Introduction to Geology

Seismic waves & Homogenous Earth

Related Note for Prof :Rohan Frenado

Aravinda Raibhanu Sumanarathna

Paleobiodiversity Diploma 2015: 2016 PGIAR -University of
Kelaniya
Primary waves
The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave.
This is the fastest kind of seismic wave, and, consequently, the
first to 'arrive' at a seismic station. The P wave can move
through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of
the earth.
S wave
S wave, or shear wave, is a seismic body wavethat
shakes the ground back and forth perpendicular to the
direction the wave is moving
Seismic waves interpretation
Earth's structuer
Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through
the Earth's layers, and are a result of an earthquake,
explosion, or a volcano that gives out low-frequency
acoustic energy. Many other natural and anthropogenic
sources create low-amplitude waves commonly
referred to as ambient vibrations
Seismic waves refract (bend) inside the Earth because
of the change in speed of the waves as they move
through material of variable density, composition, and
temperature. Abrupt changes in direction occur
What are the different types of seismic waves?
Earthquakes generate three types of seismic waves: P (primary)waves,
S (secondary) waves and surface waves, which arrive at seismic
recording stations one after another. Both P and S waves penetrate the
interior of the Earth while surface waves do not

What are the types of seismic waves?

The two main types of waves are body waves and surface waves. 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

What is the difference between P and S waves?

This is why S-waves arrive as secondary waves at the Earth's surface.
There is another important difference between P-waves and S-waves.
Although both can pass through solid rock, only P-waves can also pass
through gases and liquids
A seismic shadow zone is an area of the Earth's surface
where seismographs cannot detect an earthquake after its seismic
waves have passed through the Earth
S wave Detceting
Which is the most abundant
element in the earth's crust?
Uniformitarianism
Uniformitarianism, in geology, the doctrine suggesting that Earth's geologic
processes acted in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity in
the past as they do in the present and that such uniformity is sufficient to
account for all geologic change.
It has included the gradualistic concept that "the present is the key to the past"
and is functioning at the same rates
Theories of Geological Evolution:
Catastrophism vs Uniformitarianism
 Geology in Todays
World
Geology - The scientific study of the Earth
Physical Geology is the study of Earths
materials, changes of the surface and interior
of the Earth, and the forces that cause those
changes

Practical Aspects of Geology

Natural resources
Geological hazards
Environmental protection
 Practical Aspects of
Geology
Natural Resources
All manufactured
objects depend on
Earths resources
Localized
concentrations of
useful geological
resources are mined or
extracted
If it cant be grown, it
must be mined
Most resources are
Damage from Northridge (CA)
earthquake (1/17/1994) apartment-
15 died
 Resource Extraction and
Environmental Protection
Coal Mining
Careless mining can
release acids into
groundwater

Petroleum Resources
Removal, transportation
and waste disposal can Alaska pipeline

damage the environment

Dwindling resources can encourage
disregard for
ecological damage caused by
 Geologic Hazards
Earthquakes
Shaking can damage
buildings and break utility
lines (electric, gas, water,
sewer)
Volcanoes
Ash flows and mudflows can
overwhelm populated areas

Landslides, floods, and wave

erosion
 Physical Geology Concepts
Earths Systems
Atmosphere
the gases that envelop the
Earth
Hydrosphere (rivers,
ocean, glaciers, lakes)
water on or near the Earths
surface
Biosphere
all living or once-living
materials
Geosphere
the solid rocky Earth
Physical Geology Concepts
Earths Heat Engines
External (energy from the Sun)
Primary driver of atmospheric
(weather) and hydrospheric
circulation
Controls weathering of rocks at
Earths surface

Internal (heat moving from hot

interior to cooler exterior)
Primary driver of most geospheric
phenomena (volcanism, magmatism,
tectonism)
 Earths Interior
Compositional Layers
Crust (~3-70 km thick)
Very thin outer rocky shell of
Earth
Continental crust - thicker and
less dense
Oceanic crust - thinner and more
dense
Mantle (~2900 km thick)
Hot solid that flows slowly over
time; Fe-, Mg-, Si-rich minerals
Core (~3400 km radius)
Outer core - metallic liquid;
mostly iron
 Earths Interior
Mechanical Layers
Lithosphere (~100 km thick)
Rigid/brittle outer shell of
Earth
Composed of both crust and
uppermost mantle
Makes up Earths tectonic
plates
Asthenosphere
Plastic (capable of flow)
zone on which the
lithosphere floats
Theory of Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift Hypothesis
(Alfred Wagner)
Originally proposed in early 20th century to
explain the fit of continents, common rock
types and fossils across ocean basins, etc.
Insufficient evidence found for driving
mechanism; hypothesis initially rejected
Plate Tectonics Theory
Originally proposed in the late 1960s
Included new understanding of the seafloor
and explanation of driving force
Describes lithosphere as being broken into
plates that are in motion
Explains origin and locations of such things as
volcanoes, fault zones and mountain belts
Tectonic Plate Boundaries
Divergent boundaries
Plates move apart
Magma rises, cools and forms new lithosphere
Typically expressed as mid-oceanic ridges
Transform boundaries
Plates slide past one another
Fault zones and earthquakes mark boundary
San Andreas fault in California
Convergent boundaries
Plates move toward each other
Mountain belts and volcanoes common
Oceanic plates may sink into mantle along a
subduction zone, typically marked by a deep ocean
trench
Plate Tectonics-contd.
Top of a plate consisting of oceanic crust,
continental crust or a part of each
North American Plate is moving westward
relative to Europe Plates divergent
boundary is along mid-oceanic ridge in the
North Atlantic Ocean
Transform Boundary: San Andreas Fault in
CA is an example Earthquakes along the
fault are a product of motion
Convergent Plate Boundary: Less dense,
more buoyant continental plate will
override the denser, oceanic plate
 Geologic Time
Deep Time
Most geologic processes occur gradually over millions
of years
Changes typically imperceptible over the span of a
human lifetime
Current best estimate for age of Earth is ~4.55 billion
years
Geologic Time and the History of Life
Complex life forms became abundant ~544 million
years ago
Reptiles became abundant ~230 million years ago
Dinosaurs became extinct (along with many other
organisms)
~65 million years ago
A Map of Tectonic Plates
A Map of the Pacific Ocean
Plate Rifting and Divergence
Divergent Zones
Oceanic Plate Subduction
 Key Points

Physical Geology
Earths internal and external heat engines
driving factors
Divisions of Earths layers
Plate Tectonics convergent, divergent,
transform boundaries
Crust classification
Age of the Earth and Universe
Factors causing earthquakes
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere