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Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1991, Qupperneq 75

Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1991, Qupperneq 75
SUMMARY Seismic waves by Páll Einarsson Science Institute University of Iceland Dunhaga 5 IS-107 REYKJAVÍK Iceland The main types of elastic waves in the Earth are described. P- and S-waves are body waves that travel through elastic ma- terials along rays of minimum or maxi- mum travel time. The body waves are re- flected, refracted and converted at various velocity discontinuities in the Earth. A simple pulse at the source of a seismic wave thus gives rise to a series of pulses that travel along various paths through the Earth. Guided waves also exist, e.g. Love and Rayleigh waves that travel along the Earth’s surface. Variations in the elas- tic properties with depth lead to disper- sion of the surface waves, i.e. waves of different wave length travel at different velocities. Seismic waves carry with them a wealth of information, both about the source that produced them and the medium they travel through. They can therefore be used to study the source processes of earthquakes as well as the interior of the Earth. A large part of the knowledge of the internal structure of the Earth is derived from the study of the travel times of body waves and the dispersion of sur- face waves. The crust and upper mantle in Iceland have been studied extensively with seismic waves. Early surface wave studies indicat- ed that the velocity structure beneath Ice- land differed from that of the surrounding area. P-waves from explosions have shown that the crust in Iceland is 8-15 km thick. The crust in most parts of the coun- try is underlain by a layer where the ratio of P-velocity to S-velocity is abnormally high and S-waves are attenuated. This lay- er is inferred to be in a state of partial melting. Delay of P-waves from distant earthquakes indicate that the P-velocity in the mantle is abnormally low to a depth of about 300 km beneath Iceland, probably an expression of a plume of upwelling mantle material. Tsunamis are catastrophic sea waves produced by earthquakes and faulting at the sea bottom. These waves are rare in the Atlantic Ocean and only one example is known from Iceland. An earthquake on the Húsavík faults in 1872 produced a small tsunami on the island of Flatey. Earthquakes and submarine volcanic eruption sometimes generate so called T- waves, sound waves that are guided by a low-velocity layer in the ocean. The T- wave propagates with low attenuation over distances of thousands of kilometers and can couple into the crust in areas of steep topography. One example of T- waves is known from seismographs on land in Iceland. Seismographs along the south coast recorded T-waves from the magnitude 7 Azores earthquake on Jan. 1, 1980. 69
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