SCEC Education Module 
Regional Seismicity
Activities List
Sections 1 - 3
What is an
Earthquake?
Activity #1: Rescue in Pinevale
Save the fictional community of Pinevale from earthquake-triggered
mudslides as you test your knowledge of seismology!
Activity #2: Fault-Rupture Analogies
Faults and fault rupture are difficult to envision accurately.
What analogies can best help us imagine the process of fault rupture?
Activity #3: Rupture Models
A look deep into the Earth -- models of actual fault rupture.
Activity #4: Strike and Dip
How to find the strike and dip of a fault,
and why you might want to.
Activity #5: Revealing a Fault Plane with Hypocenters
Use the locations of hypocenters to "see" a fault plane several kilometers beneath the surface!
Activity #6: Scarp Formation
A brain-teaser involving the origin of a scarp.
Activity #7: Dip Slip and Crustal Dimensions
Which type of dip-slip faulting causes which type of crustal change?
Activity #8: Oblique Slip
A simple lesson on the terminology of oblique-slip faults.
Activity #9: Recurrence Interval
Recurrence intervals sound useful, but how can you determine them?
Activity #10: Different Data, Different Rates?
What methods can we use to find slip rates, and what does it mean
when they disagree?
Activity #11: How Tectonic Forces Affect Faults
Determine a fault's slip by knowing the tectonic environment
around it -- and vice versa.
Activity #12: Find That Fault Slip!
Are you familiar enough with the tectonics of southern California
to find a fault with a particular sense of slip? Try these real world maps
and see -- you may surprise yourself!
Activity #13: Regional Distibution of Fault Slip
Investigate a regional look at how slip motions and rates are
distributed along the major faults of southern California.
Activity #14: Partitioning Slip
Plate motion can be split up among multiple faults. Learn
how this can happen, how to identify it, and what it means to risk
assessment.
The Distribution of
Earthquakes
Activity #1: Where Do Earthquakes
Happen?
Investigate the geographic distribution of earthquakes in southern California.
Activity #2: Where Do Large
Earthquakes Occur?
Is the geographic distribution of large earthquakes the same as that of
smaller ones?
Activity #3: Does Topography Signal
Earthquake Potential?
Is there a connection between topography and the geographic distribution of
earthquakes?
Activity #4: An "In-Depth" Look at
Earthquake Distribution
Are there patterns in the geographic distribution of earthquakes that
relate to the depths of hypocenters?
Activity #5: Seismicity Rates
Take a look at the varying rates of seismicity in southern California,
and use real seismic data to calculate a rate yourself!
Activity #6: Is Earthquake Timing Influenced?
In comparing earthquake records to various factors,
can you find a connection?
Activity #7: Landers Shakes Things Up
Did the Landers earthquake really trigger other earthquakes in southern
California? Use real data, and your knowledge of seismicity rates,
to find out!
Activity #8: The Gutenberg-Richter Relation
Can you deduce the same rule of the magnitude-dependent distribution
of seismicity as described by two of the pioneers of modern seismology?
Activity #9: Aftershock Sequences
The activity and decay of any aftershock sequence tend to follow
certain guidelines. Investigate those rules, and work toward a way to
use them to anticipate aftershock behavior.
Activity #10: Recognizing Foreshocks
See if you can guess the outcomes of these seismicity animations!
Activity #11: An Earthquake Deficit?
Have there been too few large earthquakes in southern California in
historic times? Piece together information to arrive at a conclusion about
the long-term seismicity rate, and determine for yourself if there is
really an "earthquake deficit".
Activity #12: Slip Rates vs. Seismicity Rates
Examine the correlation between slip rate and seismicty rate, using
real-world examples. Is there a simple connection?
Measuring Earthquakes
(This section is still under construction.)
Activity #1: Intensity Maps
Learn about plotting isoseims, and deduce the location of
an earthquake's epicenter by using written reports to assemble
an intensity map online!
Activity #2: Seismic Waves
Test the properties of different seismic waves using an interactive wave generator!
Activity #3: Locating Earthquakes
Pick arrival times on actual waveform data to locate earthquakes in southern California!
Activity #4: The Richter Scale
Determine the magnitude of earthquakes in southern California using actual waveform data, and an interactive Richter Scale nomograph!
Additional Resources:
