How Do Seismic Waves Move Through The Interior Of The Earth?

Seismic waves are vibrations generated by an earthquake, explosion, or similar energetic source and propagated within the Earth’s interior. They can be distinguished by their speed, direction of particle movement, and where they don’t propagate. Body waves, also known as S-waves, are shear earthquake waves that pass through the Earth’s interior without changing the volume of the material through which they travel.

Seismic wave data provides information about the composition of the Earth’s interior, as well as the longitudinal motion of P waves. Some waves travel through the crust to a seismic station at around 6 km/s, while others go down into the mantle and are bent upward toward the surface, reaching the station.

Body waves travel through Earth’s interior due to changes in composition, pressure, and temperature within the Earth’s layers. They travel at different speeds through different materials and can travel at different speeds through different materials. In a 2-layer model, two wave fronts leave an impact at the same time, but the lower layer is faster. Rayleigh waves travel along the free surface of an elastic solid like Earth, with their motion being a combination of longitudinal compression and longitudinal compression.

Body waves travel through the Earth’s interior before surface waves emitted by an earthquake, and they are of a higher frequency than surface waves. Seismic waves transmit energy during seismic activity such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even man-made events. When waves reach a boundary between different rock types, part of the energy is transmitted across the boundary, and the transmitted wave travels in a different direction.

P waves, primary waves, travel fastest and arrive first at seismic stations, while secondary waves, or S waves, arrive after P waves. P-waves do travel through the core, but P-wave refraction bends seismic waves away from P-wave shadow zones.