The penisismic, asismic and seismic zones are the name by which the different areas are divided, according to the risk of suffering earthquakes caused by the activities of the geological faults.
Thanks to this differentiation, a seismic risk map can be made that should serve for the preventive study of these natural catastrophes. An earthquake, also called an earthquake or quake, is a sudden shaking produced in the earth's crust.
The most common causes are the activity of the faults that make up the Earth or the movements of the tectonic plates. Its central point is known as the hypocenter, while the epicenter is the place on the surface closest to the hypocenter.
Seismology is the science that studies the seismic movements produced on the planet. To facilitate these studies, a classification of zones has been created, depending on the risk of suffering an earthquake.
To carry out this classification, seismologists have analyzed the location of the hypocenters of numerous earthquakes that have occurred over the years, thus establishing the following division: seismic, penisismic and asismic zones.
Seismic zones
Seismic zones are those that present a higher risk of earthquakes.
These are the most active areas of the earth's crust. For this reason, earthquakes are very frequent, although most are of such low intensity that they are not noticed on the surface, much less by the inhabitants of them.
These high-risk areas are those that are in places where different tectonic plates collide, or simply rub against each other, causing these tremors.
Seismic zones of the world
The three regions of the world that present the highest risk of earthquakes are the Circum-Pacific Belt, the Eurasian-Melanic Belt and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The first of these is the largest in the world, since it represents between 80% and 90% of the seismic energy of the planet.
It is a fairly wide ring, bordering the Pacific and the South American coasts. From there it reaches Japan and the East Indies.
The so-called Eurasian-Melanic Belt runs through all the mountainous areas of Europe and Asia, reaching Melanesia. Thus, it goes from Spain to these islands, passing through Turkey and the Himalayas.
The last designated area, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is located in the Atlantic Ocean.
Penisismic zones
These are medium risk areas, in which earthquakes are much less frequent and much weaker.
This does not mean that they are safe regions; statistically, in these places the earthquakes are much less frequent and intense.
This classification should not be confused with that of earthquake risk, which usually takes into account the affected population: an earthquake in a highly populated penisismic area can cause more damage than one in an unpopulated seismic area.
Seismic areas
These are the areas of the planet without risk of earthquakes. They are areas that have great stability in the earth's crust.
These asismic areas are usually very old, with continental crust and, obviously, without boundaries between plates.
References
- Wikipedia. Seismic classification. Obtained from es.wikipedia.org
- Science for changing zone. What is a seismic zone, or seismic hazard zone ?. (1997). Retrieved from usgs.gov
- South, Rebecca. Understanding Seismic Zones. (August 25, 2011). Retrieved from monolithic.org
- Science Sphere. Origin and distribution of earthquakes. Obtained from Cienciasfera.com
- Ulomov, V. Seismic Zoning. Obtained from seismos-u.ifz.ru