Beach balls

As Beach Balls ( Engl. Beach balls ) in the be Seismology diagrams referred by which fault plane solutions , so the spatial location of earthquakes herds are presented. The name comes from the look of the graphics, which are reminiscent of beach balls .

Physical background

Seismic waves , such as those generated at an earthquake focus, spread radially in all directions. Determined by the underlying focus mechanism and the spatial orientation of the fracture surface, the particle movement of the wave varies depending on the direction of propagation. Where there is compression during the fracture process , a wave beam with a positive deflection arises, whereas tensile stress acts, the amplitude is negative. After an earthquake, the earthquake waves travel through the earth's body on different beam paths and can be recorded globally at seismic measuring stations. a. be examined for the sign of the first use. The azimuthalThe distribution of positive and negative deflections is shown in the beach ball diagrams as a colored or white zone. Their arrangement allows conclusions to be drawn about the center geometry and can be interpreted in the context of the tectonic framework conditions.