GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Rayleigh waves, which travel only along Earth’s surface, have a rolling motion very similar to surface waves on the ocean. Rayleigh waves typically are larger and cause more damage than the faster-moving seismic P-waves and S-waves.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shear waves cannot travel in liquids or gases–so, for example, S waves don’t travel through the ocean or through the outer core. Surface waves are called surface waves because they are trapped near the Earth’s surface, rather than traveling through the “body” of the earth like P and S waves.

Detailed explanation-3: -Note that P waves pass through all layers of the earth, while S waves cannot pass through the solid core of the earth, resulting in an S wave shadow on the opposite side of the earthquake.

Detailed explanation-4: -Surface waves, however, spread out more slowly and only on the earth’s surface. The energy from surface waves is confined to a smaller volume at the surface and the wave amplitude to carry that energy is therefore larger than body waves.