Strainmeter

Strainmeter

A strainmeter is an instrument used by geophysicists to measure the
deformation of the Earth.Linear strainmeters measure the changes in the distance between two points,using either a solid piece of material (over a short distance)or a laser interferometer (over a long distance, up to several hundred meters).The type using a solid length standard was invented by Benioff in 1932,using an iron pipe; later instruments used rods made of fused quartz.Modern instruments of this type can make measurements of length changes oververy small distances, and are commonly placed in boreholes to measuresmall changes in the diameter of the borehole.Another type of borehole instrument detects changes in a volume filled withfluid (such as silicone oil).The most common type is the dilatometer invented by Sacks and Evertson in the USA(patent 3,635,076);a design that uses specially shaped volumes to measure the strain tensorhas been developed by Sakata in Japan.

All these types of strainmeters can measure deformation over frequenciesfrom a few Hz to periods of days, months, and years. This allows them to measuresignals at lower frequencies than can be detected with seismometers.Most strainmeter records show signals from the earth tides, and seismic wavesfrom earthquakes.At longer periods, they can also record the gradual accumulation of stress (physics)caused by plate tectonics, the release of this stress in earthquakes,and rapid changes of stress following earthquakes.

The most extensive network of strainmeters is installed in Japan;it includes mostly quartz-bar instruments in tunnels and borehole strainmeters,with a few laser instruments.Starting in 2003 there has been a major effort (the Plate Boundary Observatory)to install many more strainmeters along the Pacific/North-America plate boundaryin the United States.The aim is to install about 100 borehole strainmeters,primarily in Washington, Oregon and California, and five laser strainmeters,all in California.

ee also

*Strain (materials science)
*Strain tensor

External links

* [http://pfostrain.ucsd.edu/ Piñon Flat Observatory, CA: laser strainmeters]
* [http://www.gtsmtechnologies.com/ GTSM Technologies, AUS: borehole strainmeters]
* [http://pboweb.unavco.org/ Plate Boundary Observatory]
* [http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/deformation/index.html US Geological Survey, see under Fault Monitoring]

References

*


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • strainmeter — noun A scientific instrument used by geophysicists to measure the deformation of the Earth …   Wiktionary

  • strainmeter — strain·me·ter …   English syllables

  • strainmeter — ˈstrānˌmēd.ə(r) noun Etymology: strain (I) + meter : a mechanical, electrical, or optical instrument for measuring deformation of a body or a change in length under stress …   Useful english dictionary

  • Hekla — Höhe 1.491 m …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • strain gauge — Geol. a type of extensometer designed for geophysical use. Also called strainmeter /strayn mee teuhr/, strainometer /stray nom i teuhr/. [1905 10] * * * Device for measuring the changes in distances between points in solid bodies that occur when… …   Universalium

  • Earth Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Geology and Geochemistry       The theme of the 33rd International Geological Congress, which was held in Norway in August 2008, was “Earth System Science: Foundation for Sustainable Development.” It was attended by nearly… …   Universalium

  • strain gauge — noun a gauge for measuring strain in a surface • Syn: ↑strain gage • Hypernyms: ↑gauge, ↑gage * * * Geol. a type of extensometer designed for geophysical use. Also called strainmeter /strayn mee teuhr/, strainometer /stray no …   Useful english dictionary

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