Identification of P, S and surface waves (Assam earthquake)
Separación de las ondas P, S y superficiales (terremoto de Assam)
- Date
- 1899-1900 · confidence high
- Place
- Geological Survey of India, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India
- Credited to
- Richard Dixon Oldham
- People
- 👤 Richard Dixon Oldham1858–1936
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Studying the worldwide records of the great 1897 Assam earthquake, Oldham recognised three arrival phases: longitudinal, transverse and surface waves. It opened up seismology as a tool for probing the Earth's interior.
His 1906 paper on the Earth's core was written after his retirement in the United Kingdom.
What it led to
- use of seismic waves to probe the Earth's interior
- discovery of the core