Earthquakes large enough to cause substantial property damage happen every few decades. In this course, you will learn about earthquakes of the Pacific Northwest and around the world. We will discuss why, where and when they occur, their relationship to plate tectonics, and how they affect human life as a result of seismic hazards and by shaping the landscape. Physical processes associated with earthquakes are explored in the laboratory. During one field trip, evidence for prehistoric earthquakes will be examined.
Course is open to non-science majors.
Other reading will be assigned as we go. Class attendance and active participation are essential. Because earthquakes generally occur deep in the Earth, it is not generally possible to directly observe a fault. As a result Earth scientists make models of the Earth and the earthquake process and test these models with a variety of remote observations such as seismograms. A recurring theme of this course will be how Earth scientists use conceptual models of how the Earth works in order to estimate the relative importance of various physical processes.