Seismic Waves

Seismic Waves
and Locating
Earthquake’s
Epicenter
Learning Competency:
Describe and relate the

distribution of active volcanoes,
earthquake epicenters and major
mountain belts to Plate Tectonic
Theory (S10ES-Ia-j-36.1)
At the end of this
module, you are
expected to:
• Compare and contrast the type of
seismic waves;
• Tell how earthquake occur;
• Familiarize on how an earthquake
epicenters is located using a
triangulation method, and
• Understand why we have to ensure
disaster preparedness during
earthquakes.
WHAT IS
SEISMOLOGY?
It comes from the Greek
word “SEISMOS” which
means EARTHQUAKE. As
such, SEISMOLOGY is the
study of earthquakes and
seismic waves that move
through and around the
What do you know
about Waves?
•Where are they?
•What do waves do?
•How many different types of
wave are there?
•Are waves important to all of
us?
•Why or why not?
What is a wave?
Wave is a rhythmic
disturbance that carries energy
without transporting matter
from place to place.
What are Seismic
Waves?
Seismic Wave
• Seismic waves 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 is 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
Body waves can travel through
the Earth’s inner layers. With this
characteristics of the body waves,
they are used by scientist to study
the Earth’s interior.
These waves are of higher

frequency than the surface waves.
Two types of Body
Waves
•P – waves (primary waves)

•S – waves (secondary
waves)
Body Waves
• P Waves (compression wave)
• 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.
Stop and Think
• 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.
Sometimes animals can hear the P
waves of an earthquake. Usually we
only feel the bump and rattle of these
Body Waves
• S wave (transverse wave)
• 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. This wave moves rock up
and down, or side-to-side.
SURFACE WAVES
•Surface waves can only
travel through the surface of
the Earth. They arrive after
main P and S waves and are
confined to the outer layers of
the Earth.
Two types of Surface
Waves
Love waves
Rayleigh waves
Surface
• Love Waves
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 horizontal motion, like that of a snake’s
causing the ground to twist.
Surface Waves
• 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 .
Mohorovicic
Discontinuity
• In 1909, Yugoslavian seismologist Andrija
Mohorovicic found out that the velocity of
seismic waves changes and increases at
a distance of about 50 km below the
Earth’s surface. This led to the idea that
there is a difference in density between
the Earth’s outermost layer (crust) and
the layer that lies below it (mantle).
•This boundary between
these two layers is called
Mohorovicic discontinuity,
and is short termed Moho.
Gutenberg Discontinuity
• P-waves are detected on the other
side of the side of the Earth opposite
the focus. A shadow zone from 103
to 142 exists from P-waves. Since P-
waves are detected until 103,
disappear from 103 to 142, then
reappear again, something inside the
Earth must be bending the P-waves.
• The existence of a shadow zone,
according to German seismologist
Beno Gutenberg, could only be
explained if the Earth contained a
core composed of a material
different from that of the mantle
causing the bending of the P-waves.
To honor him, mantle-core boundary
is called Gutenberg discontinuity.
Lehmann
Discontinuity
• In 1936, the innermost layer of the Earth
was predicted by Inge Lehmann, a Danish
seismologist. He discovered a new region
of seismic reflection within the core. So,
the earth has a core within a core. We
can say that the outer part of the core is
liquid based from the production of an S
wave shadow and the inner part must be
solid with a different density than the rest
of the surrounding material.
The Triangulation
Method
• To determine the direction each
wave traveled, scientists draw circles
around the seismograph locations.
The radius of each circle equals the
known distance to the epicenter.
Where these three circles intersect is
the epicenter.
Locating Earthquake
Epicenter
Procedure:
1.Compute the distance of the epicenter from
each of the station using this formula:
d = __Td__ X 100km
8 seconds
Where: d = distance (km)
td = time difference in the arrival time
of P-wave and S-wave(seconds)
This formula is suited because 8 seconds is the
interval between the times of arrival of the P-wave
and S-wave at a distance of 100 km.
2. Choose one of the recording stations
and measure the computed distance on
the scale (the scale of the map is
1cm:100km). Set your compass for that
computed distance.
3. Center your compass on the station

you have chosen. Draw a circle.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the rest of

the stations. You should get three circles
that intersect or nearly intersect at a
Td in the Distance of Distance in
arrival time of epicenter (km) (cm)
P wave and S
wave (s)
Iloilo 41.6
Tarlac 22.4
Camarine 25.6
s Sur
Td in the Distance of Distance in
arrival time of epicenter (km) (cm)
P wave and S
wave (s)
Batangas 24
Puerto 38.4
Princesa
Davao 28
Earthquakes sometimes induce
foreshocks. These are light shaking
of ground that happen in the same
site where a stronger earthquake
follows.
 Stronger earthquakes are identified
as mainshocks which have
aftershocks that follow.
 Aftershocks occur on the same site
of mainschocks and can last up to
weeks or months depending on the
size of mainshock.
The location below the earth’s surface
where the earthquake starts is called the
Hypocenter and the location directly
above the hypocenter is the Epicenter.
FAULTS
• fractures or discontinuity
•Faults also have a trace on its

surface which is called fault
line.
PACIFIC RING OF FIRE or
PACIFIC RIM
•The haven of the most volcanic and

earthquake-prone places on earth. It
usually host normal earthquake 6.9
magnitude or less which happen
around every 2.5 days.
Signs of an impending
earthquake
 animal behavior
 change in atmospheric
conditions
 electromagnetic
disturbance
 boom sound
Earthquake-related hazards
o ground shaking
o liquefaction
o surface rupture
o tsunamis and seiches
o sinkholes
o landslides and rock falls
o subsidence and lateral spreading
o fire
Earthquake readiness
 Make an earthquake preparedness plan.
 Discuss earthquake preparedness plan with
your family.
 Secure hazards.
 Learn about earthquake risk in your area.
 Practice the drop, cover, and hold-on drill.
 Protect your properties.
 Secure important documents
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!!

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Seismic Waves

Describe and relate the

These waves are of higher

•P – waves (primary waves)

3. Center your compass on the station

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the rest of

•Faults also have a trace on its

•The haven of the most volcanic and

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