1979至1982年是美国地震学继续深入发展的时期。本文概述了这个时期的某些最重要方面,作为随后将发表的更详细论文的序言。这些论文包括我们对地球演化过程的进一步认识及用于研究它们的各种地球物理方法的进展。最有传统的地震学领域或许是对地球内部构造的研究,尽管其最新动态正沿着最不传统的方向发展。这个领域最重要的进展是获得了关于横向不均匀性、各向异性以及散射和衰减机制的重要新资料。我们运用各种技术正开始确定地球的某些地区是极不均质的,并着手描绘这些地区非均质的特征。科学家们早就知道上地幔存在横向变化,特别是在其最上部。新的 From 1979 to 1982, the seismology of the United States continued its in-depth development. This article outlines some of the most important aspects of this period, as a prelude to a more detailed paper that will be published later. These papers include our understanding of the evolution of the Earth and the progress made in the various geophysical methods used to study them. Perhaps the most traditional field of seismology is the study of the internal structure of the Earth, though its latest developments are moving in the most unconventional direction. The most significant advance in this area is the acquisition of important new information on the mechanisms of lateral heterogeneity, anisotropy and scattering and attenuation. We are using a variety of technologies and are beginning to determine that some parts of the Earth are highly inhomogeneous and embark on depicting the heterogeneity of these regions. Scientists have long known that there is a lateral shift in the upper mantle, especially at the very top. new