By Scott-Russell’s rule, or, what is almost identically the same, by Airy’s general formula, we can calculate how long it would take such waves as we have been speaking about to travel over the different portions of each of these lines, and by adding these times together we obtain the time taken to travel across any one line. I have made these calculations, but as I get in every case answers which are too small, I think it unnecessary to give them.
The actual times taken to travel the distances just referred to were,
| To Japan (Kameishi) | 23 hr. 38 min. |
| „ New Zealand (Wellington) | 18 „ 23 „ |
| „ Samoa | 14 „ 58 „ |
| „ Sandwich Islands (Honolulu) | 14 „ 53 „ |
From San Francisco to Simoda the line is almost 3,567 miles, 3,000 fathoms deep, 840 miles, 2,500 fathoms deep, and 120 miles 1,000 fathoms deep. This gives an average depth of about 2,854 fathoms. Bache calculated the depth at 2,500 fathoms.
If we are to consider that, because the sea wave at Simoda came in some time after the land shock had been felt, the origin of this earthquake, instead of being at Simoda, was some distance out at sea, this calculated depth would be reduced.
CHAPTER X.
DETERMINATION OF EARTHQUAKE ORIGINS.
Approximate determination of an Origin—Earthquake-hunting in Japan—Determinations by direction of motion—Direction indicated by destruction of buildings—Direction determined by rotation—Cause of rotation—The use of time observations—Errors in such observations—Origin determined by the method of straight lines—The method of circles, the method of hyperbolas, the method of co-ordinates—Haughton’s method—Difference in time between sound, earth, and water waves—Method of Seebach.
One of the most practical problems which can be suggested to the seismologist is the determination of the district or districts in any given country from which earthquake disturbances originate. With a map of a country before us, shaded with tints of different intensity to indicate the relative frequency of seismic disturbance in various districts, we at once see the localities where we might dwell with the least disturbance, and those we should seek if we wish to make observational seismology a study. Before erecting observatories for the systematic investigation of earthquakes in a country, it would be necessary for us, in some way or other, to examine the proposed country to find out the most suitable district. The special problem of determining approximately the origin or origins of a set of earthquakes would be given to us. Having made this preliminary investigation, the next point is, by means of observatories so arranged that they could always work in conjunction with each other, to determine the origins more accurately. By knowing the origin from which a set of shocks spring we know the general direction in which we may expect the most violent disturbances, and we can arrange our seismometers accordingly.
Approximate determination of origins.—In 1880 I obtained a tolerably fair idea of the distribution of seismic energy throughout Japan, by compiling the facts obtained from some hundreds of communications received from various parts of the country respecting the number of earthquakes that had been felt.