Seismic Waves

LESSON 2:
MAPPING THE
INNER EARTH
HOW DO SCIENTIST KNOW
ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW
ABOUT THE INNER EARTH
IF NO ONE HAS TRAVELED
THERE?
BY STUDYING THOUSANDS
OF EARTHQUAKES, THEY
WERE ABLE TO LEARN
ABOUT IT BY EXAMINING
WAVES OF ENERGY.
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Seismic Waves
These are the waves of
energy caused by the
sudden breaking of rock
within the earth or an
explosion. They are the
energy that travels
through the earth and
recorded on seismographs.
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SEISMOMETERS

SEISMOGRAPHS
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SEISMOMETERS – HIGHLY SENSITIVE
INSTRUMENT DETECTING SEISMIC
WAVES; RECORDS & MEASURES
MOTIONS OF THE GROUND

SEISMOGRAPHS – THE ONE THAT

RECORDS SEISMIC WAVES
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HOW A SEISMOGRAM WORKS?

PLEASE SEE VIDEO
 Types`Seismic
Waves
Body waves - arrive before the surface waves
emitted by an earthquake. These waves are of a
higher frequency than surface waves. Travel
through the inner layers of the planet.
Surface waves(L-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 entirely responsible for the damage
and destruction associated with earthquakes. This
damage and the strength of the surface waves are
reduced in deeper earthquakes.
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Body Waves
P - Primary S - Secondary
Waves Waves

push and pull side to side

 Primary Waves
`

Primary waves are “compressional waves”. Shake the grund back & forth;
pass through solid section; bent on liquid.
They push and pull the rocks of the earth's surface. They can move through
solid rock and fluids like water or the liquid core layers of the earth And first to 'arrive'
at a seismic station, OR THE FIRST to be felt on earth’s surface. Travels at 1.5 and
8kms speed per sec.
 Primary` Waves

Primary waves push and pull on the rocks through which

they are traveling. This creates a back and forth movement
on the Earth's surface. This is just like sound waves pushing
and pulling the air. Have you ever heard a big clap of thunder
and heard the windows rattle at the same time? The windows rattle because the sound
waves were pushing and pulling on the window glass much like P-waves push and pull
on rock.
 Secondary
` Waves

Secondary waves travel slower than primary waves. Also called “shear waves "or
“Transverse Waves”.
They create a side to side motion in the rocks through which they are traveling; or
up & down motion perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
Do not travel through liquids, reason outer core was found to be liquid, is 60% - 70%
more slowly than the p-waves.
 Secondary
` Waves

Unlike the other earthquake waves, S-waves cannot

travel through water or the liquid rock of the Earth's
core layer. They can Travel through solid only-waves will rock buildings side-to-side.
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Surface Waves(L-Waves)
Moves along the surface of the earth’s surface.

Raleigh Waves
They move up and down. Love Waves
 Surface Waves(L-Waves)
`

Land waves move along the surface of the earth and cause it to move up and
down like something bobbing on the surface of the ocean.
 Surface Waves(L-Waves)
`

Love waves only move along the surface of the earth.

Their speed varies depending on the material, rock or soil, forming the surface.
These waves cause the surface to
move up and down. These are the waves that cause
buildings and other structures to collapse
during an earthquake.
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Love Waves
Named after A.E.H. Love, a British mathematician who
worked out the mathematical model for this kind of
wave in 1911.

Love waves travel with a lower velocity than P or S

waves, but faster than Rayleigh waves. These waves
travels in lithosphere only.
 Rayleigh` Waves
These waves are a type of surface acoustic wave that
travel on solids

Named after John William Strutt, also known

as Lord Rayleigh, who mathematically
predicted the existence of this kind of wave in
1885.
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.
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Seismic Waves
 Questions:
`
1. Other term for primary waves and secondary waves

2. Differentiate the P and s waves

3.Love waves are named after a mathematician. What is the name of the
mathematician ?
4.How about rayleigh waves. What is the name of the mathematician ?

The end
 Remember...
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P Waves
Body
Waves
S Waves
Seismic
Waves
Love
Waves
Surface
Waves
Rayleigh
Waves
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