Many students know what an earthquake feels like, but have a more difficult time describing and identifying how kinetic wave energy moves through rock after being released from the focus of an earthquake.
It is from attempting to solve this problem that I created my “Seismic Wave Dance” demonstration in 2002. Its purpose is to help my Introduction to Geology & Earth Science students visualize and thus gain a clearer understanding of ground movement that occurs during the passage of all four seismic waves:
Body Waves
P wave (Primary, Push-Pull; Compression)
S wave (Secondary, Shaking: Shear)
Surface Waves
L wave (LOVE)
R wave (RAYLEIGH)
Here is a video that I have recently made demonstrating how it works! Enjoy!
Video:
Professor HAMILTON’s Seismic Wave “Dance” from C. Mei-Ling HAMILTON on Vimeo.
Website:
Seismic Wave Motions – 4 waves animated (IRIS – incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)
https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/seismic_wave_motions4_waves_animated
Here are two of my former blog posts concerning the San Andreas Fault, CA on my “Page 2 – Scientific Topics of Interest” blog site…
Former Blog Posts:
Major Earthquake Sites within the San Andreas Fault System – Studies & Scenarios
https://www.page2-scientifictopicsofinterest.com/2018/06/major-earthquake-sites-within-san.html
What Lies Beneath: A Missing Seismic Link Discovered (San Pablo, CA)
https://www.page2-scientifictopicsofinterest.com/2016/10/what-lies-beneath-missing-seismic-link.html
C. Mei-Ling HAMILTON - Environmental Geochemistry Issues 