The ocean floor is underlain by a layer of basalt that constitutes the crust, or uppermost layer, of the Earth in that region. Below this crust is found denser periodotite rock, which forms the Earth's mantle. The boundary between these two layers is called the Mohorovicic discontinuity ("Moho" for short). If an explosive charge is set off at the surface of the basalt, it generates a seismic wave that is reflected back out at the Moho. If the speed of this wave in basalt is 5.8km/s and the two-way travel time is 2.6s, what is the thickness of this oceanic crust? State your answer in km to the nearest 0.01 km.

The ocean floor is underlain by a layer of basalt that constitutes the crust, or uppermost layer, of the Earth in that region. Below this crust is found denser periodotite rock, which forms the Earth's mantle. The boundary between these two layers is called the Mohorovicic discontinuity ("Moho" for short). If an explosive charge is set off at the surface of the basalt, it generates a seismic wave that is reflected back out at the Moho. If the speed of this wave in basalt is 5.8km/s and the two-way travel time is 2.6s, what is the thickness of this oceanic crust? State your answer in km to the nearest 0.01 km.

Astronomy

1st Edition

ISBN:9781938168284

Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff

Publisher:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff

Chapter8: Earth As A Planet

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 18E: If you wanted to live where the chances of a destructive earthquake were small, would you pick a...

See similar textbooks

Similar questions

How is the root cause of earthquakes in Hawaii different from earthquakes in Southern California?
What is the ratio of the intensities of an earthquake P-wave passing through the Earth and detected at two points 20 km and 60 km from the source? What is the ratio of the amplitudes?
Which is an important quality of seismic waves that help scientists study the Earh?
In marine seismic exploration, a seismic source such as an air gun or water gun is used to generate seismic energy. All seismic sources deployed in the water have what feature in common?a. They generate P-waves onlyb. They generate S-waves onlyc. They generate both P and S wavesd. They generate both P and SV waves
The acoustic impedance of a mediuma. is equal to the value of the seismic velocityb. depends upon the product of density and velocityc. depends upon the ratio of density and velocityd. depends upon velocity and bulk modulus
A wave field is observed by satellite. The wave lengths are determined to be 312 m in deep water and 200 m over the continental shelf. What is the shelf depth? (The answer posted for this question was incorrect.)
Which one of the following statements is true? A dog whistle isn’t loud enough for humans to hear, or the speed of a pulse sent up a rope hanging from the ceiling will decrease as the pulse rises, or a wave hitting a fixed boundary is not inverted upon reflection, or a seismic P-wave can propagate all the way through the earth? Explain
Seismic waves are released during earthquakes. Explain these different types of waves.
if a seismic wave has a wavelength of 20 meters. what is the minimum layer thickness these seismic waves can resolve? (Think about vertical resolution) Select one: a. 2 O b. 5 О с. 10 O d. 20
Satellite observations of a wave field are made which determine a deep water wavelength of 312 m and a shallow water wavelength of 200 m, for wave propagation over the continental shelf. Determine the shelf depth.
Study the data showing the difference in the arrival time of P-eaves and S-waves on three seismic recording stations
(b) The magnitude M of an earthquake on the Richter scale is given by 2 M = log Eo whereE is the energy, measured in Joules, released by the earthquake and Eo = 10*40J. (1) If an earthquake releases 5.96 x 1016 J of energy, what is its magnitude on the Richter scale? (ii) Two earthquakes have Richter scale readings and/ %3D Given that E = 1000E2, show that M - M2 = 2 %3D %3D (iii) Show that M =log E) can be written as log(E) = 4.4 + 1.5M. %3D