Energy radiates in all directions from the focus in the form of waves
called seismic waves, which are recorded in seismographs.
TWO MAIN TYPES OF SEISMIC
WAVES
2 types of
2 types of
SURFACE WAVES
BODY WAVES
Love wave (A.E.H. Love)
Rayleigh Wave (John
P-Wave (Primary Wave)
William Strutt, Lord
Rayleigh) S – Wave (Secondary
Wave)
SURFACE WAVES
= they travel through the surface of the earth
= they arrive after P & S waves
Love Waves Rayleigh Waves
Named after Named after
Augustus Love John William Strutt,
Faster than Lord Rayleigh
Rayleigh Rolls along the
Side to side ground (either up
horizontal motion /down or side to side)
Cause most Cause most of the
damage to structures shaking felt.
BODY WAVES
=they travel through the body of the earth (all
directions)
Primary Waves Secondary Waves
Also called Also called Shear
Compressional Wave or wave or Transverse
Longitudinal Wave wave
Moves back & forth Moves up & down
Slow moving
Fast (travels quickly)
Great destruction
Less destruction
Do not travel
Travel through all
through liquids (only in
mediums (Solids & solids
Liquids)
Seismic waves as they travel through the Earth’s interior
The Three
Layers
The crust is the layer
that you live on, and it is
the most widely studied
and understood.
The mantle is much
hotter and has the
ability to flow.
The outer core and
inner core are even
hotter with pressures so
great you would be
squeezed into a ball
smaller than a marble if
you were able to go to
the center of the Earth!
In 1909, Yugoslavian seismologist,
Andrija Mohorovičić found out that the
velocity of seismic waves changes and
increases at a distance of about 50
kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
This led to the idea that there is a
difference in density between the crust
and the mantle. The boundary between
these two layers is called Mohorovičić
discontinuity.
The Crust
Consists of all kinds of rocks
Thinnest layer
Brittle/breakable
Outermost layer
TYPES of CRUST
1. OCEANIC CRUST)
=7-10 km
=Heavier
=Made of Basalt rocks (Denser)
=Ti, H, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Si, O, Al
2. CONTINENTAL CRUST)
=35-40 km
=Made of granite
=Si, O, Al, Ca, Na, K
The Crust • It is the outermost solid part of the
earth, normally about 8-40 kms thick.
• It is brittle in nature.
• Nearly 1% of the earth’s
volume and 5% of earth’s mass are
made of the crust.
• The thickness of the crust under the
oceanic and continental areas are
different. Oceanic crust is
thinner (about 5kms) as compared to
the continental crust (about 30kms).
• Major constituent elements of crust
are Silica (Si) and Aluminium (Al) and
thus, it is often termed
as SiAl(Sometimes SiAl is used to refer
Lithosphere, which is the region
comprising the crust and uppermost
solid mantle, also).
• The mean density of the materials in the
crust is 3g/cm3.
• The portion of the interior beyond the crust
The Mantle is called as the mantle.
• The discontinuity between the crust and
mantleis called as the Mohorovicic
Discontinuity or Moho discontinuity.
• The mantle is about 2900kms in thickness.
• Nearly 84% of the earth’s volume and
67% of the earth’s mass is occupied by the
mantle.
• The major constituent elements of the
mantle are Silicon and Magnesium and
hence it is also termed as SiMa.
• The density of the layer is higher than the
crust and varies from 3.3 – 5.4g/cm3.
• The uppermost solid part of the mantle and
the entire crust constitute
the Lithosphere.
The Mantle • The asthenosphere (in between
80-200km) is a highly viscous,
mechanically weak and ductile,
deforming region of the upper
mantle which lies just below the
lithosphere.
• The asthenosphere is the main
source of magma and it is the
layer over which the lithospheric
plates/ continental plates move
(plate tectonics).
• The discontinuity between
the upper mantle and the lower
mantle is known as Repetti
Discontinuity.
• The portion of the mantle which is
just below the lithosphere and
asthenosphere, but above the
The Mantle
The Outer Core
Outer Core
The only liquid
layer of the Earth
2200 km thick
2000 degrees
Celcius
composed of the
melted metals of
nickel and iron.
The Inner Core
Inner Core of the Earth
has temperatures and
pressures so great that
the metals are squeezed
together and are not able
to move about like a
liquid, but are forced to
vibrate in place like a
solid (Pressure Freezing).
Composed of solid nickel
and iron.
1278 km thick and 5000
degrees Celsius hot.
The CORE
It is the innermost layer surrounding the earth’s centre.
The core is separated from the mantle by Guttenberg Discontinuity.
It is composed mainly of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) and hence it is also
called as NiFe.
The core constitutes nearly 15% of earth’s volume and 32.5% of earth’s
mass.
The core is the densest layer of the earth with its density ranges
between 9.5-14.5g/cm3.
The Core consists of two sub-layers: the inner core and the outer core.
The inner core is in solid state and the outer core is in the liquid state
(or semi-liquid).
The discontinuity between the outer core and the inner core is called as
Lehmann Discontinuity.
is sometimes used to refer the core of the earth or
sometimesBarysphere the whole interior.
Convection Currents
The middle mantle
"flows" because of
convection currents.
Convection currents
are caused by the
very hot material at
the deepest part of
the mantle rising, then
cooling and sinking
again --repeating this
cycle over and over.
Convection Currents
The next time you heat
anything like soup or water in
a pan you can watch the
convection currents
move in the liquid. When the
convection currents flow in the
asthenosphere they also
move the crust. The crust gets
a free ride with these currents,
like the cork in this
illustration.
