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Seismic Wave Triangulation — 2D Epicenter Location

Interactive top-down 2D model of P-wave and S-wave propagation from an earthquake epicenter: click anywhere on the map to rupture, watch each seismograph station record a real S-P time interval, and see that interval used with real P/S wave speeds to triangulate the epicenter by circle intersection.

Geology & Earth Science2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted🌍 Earth ⇄ 3D version

Details

CategoryGeology & Earth Science

RenderingCanvas 2D

DifficultyModerate

Target FPS60

ControlsA Trigger Earthquake button (or clicking anywhere on the map) sets a new epicenter and starts the rupture. A Magnitude slider (M4.5-M8.5) scales seismogram wiggle amplitude. A Playback speed slider (0.5x-3.0x) scales how fast simulated time advances. A Distance-circles toggle shows or hides the three triangulation circles once each station has recorded both P and S arrivals.

seismic wavesearthquakeP-wavesS-wavestriangulationseismographgeology2d

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This top-down companion to the 3D seismic-wave simulator turns the same P-wave / S-wave physics into a working triangulation instrument: three fixed seismograph stations each record a real S − P time interval as the two wavefronts sweep across the map from a point epicenter, each interval is converted to a station-to-epicenter distance with the real Vp·Vs/(Vp − Vs) relation, and the three resulting circles are solved algebraically to locate the epicenter — the same method seismologists use with real seismogram data.

⚙ Under the hood

Top-down 2D earthquake simulator: click to set an epicenter and watch real P-wave and S-wave fronts expand at their true relative speeds (P ≈1.7x S). Three seismograph stations each record a genuine S-P time interval, converted with the real Vp·Vs/(Vp-Vs) formula into a distance, and the three resulting circles are solved algebraically to triangulate the epicenter — with a live seismogram trace at every station.

seismic wavesearthquakeP-wavesS-wavestriangulationseismographgeology2d

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install