Seismic efficiency of a contact explosion and a high-velocity impact

The seismic energy transferred to an elastic half-space as a result of a contact explosion and a meteorite impact on a planet’s surface is estimated. The seismic efficiency of the explosion and impact are evaluated as the ratio of the energy of the generated seismic waves to the energy of explosion or the kinetic energy of the meteorite. In the case of contact explosions, this ratio is in the range of 10⁻⁴–10⁻³. In the case of wide-scale impact effects, where the crater in the planet’s crust is produced in the gravitational regime, a formula is derived that relates the seismic efficiency of an impact to its determining parameters. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 3–12, March–April, 2007.