How is epicenter determined

Always free. Sign In. KQED Inform. Save Article Save Article. Apr 15, Failed to save article Please try again. Calculate the difference between the arrival time of the P-wave and the S-wave.

Referring to the Earthquake Time Travel Graph below, determine the location on the graph where the two lines have a difference in their y values equal to the time difference you previously calculated. The x value at this location is the distance to the epicenter of the earthquake.

Earthquake Time Travel Graph. Adjust the sliders to change the arrival times of the P-wave and the S-wave. Determine the distance of the earthquake epicenter given the following information. To determine the distance of the earthquake epicenter, you can use the steps in the previous section. Determine the arrival times of the P-wave and the S-wave:. Arrival time of P-wave: 1. Arrival time of S-wave: 6.

Refer to the Earthquake Time Travel Graph. Determine the location on the graph where the two curves have a time difference equal to the time difference you previously calculated.

Therefore the earthquake has an epicenter distance of 3. More MathApps. Download Help Document. Online Help. All Products Maple MapleSim. First, determine the P-wave arrival, and read down to the bottom of the seismogram to note at what time usually marked in seconds that the P-wave arrived.

Then do the same for the S-wave. The arrival of seismic waves will be recognized by an increase in amplitude — look for a pattern change as lines get taller and more closely spaced ex. Figure By looking at the time between the arrivals of the P- and S-waves, one can determine the distance to the earthquake from that station, with longer time intervals indicating longer distance.

These distances are determined using a travel-time curve, which is a graph of Pand S-wave arrival times see Figure