Basic principles of

seismology
 Wave Fundamentals

General introduction to wave phenomena

• Frequency

• Wavelength

• Period

• Phase

• Angular frequency

• Ray paths and wave fronts

• Huyghens principle
 Basic principles of
seismology

A wave can be defined as a periodic disturbance that transmits energy

through a medium, without the permanent displacement of the medium.
Also required that energy is converted back and forward between two
different types.

Before considering the details, it is useful to review some basic

definitions. Consider the two waves shown in the MATLAB movie
waves.m
 wave fundamentals
Amplitude (A)

Where:
A : Amplitude
ω : angular frequency In time domain
F : frequency
T : period;
K : wave number
λ : wave length In space domain
Φ0: initial phase

the propagation velocity

Summary of Characteristics of
waves
 If the waves moves at a velocity, v, then v =fλ
● Can you check that this relationship is correct for the figure above?

● Note that points on the wave move up and down, they are not translated to
the right.

• In this case, the velocity is independent of frequency. This type of wave

behaviour is called non-dispersive. If velocity varies with frequency, the wave
is said to be dispersive
Wave attenuation.m
 Ray paths and wave fronts
In seismology, we need to understand how waves will travel in the Earth. For example,
how fast will they go, which direction, how will amplitude vary with distance etc. In
general this requires the solution of some complicated differential equations.

In Geophysics 445 we will approach this

subject mostly through visualization. Wave
propagation can be considered in two ways, by
considering either wavefronts or rays. These
are complementary ways of talking about
waves:
Rays denote the direction in which the wave
travels.
Wavefronts are points on the wave with the same
phase (e.g. a line along the crest of a wave is a
wavefront).

Note that wavefronts and rays are at right angles to each other.
 The Huygens’ Principle

One way to visualize wave propagation over time is through Huyghens Principle. This states that all
points on a wavefront can be considered secondary sources of wavelets. These secondary wavelets
propagate outwards and at a time later, the overall wavefront is the envelope of secondary wavelets.
Examples for a point source is shown above.
 Wave fundamentals
Oscillation at one particular place
Where:
A : Amplitude
ω : angular frequency
The motion at a given time (a snapshot): F : frequency
T : period;
K : wave number
λ : wave length
Φ0: initial phase

Plane wave:
 Wave Equation

This is the form of the classical one - dimensional wave equation where

the V is the velocity of propagation and u is the displacement or the

deformation (strain).

A convenient solution is

u = A sin k(Vt – x)
And this can be verified by differentiation.
TRY it!!
Wave fundamentals
 Wave propagation in Earth

Body waves –
-P-wave
-S-wave

Surface waves

-Rayleigh wave
-Love wave

Elastic modulus

Shear modulus

Poisson’s ratio

P_and_S_waves .m
 The Slinky
Model of seismic waves
 Waves
P-waves S-waves

Body waves travel through the bulk medium.

 P- Waves
 Also called Primary Waves
 Fastest Traveling
 Can move through ANY medium
 Compressional motion
 S- Waves
 Also called Shear Waves or Secondary Waves
 Slower than P-waves
 Can ONLY travel through solids
 Undulatory motion
 Elastic moduli and Body waves velocity

Elastic moduli – parameters that provide a measure of the strength of a material

(how much stress is needed to produce a given strain).
 Body Waves Velocity
The velocity of body waves can be calculated from the properties of the material,
as outlined below
 Body Waves Velocity
Longitudinal (axial) modulus (ψ).

If a force (F) is applied to one end, it will shorten by an amount ΔL. The relationship
between F and ΔL is given by the longitudinal modulus:

ψ = longitudinal stress (F/A) / longitudinal strain (ΔL/L)

The changes is only on one direction along the major axis. Also this change is called
Young’s Modulus and some uses the letter “E” but only and only if accompanied by
lateral deformation.

which is a measure of the stiffness of the rock (i.e. how much stress is needed to
produce a given strain).
 Body Waves Velocity

This strain produces a force that will cause the shaded section of the rock to
accelerate to the right. This lowers the stress to the left, but increases it to
the right. This causes the next section of the rock to move and so on.

We can show that a wave motion will move down the column at a velocity
 Body Waves Velocity

where ρ is the density of the material. Note that the stiffer the medium (larger ψ) the
greater the force on the shaded cylinder, thus acceleration is higher and wave
velocity is greater. Similarly, as density increases, the shaded section becomes
heavier and it’s acceleration (and wave velocity) for a given force will decrease.

In general, the calculation of velocity is more complicated as the deformation will

involve both compression and shearing.

Two other modulii must be defined to fully understand these effects.

 Body Waves Velocity
The bulk modulus (K) determines how the volume of a material will change when
a (three-dimensional) pressure is applied:
 Body Waves Velocity

The shear modulus (μ) gives the relationship between the shear stress and
resulting shear strain:
 Body Waves Velocity

It can be shown that the three modulii are related:

 Body Waves Velocity

Note that:
• VP is always larger than VS

• the modulii will be larger for stronger materials (more

stress is needed for elastic deformation), therefore VP
and VS will be larger

• VP and VS decrease as density increases

• VP and VS do not depend on frequency – they are non-

dispersive

• in fluids, μ=0 (and K>0) – only P-waves can travel

through fluids (VS=0)
 Poissons Ratio
v=- ε1/ ε3

ε1= elongation normal to compressive stress

ε3= elongation parallel to compressive stress

Poisson's ratio (v) is another means to describe the relationship between volume
change and stress. v may range from 0- 0.5 (compressible (0) to (0.5)
incompressible).

Incompressible materials maintain constant volume regardless of the stress

applied.

Most rocks have a Poisson's ratio ~0.25-0.35. Poisson's ratio describes the ability
of a material to shorten parallel to σ1 without corresponding elongation in the
σ3 direction.
 Poisson’s ratio

An increase in vp/vs and/or Poisson’s ratio can be indicative of the

presence of fluids.
 Surface waves
Rayleigh wave Love wave

Surface waves are confined to interfaces, primarily the Earth-Air interface

 Love Waves
 Horizontal, lateral vibration perpendicular to
direction of travel.
 Love waves have a horizontal particle motion
analogous to S-waves
 Love waves only exist if the Earth is layered and
are always dispersive.
 Rayleigh Waves

 Motion is oscillatory -
like water waves.

Rayleigh Waves are

like ripples on a lake.
Particle motion is in a
retrograde ellipse.
 Characteristics of Rayleigh
Waves

• Rayleigh Waves are like ripples on a lake. Particle motion is in a

retrograde ellipse.

• The velocity of a Rayleigh wave does not vary with frequency when
travelling in a uniform medium and it is slower than an S-wave.

• In a layered Earth the velocity of a Rayleigh wave varies with

frequency (it is dispersive) and can be used to infer velocity variation
with depth.

• In exploration seismology, ground roll is a Rayleigh wave that

travels across the geophone array.
Characteristics of Rayleigh
Waves
 Surface waves

Large earthquakes can generate surface waves that travel

around the globe. They can be large in amplitude and
cause a lot of damage during earthquakes.
 How to read a seismogram

Lag Time = S - P
 POINTS TO HAVE FUN WITH

• Know the fundamentals of wave parameters and their basic equations

• Review the fundamentals of P, S and Surface waves

• Understand the concept of elastic moduli

• Know how to calculate the velocity of P and S waves

QUESTIONS???
Assignment # 1