Seismic Wave

SEISMIC WAVES
GROUP-3
Seismic Waves
• Are the waves of energy caused by the sudden breaking of rock within the earth.
• Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the Earth’s layers, and are
a result of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, magma movement, large landslides
and large man-made explosions that give out low-frequency acoustic energy.
TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES
• Body Waves
• Primary Waves (P-Waves)
• Secondary Waves (S-Waves)
• Surface Waves
• Love Waves
• Rayleigh Waves
• Typical Seismogram
• Locating an Earthquake
Body Waves -Traveling through the interior of the earth, body waves arrive
before the surface waves emitted by an earthquake. These waves are of a higher
frequency than surface waves.
Two types of Body waves-compressional or primary (P) waves and shear or

secondary (S) waves. P- and S- waves
Primary (P- waves)- This is the fastest kind of seismic wave, and,
consequently, the first to 'arrive' at a seismic station. The P wave can move through
solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It pushes and
pulls the rock it moves through just like sound waves push and pull the air.
S WAVES- The second type of body wave is the S wave or secondary wave, which is the second wave you feel in an
earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock, not through any liquid medium. It is
this property of S waves that led seismologists to conclude that the Earth's outer core is a liquid. S waves move rock particles
up and down, or side-to-side--perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave propagation).
SURFACE WAVES-Travelling only through the crust, surface waves are of a lower frequency than body
waves, and are easily distinguished on a seismogram as a result. Though they arrive after body waves, it is surface waves
that are almost enitrely responsible for the damage and destruction associated with earthquakes. This damage and the
strength of the surface waves are reduced in deeper earthquakes.
Love waves
-A type of seismic surface wave in which particles move
with a side-to-side motion perpendicular to the main
propagation of the earthquake. The amplitude of this
motion decreases with depth. Love waves cause the rocks
they pass through to change in shape.
They travel faster than Rayleigh waves.
-The Love waves at about 3.5 km/s.
DIAGRAM
Rayleigh waves
-A type of seismic surface wave that moves with a rolling motion
that consists of a combination of particle motion perpendicular and
parallel to the main direction of wave propagation. The amplitude
of this motion decreases with depth.
-Like primary waves, Rayleigh waves are alternatingly
compressional and extensional (they cause changes in the volume
of the rocks they pass through). Rayleigh waves travel slower than
Love waves.
-The Rayleigh waves at 3.0 km/s
DIAGRAM
How they Travel?
The Rayleigh waves "roll" along the surface,
described as "up and over backwards roll.“
These surface waves do most of the damage

to structures. The Love waves shake us from
side to side and the Rayleigh waves shake us
up and down
SEISMOGRAPH
• are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an

earthquake. They are installed in the ground throughout the world
and operated as part of a seismographic network.
• A seismometer is the internal part of the seismograph, which may
be a pendulum or a mass mounted on a spring
A seismograph is securely mounted onto the surface of the earth so that when
the earth shakes, the entire unit shakes with it except for the mass on the spring,
which has inertia and remains in the same place. As the seismograph shakes
under the mass, the recording device on the mass records the relative motion
between itself and the rest of the instrument, thus recording the ground motion.
A seismogram is the recording of the ground shaking at the specific location of the
instrument. On a seismogram, the HORIZONTAL axis = time (measured in
seconds) and the VERTICAL axis= ground displacement (usually measured in
millimeters).
How to locate an earthquake.
• Finding the Distance to the Epicenter and the Earthquake's

Magnitude
Finding the Epicenter
• Once we know the distance to an earthquake from three seismic stations, we can
determine the location of the earthquake. Draw a circle around each station with
a radius equal to its distance from the earthquake. The earthquake occurred at
the point where all three circles intersect.

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SEISMIC WAVES

Two types of Body waves-compressional or primary (P) waves and shear or

These surface waves do most of the damage

• are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an

• Finding the Distance to the Epicenter and the Earthquake's

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