Earthquakes: Seismic Waves

What are seismic waves?

Earthquakes have allowed scientists to study Earths interior. Studying Earths internal
structure is possible because earthquakes produce vibrations called seismic waves. These
waves travel through the interior of the Earth and can be measured with sensitive
instruments called seismographs. Seismographs are set up all over the world and scientists
can use them to track the movements of the Earths crust.
Seismic waves are vibrations of energy that travel out from the source of an earthquake in all
directions. You can picture this concept by thinking about the circular waves that spread over
the surface of a pond when a stone is thrown into the water. Near an earthquake the shaking
is the strongest. In large earthquakes intense shaking generally lasts for only a few tens of
seconds but it can last for several minutes in the strongest earthquakes. At farther distances,
the amplitude (or size) of the seismic waves decreases as the energy released by the
earthquake spreads throughout a larger volume of Earth. Also with increasing distance from
the earthquake, the waves are separated apart in time and more spread out because different
types of seismic waves travel at different speeds.
There are two main types of seismic waves: body waves and surface waves. The first two
wave types listed below, P-waves and S-waves, are called body waves because they travel
through the body of the earth. Surface waves are seismic waves that only travel along
Earth's surface in the crust. Different seismic waves have unique properties including the
speed at which they travel, the direction that the waves move particles as they pass by, and
the parts of the Earth that they do or do not travel through. We'll go through each wave type
individually to explain the differences.
P-Waves: Also called Primary Waves or Compression waves
P waves typically travel at speeds between 1 and 14 km/sec. The speeds on the lower end of
the range occur when P-waves travel in water. The speeds on the higher end of the range
represent the speed of P-waves travelling near the base of Earth's mantle. P-waves push and
pull the rock they move through in the same way sound waves push and pull the air. Have
you ever heard a big clap of thunder and heard the windows rattle at the same time? The
windows rattle because sound waves push and pull on the glass much like P waves push and
pull on rock. Sometimes animals can hear the P waves of an earthquake, but humans only
feel the bump of these waves.
P-waves are primary waves, which means they arrive FIRST!
They arrive at seismographs first because they are the fastest seismic waves.
P waves are compression waves, which means they move in a straight line by squishing
and stretching, squishing and stretching, squishing and stretching the material they
move through.
P waves can travel through any earth material solid, liquid, or gas. The more rigid the
material, the faster the P waves travel.
S-Waves: Also called Secondary Waves or Shear Waves
Because P waves are compression waves, they can move through a liquid. S waves, however,
cannot move through a liquid because a liquid is not rigid enough to transmit an S wave. S
waves are shear waves. They move the rock back and forth as they travel through the earth.
S waves travel more slowly than P waves. Typical S-wave speeds are between 1-8 km/sec.

The lower value corresponds to the wave speed in loose, unconsolidated sediment, the higher
value is near the base of Earth's mantle.
S waves are called secondary waves because they arrive 2nd - they are the 2nd Fastest
seismic waves.
S waves are slower than P waves.
S waves are called shear waves because they move rock in a side-to-side direction that
is perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling. This results in waves that look
like an S-shape.
S waves can ONLY travel through SOLIDS! They cannot travel through a liquid or gas.
Scientists concluded that Earths outer core was liquid when they saw that no S waves
went through it!

P Waves and S Waves are BODY WAVES: They move through the body of the
earth.
There is another type of seismic wave, called Surface Waves
Two types of surface waves are Love Waves and Raleigh Waves. L waves move the ground
side-to-side and perpendicular to the direction the waves are traveling (like S Waves). Love
waves vibrate the ground in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction the waves
are traveling. They are formed by the interaction of S waves with Earth's surface. R waves
move the ground in a backwards-rolling motion, kind of like waves on water. Typical speeds
for Rayleigh waves are 1-5 km/s.

Surface waves are the slowest-moving waves.

There are two types of surface waves: Love waves and Raleigh waves.
Surface waves only travel through the earths crust.
Surfaces waves cause the most damage and often trigger landslides and tsunami.

After reading, fill in important notes about each wave type:

P Waves

S Waves

Surface Waves