Glossary

Welcome to the glossary at GeologyRocks. We've put together some of the common terms used in the Earth Sciences to help you if you come across a term you've never seen before. To navigate, click a letter or a category from the list on the left to see all the words starting with that letter or in that category. Alternatively, you can search for a word using the search box to the left. If you search for a word that isn't in our database, we will try and put in a definition as soon as we can.

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Here is an example word:

Seismology

The study of earthquakes and the structure of the earth via seismic waves. This covers whole earth structure (global seismology) and crustal structure (exploration seismology). Exploration seismology is used in commercial operations, such as oil exploration.

There are two types of seismic waves that travel through the interior of the Earth; P-waves and S-waves.