Question

can we predict earthquake about 500words​

Answer 1

Answer:

Today's scientists understand earthquakes a lot better than we did even 50 years ago, but they still can't match the quake-predicting prowess of the common toad (Bufo bufo), which can detect seismic activity days in advance of a quake. A 2010 study published in Journal of Zoology found that 96 percent of male toads in a population abandoned their breeding site five days before the earthquake that struck L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009, about 46 miles (74 kilometers) away. Researchers aren't quite sure how the toads do this, but it's believed that they can detect subtle signs, such as the release of gases and charged particles, that may occur before a quake [source: Science Daily].

Scientists can predict where major earthquakes are likely to occur, however, based on the movement of the plates in the Earth and the location of fault zones. They also can make general guesses about when earthquakes might occur in a certain area, by looking at the history of earthquakes in the region and detecting where pressure is building along fault lines. For example, if a region has experienced four magnitude 7 or larger quakes during the past 200 years, scientists would calculate the probability of another magnitude 7 quake occurring in the next 50 years at 50 percent. But these predictions may not turn out to be reliable because, when strain is released along one part of a fault system, it may actually increase strain on another part 

Answer 2

Humans today are able to forecast atmospheric weather quite accurately, which allows us to alert communities about the arrival of a hurricane, a snowstorm or a possible flood. Scientists can also predict the risk of a volcanic eruption or the effects of solar flares. It would seem, therefore, that nowadays we are able to foresee with greater or lesser accuracy the different types of natural disasters that stalk us—except for one. Every time the earth trembles we are caught completely off guard, often suffering great devastation and loss of life. Why has 21st century science still not managed to accurately predict when a quake will strike?

“We can see inside weather systems from below, from above and from inside them. We understand the laws of physics and the mathematical equations that control weather and climate,” Terry Tullis, former chairman of the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council of the United States Geological Survey, tells OpenMind. “For earthquakes it is harder for many reasons. The Earth is opaque, so we can’t see inside it to figure out what is going on,” says Tullis. The seismologist notes that it is possible to observe certain geophysical parameters, but that earthquakes generally originate at considerable depths where it is impossible to place measuring instruments.

Predicting seismic movements is an age-old aspiration of human beings, even before the development of modern science. In ancient times it was believed that animals sensed earthquakes. As the physicist-chemist and writer Helmut Tributsch recounted in When the Snakes Awake (The MIT Press, 1984), many historical anecdotes speak of changes in the behaviour of animals before a tremor. The oldest event collected by Tributsch dates from 373 BC, when snakes, ferrets and mice left the Greek town of Helice two days before the occurrence of an earthquake and tsunami that submerged the city.