Geology and Earth Structure

The horizontal and vertical movements caused by the forces coming from the origin of the earth are known as endogenic forces. The origin of the endogenic force is caused by the contraction and expansion of rocks due to variation in thermal conditions and temperature inside the earth.

The Hemispheres of the Earth in geography and cartography refer to any division of the globe into two hemispheres. The most common such divisions are by latitudinal or longitudinal markers:

North-South

Northern Hemisphere, the half that is north of the equator

Southern Hemisphere, the half that lies south of the equator,

East-West

Eastern Hemisphere, the half that lies east of the prime meridian and west of the 180th meridian

Western Hemisphere, the half that lies west of the prime meridian and east of the 180th meridian

The Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes the west coasts of North and South America and the eastern coastal areas of Asia, is the region with the highest frequency of earthquakes.

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.

An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

The 2015 Nepal earthquake was caused by the collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, a process known as plate tectonics.

The 2015 Nepal earthquake is widely referred to as the Gorkha earthquake because the epicenter was located in the Gorkha district.

• A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake.
• Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.

Weather studies focus on atmospheric conditions and phenomena, which occur independently of the underlying geological rock structure, unlike road construction, oil drilling, or soil analysis.

Answer is A.

The intensity of earthquake is measure on the richter scale.
The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included in the magnitude formula to compensate for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquakes. On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. For example, a magnitude of 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earthquake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value.

The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquakes. On the Richter scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions.

Earthquake forecasting refers to the probabilistic assessment of hazards, whereas prediction implies specifying a precise time, location, and magnitude, which is currently not scientifically possible.

• Seismology is the study of earthquakes which involves the prediction of earthquakes, hence option A is correct.
• Microbiology is the study of microorganisms and bacteriology is the study of bacteria, thus both are incorrect.

Tectonic is the study of the earth's crust. Tectonics is concerned with the processes which control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust, and its evolution through time. It was considered that earth was made up of tectonic plates. Tectonics also provides a framework to understand the earthquake and volcanic belts which directly affect much of the global population. Tectonic studies are important for understanding erosion patterns in geomorphology and search for petroleum and metallic ores. 

The lithosphere serves as a source of minerals. The minerals supply the basic materials, required for making a variety of commodities, which man uses daily. The lithosphere is also the major source of fuels, such as coal, petroleum and a natural gas. 

The continental shelf is separated from the continental slope by the shelfedge or shelf-break at approximately 200 m depth. The gradient of the slope ($4^{\circ}$ on an average) is much higher than that of the continental rise $(1^{\circ})$. The continental shelf and slope together cover 15% of the total ocean floor, and the continental rise covers about 5%.