
Foundations of Modern Global Seismology
- 2nd Edition - October 13, 2020
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Authors: Charles J. Ammon, Aaron A. Velasco, Thorne Lay, Terry C. Wallace
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 5 6 7 9 - 7
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 6 5 1 7 - 1
Modern Global Seismology, Second Edition, is a complete, self-contained primer on seismology, featuring extensive coverage of all related aspects—from observational data throug… Read more

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Request a sales quoteModern Global Seismology, Second Edition, is a complete, self-contained primer on seismology, featuring extensive coverage of all related aspects—from observational data through prediction—and emphasizing the fundamental theories and physics governing seismic waves, both natural and anthropogenic. Based on thoroughly class-tested material, the text provides a unique perspective on Earth’s large-scale internal structure and dynamic processes, particularly earthquake sources, and the application of theory to the dynamic processes of the earth’s upper layer. This insightful new edition is designed for accessibility and comprehension for graduate students entering the field.Exploration seismologists will also find it an invaluable resource on topics such as elastic-wave propagation, seismic instrumentation, and seismogram analysis.
- Includes more than 400 illustrations, from both recent and traditional research articles, to help readers visualize mathematical relationships, as well as boxed features to explain advanced topics
- Offers incisive treatments of seismic waves, waveform evaluation and modeling, and seismotectonics, as well as quantitative treatments of earthquake source mechanics and numerous examples of modern broadband seismic recordings
- Covers current seismic instruments and networks and demonstrates modern waveform inversion methods
- Includes extensive, updated references for further reading new to this edition
- Features reorganized chapters split into two sections, beginning with introductory content such as tectonics and seismogram analysis, and moving on to more advanced topics, including seismic wave excitation and propagation, multivariable and vector calculus, and tensor approaches
- Completely updated references and figures to bring the text up to date Includes all-new sections on recent advancements and to enhance examples and understanding Split into shorter chapters to allow more flexibility for instructors and easier access for researchers, and includes exercises
Researchers, upper-division undergraduate and first-year graduate students in earth science, geophysics, geology, seismology, and applied mathematics/mechanics
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Preface
- The overall structure of the revised text
- Bibliography
- Part I: Observational foundations
- Chapter 1: An overview of global seismology
- Abstract
- 1.1. The foundation of seismology: seismograms
- 1.2. The historical development of global seismology
- 1.3. The topics of global seismology
- 1.4. Appendix: Great earthquakes, 1900–mid2020
- Bibliography
- Chapter 2: An overview of earthquake and seismic-wave mechanics
- Abstract
- 2.1. Stress
- 2.2. Strain and rotation
- 2.3. Hooke's law
- 2.4. Earthquakes: conceptual models
- 2.5. Seismic-waves: the elastic equations of motion
- 2.6. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 3: Earthquakes and plate tectonics
- Abstract
- 3.1. Divergent boundaries
- 3.2. Transcurrent boundaries
- 3.3. Convergent boundaries
- 3.4. Intraplate earthquakes
- 3.5. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 4: Earth motions & seismometry
- Abstract
- 4.1. Introduction
- 4.2. Earthquake-related ground motions
- 4.3. Earth's continuous background motion
- 4.4. Seismographic systems
- 4.5. Working with modern seismograms
- 4.6. Seismometry's future
- 4.7. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 5: Seismogram interpretation and processing
- Abstract
- 5.1. Terminology for seismograms
- 5.2. Characteristics of body wave seismograms
- 5.3. Surface-waves
- 5.4. Travel-time curves
- 5.5. Signal processing basics
- 5.6. Picking arrival times
- 5.7. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 6: An introduction to earthquake location
- Abstract
- 6.1. Seismic arrival times
- 6.2. Earthquake location with information from a single station
- 6.3. Earthquake location with information from a seismic network
- 6.4. Earthquake location as an inverse problem
- 6.5. Relative earthquake location methods
- 6.6. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 7: Earthquake size & descriptive earthquake statistics
- Abstract
- 7.1. The energy in seismic waves
- 7.2. Earthquake magnitude scales
- 7.3. Seismic energy, magnitude, and moment magnitude
- 7.4. Descriptive earthquake statistics
- 7.5. Patterns in earthquake sequences
- 7.6. Earthquake catalogs
- 7.7. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 8: Earthquake prediction, forecasting, & early warning
- Abstract
- 8.1. The earthquake cycle
- 8.2. Paleoseismology
- 8.3. Earthquake prediction
- 8.4. Earthquake forecasting and hazard estimation
- 8.5. Earthquake interactions and triggering
- 8.6. Earthquake early warning
- 8.7. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 9: Tsunami and tsunami warning
- Abstract
- 9.1. Tsunami excitation
- 9.2. Tsunami propagation
- 9.3. Tsunami observation and monitoring
- 9.4. Tsunami forecasting and warning
- 9.5. Summary
- Bibliography
- Chapter 10: Earth structure
- Abstract
- 10.1. Global Earth structure
- 10.2. Crustal structure
- 10.3. Upper-mantle structure
- 10.4. Upper mantle heterogeneity
- 10.5. Lower-mantle structure
- 10.6. Structure of the core
- 10.7. Summary
- Bibliography
- Part II: Theoretical foundations
- Chapter 11: Elasticity and seismic waves
- Abstract
- 11.1. Deformation, deformation gradients, and strain
- 11.2. Stress
- 11.3. The equation of motion
- 11.4. Wave equations for P- and S-wave potentials
- 11.5. Seismic-wave speeds in Earth materials
- Bibliography
- Chapter 12: Body waves and ray theory – travel times
- Abstract
- 12.1. Wavefronts and rays
- 12.2. The Eikonal equations and seismic rays
- 12.3. Travel times in media with depth-dependent properties
- 12.4. Travel times in spherical Earth models
- 12.5. Travel times in layered Earth models
- 12.6. Body-wave travel-time tables
- Bibliography
- Chapter 13: Body-waves and ray theory – amplitudes
- Abstract
- 13.1. Geometric spreading in vertically varying media
- 13.2. Geometric spreading in spherical Earth models
- 13.3. Body-wave attenuation
- 13.4. Seismic-wave reflection & transmission across geologic boundaries
- 13.5. Body-wave energy flux factors
- Bibliography
- Chapter 14: Surface waves
- Abstract
- 14.1. Halfspace Rayleigh waves
- 14.2. Love waves in a layer over a halfspace
- 14.3. Dispersion
- 14.4. Dispersion on seismograms
- 14.5. Surface waves on a sphere
- 14.6. Surface-wave amplitude and attenuation
- Bibliography
- Chapter 15: Free oscillations
- Abstract
- 15.1. A vibrating string
- 15.2. A vibrating sphere
- 15.3. Earth's free oscillations
- 15.4. Attenuation of free oscillations
- 15.5. Building models of Earth's interior using normal modes
- Bibliography
- Chapter 16: Seismic point-source models
- Abstract
- 16.1. An ideal explosion
- 16.2. Faulting sources
- 16.3. Earthquake P-wave “first motions”
- 16.4. Equivalent body forces for seismic sources
- 16.5. Seismic moment tensors
- Bibliography
- Chapter 17: Seismic point-source radiation patterns
- Abstract
- 17.1. Elastostatics
- 17.2. Elastodynamics
- 17.3. Double-couple radiation patterns in geographic coordinates
- 17.4. Estimating faulting geometry
- Bibliography
- Chapter 18: Earthquake rupture and source time functions
- Abstract
- 18.1. Rock fracture and fault rupture
- 18.2. The one-dimensional Haskell source model
- 18.3. Seismic source spectra
- 18.4. Earthquake-slip heterogeneity
- 18.5. Source-spectrum estimation
- 18.6. Source-time function estimation
- Bibliography
- Chapter 19: Imaging seismic-sources
- Abstract
- 19.1. Body waveform modeling – a point source
- 19.2. Surface-wave modeling for the seismic source
- 19.3. Global centroid moment-tensor solutions
- 19.4. Iterative sub-event identification
- 19.5. Earthquake finite-fault models
- Bibliography
- Chapter 20: Imaging Earth's interior
- Abstract
- 20.1. Earth structure estimation using travel times
- 20.2. Discrete geophysical inversion
- 20.3. Earth structure estimation using seismic amplitudes and waveforms
- 20.4. Full seismogram inversion
- Bibliography
- Bibliography
- Bibliography
- Index
- Edition: 2
- Published: October 13, 2020
- Imprint: Academic Press
- No. of pages: 604
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN: 9780128156797
- eBook ISBN: 9780128165171
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Charles J. Ammon
Charles Ammon is a Professor of Geoscience at Penn State. His research interests include broadband imaging large earthquake rupture processes, precise location of earthquakes in remote oceanic and continental regions, 3D imaging of continental lithosphere using seismic waveforms, surface-wave dispersion, and surface gravity observations. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the US Geological Survey, The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Ammon has taught seismology to introductory non-science students, advanced geoscience undergraduates and geophysics graduate students since 1994. He has served the research community as a member and chair of the Global Seismographic Network Standing Committee, and the vice chair of the Board of Directors for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Geoscience, Pennsylvania State University, USAAV
Aaron A. Velasco
Dr. Aaron A. Velasco is Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso. His current research interests have spanned a variety of subjects in seismology, including investigations of dynamic triggering of earthquakes, determining 3-D Earth structure from analysis of multiple data sets, deploying seismic sensors for studying aftershocks, studying geothermal prospects, and he has a particular interest in promoting opportunities for minority students in science. He has worked in a variety of positions in the private sector (Science Applications International Corporation), a federal research laboratory (Los Alamos National Laboratory), and currently for a university (University of Texas at El Paso). Besides his professor position, he also serves as State Seismologist for Texas for the Texas Railroad Commission.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Geological Sciences, University of Texas – El Paso, USATL
Thorne Lay
As a Professor at U.C. Santa Cruz and Director of the Centre for the Study of Imaging and Dynamics of the Earth, Thorne Lay's primary research interests involve analysis of seismic waves to interrogate the deep structure of the Earth's interior and to study the physics of earthquake faulting. In the realm of deep Earth structure, the focus is on imaging structures associated with internal dynamics of the mantle, particularly the core-mantle boundary region and the vicinity of subducting lithosphere. Studies of the core-mantle boundary have revealed a complex seismic structure believed to involve a thermal and chemical boundary layer at this, the largest internal compositional contrast within the planet. One of the major questions about subducting lithosphere that is being addressed is the depth extent to which the subducting material penetrates, which is closely linked to the debate about layered mantle versus whole mantle convection. Other Earth structure interests include the lateral variations of lithospheric structure, which are studied using body waves and surface waves, and the nature of regional waves propagating in the crust.
Affiliations and expertise
Distinguished Professor of Geophysics and Director of the Center for the Study of Imaging and Dynamics of the Earth, University of California – Santa Cruz, USATW
Terry C. Wallace
As Principal Associate Director for Global Security, Wallace leads Laboratory programs with a focus on applying scientific and engineering capabilities to address national and global security threats, in particular, nuclear threats. Wallace is also the Senior Intelligence Executive at LANL. Wallace served as Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology, and Engineering from 2006 to 2011 and as Associate Director of Strategic Research from 2005 to 2006. In those positions, Wallace integrated the expertise from all basic science programs and five expansive science and engineering organizations to support LANL’s nuclear-weapons, threat-reduction, and national-security missions.
Affiliations and expertise
Principal Associate Director - Global Security, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USARead Foundations of Modern Global Seismology on ScienceDirect