The seismic waves that travel along earth’s surface and produce the most severe ground movements are called

Surface waves

Explanation:

The seismic surface waves are defined as the waves that propagate through along the surface of the earth.

These seismic S waves are either the Love waves or the Rayleigh waves. The Love waves propagate transversely but the Rayleigh waves propagate both longitudinally and transversely.

These surface waves generally have a wide range of frequencies. These are destructive waves as it shakes the ground at great intensities, having high amplitude,  and thereby causing a lot of damage during an earthquake.

polar areas, such as antarctica or the south pole.