What can S waves cause the ground to do?

As a seismologist with extensive experience in the study of earthquakes and their effects, I can explain the impact of S waves on the ground. S waves, also known as secondary waves or shear waves, are one of the two main types of elastic waves that can travel through the Earth's interior, the other being P waves or primary waves. Unlike P waves, which can travel through both solids and liquids, S waves can only propagate through solids. When an earthquake occurs, S waves follow P waves and are typically slower. They cause the ground to shake in a side-to-side or up-and-down motion, which can be particularly damaging to structures not designed to withstand such movement. The shaking caused by S waves is responsible for much of the surface destruction during an earthquake. This is because, unlike P waves that cause the ground to compress and expand like a spring, S waves move through the ground in a shearing motion, which can topple buildings and other structures. The destructive power of S waves is also the reason why they are used to estimate the potential damage of an earthquake in seismic hazard assessments. S waves can also be associated with two types of surface waves: Love waves and Rayleigh waves. Love waves cause a horizontal back-and-forth movement, while Rayleigh waves produce both vertical and rotational movements. Both of these surface wave types contribute to the overall surface destruction caused by an earthquake.

Surface waves, in contrast to body waves can only move along the surface. They arrive after the main P and S waves and are confined to the outer layers of the Earth. They cause the most surface destruction. Earthquake surface waves are divided into two different categories: Love and Rayleigh.