Why are geologists and seismologists always eager to record aftershocks?
Aftershocks produce some of the highest quality earthquake data for scientists to study. Aftershocks can be used as “echo sounders” to study the local structure of the earth. By accurately plotting aftershocks, seismologists and geologists can find the orientation of the fault plane, which helps enormously in characterising the earthquake, and the stresses and strains within the earth that caused it. For these reasons seismologists and geologists are often the first people to arrive at the site of an earthquake so they can deploy portable seismographs. Data collected by these instruments becomes extremely valuable and is sometimes shared among the international scientific community for analysis. In the four weeks after a big earthquake, scientists can record as many earthquakes as they usually get in a year.
Related Questions
- May I be paid a DLA when I PCS from my permanent duty station/place of active duty to my home of record or home of selection (HOR/HOS) when I leave the Service?
- How many aftershocks do seismologists warn will happen after the China earthquake?"
- Why are geologists and seismologists always eager to record aftershocks?
