GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -P-waves, or primary waves, are the fastest moving type of wave and the first detected by seismographs. They are also called compressional or longitudinal waves, and push and pull the ground in the direction the wave is traveling. They usually cause very little damage.

Detailed explanation-2: -Types of Seismic Waves Surface waves move more slowly than P waves and S waves, but they produce the most severe ground movements.

Detailed explanation-3: -Surface waves travel along the Earth’s surface. Two examples of surface waves are Rayleigh waves and Love waves.

Detailed explanation-4: -Rayleigh waves cause both vertical and horizontal ground motion. These can be the most destructive waves as they roll along lifting and dropping the ground as they pass.

Detailed explanation-5: -S waves shake the ground in a shearing, or crosswise, motion that is perpendicular to the direction of travel. These are the shake waves that move the ground up and down or from side to side. S waves are called secondary waves because they always arrive after P waves at seismic recording stations.