Reid's Elastic Rebound Theory
From an examination of the displacement of the ground surface which accompanied the 1906 earthquake, Henry Fielding Reid, Professor of Geology at Johns Hopkins University, concluded that the earthquake must have involved an "elastic rebound" of previously stored elastic stress.
If a stretched rubber band is broken or cut, elastic energy stored in the rubber band during the stretching will suddenly be released. Similarly, the crust of the earth can gradually store elastic stress that is released suddenly during an earthquake.
This gradual accumulation and release of stress and strain is now referred to as the "elastic rebound theory" of earthquakes. Most earthquakes are the result of the sudden elastic rebound of previously stored energy.
The following diagram illustrates the process. Start at the bottom. A straight fence is built across the San Andreas fault. As the Pacific plate moves northwest, it gradually distorts the fence. Just before an earthquake, the fence has an "S" shape. When the earthquake occurs the distortion is released and the two parts of the fence are again straight; but now there is an offset.
This diagram greatly exaggerates the distortion. Actually, the distortion is spread over many miles and can only be seen with precise instrumentation (e.g. GPS ).
This picture, taken near Bolinas in Marin County by G.K. Gilbert, shows a fence that was offset about 8.5 feet along the trace of the fault (from Steinbrugge Collection of the UC Berkeley Earthquake Engineering Research Center ).
For more details see:
Reid, H.F., The Mechanics of the Earthquake, The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906, Report of the State Investigation Commission , Vol.2, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1910 (see especially pages 16-28).
Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics
Elastic rebound theory.
Well before the plate tectonic theory was introduced, Reid suggested that the forces that cause an earthquake are not near the earthquake, but very far away.
Over hundreds to thousands of years, these distant forces cause a gradual build up of elastic energy. The diagram below shows how they have distorted the ground compared to a recently built fence.
The ground continues to slowly distort until an existing weakness in the Earth (a fault) cannot take the strain. Then within a short period of time (usually a matter of seconds) elastic energy is suddenly and catastrophically released, resulting in an earthquake, and the ground moves as a result.
The distortion of the fence is what Reid observed from the survey data taken just before and after the San Francisco earthquake.
Over long periods this repeated cycle results in large movements along the line of the fault (offsets).
But Reid’s elastic-rebound model leaves many questions unanswered. For example, it ignores changes in the properties of rocks with depth.
There is broad agreement that most continental earthquakes occur in the seismogenic crust – the upper 10 to 20 km – and that this behaves elastically, just as in Reid’s model. Below this, where rocks are hotter, the material properties and behaviour of continental crust are still uncertain. This is something that we are investigating.
Elastic-rebound theory of earthquakes
In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the first theory to satisfactorily explain earthquakes.
- Earthquakes
- 1906 San Francisco earthquake
- Hayward Fault Zone
- San Andreas Fault
- Making existing structures earthquake resistant
- Alpine Fault
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The elastic-rebound theory of Earthquakes by H. F. Reid, University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology , 6 , 19, 1911
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H. O. Wood; The elastic-rebound theory of Earthquakes by H. F. Reid, University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology , 6 , 19, 1911. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 1912;; 2 (1): 98–100. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0020010098
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elastic rebound
- geology a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake
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Example sentences.
Any attempt at movement causes great pain, and is followed by an elastic rebound to the abnormal position.
At each fresh spring, he came up with elastic rebound, while his flanks heaved with the conscious possession of power.
Within the provinces there is an elastic rebound, as soon as the pressure is removed from them by the tyrant's death.
Characteristic Earthquakes and Seismic Gaps
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- First Online: 01 January 2014
- Cite this reference work entry
- David D. Jackson 2 &
- Yan Y. Kagan 2
Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))
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Definitions
Fault slip . Relative motion, either steady or sudden as in earthquakes, between rock units on either side of a fault.
Rupture . Sudden fault slip in an earthquake.
Elastic rebound . Sudden release, as by an earthquake, of slowly accumulated strain energy.
Segment . A section of a fault or plate interface bounded by features thought to serve as strong barriers to earthquake rupture. Features postulated to form such barriers include changes in fault orientation or in rock type across parts of the fault, and intersections with other faults.
Characteristic earthquake . An earthquake rupturing an entire fault segment. Alternately, one of a sequence of earthquakes rupturing the same area of fault.
Recurrence interval . The time between characteristic earthquakes on a given segment or fault area.
Quasiperiodic . Occurring at approximately equal recurrence intervals.
Seismic cycle . A sequence of events on a segment starting with a large earthquake, followed by aftershocks, then by...
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Jackson, D.D., Kagan, Y.Y. (2011). Characteristic Earthquakes and Seismic Gaps. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_181
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Elastic-rebound theory. In geology, the elastic-rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is released during an earthquake . As the Earth's crust deforms, the rocks which span the opposing sides of a fault are subjected to shear stress. Slowly they deform, until their internal rigidity is exceeded.
Reid's Elastic Rebound Theory. From an examination of the displacement of the ground surface which accompanied the 1906 earthquake, Henry Fielding Reid, Professor of Geology at Johns Hopkins University, concluded that the earthquake must have involved an "elastic rebound" of previously stored elastic stress. If a stretched rubber band is broken ...
Elastic-rebound theory. The elastic rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is spread during earthquakes. As rocks on oppo-site sides of a fault are subjected to force and shift, they accumulate energy and slowly deform until their inter-nal strength is exceeded. At that time, a sudden move-ment occurs along the fault, releasing the ...
elastic rebound theory. glaciology. Harry Fielding Reid (born May 18, 1859, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.—died June 18, 1944, Baltimore) was an American seismologist and glaciologist who in 1911 developed the elastic rebound theory of earthquake mechanics, still accepted today. Reid was professor of applied mechanics at Johns Hopkins University ...
Detailed Description. Elastic rebound is what happens to the crustal material on either side of a fault during an earthquake. The idea is that a fault is stuck until the strain accumulated in the rock on either side of the fault has overcome the friction making it stick. The rock becomes distorted, or bent, but holds its position until the ...
Elastic rebound is caused by the accumulated pressure on the rocks lining each side of a fault. This pressure is storing up elastic energy in the tectonic plates, and the more the item is ...
Elastic rebound theory is one of the central ideas to the mechanics of earthquakes and was originally proposed by Reid following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake on the San Andreas Fault.The theory involves the slow build up of elastic strain due to large-scale stresses in the crust on either side of a locked fault (i.e., a fault on which steady movement is not occurring).
Stress accumulation and elastic rebound. Earthquake-cycle theory combines the stress-accumulation hypothesis and elastic-rebound theory. A complete earthquake cycle can be divided into interseismic, preseismic, coseismic and postseismic periods. During the interseismic period, stress accumulates on a locked fault due to plate motion.
3.1. Elastic rebound theory Rocks at the edges of tectonic plates are subject to tremendous forces resulting in intense deformation. The force per unit area acting on a rock is called stress. The three types of directional stress experienced by rocks are compressional, tensional, and shear stress (Fig. 26).
But Reid's elastic-rebound model leaves many questions unanswered. For example, it ignores changes in the properties of rocks with depth. There is broad agreement that most continental earthquakes occur in the seismogenic crust - the upper 10 to 20 km - and that this behaves elastically, just as in Reid's model.
This is something like pulling a rubber band gradually until the band snaps. This theory is known as the "elastic rebound theory." The following animation shows a bird's eye view of a country road that cuts through an orchard. Passing right down the middle of the orchard, and across the road, is a fault zone. The animation shows how the earth ...
elastic rebound theory Theory which holds that accumulated potential energy, stored as elastic strains, is released by faulting (i.e. when the material ruptures). Zones adjacent to the fault plane 'rebound' elastically, leaving them relatively unstrained. Source for information on elastic rebound theory: A Dictionary of Earth Sciences dictionary.
Well before plate tectonics became accepted in the 1960s, Gilbert argued that large earthquakes should be separated by substantial time intervals.Reid (1910, 1911) proposed that faults slowly accumulate energy later released suddenly by earthquakes ("elastic rebound"), and that the time to a future earthquake could be estimated by surveying the strain released by a previous one.
Students will learn what happens when stresses build up in rocks along a fault and what happens when these stresses are released. Viewers will come to unders...
In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the first theory to satisfactorily explain earthquakes. Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Elastic-rebound theory of ...
Earthquake prediction is a branch of the science of seismology concerned with the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of future earthquakes within stated limits, and particularly "the determination of parameters for the next strong earthquake to occur in a region". Earthquake prediction is sometimes distinguished from earthquake forecasting, which can be defined as the ...
This is something like pulling a rubber band gradually until the band snaps. This theory is known as the "elastic rebound theory." The following animation shows a bird's eye view of a country road that cuts through an orchard. Passing right down the middle of the orchard, and across the road, is a fault zone. The animation shows how the earth ...
Semantic Scholar extracted view of "The elastic-rebound theory of Earthquakes: by H. F. Reid, University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology, 6, 19, 1911" by H. O. Wood
The elastic-rebound theory of Earthquakes by H. F. Reid, University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology, 6, 19, 1911 H. O. Wood. H. O. Wood Search for other works by this author on: GSW. Google Scholar. Author and Article Information H. O. Wood Publisher: Seismological Society of America ...
Terms in this set (3) Elastic Rebound Hypothesis. explanation for the release of energy stored in deformed rocks. Elastic Rebound. the springing back of rock after it has been deformed. behaves much like. a rubber band.
Elastic rebound definition: a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake. See examples of ELASTIC REBOUND used in a sentence.
The seismic gap hypothesis holds that most long-term geologic slip on faults or plate boundaries is accomplished by characteristic earthquakes on segments. ... The model and its definition have evolved along with the quality and quantity of data that go into it. ... H. F., 1911. The elastic-rebound theory of earthquakes, University of ...
elastic rebound. n. (Geological Science) geology a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake.