Explain Earthquake Scale

An earthquake has one magnitude.

Explanation text adalah. The richter scale is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake the amount of energy it released. This is calculated using information gathered by a seismograph. Richter and beno gutenberg.

Magnitude scales like the moment magnitude measure the size of the earthquake at its source. The earthquakes magnitude is determined using the logarithm of the amplitude height of the largest seismic wave calibrated to a scale by a seismograph. Earthquake size as measured by the richter scale is a well known but not well understood concept.

It is a measure of the size of the earthquake source and is the same number no matter where you are or what the shaking feels like. For example a moderate earthquake shows a magnitude of 54 on the scale whereas a strong one shows a magnitude of 62. This magnitude scale was referred to as ml with the l standing for local.

The richter scale m l is what most people have heard about but in practice it is not commonly used anymore except for small earthquakes recorded locally for which ml and short period surface wave magnitude mblg are the only magnitudes that can be measured. The richter scale also called the richter magnitude scale or richters magnitude scale is a measure of the strength of earthquakes developed by charles f. This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale denoted as ml or ml.

The idea of a logarithmic earthquake magnitude scale was first developed by charles richter in the 1930s for measuring the size of earthquakes occurring in southern california using relatively high frequency data from nearby seismograph stations. The richter scale has no lower limit and no maximum. The magnitude of an earthquake is basically determined by the richter scale from the logarithm of the wave amplitudes that are recorded by an instrument called a seismograph.

The richter scale is an outdated method for measuring magnitude that is no longer used by the usgs for large teleseismic earthquakes. In this case the increase is in wave amplitude. The magnitude do not depend on where the measurement is made.

Because of various shortcomings of the ml scale most seismological authorities now use other scales such as the moment magnitude scale to report earthquake. Usually not felt but can be recorded by seismograph. For all other earthquakes the moment magnitude mw scale is a more accurate measure of the earthquake size.

Often several slightly different magnitudes are reported for an earthquake. Richter scale ml quantitative measure of an earthquake s magnitude size devised in 1935 by american seismologists charles f. Its a logarithmic scale which means that each one point increase on the scale represents a 10 fold increase in the magnitude of the quake.