CHAPTER XIX.
EARTH TREMORS.
Artificially produced tremors—Observations of Kater, Denman, Airy, Palmer, Paul—Natural tremors—Observations of Zöllner, M. d’Abbadie, G. H. and H. Darwin—Experiments in Japan—With seismoscopes, microphones, pendulums—Work in Italy—Bertelli, Count Malvasia, M. S. di Rossi—Instruments employed in Italy—Tromometers, microseismographs, microphones—Results obtained in Italy—in Japan—Cause of microseismic motion.
During the past few years considerable attention has been drawn towards the study of small vibratory motions of the ground, which to the unaided senses are usually passed by without recognition. These motions are called earth tremors. Their discovery appears to have been due to accident, and not to the results of inductive reasoning. No sooner had philosophers contrived astronomical and other instruments for the purpose of making refined measurements and observations than they at once discovered that they had an enemy to contend against in the form of microscopic earthquakes.
Artificially produced tremors.—Artificial disturbances of this description exist in all our towns, and near a railway line they are perceptible with every passing train. Those who have used microscopes of high power will readily appreciate how small a disturbance of the ground is visible in the apparent movement of the object under examination.
Captain Kater found that he could not perform his pendulum experiments in London on account of the vibrations produced by the rolling of carriages. Captain Denman, who made some observations on artificially produced tremors, found that a goods train produced an effect 1,100 feet distant in marshy ground over sandstone. Vertically, however, above a tunnel through the sandstone, the effects only extended 100 feet.
A remarkable example of the trouble which artificially produced earth vibrations have occasioned those who make astronomical observations occurred some twenty years ago at the Greenwich Observatory. When determining the collimation error of the transit circle by means of the reflexion of a star in a tray of mercury, it was found that on certain nights the surface of the mercury was in such a state of trembling that the observers were unable to complete their observations until long after midnight. After obtaining a series of dates on which these disturbances occurred, it was found that they coincided with public and bank holidays, on which days crowds of the poorer classes of London flocked to Greenwich Park, and there amused themselves with running and rolling down the hill on which the observatory is situated. On these occasions it was found that the disturbances in the mercury were such that observations could not be made until two or three hours after the crowds had been turned out of the neighbouring park.[138]
To obviate this difficulty Sir George Airy suspended his dish of mercury in a system of india-rubber bands, and in this way succeeded in eating the intruders up.
Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. Palmer, R.E., when engaged with the transit of Venus expedition in New Zealand, in 1874, was troubled with vibrations produced from a neighbouring railway. To escape the enemy he intrenched his instruments by placing them in pits. With pits 3½ feet deep he found himself sufficiently protected. The distance from the line was about 400 yards, and the soil through which the disturbances were propagated was a coarse pebbly gravel.[139]
Before the United States Naval Observatory was established at Washington, Professor H. M. Paul was deputed to make a tremor survey to discover stable ground. The results of these experiments were exceedingly interesting. By watching the reflected image of a star in a dish of mercury a passing train would be noticed at the distance of a mile. Its approach could be detected by the trembling of the image before its coming could be heard. At one point of observation the disturbance appeared to be cut off by a ravine. The strata was gravel and clay.[140]
These few examples of artificially produced tremors, to which many more might be added, have been given because they teach us something respecting their nature. Hitherto earth tremors have only been regarded as intruders, which it was necessary to escape from or destroy. From what has been said they appear to be a superficial disturbance which is propagated to an enormous distance. This distance appears to depend upon the propagating medium, upon the intensity of the initial disturbance, and upon its duration. In the observation of these artificial disturbances, which are accessible to every one, and which hitherto have been so neglected, we have undoubtedly a fruitful source of study.