S wave

It is also known as shear wave, secondary wave, transversal wave. During a seismic event S waves lead to particle movement perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation, consequently, a rock body is sheared transversally. Since fluids cannot be sheared they occur only in solids. From the lack of shear waves in the Earth’s outer core we know that it consists of molten iron (whose rotational motion probably is responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field). S waves travel slower than P waves (therefore they are named secondary waves), but faster than surface waves. Within an isotropic medium the velocity of S waves v_s is given by:

v_s =0.5*[E/{2*ρ*(1-ν)}]

with E as Young’s modulus, ν as the Poisson’s ratio and ρ as density.

S waves polarize into two orthogonal components of differing velocities (so-called shear wave splitting): a horizontal SH wave and a vertical SV wave due to the alignment of fluid-filled pore space. Shear wave splitting is regarded as a measure in earthquake prediction and as a tool for modelling crude oil recovery (e.g. Crampin & Gao 2006). The velocity difference between SH and SV gives information about the stress state in the crust and the probability of seismic failure or wellbore stability.