Monitoring Faults

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Monitoring Faults
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Devices that Monitor Faults

• Geologists use machines to measure the stress and
  deformation in the crust

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Devices that Monitor Faults

• Earthquakes still strike without warning.
• We can predict earthquakes by the Earth rising,
  falling, and tilting

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Devices that Monitor Faults

• There are four machines we use to monitor
• Creep Meters
• Laser-Ranging Devices
• Tiltmeters
• Satellite Monitors

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Creep Meters

• Uses a wire stretched across a fault
• The wire is attached to a weight that moves up
  and down as the Earth moves
• Measures Earths horizontal movement only

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Laser-Ranging Devices

• Laser beam is reflected off a dish on the other
  side of the fault
• Precise measurement
• Measure movements in all directions

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Tiltmeters

• Measures the tilt of the ground
• Similar to a level used in construction

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Tiltmeter

• Two cups of water are connected by a tunnel
• Water flows from one cup to another as the Earth
  tilts

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Satellite Monitors

• Satellite bounces radio waves off of the ground
• The closer the ground is, the sooner the waves
  bounce back
• If the height changes, the radio waves will
  change, too

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Monitoring the Risk in the US

• Geologists cant predict earthquakes
• They can predict the risk by finding active
  faults and past earthquake locations

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Monitoring the Risk in the US

• In the US, the West Coast is a high risk area due
  to converging plates
• North American Plate is under a lot of stress,
  which could shake faults we dont know yet

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