed that it is possible to forecast quakes by metering the manner in which the metal contents in underground water change (Skelton 2014). This technique was fostered in Iceland prior to and after a huge earthquake (Skelton 2019). Vast amounts of zinc, copper, iron, chromium, and manganese were spotted weeks prior to the quake, and after the earthquake, they resumed their standard levels (Grant 2011).
In conclusion, seismologists should feel challenged to come up with new methods of detecting tremors before their occurrence. This will help save lives, especially in areas that lie on the meeting points of the continental plates. Technological advancements in this area ought to be welcomed and well-funded. The proposal that water chemistry might be the key ingredient in the struggle for the detection of earthquakes prior to their occurrence should be looked into keenly since it might be the missing piece in this fight against tremor occurrence.