Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the

core of the earth or other elastic bodies generated from

earthquake, explosion, or some other process that imparts
low-frequency acoustic energy.
The propagation velocity of the waves depends on
the density and elasticity of the medium.
Velocity tends to increase with depth, and ranges from
approximately 2 to 8 km/s in the Earth's crust up to 13 km/s in
the deep mantle.
Various types travel at different velocities.
Refraction or reflection of seismic waves is used for research
of the Earth's interior, and artificial vibrations to investigate
subsurface structures.

Seismic waves are predicted during the 19th century.

It is similar to sound waves except that the periods of
oscillations are far longer.
The frequency range of these waves is large from as high as
the audible range to as low as the free oscillations of the
entire Earth

The waves of energy caused by the sudden

breaking of rock within the earth or an explosion.
These energy that travels through the earth and
recorded on seismographs.
There are several different kinds of seismic waves,
and they all move in different ways.
The two main types of waves are body waves and
surface waves.

Body waves
Travel through the earth's interior similar to
sound waves

Surface Waves

Travel along the earth's surface - similar to

ocean waves

Types of Earthquake waves

When an earthquake occurs, it starts at depth with in the
BODY of the earth.
At that depth there are only two types of particle motion
possible.
P and S waves are known as BODY waves because they
always originate inside the earth.
These are not the most damaging but they are the first to
be detected because they travel at very fast speeds ( e.g.
>6km/s.)

 P waves are the fastest, and first waves to

arrive.
S waves are the second fastest (~50%) and
Surface waves (45%) are the slowest of the
three major types of earthquake waves.

 (Surface) The most damaging earthquake vibrations

occur when the P and S waves reach the surface.
At the surface they convert into horizontal S waves and a
combination of vertical S and P waves called Rayleigh
waves.

Travel through the interior of the

Earth
Follow ray paths refracted by the
varying density and modulus (sti
ffness) of the Earth's interior
(density and modulus, in turn,
vary according to temperature,
composition, and phase similar to
the refraction of light waves)
The two types are P-waves and
S-waves

A type of seismic wave that compresses

and expands

The first wave to arrive at an

earthquake

Primary or compressional (P) waves

The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is
the fastest kind of seismic wave.

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.

Highest velocity (6 km/sec in the crust)

Particle motion

Deformation
propagates
Particle motion consists of alternating compression and dilation. Particle motion is
parallel to the direction of propagation (longitudinal). Material returns to its
original shape after wave passes.

P waves, also called primary or pressure waves, are longitudinal or

compressional in nature.
These waves are composed of alternating compressions and
rarefactions.
P waves can travel through any medium.
In solids, these waves generally travel almost twice as fast as S
waves. In air, these pressure waves take the form of sound waves,
hence they travel at the speed of sound.
These waves travel at ~6 km/s near the surface to ~10.4 km/s near
the Earths core about 2900km below the surface.
As the waves enter the core, the velocity drops to ~8 km/s
increasing to ~11 km/s near the center.
These results from increased hydrostatic pressure as well as from
changes in rock composition and phase.

The transmitting rocks are alternately compressed and

expanded giving the rock particles a back-and-forth motion
along the path of propagation.
Ships at sea off the California coast in 1906 felt the
earthquake when the P-wave traveled through the water and
struck the ship (generally the crews thought they had struck
a sandbar).

Almost all the information available on the structure of the

Earth's deep interior is derived from observations of the
travel times, reflections, refractions and phase transitions of
seismic body waves, or normal modes. Body waves travel
through the fluid layers of the Earth's interior, but P-waves
are refracted slightly when they pass through the transition
between the semisolid mantle and the liquid outer core. As a
result, there is a P-wave "shadow zone" between 104 and
140 from the earthquake's focus, where the initial P-waves
are not registered on seismometers.

A type of seismic wave that moves the

ground up and down or side to side

http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/insideearth2.htm

Secondary or shear (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. (3.6 km/sec in the crust)

This wave moves rock up and down, or side-to-side.

Particle
motion

Deformation
propagates

Particle motion consists of alternating transverse motion. Particle motion is

perpendicular to the direction of propagation (transverse). Transverse particle motion
shown here is vertical but can be in any direction. Material returns to its original shape
after wave passes.

S waves, also called secondary or shear waves, are

transverse in nature
Unlike P waves, S waves can only travel through solids.
These waves travel from ~3.4 km/s near the surface to ~7.2
km/s near the boundary of the liquid core (Gutenberg
discontinuity).
Also, these waves travel at a slower rate but with greater
amplitude.
S waves travel transversely to the direction of propagation
and involves the shearing of the transmitting rock causing
the rock particles to move back and forth perpendicular to
the direction of propagation.

As the waves pass, the rock is distorted first in one direction

and then in another.

Unlike the P-wave, the S-wave cannot travel through the

molten outer core of the Earth, and this causes a shadow
zone for S-waves opposite to where they originate. They can
still appear in the solid inner core: when a P-wave strikes the
boundary of molten and solid cores, called the Lehmann
discontinuity, S-waves will then propagate in the solid
medium. And when the S-waves hit the boundary again they
will in turn create P-waves. This property allows
seismologists to determine the nature of the inner core.

S wave shadow zone

S-waves don't penetrate the outer core, so they're shadowed
everywhere more than 104 away from the epicenter.

Scientists calculate the difference

between arrival times of the P waves
and S waves
The further away an earthquake is,
the greater the time between the
arrival of the P waves and the S
waves

Move along the Earths surface

Produces motion in the upper crust
Motion can be up and down

Motion can be around

Motion can be back and forth

Travel more slowly than S and P waves

More destructive

Surface waves travel only on the surface of the Earth.

These waves are guided by the free surface of the Earth.
Surface waves are analogous to water waves.
Because of their low frequency, long duration, and large
amplitude, they can be the most destructive type of seismic
wave.
They follow along after the P and S waves have passed
through the body of the planet.
S waves disperse into long wave trains and at substantial
distance from the source, they cause much of the shaking
felt during earthquakes.

There are two types of surface waves: Rayleigh waves and

Love waves.

Love Waves
The first kind of surface wave is called a Love wave,
named after A.E.H. Love, a British mathematician
who worked out the mathematical model for this
kind of wave in 1911.

It's the fastest surface wave and moves the ground

from side-to-side.

Love Waves are named after A. E. H. Love who predicted

their existence in 1911.
Love waves travel with a slower velocity than P- or S- waves,
but faster than Rayleigh waves.
These waves are propagated in a surface layer that overlies a
solid layer with different elastic properties.
The displacement of the rock particles is entirely
perpendicular to the direction of propagation and has no
vertical or longitudinal components.
The energy created by these waves spreads from the source
in two directions rather than in three.

These produces a strong record at seismic equations even

when originated from distant earthquakes.

Rayleigh waves are named after Lord Rayleigh (John William

Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM) who predicted their
existence in 1885.
The motion in this kind of wave is a combination of
longitudinal and vertical vibration that give elliptical motion
to the rock particles.
These waves have the strongest effect on seismographs.
Rayleigh waves are generated by the interaction of P- and Swaves at the surface of the earth, and travel with a velocity
that is lower than the P-, S-, and Love wave velocities.

The intensity of Rayleigh

wave shaking at a particular
location is dependent on
several factors:
The
size
of
the
earthquake.
The distance to the
earthquake.
The
depth of the
earthquake.
The geologic structure
of the crust.
The focal mechanism of
the earthquake.
The rupture directivity
of the earthquake.

Rayleigh Waves

The other kind of surface wave is the Rayleigh wave, named for John
William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the
existence of this kind of wave in 1885.

A Rayleigh wave rolls along the ground just like a wave rolls across a
lake or an ocean.

Because it rolls, it moves the ground up and down, and side-to-side in

the same direction that the wave is moving.

Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to the Rayleigh

wave, which can be much larger than the other waves.

Particle motion consists of elliptical motions (generally retrograde elliptical) in the

vertical plane and parallel to the direction of propagation. Amplitude decreases
with depth. Material returns to its original shape after wave passes.

Compressional Wave (P-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating

compression and dilation. Particle motion is parallel to the
direction of propagation (longitudinal). Material returns to its
original shape after wave passes.

Shear Wave (S-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating

transverse motion. Particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of
propagation (transverse). Transverse particle motion shown here is
vertical but can be in any direction. However, Earths layers tend to
cause mostly vertical (SV; in the vertical plane) or horizontal (SH) shear
motions. Material returns to its original shape after wave passes.

Rayleigh Wave (R-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of elliptical motions

(generally retrograde elliptical) in the vertical plane and parallel to the
direction of propagation. Amplitude decreases with depth. Material
returns to its original shape after wave passes.

Love Wave (L-Wave) Animation

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating

transverse motions. Particle motion is horizontal and perpendicular to
the direction of propagation (transverse). To aid in seeing that the
particle motion is purely horizontal, focus on the Y axis (red line) as the
wave propagates through it. Amplitude decreases with depth. Material
returns to its original shape after wave passes.