Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
How can I demonstrate seismic wave speed in the classroom? (Hint: Walk/Run)
The arrival times of P and S waves from an earthquake are used to determine the location of an earthquake. Each station on the interactive map recorded an earthquake with a characteristic seismogram. Roll over the stations to see the epicenter triangulated. Touch buttons to watch movie of seismic waves, or touch "Walk-run" button to see wave travel can be demonstrated with a class.
VIEW the interactive in a separate tab, by clicking on "Open Resource". (Note some browsers lack the plugins for rollovers.)
OR click Download All. AFTER downloading, you can Open either:
Rolling over buttons indicated by pointing fingers reveals:
Video lecture on wave propagation and speeds of three fundamental kinds of seismic waves.
The arrival times of P and S waves are used to determine the distance to an earthquake using standard travel-time curves.
A video demonstration of how a slinky can be a good model for illustrating P & S seismic waves movement.
Knowing precisely where an earthquake occurred is an important piece of scientific information. It can help seismologists identify and map seismic hazards. It is also a fundamental piece of information necessary for facilitating studies of Earth's internal structures. This fact sheet provides an overview of the S-P process to locate an earthquake.
NOTE: Out of stock; self-printing only.
To understand plate tectonic processes and hazards, and to better understand where future earthquakes are likely to occur, it is important to locate earthquakes as they occur. In this activity students use three-component seismic data from recent earthquakes to locate a global earthquake.
