What does the magnitude of an earthquake represent?
Magnitude represents the amount of shaking and energy released at the time of the earthquake. The magnitude scale is logarithmic, meaning that the shaking from a magnitude 5 earthquake will be 10 times larger than from a magnitude 4 earthquake at the same distance. However, the total amount of energy released from a magnitude 5 earthquake will be 32 times larger than from a magnitude 4 earthquake. There are many different ways that seismologists measure magnitude, depending on how large and deep an earthquake is and what type of seismometer is recording the shaking. The most common ways to report magnitudes today are: Md – Duration Magnitude – This magnitude is based on the duration of shaking as measured by the time decay of the amplitude of the seismogram. Ml – Local Magnitude – The original magnitude relationship defined by Richter and Gutenberg for local earthquakes in 1935. It is based on the maximum amplitude of a seismogram recorded on a Wood-Anderson torsion seismograph. Althou
Magnitude represents the amount of shaking and energy released at the time of the earthquake. The magnitude scale is logarithmic, meaning that the shaking from a magnitude 5 earthquake will be 10 times larger than from a magnitude 4 earthquake at the same distance. However, the total amount of energy released from a magnitude 5 earthquake will be 32 times larger than from a magnitude 4 earthquake. There are many different ways that seismologists measure magnitude, depending on how large and deep an earthquake is and what type of seismometer is recording the shaking. The most common ways to report magnitudes today are: Md – Duration Magnitude – This magnitude is based on the duration of shaking as measured by the time decay of the amplitude of the seismogram. Ml – Local Magnitude – The original magnitude relationship defined by Richter and Gutenberg for local earthquakes in 1935. It is based on the maximum amplitude of a seismogram recorded on a Wood-Anderson torsion seismograph. Althou
