Seismic Wave Motions—4 waves animated

Novice

An earthquake generates seismic waves that penetrate the Earth as body waves (P & S) or travel as surface waves (Love and Rayleigh). Each wave has a characteristic speed and style of motion. The animations below illustrate both the propogation of the wave as well as the motion of particles as the wave passes. 

Keypoints:

Wave propogation and particle motion for...

  • Body Waves - Primary (P) & Secondary (S) Waves
  • Surface Waves - Rayleigh & Love Waves
P-wave:the primary body wave; the first seismic wave detected by seismographs; able to move through both liquid and solid rock. 
Animation Novice
S Wave—secondary body waves that oscillate the ground perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. They travel about 1.7 times slower than P waves. Because liquids will not sustain shear stresses, S waves will not travel through liquids like water, molten rock, or the Earth’s outer core. S waves produce vertical and horizontal motion in the ground surface.
Animation Novice
 Rayleigh Waves—surface waves that move in an elliptical motion, producing both a vertical and horizontal component of motion in the direction of wave propagation.  
Animation Novice
Love Waves—surface waves that move parallel to the Earth’s surface and perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation..
Animation Novice

Related Animations

Seismic waves travel through the earth to a single seismic station. Scale and movement of the seismic station are greatly exaggerated to depict the relative motion recorded by the seismogram as P, S, and surface waves arrive.

Animation Novice

We use exaggerated motion of a building (seismic station) to show how the ground moves during an earthquake, and why it is important to measure seismic waves using 3 components: vertical, N-S, and E-W. Before showing an actual distant earthquake, we break down the three axes of movement to clarify the 3 seismograms. 

Animation Novice

Seismic shadow zones have taught us much about the inside of the earth. This shows how P waves travel through solids and liquids, but S waves are stopped by the liquid outer core.

Animation Novice

The P wave propagates at ~6 km/sec in rock with particle motions that are parallel to the direction of propagation. The S wave is slower at 4 km/sec and propagates with particle motions that are perpendicular to the direction of propagation.

Animation Novice