EOSC 110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 17: Seismic Refraction, Seismic Wave, Continental Crust
20 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
Deepest scientific well has reached 12 km in russia. Geophysics, the application of physical laws and principles to the study of earth. Seismic reflection, the return of some of the energy of seismic waves to earth"s surface after the waves bounce off a rock boundary. If two ricks layers of differing densities are separated by a fairly sharp boundary, seismic waves reflect off that boundary. Reflected seismic waves can be used to image geologic structures deep within the crust and mantle that are not exposed at the surface. Seismic refraction, the bending of seismic waves as they pass from one material to another. Occurs only if the velocity of seismic waves is different in each layer. Increasing pressure with depth tends to increase the velocity of the waves. Study of seismic refraction and seismic reflection that enabled scientists to plot the three zones of earth"s interior.
