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46-699: The Kettleman North Dome occupies the northernmost portion of the Kettleman Hills , a northwest-southeast trending line of hills about 30 miles (48 km) long which parallels the San Andreas Fault to the west. The range consists of two elongate "domes", the North Dome and Middle Dome; a portion of the Middle Dome is sometimes called the "South Dome," although the North and Middle Dome are

92-422: A practical method of assigning an absolute measure of magnitude. First, to span the wide range of possible values, Richter adopted Gutenberg's suggestion of a logarithmic scale, where each step represents a tenfold increase of magnitude, similar to the magnitude scale used by astronomers for star brightness . Second, he wanted a magnitude of zero to be around the limit of human perceptibility. Third, he specified

138-469: A seismogram recorded by a Wood-Anderson torsion seismometer. Finally, Richter calculated a table of distance corrections, in that for distances less than 200 kilometers the attenuation is strongly affected by the structure and properties of the regional geology. When Richter presented the resulting scale in 1935, he called it (at the suggestion of Harry Wood) simply a "magnitude" scale. "Richter magnitude" appears to have originated when Perry Byerly told

184-408: A seismograph anywhere in the world, so long as its sensors are not located in the earthquake's shadow . The following describes the typical effects of earthquakes of various magnitudes near the epicenter. The values are typical and may not be exact in a future event because intensity and ground effects depend not only on the magnitude but also on (1) the distance to the epicenter, (2) the depth of

230-531: A shallow earthquake in a populated area with soil of certain types can be far more intense in impact than a much more energetic deep earthquake in an isolated area. Several scales have been historically described as the "Richter scale", , especially the local magnitude M L   and the surface wave M s   scale. In addition, the body wave magnitude , mb , and the moment magnitude , M w  , abbreviated MMS, have been widely used for decades. A couple of new techniques to measure magnitude are in

276-405: A similar large-scale rupture occurred elsewhere). Such an earthquake would cause ground motions for up to an hour, with tsunamis hitting shores while the ground is still shaking, and if this kind of earthquake occurred, it would probably be a 1-in-10,000-year event. Prior to the development of the magnitude scale, the only measure of an earthquake's strength or "size" was a subjective assessment of

322-647: A total thickness of petroleum-bearing rock approaching 2,000 feet (610 m). Underneath the Temblor is yet another series of impermeable and permeable strata, like layers of a cake: the Vaqueros Sandstone and Kreyenhagen Formation are impermeable units beneath the Temblor; underneath them, another large pool of oil is found in the Upper McAdams Formation (of Eocene age) at a depth of around 10,000 feet (3,000 m). This formation

368-419: Is about 7 and about 8.5 for M s  . New techniques to avoid the saturation problem and to measure magnitudes rapidly for very large earthquakes are being developed. One of these is based on the long-period P-wave; The other is based on a recently discovered channel wave. The energy release of an earthquake, which closely correlates to its destructive power, scales with the 3 ⁄ 2 power of

414-601: Is one of the longest of the California oil fields; only Midway-Sunset is longer. Its long axis, northwest to southeast, is approximately 14 miles (23 km), and it is almost three miles (5 km) across at its widest point. The oil field is one of a long line of similar lengthy, narrow, anticlinal fields paralleling the San Andreas Fault, where tectonic forces squeezed the rock formations into anticlinal structures, trapping large quantities of petroleum. To

460-629: The California Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institute , a network of seismographs stretching across Southern California . He also recruited the young and unknown Charles Richter to measure the seismograms and locate the earthquakes generating the seismic waves. In 1931, Kiyoo Wadati showed how he had measured, for several strong earthquakes in Japan, the amplitude of the shaking observed at various distances from

506-590: The Gutenberg–Richter scale , is a measure of the strength of earthquakes , developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg , and presented in Richter's landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude scale". This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale , denoted as ML or M L  . Because of various shortcomings of the original M L   scale, most seismological authorities now use other similar scales such as

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552-456: The moment magnitude scale (M w  ) to report earthquake magnitudes, but much of the news media still erroneously refers to these as "Richter" magnitudes. All magnitude scales retain the logarithmic character of the original and are scaled to have roughly comparable numeric values (typically in the middle of the scale). Due to the variance in earthquakes, it is essential to understand the Richter scale uses common logarithms simply to make

598-544: The Kettleman Hills, oil is found in the large structural trap formed by the anticline . The large McLure Formation , of upper Miocene age, forms the impermeable cap beneath which enormous quantities of oil have pooled over millions of years, principally in the Temblor Formation , which is of Middle and Lower Miocene age. Within that formation, five different zones are identified in cross section, with

644-575: The Milham Company drilled its Elliott No. 1 well: after 19 months of labor, in October 1928, at a depth of 7,108 feet (2,167 m), oil was found, and a terrific blowout ensued, which took three years to bring under control. Elliott No. 1 and other wells in the huge Temblor pool produced 3,670 barrels a day during that period; the initial measured pressure was 3,540 psi (24,400 kPa). The town of Avenal , originally named Milham City after

690-626: The Richter scale, numerical values are approximately the same. Although values measured for earthquakes now are M w  , they are frequently reported by the press as Richter values, even for earthquakes of magnitude over 8, when the Richter scale becomes meaningless. The Richter and MMS scales measure the energy released by an earthquake; another scale, the Mercalli intensity scale , classifies earthquakes by their effects , from detectable by instruments but not noticeable, to catastrophic. The energy and effects are not necessarily strongly correlated;

736-546: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 569847935 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:50:12 GMT Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale ( / ˈ r ɪ k t ər / ), also called the Richter magnitude scale , Richter's magnitude scale , and

782-494: The Wood–Anderson seismograph as the standard instrument for producing seismograms. Magnitude was then defined as "the logarithm of the maximum trace amplitude, expressed in microns ", measured at a distance of 100 km (62 mi). The scale was calibrated by defining a magnitude 0 shock as one that produces (at a distance of 100 km (62 mi)) a maximum amplitude of 1 micron (1 μm, or 0.001 millimeters) on

828-407: The amplitude of a precisely defined wave. All scales, except M w  , saturate for large earthquakes, meaning they are based on the amplitudes of waves that have a wavelength shorter than the rupture length of the earthquakes. These short waves (high-frequency waves) are too short a yardstick to measure the extent of the event. The resulting effective upper limit of measurement for M L  

874-413: The amplitudes of different types of elastic waves must be measured. M L   is the scale used for the majority of earthquakes reported (tens of thousands) by local and regional seismological observatories. For large earthquakes worldwide, the moment magnitude scale (MMS) is most common, although M s   is also reported frequently. The seismic moment , M 0   , is proportional to

920-402: The area of the rupture times the average slip that took place in the earthquake, thus it measures the physical size of the event. M w   is derived from it empirically as a quantity without units, just a number designed to conform to the M s   scale. A spectral analysis is required to obtain M 0  . In contrast, the other magnitudes are derived from a simple measurement of

966-549: The centers of mature oil fields. The presence of a large oil field was long suspected in the Kettleman Hills region, since it is an anticlinal structure like so many of the nearby San Joaquin Valley oil fields; however, early test wells found nothing, since drilling methods then lacked the ability to reach the 7,000 feet (2,100 m) necessary to tap the reservoirs. Before 1910, drillers made nine separate unsuccessful attempts to reach oil. A persistent attempt paid off in 1927, when

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1012-449: The development stage by seismologists. All magnitude scales have been designed to give numerically similar results. This goal has been achieved well for M L  , M s  , and M w  . The mb  scale gives somewhat different values than the other scales. The reason for so many different ways to measure the same thing is that at different distances, for different hypocentral depths, and for different earthquake sizes,

1058-426: The earthquake's focus beneath the epicenter, (3) the location of the epicenter, and (4) geological conditions . ( Based on U.S. Geological Survey documents. ) The intensity and death toll depend on several factors (earthquake depth, epicenter location, and population density, to name a few) and can vary widely. Millions of minor earthquakes occur every year worldwide, equating to hundreds every hour every day. On

1104-490: The earthquake. The original formula is: where A is the maximum excursion of the Wood-Anderson seismograph , the empirical function A 0 depends only on the epicentral distance of the station, δ {\displaystyle \delta } . In practice, readings from all observing stations are averaged after adjustment with station-specific corrections to obtain the M L   value. Because of

1150-897: The energy released. The elastic energy radiated is best derived from an integration of the radiated spectrum, but an estimate can be based on mb  because most energy is carried by the high-frequency waves. These formulae for Richter magnitude   M L   {\displaystyle \ M_{\mathsf {L}}\ } are alternatives to using Richter correlation tables based on Richter standard seismic event (   M L = 0   , {\displaystyle {\big (}\ M_{\mathsf {L}}=0\ ,}   A = 0.001   m m   , {\displaystyle \ A=0.001\ {\mathsf {mm}}\ ,}   D = 100   k m   )   . {\displaystyle \ D=100\ {\mathsf {km}}\ {\big )}~.} In

1196-489: The epicenter. He then plotted the logarithm of the amplitude against the distance and found a series of curves that showed a rough correlation with the estimated magnitudes of the earthquakes. Richter resolved some difficulties with this method and then, using data collected by his colleague Beno Gutenberg , he produced similar curves, confirming that they could be used to compare the relative magnitudes of different earthquakes. Additional developments were required to produce

1242-612: The first oil men to drill on the Kettleman Dome. Wildcatting: The Hills of Kettleman by Eloise Sterling Hirt, Theodore Kesler Sterling, et al., is a novel about the discovery of oil in Kettleman Hills. One of the characters, "Bernie Bernard," is probably based on oilman Bernard H. "Bernie" Scott, one of the three geologists who discovered the field. 36°02′25″N 120°05′46″W  /  36.0402°N 120.0960°W  / 36.0402; -120.0960 Kettleman Hills Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1288-454: The intensity of shaking observed near the epicenter of the earthquake, categorized by various seismic intensity scales such as the Rossi–Forel scale . ("Size" is used in the sense of the quantity of energy released, not the size of the area affected by shaking, though higher-energy earthquakes do tend to affect a wider area, depending on the local geology.) In 1883, John Milne surmised that

1334-420: The large Kettleman Hills fields, mainly the North Dome, has been suggested as a cause of the 1985 M6.1 earthquake, since the total deformation caused by the quake was exactly that necessary to compensate for the oil removed historically, i.e. by filling the vacated space. The same mechanism has been suggested for the 1983 Coalinga earthquake and the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake , both of which occurred near

1380-608: The latest year for which data was available, production was a mere 128,000 barrels, even with the modern technologies available. Unlike many of the other major California oil fields, enhanced recovery methods have been used minimally at Kettleman Hills. Water flooding was used in both the Temblor and Vaqueros pools, between 1965 and 1977, but many of the enhanced recovery methods used successfully at other oil fields – steam flooding, fire flooding, gas injection, and so forth, which were so successful at Kern River , San Ardo , Midway-Sunset and elsewhere – have proved impractical because of

1426-421: The logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude. In terms of energy, each whole number increase corresponds to an increase of about 31.6 times the amount of energy released, and each increase of 0.2 corresponds to approximately a doubling of the energy released. Events with magnitudes greater than 4.5 are strong enough to be recorded by

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1472-412: The measurements manageable (i.e., a magnitude 3 quake factors 10³ while a magnitude 5 quake factors 10 and has seismometer readings 100 times larger). The Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included to compensate for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of

1518-467: The most topographically distinct. Both the North and Middle Domes overlie oil fields. The Kettleman Hills is named, and misspelled, after Dave Kettelman, a pioneer sheep and cattle rancher who grazed his animals there in the 1860s. The hills, which rise to an elevation of approximately 1,200 feet (370 m), divide the San Joaquin Valley on the east from the much smaller Kettleman Plain to

1564-625: The northwest is the large Coalinga Oil Field ; to the southeast are the Lost Hills Oil Field , Cymric , McKittrick , North Belridge , South Belridge , Elk Hills , Buena Vista , and finally the largest of all, the enormous Midway-Sunset field in the southwestern corner of the San Joaquin Valley. The total productive area of the Kettleman Hills North Dome is 13,700 acres (55 km). Within

1610-518: The oil company, quickly grew near the field, the latest in a series of oil boom towns in the California Central Valley . Other oil drillers active at Kettlemen include Fred M. Manning . Unrestricted production of oil at the Kettleman Hills fields, mainly North Dome, was controversial during the 1930s. Other states, such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, restricted production of oil through agreements with each other, in order to keep

1656-492: The oil's relatively light API gravity and its depth. J.P. Oil Company, Inc., of Lafayette, Louisiana, took over operation of the entire Kettleman Hills North Dome Oil Field in 1997, but as of 2008 the oil field is run by Chevron Corporation . Boom Town , a 1940 film about wildcatting in the early Oklahoma oil industry, starred Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy . The film ends with the Gable and Tracy characters preparing to be

1702-523: The other hand, earthquakes of magnitude ≥8.0 occur about once a year, on average. The largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean earthquake of May 22, 1960, which had a magnitude of 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale . Seismologist Susan Hough has suggested that a magnitude 10 quake may represent a very approximate upper limit for what the Earth's tectonic zones are capable of, which would be

1748-425: The particular circumstances refer to it being defined for Southern California and "implicitly incorporates the attenuative properties of Southern California crust and mantle." The particular instrument used would become saturated by strong earthquakes and unable to record high values. The scale was replaced in the 1970s by the moment magnitude scale (MMS, symbol M w  ); for earthquakes adequately measured by

1794-442: The press that the scale was Richter's and "should be referred to as such." In 1956, Gutenberg and Richter, while still referring to "magnitude scale", labelled it "local magnitude", with the symbol M L  , to distinguish it from two other scales they had developed, the surface-wave magnitude (M S ) and body wave magnitude (M B ) scales. The Richter scale was defined in 1935 for particular circumstances and instruments;

1840-469: The price from falling too far; however, in California no such regulation existed. Overproduction from Kettleman, with its depressant effect on the price of oil, was a cause of considerable antagonism in the oil industry at the time. Production from Kettleman peaked in 1936, with over 29 million barrels pumped during that year, making it one of the most productive fields in the United States. In 2006,

1886-708: The result of the largest known continuous belt of faults rupturing together (along the Pacific coast of the Americas). A research at the Tohoku University in Japan found that a magnitude 10 earthquake was theoretically possible if a combined 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of faults from the Japan Trench to the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench ruptured together and moved by 60 metres (200 ft) (or if

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1932-519: The shaking amplitude (see Moment magnitude scale for an explanation). Thus, a difference in magnitude of 1.0 is equivalent to a factor of 31.6 ( = ( 10 1.0 ) ( 3 / 2 ) {\displaystyle =({10^{1.0}})^{(3/2)}} ) in the energy released; a difference in magnitude of 2.0 is equivalent to a factor of 1000 ( = ( 10 2.0 ) ( 3 / 2 ) {\displaystyle =({10^{2.0}})^{(3/2)}} ) in

1978-560: The shaking of large earthquakes might generate waves detectable around the globe, and in 1899 E. Von Rehbur Paschvitz observed in Germany seismic waves attributable to an earthquake in Tokyo . In the 1920s, Harry O. Wood and John A. Anderson developed the Wood–Anderson seismograph , one of the first practical instruments for recording seismic waves. Wood then built, under the auspices of

2024-431: The summer months, and winters are cool with occasional freezes. Interstate 5 parallels the range of hills to the northeast, and SR 33 to the southwest. SR 41 , which runs from Paso Robles to Kettleman City to Fresno , crosses the hills at the southern extremity of the North Dome, and SR 269 , which connects the town of Avenal to Interstate 5, crosses the hills in the middle of the North Dome. North Dome itself

2070-423: The west. They are discontinuous, as indicated by their name ("hills" rather than "ridge"). The predominant vegetation is grassland, with surrounding areas containing grassland, low scrub, orchards, and agricultural fields. The climate is arid, with 6 to 12 inches (300 mm) of precipitation per year on the average, all falling as rain. Summers are hot, with daily highs regularly exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) in

2116-588: Was not discovered until 1940. A few other smaller oil pools were found later, such as one in the Kreyenhagen in 1957 and the Whepley, a small additional pool at great depth in the Temblor Formation, discovered in 1976. While the Kreyenhagen is normally an impermeable shale, where it is highly fractured it is a productive unit in its own right, since oil collects in the fractures. Removal of oil from

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