IGES Institute of Geophysics and
Engineering Seismology after A. Nazarov
About the institute

Education

Learn with IGES · try it yourself

How far away is the earthquake?

Move the station and watch the two waves arrive: the fast P-wave first, the stronger S-wave later. The gap between them is all a seismologist needs to know the distance.

P-wave arrives20 s
S-wave arrives34 s
Gap S − P14 s

Rule of thumb: distance ≈ 8 km × gap. Lesson 1 explains why →

New · Video lessonsSeismology in short videos1P and S waves1:152How to find the epicentre0:563What is magnitude?1:04Enter your access code or request one → InteractiveHow the Earth movesInteractive models of rifts, subduction, collision and faults.Explore →

For schools and teachers

Bring seismology into the classroom

Everything here is free to use in lessons. Video lessons open after a short request, the rest is open to everyone.

Video lessonsShort animated lessons on P and S waves, the epicentre and magnitude, built on real CHARNET records.Request access →How the Earth movesInteractive models of rifts, subduction, collision and faults to show in class.Open the models →Listen to the EarthReal earthquakes recorded by our stations, turned into sound.Listen →Earthquake safetyWhat to do before, during and after an earthquake.Read →