Surface waves, in contrast to body waves can only move along the surface. They arrive after the main P and S waves and are confined to the outer layers of the Earth. They cause the most surface destruction.
What seismic waves are most destructive?
Of the two types of surface waves, the L-waves are the most destructive. They can literally move the ground beneath a building faster than the building itself can respond, effectively shearing the base off of the rest of the building.
What causes the most destruction from earthquakes?
The destructive effects of earthquakes are from landslides, tsunamis, fires, and fault rupture . The violent shaking of the ground produces the greatest property losses and personal injuries. ... Southern California has a 60% chance of experiences an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.7 in the same timeframe.
Which seismic waves are the most destructive and why?
S waves are more dangerous than P waves because they have greater amplitude and produce vertical and horizontal motion of the ground surface. The slowest waves, surface waves, arrive last. They travel only along the surface of the Earth. There are two types of surface waves: Love and Rayleigh waves.
Which of the four seismic waves do you think would cause the most destruction?
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 Earth.
Do Love or Rayleigh waves cause more damage?
Love waves cause more damage than Rayleigh waves , but both are highly destructive because they occur near the surface of the Earth.
Which wave is the fastest?
P waves travel fastest and are the first to arrive from the earthquake. In S or shear waves, rock oscillates perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. In rock, S waves generally travel about 60% the speed of P waves, and the S wave always arrives after the P wave.
Can an earthquake destroy the earth?
Strong earthquakes can be extremely dangerous . The earth’s shaking may cause landslides or even rupture the surface of the ground. When saturated loose soils lose their stiffness and form, liquefaction occurs, and the ground collapses like a liquid.
What are the 5 effects of earthquakes?
The primary effects of earthquakes are ground shaking, ground rupture, landslides, tsunamis, and liquefaction . Fires are probably the single most important secondary effect of earthquakes.
Which should you avoid after an earthquake?
Stay away from windows and outside doors . If you’re outdoors, stay in the open away from power lines or anything that might fall. Stay away from buildings (stuff might fall off the building or the building could fall on you). Don’t use matches, candles, or any flame.
Which wave causes the most damage to buildings?
Love waves have a particle motion, which, like the S-wave, is transverse to the direction of propagation but with no vertical motion. Their side-to-side motion (like a snake wriggling) causes the ground to twist from side to side, that’s why Love waves cause the most damage to structures.
What does the P stand for in P wave?
Compressional waves are also called P-Waves, (P stands for “primary” ) because they are always the first to arrive. ... The difference in arrival time between these two types of seismic waves can be used as a rough estimate of the distance to the earthquake focus.
Which waves are useful to seismologist?
Body waves are the type of waves that are useful for seismologist in their study of the earth’s interior because they are the only type of waves that give information about the deep interior of the Earth. Body waves have two types, the P waves and the S waves.
Why are L waves most destructive?
They are typically generated when the source of the earthquake is close to the Earth’s surface. Although surface waves travel more slowly than S-waves, they can be much larger in amplitude and can be the most destructive type of seismic wave.
What caused the biggest tsunami?
A tsunami with a record run-up height of 1720 feet occurred in Lituya Bay, Alaska. ... On the night of July 9, 1958, an earthquake along the Fairweather Fault in the Alaska Panhandle loosened about 40 million cubic yards (30.6 million cubic meters) of rock high above the northeastern shore of Lituya Bay.
Where do seismic waves travel slowest and fastest?
Body waves travel through the body of a planet. Surface waves travel along the surface. There are two types of body waves: P-waves travel fastest and through solids, liquids, and gases; S-waves only travel through solids. Surface waves are the slowest, but they do the most damage in an earthquake.
