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College of Charleston publishes reports and documents on a wide-range of topics relating to the state and the college.
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Item South Carolina earthquakes - why do we have them?(South Carolina State Library, 2007-10-29) College of Charleston. Department of Geology and Environmental ScienceUnlike California, South Carolina lies on what is known in geology as a 'passive margin'. This means that we are in the middle of a tectonic plate rather than on the edge of one where two plates are grinding past each other (think of the Earth as covered in log rafts, California is where 2 log rafts move past each other while South Carolina is in the middle of the North American raft).Item Locating, measuring and predicting earthquakes - how do we do it?(South Carolina State Library, 2007-10-29) College of Charleston. Department of Geology and Environmental ScienceLocating an earthquake is usually done by reading the time that P- and S-waves arrive at a group (three or more) of seismograph stations.Item How do earthquakes cause damage?(South Carolina State Library, 2007-10-29) College of Charleston. Department of Geology and Environmental ScienceEarthquakes cause damage as a result of the different waves that they produce as the earthquake energy moves through and on the Earth.Item What happens during an earthquake?(South Carolina State Library, 2007-10-29) College of Charleston. Department of Geology and Environmental ScienceEarthquakes occur because friction holds the rock masses on either side of the fault together, while plate motion slowly bends and stretches the rock, storing energy much like the energy stored in a stretched rubber band. An individual earthquake occurs when the stored energy becomes greater than the friction, and the rock masses suddenly slip along the fault.Item Why are there earthquakes?(South Carolina State Library, 2007-10-29) College of Charleston. Department of Geology and Environmental ScienceGenerally earthquakes are found at plate boundaries where two tectonic plates are moving past each other. As they move past each other they sometimes stick, and then release that motion in the form of an earthquake.
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