In
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
, a buried rupture earthquake, or blind earthquake, is an
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
which does not produce a visible offset in the ground along the
fault (as opposed to a
surface rupture earthquake, which does). When the fault in question is a
thrust fault
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
, the earthquake is known as a
blind thrust earthquake.
Ground motion
Recorded
ground motion
Ground motion is the movement of the earth's surface from earthquakes or explosions. Ground motion is produced by seismic waves that are generated by sudden slip on a fault or sudden pressure at the explosive source and travel through the earth a ...
s of large surface-rupture earthquakes are weaker than the ground motions from buried rupture earthquakes.
Depth
The
asperity for a buried rupture earthquakes is in area deeper than roughly . Examples are the
Loma Prieta earthquake,
Northridge earthquake
The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles.
The quake had a duration of approximatel ...
, and the
Noto Hanto earthquake.
Tsunamis
As compared to the seabed
surface rupture
In seismology, surface rupture (or ground rupture, or ground displacement) is the visible offset of the ground surface when an earthquake rupture along a fault affects the Earth's surface. Surface rupture is opposed by buried rupture, where th ...
case, uplifted water outside the fault plane in buried rupture earthquakes makes for large
tsunami waves.
See also
*
Aseismic creep
In geology, aseismic creep or fault creep is measurable surface displacement along a fault in the absence of notable earthquakes. Aseismic creep may also occur as "after-slip" days to years after an earthquake. Notable examples of aseismic slip in ...
References
External links
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Differences in ground motion and fault rupture process between the surface and buried rupture earthquakes
Seismology
Geological hazards
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