Why do surface waves cause the most damage

Although they move even more slowly than S-waves, they can be much larger in amplitude and are often the most destructive type of seismic wave. There are several types of surface wave, but the two most common varieties are Rayleigh waves and Love waves. Rayleigh waves, also known as ground roll, spread through the ground as ripples, similar to rolling waves on the ocean.

Like rolling ocean waves, Rayleigh waves move both vertically and horizontally in a vertical plane pointed in the direction in which the waves are travelling. Eyewitnesses have claimed to observe Rayleigh waves in large open spaces, such as car parks, where they described the vehicles moving up and down like corks floating on the ocean. Love waves have the same motion as S-waves but without the vertical displacement. Because this wave is the fastest of the body waves it is called the primary wave P-wave.

This wave travels at 5 to 7 km per second near the surface of the earth and can pass through the liquid core of the earth. Shear waves - body waves characterized by a series of sidewise or shearing movements. Because these body waves are slower than P-waves they are called secondary waves S-waves. It shear waves which can not pass through a liquid such as the outer core of the earth. Surface waves - By a property called dispersion, surface waves of different wave lengths travel at different velocities.

It is the surface waves which cause most property damage because surface waves produce more ground movement and travel more slowly, so they take longer to pass.

Earthquake locations - An earthquake starts at the earthquake focus which is the fault zone along which the earthquake slips. Often the earthquake is located by epicenter or the position on the surface of the earth right above the earthquake focus. Earthquakes are located using a record of the earth vibration called a seismogram. Because earthquake waves travel in at different velocities they arrive at distance seismic stations in a certain order: P-waves before S-waves before surfaces waves.

The separation in time of the first arrival of the P- and S-waves correlates directly with the distance of the earthquake from the seismic station and the distance can be graphed on a travel-time curve. For example, an eight minute separation between P- and S-waves on the travel-time curve indicates that the earthquake is km from the seismic station.

Several stations are necessary to pin-point the location of an earthquake. This is done by drawing a circle on the globe with the radius equal to the distance between the epicenter and the seismic station. Having done the same for three stations, the point of intersection of the three circles is the actual epicenter of the earthquake. Answer and Explanation: Surface waves are the seismic waves that cause the most damage.

Surface waves are named as such because they move along close to the surface of the. The ground shaking may also cause landslides, mudslides, and avalanches on steeper hills or mountains, all of which can damage buildings and hurt people.

The second main earthquake hazard is ground displacement ground movement along a fault. An earthquake can rupture break dams or levees along a river. Asked by: Tillie Bia science geology Why do surface waves cause the most damage?

Evelynn Blankart Professional. What are the 2 types of surface waves? Answer and Explanation: The two main types of surface waves are Love waves and Rayleigh waves.

Judith Valitov Professional. Can S waves travel through liquids? S - waves are shear waves , which move particles perpendicular to their direction of propagation. They can propagate through solid rocks because these rocks have enough shear strength. This is why S - waves cannot propagate through liquids. Eleni Schaadt Professional. How do surface waves work?

Body waves can travel through the earth's inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water.

Earthquakes radiate seismic energy as both body and surface waves. Germa Tzaran Explainer. How are surface waves generated? Surface waves are typically generated when the source of the earthquake is close to the Earth's surface. As their name suggests, surface waves travel just below the surface of the ground. There are several types of surface wave , but the two most common varieties are Rayleigh waves and Love waves.

Dimas Waterstradt Explainer. What are two characteristics of P waves? Characteristics of P Waves. Meritxell Bungarten Explainer. What are the types of surface waves? Surface waves are classified by the type of motion they transmit. Two of the most important types are Rayleigh waves and Love waves.

Rayleigh waves have an up-and-down rolling motion that many people describe as feeling like riding in a ship on the ocean. They are also called 'surface roll' waves. Glory Verhoolen Pundit.