Problem Statement
Earthquake Tracking System
(Student Work)
Table of Contents
________________________________________________
I. Abstract………………………………………………………………………...………2
II. Block Diagram………………………………………………………………………..2
III. Description of a Domain…………………………………………………………….3
IV. Description of the program that is wanted…………………………………………3
V. Detailed Requirements……………………………………………………………….5
VI. Relation or entities’ names and attributes…………………………………………7
VII. Use cases and User Context……………………………………………………….11
VIII. Interfaces………………………………………………………………………….11
IX. References…………………………………………………………………………..11
X. Glossary………………………………………………………………………………12
I. Abstract
It is known that various electromagnetic methods have been investigated for the shortterm earthquake prediction. To make integrated investigation of these methods and find
some correlations of earthquakes and various phenomenons, an integrated database
system for short-term earthquake prediction is needed. In this project, we present the
design of a database system. It is well known that frequent earthquakes have been
observed in Japan. We have about ten large earthquakes every year in the world, and
fourteen percents of them are close to Japan, California. To predict such large
earthquakes, statistic methods are adopted in general. To keep the damage against large
earthquakes minimum, we need the information when the next large earthquake will
occur in a short period, hopefully several days or weeks. Obviously, the statistic based
prediction is not valid for the short term. So the short-term earthquake prediction is
required. Earthquake disaster brings not only property loss, but also functional damage to
urban activities and socioeconomic loss.
II. Block diagrams
0
Damages
EARTHQUAKE TRACKING SYSTEM
Locations
Faulting and folding
Technical and Physical
Specification
Tracking
Information
Equipments
[MF: Figure # and captain. This block diagram needs more work.]
III. Description of a domain
Due to the frequency of the observed natural calamities such as earthquakes every year,
we decided to design a database management system for earthquake tracking system.
Since the types of natural calamities are in large amount every year, we constrained our
domain to monitor, analyze the position of the earthquake, Intensity (Richter scale),
Magnitude, Energy, functional damage, and property loss.
Description of the domain includes the information about various earthquakes occurred.
It analyzes the positions of the past earthquakes, also predicts the positions or locations of
the earthquakes that will occur and their effects.
IV. Description of the program that is wanted [2]
Earthquake tracking system facilitates user to:
1) Analyze the earthquake parameters that includes:
Stress: Force per unit area




Units: Pascal (= Newtons/sq. meter), PSI (lbs/sq. in.)
Compression
Tension
Shear
Strain: Deformation of solid material in response to stress

Compression, tension, shear
1


Recoverable
Permanent (non-recoverable)
Elastic Materials
1.
2.
3.
Linear (proportional) relation between stress & strain
Recoverable strain (when stress is removed)
Brittle failure (yield point)
Plastic Materials
1.
2.
3.
Non-linear relation between stress & strain
Non-recoverable strain
No yield point (plastic flow)
Elastic Rebound Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Slow period of strain accumulation
Accumulation of stress at fault
Stress exceeds strength of fault results into sudden rupture of fault
Release of elastic strain energy: earthquake
Cycle starts over again
Faulting and Folding[2]
Folding – Plastic deformation
 Synclines
 Anticlines
Faulting – Brittle deformation
1. Normal faulting – extensional tectonics
2. Reverse or thrust faulting – Compressional tectonics
2
3. Strike-slip - compressional tectonics
2) Predict the future occurrences of the earthquake depending on the information
that includes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Paleoseismicity and frequency
Seismic gaps
Seismic patterns
Physical parameters






magnetism
electrical conductivity/resistivity
radio waves
well water levels
radon
animal behavior
e. Rock strain


swelling or tilting
foreshocks
V. Detailed requirements
Intense ground shaking during large earthquakes can damage or even cause failure of
engineered structures such as buildings, bridges, highways, and dams. Sustained strong
shaking can also trigger ground failures, such as rock falls, landslides, earth flows and
liquefaction. We have several techniques such as seismology, teleseismology,
paleoseismology, and seismo graphs to measure the earth quake intensity and cause of the
earth quake.[11]
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Earthquakes happen because the outer layer of the earth (the crust) is slowly being
deformed by stresses that are placed on the crust. These stresses build up along locked
portions of the crust where earthquake faults are. Eventually the stresses become too
great for one of the faults to withstand, and the crust suddenly moves, like a spring that
has been wound too tightly. This sudden movement of the ground is called an
earthquake.
Most of the stresses that cause earthquakes can be explained by the theory of plate
tectonics. According to this theory, the crust of the earth is broken up into many tectonic
plates--something like a cracked egg shell. Unlike an egg shell, however, the earth's
plates are not fixed in one location, but raft above a partially molten layer of the earth
which is about 60 miles deep. Where the edges of the plates meet, stresses build up, and
earthquakes occur. There are a few hypothetical views too to show the cause of the earth
quake such as
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Typical sun, earth and moon position: It is said that the sun and the moon has a
gravitational attraction, which creates the earth surface movements and change the
internal structures.
Earth’s Electro-Resistivity: Earth has its own resistance to avoid the big movement
in itself, but when the resistivity decreases due to any reason, it creates a
earthquake.
High temperature difference in earth: Earth has high temperature difference at bay
areas such as at California bay area. This temperature difference causes the rock
eruption and creates the fault lines.
Low earth density: Some places are less dense on the earth that creates the high
internal movements on surface.
Plate Tectonics The plates consist of an outer layer of the Earth, the lithosphere,
which is cool enough to behave as a more or less rigid shell.
Folding and Faulting: Earth has many fault lines in it’s surface, which are shown in
the description.
Seismology is the study of earthquakes and the Earth using seismic waves. From
recordings of earthquake-generated waves, information about the earthquake source may
be derived, including its magnitude, location, time of occurrence, depth, and its
orientation and movement on the fault. Teleseismic waves (waves coming from distant
earthquakes) provide information about the entire Earth structure (crust, mantle and
core). A seismograph map shows the irregular movements in the earth, which is shown as
under[11]
4
.
Paleoseismology is the study of the timing, location, and size of prehistoric earthquakes.
Paleoseismology differs from other aspects of earthquake geology in its focuses on the
almost instantaneous deformation of landforms and sediments during individual
earthquakes. This focus permits study of the distribution of earthquakes in space and over
time periods of hundreds to tens of thousands of years.
Recent research has focused on producing national and regional maps and database of
probabilistic earthquake ground shaking. These maps integrate the results of research in
historical seismicity, paleoseismology, strong motion seismology, and site response. The
maps and records take into account all the possible locations and magnitudes that can
happen in alternative future hypothetical earthquake histories. [2]
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VI. Relation or entities’ names and attributes
Constraint Entities: Constraint Entities have specific numerical value,
limit, or range.
1) Earthquake (year, location, earthquakeFrequency, maxIntensity, minIntensity)
= Constraint Entity





year: year in which the earthquake is observed.
location: exact location of the earthquake.
earthquakeFrequency: number of earthquakes per year.
maxIntensity: Maximum Richter magnitude of the earthquake
minIntensity: Minimum Richter magnitude of the earthquake.
2) EarthquakeDetails (localTime, time, latitude, longitude, intensity,
potentialEarthquakePeriod) = Constraint Entity






localTime: Local time at which the earthquake is observed.
time: Synchronized time according to server location
latitude: exact latitude of the earthquake location.
longitude: exact longitude of the earthquake location.
intensity: Exact Richter scale magnitude of the observed earthquake
potentialEarthquakePeriod: occurrence of earthquake period occurs in a
year.
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3) CentrePosition (name, latitude, longitude) = Constraint Entity – [MF: Not true.]
 name: Unique name of the center
 latitude: exact latitude of the earthquake location.
 longitude: exact longitude of the earthquake location.
4) Frequency (year, location, earthquakeFrequency) = Constraint Entity
 year: year in which earthquake is observed
 location: location at which earthquake is observed
 earthquakeFrequency: number of earthquakes observed per year at a
particular location
5) SeismographReading (intensity, machineSpecification) = Constraint Entity– [MF:
Not true.]
 intensity: Exact Richter scale magnitude of the observed earthquake
 machineSpecification: Seismograph technical specifications.
6) EarthquakeParameter ( focus, epicenter, magnitude, energy) [2] = Constraint
Entity
 focus: It is the place within the Earth where the rock breaks, producing an
earthquake.
 epicenter: It can be calculated using seismogram from three different
seismic stations. The steps to calculate epicenter are as follows:
o Examine the seismograph and determine the elapsed time between the
arrival of the first P-wave and the first S-wave.
o Use a time-distance graph to know the S - P time, and determine the
distance to the epicenter from the seismic station.
o On a map, draw a circle around the seismic station.
Radius of circle = distance to epicenter.
o Repeat for two other seismic stations (Triangulation.)
The three circles will meet at a point; that point is the epicenter.
 magnitude: Magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm
of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs.
Magnitude = log (A/T) +D, 10x increase in amplitude with each unit
increase in the magnitude number
 energy: Energy increases 30x with each unit increase in the magnitude
number.
7) SolarPosition (occurrenceTime, periodicity, restrainedTimeZone) [10][8] =
Constraint Entity
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 occurrenceTime: occurrence time of earthquakes above a certain scale is
modulated by the lunar and solar local hour angles.
 restrainedTimeZone: the difference of activities of sun & moon determine
the restrained time zone of the earthquake
8) ElectroResistivity (geomagneticPulsation, apparentResistivity, anomalousLayer,
electricVariationOfMedia) = Constraint Entity
 geomagneticPulsation: Geomagnetic pulsations, also known as ULF (ultra
low frequency) waves, are naturally occurring magneto-hydrodynamic waves
in the Earth’s magnetosphere. These waves are short period (usually of the
order of seconds to minutes) and small amplitude (usually less than one part
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in 10 of the Earth’s main field) oscillations of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Like longer period disturbances, such as magnetic storms and sub-storms,
they are mostly of solar origin, in contrast to the Earth’s main field and
secular variation, which are of internal origin. [9]
 apparentResistivity: apparent resistivity estimates from experimental
electric and electro-magnetic data
 anomalousLayers : the angle between the direction of periapsis (the point
of closest approach) and the current position of an object on its orbit
 ElectricVariationOfMedia: The variation between the various electromagnetic & other waves through the various medium in which the waves
travel.
9) EarthquakeDamage (population, time, date, cost) = Constraint Entity
 population: the number of people effected by the earthquake. It also
includes the number of people died or injured.
 time: the time at which the earthquake taken place.
 date: describes the date at which the earthquake happen
 cost: total cost involved i.e. the total loss of money due to earthquake.
10) StrainChange (quantity, intensity) = Constraint Entity
 quantity: the total amount of different deformed material involved.
 intensity: Exact Richter scale magnitude of the observed earthquake
Non-Constraint Entities: Non-Constraint Entities can have specific names
such as city name, country name.
11) EarthquakeLocation (city, country, geographicalSituation) = Non-Constraint
Entity
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 city: city in which earthquake is observed.
 country: country in which earthquake observed.
 geographicalSituation: reason of the earthquake, such as high temperature
difference in earth’s crust, low earth density, less electro-resistivity, high
seismic waves, effect of solar/planet positions.
12) SolarProperty(seisomologicalProperty, intensity) = Non-Constraint Entity
 seisomologicalProperty : Plate coupling due to the thrust interface at the
subduction area and this thrust is provided by the solar tidal activities
 intensity: Exact Richter scale magnitude of the observed earthquake
13) Action (actionTaken, measurement, equipment, detail) = Non-Constraint Entity
 actionTaken: It shows the major actions taken for the earthquake
recoveries.
 measurement: It defines the measurements after the earthquake, which
indicates the intensity and the damages occurred.
 equipement: It indicates the type of equipments used for the earthquake
recovery.
 detail: It defines the detailed cause of the earthquake.
14) StrainProperty (materialDeformed, typeOfDeformation) [4] = Non-Constraint
Entity
 materialDeformed: It involve the various kind & types of materials which
are deformed, including both the material above the earth crust & below it,
during the earthquake.
 typeOfDeformation: It tells us about, whether the deformation is shear,
compressed or due to tension and thus differentiate the various locations
and type of earthquakes from one another.
15) FoldingProperty (typeOfFolding, typeOfFaulting) = Non-Constraint Entity
 typeOfFolding: Folding is the plastic deformation of rock. There are two
types of folding, namely, Syncline and Anticline.
Folding take a linear, wave-like shape, kind of like a washboard. Where
the direction of the geological fold is U-shaped (concave up), it is called a
syncline; where it is concave down, it is called an anticline. [5]
 typeOfFaulting: Fault, in geology, is a fracture in the earth's crust in which
the rock on one side of the fracture has measurable movement in relation
to the rock on the other side. The two classes of faults include the dip-slip
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(up and down movement), which is further divided into normal and thrust
(reverse) faults; and strike-slip (movement parallel to the fault plane). [6]
16) SeismicWave (bodyWaveType, surfaceWave, velocity) = Non-Constraint Entity
 bodyWaveType: Two types of body waves are as follows:

P-waves are compressional, it has longitudinal particle motion, and it
changes in shape and volume.

S-waves are perpendicular to particle motion, It changes in shape only.
 surfactWave: Surface waves are restricted to surface of the earth, Its
motion is like an ocean wave.
 velocity: S-wave, P-wave, and surface wave have different velocities, Pwave travels through all the mediums, and S-wave can not travel through
liquid or gas
VII. Use cases and User Context
Actors:
1) Earthquake Management Team ????
2) Government ???
3) Civil Engineers
4) Native People
5) Scientists deal with Geographical studies(Researchers).
6) Equipments [MF: What kind?]
7) Developers
Use Cases:
1) User : Geologist, Researchers, Developers, Equipments ????
Description : Predict the future earthquakes
2) User : Civil Engineers, Builders ????
Description : Construct the building architecture for civil engineers.
3) User : Geologist, Researchers ????
Description : Use database information for geographic studies.
4) User : Native people, Government ????
Description : Prepares native people for any future calamity and also alert the
government.
5) User : Earthquake Management Team, Equipments, Developers ?????
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Description : Keeps track of machinery and equipments used in the earthquake
measurement.
6) User : Government, Native People, Earthquake Management Team. ????
Description : Predict earthquake for making necessary arrangement
7) User : Geologists, Developers, Equipments, Earthquake Management Team. ????
Description : Forestall the earth positions to avoid major destruction.
8) User : Geologists, Developers, Equipments, Earthquake Management Team
????Description : Analyze the changes in earth’s materials and rocks.
9) User : Geologists, Equipments, Earthquake Management Team ????
Description : Monitor the seismograph to measure the Richter magnitude scale.
10) User : Equipments, Developers. ????
Description : Make possible hardware device changes and invent new devices.
11) User : Developers, Equipments, Earthquake Management Team. ????
Description : Upgrade software according to the database for getting beneficial
results.
[MF: Actors are Enter two or more actors per use case. PUNDIT: Added some more
actors. Also modified use cases with the user involvement with each use case]
VIII. Interfaces
1) Seismographs to monitor seismic waves
2) Satellite to monitoring physical changes or strain on the earth’s surface.
3) Various equipments used for monitoring force, energy, velocity, temperature.
IX. References
[1] Earthquakes magnitude scale and class
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/magnitude.html
[2] Earthquake properties
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~malincol/Geol120/earthquaketopics.html
[3] Paleoseismicity:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php?term=paleoseismicity
[4] Stress, Strain: http://www.indiana.edu/~volcano/notes/review.stress_strain.htm
[5] Folding: http://homepage.smc.edu/morris_pete/physical/main/notes/pgmountains.html
[6] Faulting: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0818338.html
[7] Radon: http://fizika.hfd.hr/fizika_b/bv00/b9p111.pdf
[8] Seismogenic zone: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/moore/seize/report.html
[9] Geomagnetic Pulsation:
http://www.star.ac.za/projects/2005/NASSP_MSc_Thesis_Pc3_Field_Line_Resonance.p
df
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[10] Solar effects: http://www.springerlink.com/content/4ut8121v071p0223/
[11] Detailed Requirements and earth quake specification: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
X. Glossary
Paleoseismicity: It refers to earthquakes recorded geologically, most of them unknown
from human descriptions or seismograms. Geologic records of past earthquakes can
include faulted layers of sediment and rock, injections of liquefied sand, landslides,
abruptly raised or lowered shorelines, and tsunami deposits. [3]
Seismograph: This is an instrument that records seismic waves. Seismic waves are the
vibrations from earthquakes that travel through the Earth.
Radon: Radon (222Rn) concentration in water of several thermal springs was measured
with the aim of obtaining a correlation with the seismic activity of the region. [7]
Subduction area: Subduction zone is an area on earth where two tectonic plates meet
and move towards one another, with one sliding underneath the other and moving down
into the mantle, at rates typically measured in centimeters per year.
Damages: The earth damage is based on the intensity of the earth quake, which varies
from scale 1 to 12. The Effects at different intensity is shown below:
I. People do not feel any Earth movement.
II. A few people might notice movement if they are at rest and/or on the upper floors of
tall buildings.
III. Many people indoors feel movement. Hanging objects swing back and forth. People
outdoors might not realize that an earthquake is occurring.
IV. Most people indoors feel movement. Hanging objects swing. Dishes, windows, and
doors rattle. The earthquake feels like a heavy truck hitting the walls. A few people
outdoors may feel movement. Parked cars rock.
V. Almost everyone feels movement. Sleeping people are awakened. Doors swing open
or close. Dishes are broken. Pictures on the wall move. Small objects move or are turned
over. Trees might shake. Liquids might spill out of open containers.
VI. Everyone feels movement. People have trouble walking. Objects fall from shelves.
Pictures fall off walls. Furniture moves. Plaster in walls might crack. Trees and bushes
shake. Damage is slight in poorly built buildings. No structural damage.
VII. People have difficulty standing. Drivers feel their cars shaking. Some furniture
breaks. Loose bricks fall from buildings. Damage is slight to moderate in well-built
buildings; considerable in poorly built buildings.
VIII. Drivers have trouble steering. Houses that are not bolted down might shift on their
foundations. Tall structures such as towers and chimneys might twist and fall. Well-built
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buildings suffer slight damage. Poorly built structures suffer severe damage. Tree
branches break. Hillsides might crack if the ground is wet. Water levels in wells might
change.
IX. Well-built buildings suffer considerable damage. Houses that are not bolted down
move off their foundations. Some underground pipes are broken. The ground cracks.
Reservoirs suffer serious damage.
X. Most buildings and their foundations are destroyed. Some bridges are destroyed.
Dams are seriously damaged. Large landslides occur. Water is thrown on the banks of
canals, rivers, lakes. The ground cracks in large areas. Railroad tracks are bent slightly.
XI. Most buildings collapse. Some bridges are destroyed. Large cracks appear in the
ground. Underground pipelines are destroyed. Railroad tracks are badly bent.
XII. Almost everything is destroyed. Objects are thrown into the air. The ground moves
in waves or ripples. Large amounts of rock may move
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