Seismology

Seismology (/saɪzˈmɒlədʒi, saɪs-/; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (seismós) meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (-logía) meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or other planetary bodies. It also includes studies of earthquake environmental effects such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, glacial, fluvial, oceanic, atmospheric, and artificial processes such as explosions. A related field that uses geology to infer information regarding past earthquakes is paleoseismology. A recording of Earth motion as a function of time is called a seismogram. A seismologist is a scientist who does research in seismology.

Part of a series on
Earthquakes
Types Mainshock Foreshock Aftershock Blind thrust Doublet Interplate Intraplate Megathrust Remotely triggered Slow Submarine Supershear Tsunami Earthquake swarm
Causes Fault movement Volcanism Induced seismicity
Characteristics Epicenter Hypocenter Shadow zone Seismic waves P wave S wave
Measurement Seismometer Seismic magnitude scales Seismic intensity scales
Prediction Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction Forecasting
Other topics Shear wave splitting Adams–Williamson equation Flinn–Engdahl regions Earthquake engineering Seismite Seismology
Earth Sciences Portal Category Related topics
v t e