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The imaging method known as seismic tomography creates three-dimensional images of the interior of the Earth by employing the seismic waves that are caused by natural occurrences such as earthquakes and explosions and sending them through a computer. Seismic rays would move in straight lines, as shown in Figure 1, if the Earth had a consistent composition and density throughout its whole surface.
What are some applications of seismic tomography?
Imaging the subsurface of the Earth using seismic waves, which can be generated by earthquakes or explosions, is a method that is referred to as seismic tomography. The seismic wavelength, the distance to the wave source, and the coverage of the seismograph array all play a role in determining the resolution of the tomographic models that may be created using P-, S-, and surface waves.
How is computed tomography (CT) similar to seismic tomography?
The process of seismic tomography is analogous to performing a CT scan or CAT scan on the planet…. When these seismic waves reach the surface, they cause the earth to shake because they have traveled through the Earth all the way up to the surface. This up-and-down as well as side-to-side motions are recorded by seismometers in the shape of squiggly lines that are referred to as seismograms.
How does a seismic station record and analyze data?
At a seismic station, the most important piece of equipment is the seismometer that is buried underground. It is able to detect and analyze the ground motion of the Earth… A measurement of the velocity of the ground can be obtained by observing how the weight moves in relation to the Earth. In order to monitor three-dimensional ground motion, a single package contains three sensors that have been coupled.
What is the quizlet definition of seismic tomography?
Seismic tomography creates three-dimensional images of the earth’s interior by using the travel periods of earthquake waves.
Inversion Processes in Geophysics Covering the Fundamentals of Geophysics
36 related questions found
When a seismic wave is reflected, what kind of changes will it undergo?
When a seismic wave is reflected, what kind of changes will it undergo? The wave will be reflected and sent back in the direction of its origin.
Exists a seismic border between the crust and the mantle, which is characterized by a significant rise in the velocity of seismic wave motion?
2. Figure 19.7: Seismic waves suddenly rise in intensity beneath the crust, indicating that there is a distinct border between the crust and the upper mantle. This is because the composition of the upper mantle shifts from granite or basalt to peridotite as it descends deeper into the Earth. The Moho is the name given to the border that separates the crust from the upper mantle.
Which three seismograph stations make up the network?
The most up-to-date seismometers consist of three components, which allow them to measure simultaneous movement in all three directions (up and down, north and south, and east and west). There is information to be gained about the earthquake from each direction of movement.
Which four events have the potential to set off a tsunami?
Tsunamis are waves that are created when there is a sudden movement on the surface of the ocean. This movement can be caused by earthquakes, landslides on the sea floor, land that is sliding into the water, massive volcanic eruptions, or even a meteorite strike in the ocean.
What may be determined by a single seismic station?
One seismic station can provide information regarding the distance between itself and the epicenter of an earthquake, but it can not provide much else in the way of data. The cartoonishly magnified ground motions display the compressive P wave, the shearing S wave, and the rolling surface wave motions that were recorded by a number of stations using their distinctive seismograms.
What kinds of images can we capture with seismic tomography?
They are able to detect and portray underground features with the use of seismic tomography. Researchers have been able to identify a zone of relatively cold and rigid rock (shades of green and blue) lying beneath the eastern portion of the continent of North America thanks to the data collected by a network of seismic detectors (red).
What kind of information can we glean about the mantle from seismic scans of the Earth?
The method of three-dimensional imaging known as seismic tomography has made it possible to see with a clarity that was before unattainable a massive, buoyant, sausage-shaped portion of the upper mantle, also known as the asthenosphere, that is pressing up on the oceanic plate.
The seismic refraction approach refers to what exactly.
The subsurface geologic conditions and geologic structure can be characterized using a technique called seismic refraction, which makes use of the refraction of seismic waves that occurs when rock or soil layers are present. When the waves travel across the boundary between two distinct kinds (or conditions) of soil or rock, they experience a phenomenon known as refraction.
What exactly is an picture obtained by tomography?
1. Introductory Remarks Tomography is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows for the visualization of the internal structures of an object without the superposition of over- and under-lying structures that typically plagues conventional projection images. This is possible because tomography does not involve the use of radiation.
How is it possible to pinpoint the epicenter of an earthquake and evaluate its magnitude?
The information that is recorded by a seismometer can be used to determine the time of an earthquake as well as its location and magnitude. Seismometers are instruments that record the vibrations that are transmitted through the Earth as a result of earthquakes. Each seismometer monitors and records the movement of the ground directly beneath it… There is only one magnitude that may be assigned to an earthquake.
A tomographic model is defined as the following:
The study of the internal qualities of a body through the observation of the behavior of rays as they travel through the body is referred to as tomography. In seismic tomography, the mapping of velocity disturbances in the Earth’s interior is accomplished through the mathematical modeling of the travel periods of P and S waves.
Which tsunami was the most devastating in history?
Lituya Bay, Alaska, July 9, 1958
The wave it produced, which reached over 500 meters in height, was the highest ever measured for a tsunami. It flooded an area that was five square miles in size and cut down hundreds of thousands of trees in the process. Surprisingly, there were only two people who lost their lives.
What are the top five things that could result in a tsunami?
The violent movement of the seafloor that results from earthquakes, landslides, the flow of lava into the ocean, the collapse of seamounts, or the impact of meteorites is what causes tsunamis.
What kind of natural disaster causes the largest tsunamis?
The eruption and subsequent collapse of the Krakatoa (Krakatau) volcano in Indonesia on August 26, 1883 resulted in one of the greatest and most catastrophic tsunamis ever recorded. This event was the first time a volcano had been directly linked to a tsunami.
What exactly does “P” stand for in the term “P wave”?
P-Waves are another name for compressional waves; the “P” in P-Waves stands for “primary” because compressional waves are always the first to arrive… A rough estimate of the distance to the epicenter of an earthquake can be derived by comparing the arrival times of these two different types of seismic waves and finding the time difference between them.
To pinpoint the location of an earthquake, how many seismic stations are required?
The tracings that are created on seismographs are what seismic stations use to detect earthquakes. In order to determine the epicenter of an earthquake, tracings need to be made at a minimum of three different seismic stations.
Which type of seismic wave can be seen appearing first in seismograms?
Because it is the first wave that is detected at a seismic station after an earthquake, the P wave is given the designation of being the primary preliminary wave.
Why do P waves arrive first in the sequence?
The direct P wave is the one that arrives first because it travels through the more rapidly moving and thick rocks that are located deeper in the earth. Since they travel through rocks that are shallower and move at a lesser velocity, the PP (one bounce) and PPP (two bounces) waves travel at a slower speed than the straight P wave. The several S waves follow the P waves when they finally arrive.
Are S waves able to travel through the more rigid mantle?
S-waves are only able to travel through solids because only solids have the stiffness necessary to carry them… S-waves are able to move at a faster rate the deeper they descend into the mantle of the planet. This is due to the fact that the earth’s mantle gets more solid with increasing depth below the asthenosphere.
Why are P and S waves able to travel through the mantle at the same time?
The rock that makes up the mantle is typically more solid and robust than the rock that makes up the crust, and P- and S-waves move more quickly through the mantle than they do through the crust. In addition, the level of compression of a rock is directly proportional to its depth, and this level of compression dramatically increases as the rock is submerged further into the earth.