Earthquakes

[encipher]

Hi, I have a question regarding earthquakes.

 

Does the rotation of the Earth have any effect on earthquakes? In any way..

 

I was thinking, Since the earth's crust are floating on magma, and not solidly 'attatched' the the core, if the angular velocity of one portion of the earth's crust is slower / faster than another portion, could that possibly cause shear i.e. an earthquake?

 

Thanks

[Spyman]

Most naturally occurring earthquakes are related to the tectonic nature of the Earth. Such earthquakes are called tectonic earthquakes. The Earth's lithosphere is a patchwork of plates in slow but constant motion caused by the heat in the Earth's mantle and core. Plate boundaries grind past each other, creating frictional stress. When the frictional stress exceeds a critical value, called local strength, a sudden failure occurs. The boundary of tectonic plates along which failure occurs is called the fault plane. When the failure at the fault plane results in a violent displacement of the Earth's crust, the elastic strain energy is released and seismic waves are radiated, thus causing an earthquake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake