Earthquakes Living Lab: Geology and the 1906 San Francisco Quake
Damaged homes and the ruins of the San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 earthquake.Copyright (top) Wikimedia Commons, (bottom) U.S. Library of Congress
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SanFranHouses06.JPG
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/det.4a25729/
Students examine the effects of geology on earthquake magnitudes and how engineers anticipate and prepare for these effects. Using information provided through the Earthquakes Living Lab interface, students investigate how geology, specifically soil type, can amplify the magnitude of earthquakes and their consequences. Students look in-depth at the historical 1906 San Francisco earthquake and its destruction thorough photographs and data. They compare the 1906 California earthquake to another historical earthquake in Kobe, Japan, looking at the geological differences and impacts in the two regions, and learning how engineers, geologists and seismologists work to predict earthquakes and minimize calamity. A worksheet serves as a student guide for the activity.
Because San Francisco sits on the San Andreas Fault, it has experienced some devastating earthquakes during the past few centuries. One in particular, the 1906 earthquake, caused significant damage and killed ~3,000 people. In an attempt to avoid such catastrophes, engineers try to predict earthquakes and prepare accordingly. Predicting earthquakes exactly is difficult, if not impossible, but by working together to examine a region's geology, engineers, geologists and seismologists can determine the probability of a certain magnitude earthquake occurring in a given timeframe.
Scientists and engineers around the globe gather data through observation and experimentation and use it to describe and understand how the world works. The Earthquakes Living Lab gives students the chance to track earthquakes across the planet and examine where, why and how they are occurring. Using the real-world data in the living lab enables students and teachers to practice analyzing data to solve problems and answer questions, in much the same way that scientists and engineers do every day.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain how engineers use soil and rock data to anticipate and design for earthquakes.
- Describe the basic subsurface geology in the San Francisco region.
- Describe factors that influenced the destruction resulting from two historical earthquakes.