Earthquake at bottom of ocean

A submarineunderseaor underwater earthquake is an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of waterespecially an ocean. They are the leading cause of tsunamis. The magnitude can be measured scientifically by the use of the moment magnitude scale and the intensity can be assigned using the Mercalli intensity scale.

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An earthquake is a shaking of the ground that occurs when two large blocks of Earth's crust tectonic plates slip suddenly past one another. In a way, they reveal an interesting contrast: what humans consider a horrible and deadly occurrence is, in actuality, an essential geologic function. The plates also have jagged, rocky edges that cause them to lock together, even as the rest of a plate continue to move.

A separate type of earthquake is associated with volcanic activity and is called a volcanic earthquake. Yet it is likely that even in such cases the disturbance is the result of a sudden slip of rock masses adjacent to the volcano and the consequent release of elastic strain energy. The stored energy, however, may in part be of hydrodynamic origin due to heat provided by magma moving in reservoirs beneath the volcano or to the release of gas under pressure.

Researchers have discovered a universe of uncanny sounds at the bottom of the deepest ocean trench in the world. The hydrophone was retrieved from the depths in November. Another expedition is planned forwhen a camera will also go along.

Luca De Siena does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Researchers in Japan have for the first time detected and traced shallow tremors under the ocean that could be a sign that the country is heading towards a huge earthquake. But the technique itself may one day help us predict exactly when such an event would take place, which could save thousands of lives.

In fact, the great majority of earthquake foci are shallow. It should be noted, however, that the geographic distribution of smaller earthquakes is less completely determined than more severe quakes, partly because the availability of relevant data is dependent on the distribution of observatories. Of the total energy released in earthquakes, 12 percent comes from intermediate earthquakes—that is, quakes with a focal depth ranging from about 60 to km. About 3 percent of total energy comes from deeper earthquakes.