WCC Science of Earthquake Questions

1. Go to the webpage “Tsunami Science: Reducing the Risk”, by the American Museum of NaturalHistory:
hEps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKJQtRLeds
Watch the movie: “Tsunami Science: Reducing the Risk”. Using the material presented in the video,
answer the following quesRons (please write in complete sentences).
A.At what type of plate boundary will tsunamis be generated?
B. Where in the conRnental US is the risk of a local tsunami the greatest?
C. How do seismologists determine the threat of a tsunami-generaRng earthquake?
D.What sort of observaRons are used to predict that very large earthquakes occurred in a region?
E.For the region menRoned in the conRnental US, how many large earthquakes did seismologists
discover had occurred in the region?
F.How long ago did these earthquakes occur in this region?
2. The following quesRons relate to the science of earthquake predicRon.
a. Why is short-term predicRon of earthquakes so much less successful than long-term predicRon?
b. Why do you think seismologists are extremely cauRous about making predicRons?
c. Do you think it will ever be possible to predict earthquakes? Provide a brief explanaRon to go along
with your answer.
3. Examine the arrows showing the paths of S and P waves through Earth (shown below).
Why do seismic waves undergo refracRon (bending) as they pass through Earth? If the waves didn’t
bend, what would they indicate about Earth’s interior structure?
4. What is the reason why scienRsts cannot simply drill down to Earth’s mantle to determine Earth’s
internal composiRon?