The two largest earthquakes ever recorded, the 1964 M[subscript w] 9.2 Alaskan and 1960 M[subscript w] 9.5 Chilean, occurred on seismogenic plate interfaces at subduction zones. It has been theorized that the catastrophic failure of a locked zone along the contact between the downgoing slab and the upper plate causes these earthquakes, although determinations of the position, attitude and extent of this locked zone vary from model to model. Four methods used to constrain the positions of the locked zones are: (1) historical great earthquake rupture extents, (2) heat flow/thermal profiles along the seismogenic plate interface, (3) patterns of surface deformation across the subduction zone forearc, and (4) spatial patterns of upper plate seismicity. Secondary parameters, such as subducted sediment thickness, upper plate lithology, and dip angle of the subducting slab likely play a role in locked zone location as well. In addition to a locked zone, the upper plate of most subduction zones is marked by paired inner and outer forearc highs and basins between the deformation front (trench) and the volcanic arc. Although such surface morphological features are easy to recognize, their spatial and geometric relationships to the locked zone have not been investigated systematically. This thesis investigates correlation between the spatial position of these morpho-tectonic features and the underlying locked zone at the Aleutian, Alaskan, Cascadia, Costa Rican, Javanese, Sumatran, Nankai, and Southern Chilean subduction zones. For all subduction zones other than Cascadia, which has yet to experience a great earthquake in historical times, the applied means of determining the position of the locked zones place them on plate interface regions between the inner and outer forearc highs. A strong correlation exists between dip of the downgoing plate and the width of both the locked zone and the spacing of the forearc morphologic elements for each of the subduction zones examined. The concept of comparative subductology is updated and enhanced in this study by creating GIS databases incorporating geological, seismological, geodetic, and geophysical observations. Correlations between surface morphological features and geologic and geophysical observations provide insight into controls on the position of the locked zone responsible for great earthquakes within the eight subduction zones examined, indicating that forearc morphology and interplate coupling are related via basic subduction parameters and the structural-tectonic regime of the forearc region. / Graduation date: 2004

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-104). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 24, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Eric Sandvol. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [112]-124).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2005. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Sep. 8, 2005). Thesis advisor: Robert D. Hatcher, Jr. Document formatted into pages (xvi, 230 p., [4] p. of plates : ill. (chiefly col.), maps). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-173).

Anomalous perturbations of the ionosphere have been observed either as uctuations in the critical frequency of the F-region ionosphere, foF2, or as uctuations in the nighttime VLF signals that propagate through the Earth Ionosphere Waveguide. All anomalies appear from an earliest of three weeks to one day prior to an earthquake occurrence, hence leading to be used as possible presursors and aid in short term earthquake prediction. Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater have a signi cant chance of having associated ionospheric anomalies, and anomalies are only detected within a radius of 500km from the epicentre. Solar events, however, greatly a ect the ionosphere and make seismogenic ionospheric signals di cult to isolate. This study concentrates on anomalous VLF signal perturbations observed along the propagation path between the NWC transmitter in Australia and narrowband receivers in Budapest and Tihany, Hungary for July 2007 to February 2008. Comparisons of anomaly appearances and seismic activity occurring within the Dobrovolsky area to the propagation path were carried out, with anomalies being observed predominantly prior to major seismic events. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Box-girder bridges supported by single reinforced concrete (RC) columns are expected to sustain seismic shocks with minor structural damages in seismically active regions where transportation is substantially required for rescuing and evacuating tasks. Such viaducts are vulnerable to damage when they are subjected to strong ground motions and acceleration pulse records, especially when responding in a flexural mode or having relatively low core confinement. Using a nonlinear dynamic solver that applies the fibre element method, global and local damage curves are computed based on the dissipated energy under hysteretic curves and based on constitutive curves, respectively. The RC bridge with seismic isolation bearing is used as an alternative system to control the damage, and modelled using linkage elements between the substructure and super structure. It was found that seismic isolation can be controlled to dissipate partial seismic energy so that the RC column gains the least possible minor damage. Using a MatLab program, a fibre element nonlinear model was built using a simplified iterative process and simplified constitutive relations. The number of fibres and elements under the dynamic loading was found to be affecting the final results of the analysis. Using crack growth modelling based on fracture mechanics, the combined discrete element/finite element explicit-Elfen code was applied to investigate the crack growth in 3D dynamically loaded RC columns. Despite its excessive computational cost and time, this code provides reliable information about local damage in the RC column core. Earthquake records with the pulse acceleration phenomenon have a severe damage potential on the structure. The difference in damage intensities was detected by crack growth modelling for the same problem using different loading rates. Critically stressed zones can be investigated independently by using the relative response technique, in which responses from the numerically analysed structure are re-used as applied loads onto a small-scale crack model for the critical member. Two general conclusions can be obtained; bridges with single RC columns designed by the demand/capacity criterion could suffer severe damage and possible collapse when subjected to strong ground motions. Secondly; hysteresis-based methods provide a global damage evaluation based on strength and ductility only regardless of the damage growth inside the concrete core and the buckling of bars, which could lead to progressive collapse.

Catastrophes are usually seen as a threat to a country’s stability and progress. Some countries are regarded as prepared to face them and ready to deal with the consequences, but still, a disaster is always presented at the very least as an inconvenience. Contrary to this line of thinking, this dissertation shows that catastrophes can present an opportunity for state-building. Catastrophes, and the profound sense of insecurity they cause, force institutions to demonstrate their adeptness, or change. Specifically, catastrophes challenge state power because they test its basic role as protector from physical harm. Consequently, when disaster happens the state is put to the test. States that arise triumphant from this challenge may use the opportunity to increase its strength and develop new capacities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Large earthquake rupture and triggering mechanisms that drive seismicity in subduction zones are investigated in this thesis using a combination of earthquake observations, statistical and physical modeling. A comparison of the rupture characteristics of M 7.5 earthquakes with fore-arc geological structure suggests that long-lived frictional heterogeneities (asperities) are primary controls on the rupture extent of large earthquakes. To determine when and where stress is accumulating on the megathrust that could cause one of these asperities to rupture, this thesis develops a new method to invert earthquake catalogs to detect space-time variations in stressing rate. This algorithm is based on observations that strain transients due to aseismic processes such as fluid flow, slow slip, and afters lip trigger seismicity, often in the form of earthquake swarms. These swarms are modeled with two common approaches for investigating time-dependent driving mechanisms in earthquake catalogs: the stochastic Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence model [Ogata, 1988] and the physically-based rate-state friction model [Dieterich, 1994]. These approaches are combined into a single model that accounts for both aftershock activity and variations in background seismicity rate due to aseismic processes, which is then implemented in a data assimilation algorithm to invert catalogs for space-time variations in stressing rate. The technique is evaluated with a synthetic test and applied to catalogs from the Salton Trough in southern California and the Hokkaido corner in northeastern Japan. The results demonstrate that the algorithm can successfully identify aseismic transients in a multi-decade earthquake catalog, and may also ultimately be useful for mapping spatial variations in frictional conditions on the plate interface. / by Andrea Lesley Llenos. / Ph.D.