Question

Temperatures in Earth's interior increase with increasing depth. Seismic waves help to provide information on temperatures in Earth's mantle. Explain how seismic waves provide temperature information.

Answer 1

Answer:

Temperature affects Seismic Wave speed.

Explanation:

Both temperature and pressure affect the speed of Seismic waves. The Speed of Seismic waves increases uniformly as pressure increases, meaning that as depth increases, pressure also increases which causes Seismic Wave speeds to increase as well. This can be calculated and the data can be gathered. Temperature on the other hand decreases the speed of Seismic Waves, therefore we can calculate the difference of speed between what the Seismic Wave should be at a certain pressure with the actual speed gathered. This difference in speed will allow us to determine the actual temperature at that level.