Supershear earthquakeIn seismology, a supershear earthquake is when the propagation of the rupture along the fault surface occurs at speeds in excess of the seismic shear wave (S wave) velocity. This causes an effect analogous to a sonic boom. Rupture propagation velocityDuring seismic events along a fault surface the displacement initiates at the focus and then propagates outwards.
Fault (geology)In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes.
Transform faultA transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subduction zone. A transform fault is a special case of a strike-slip fault that also forms a plate boundary.
Plate tectonicsMovement of Earth's lithosphereMap of Earth's 16 principal tectonic platesConvergent: Collision zone Subduction zoneDivergent: Extension zone Spreading centreTransform: Dextral transform Sinistral transformPlate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
TranstensionTranstension is the state in which a rock mass or area of the Earth's crust experiences both extensive and transtensiveshear. As such, transtensional regions are characterised by both extensional structures (normal faults, grabens) and wrench structures (strike-slip faults). In general, many tectonic regimes that were previously defined as simple strike-slip shear zones are actually transtensional.
TranspressionIn geology, transpression is a type of strike-slip deformation that deviates from simple shear because of a simultaneous component of shortening perpendicular to the fault plane. This movement ends up resulting in oblique shear. It is generally very unlikely that a deforming body will experience "pure" shortening or "pure" strike-slip.
Oblique-slip faultIn geology, an oblique-slip fault is a fault whose displacement has both strike-slip and dip-slip components, producing diagonal motion along the fault plane. Oblique-slip faults are classified by the relative proportions of strike‑ and dip‑slip movement. Most natural faults have at least some oblique component. Oblique-slip faults may be normal or reverse in the dip‑slip sense, combined with a strike‑slip component.
Continental collisionIn geology, continental collision is a phenomenon of plate tectonics that occurs at convergent boundaries. Continental collision is a variation on the fundamental process of subduction, whereby the subduction zone is destroyed, mountains produced, and two continents sutured together. Continental collision is only known to occur on Earth.
2001 Kunlun earthquakeAn earthquake occurred in China on 14 November 2001 at 09:26 UTC (17:26 local time), with an epicenter near Kokoxili, close to the border between Qinghai and Xinjiang in a remote mountainous region. With a magnitude of 7.8 Mw (8.1 Ms), it was the most powerful earthquake in China in 5 decades. No casualties were reported, presumably due to the very low population density and the lack of high-rise buildings.
TectonicsTectonics (from Ancient Greektektonikós'pertaining to building' via Latin) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of planetary tectonics extends the concept to other planets and moons.
Crust (geology)In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. It is usually distinguished from the underlying mantle by its chemical makeup; however, in the case of icy satellites, it may be defined based on its phase (solid crust vs. liquid mantle).
LithosphereA lithosphere is the rigid outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years or more. The crust and upper mantle are distinguished on the basis of chemistry and mineralogy.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.