A seismic wave is a mechanical wave of acoustic energy that travels through the Earth or another planetary body. It can result from an earthquake (or generally, a quake), volcanic eruption, magma …

A P wave (primary wave or pressure wave) is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first …

The velocity structure of the Earth. The red line is the P-wave velocity, the blue line is the S-wave velocity, and the green line density. (Data was adopted from the RockHound Python library.) Seismic velocity …

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes may also be referred to as quakes, tremors, or …

Ground motion is typically caused by surface waves, which are the most destructive type of seismic waves. Ground motion is measured using a seismometer, a device that detects and records the …

Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking …

A seismic shadow zone is an area of the Earth 's surface where seismographs cannot detect direct P waves and/or S waves from an earthquake. This is due to liquid layers or structures within the Earth's …

The name secondary wave comes from the fact that they are the second type of wave to be detected by an earthquake seismograph, after the compressional primary wave, or P wave, because S waves …