Like ripples on water? Hmm… let’s compare!

Ripples on water

(Clip, courtesy of Larry Braile)

Earthquake

(75x faster than actual - learn more about the data visualizaiton clip below)
  1. Watch these two video clips.
  2. After watching the clips, name just three ways you think ripples on water are like an earthquake  
  3. Next, name just three ways you think the two ideas are not alike

 Ripples are LIKE an earthquake

 Ripples are UNLIKE an earthquake
 

Submit your answers

About the data visualization clip

As seismic waves travel from the epicenter of an earthquake they encounter Earth's surface. When they do, they cause the ground to move. Unless the earthquake is very close by, the scale of these motions is generally too small for people to feel and occurs over a time scale that is too long for people to detect. For example, the visualization you just watched shows ground motion of (+) or (-) .001mm (So, how big is .001mm or 1 micron?) represented by the color scale below. This movement occurs over a period of 100s of seconds. While people can’t detect such small, slow movements of the ground, sensitive instruments such as seismographs are able to detect and record them.  Ground deformations following an earthquake were recorded at nearly 400 seismometers and combined to create thes visualizations.

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