Seismology is the study of earthquakes and seismic waves that move through and around the earth. A seismologist is a scientist who studies earthquakes and seismic waves. What Are Seismic Waves? Seismic waves are the waves of energy caused by the sudden breaking of rock within the earth or an explosion. Seismologists are Earth scientists, specialized in geophysics, who study the genesis and the propagation of seismic waves in geological materials. Seismologists study earthquakes by going out and looking at the damage caused by the earthquakes and by using seismographs. A seismograph is an instrument that records the shaking of the earth's surface caused by seismic waves. He called it an "earthquake weathercock."