What is the difference in magnitude of an earthquake. Definition of an earthquake an earthquake also known as a quake, tremor or temblor is the result of a sudden release of energy in the earths crust that creates sei. Magnitude measures earthquake size, intensity documents damage d. Earthquakes intensity can be measured on the richter scale. The most widely used intensity scale, the modified mercalli scale, is divided into 12 degrees, each identified by a roman numeral. Earthquake intensity mustafa fahmi hasanmustafa mohammed rashid 2011 november 2. For example, if the magnitude of one quake is 6 and another is 4, than the difference in magnitudes is 2, so the stronger earthquake shakes 102 or. What is the difference between intensity and magnitude. The severity of earthquake shaking is assessed using a descriptive scale the modified mercalli intensity scale magnitude. Thousands of aftershocks have rattled southern california.
Therefore, it is neces sary to distinguish between the magnitude and intensi ty of an earthquake. E is a base 10 logarithmic scale, which means that an earthquake measuring 5. Understanding the magnitude and intensity of an earthquake. Mathematically, an earthquake of magnitude x results in seismic waves with amplitudes proportional to 10x.
However, intensity scales, like the modified mercalli intensity scale or the japan meteorological agencys seismic intensity scale, do provide an indication of the extent and distribution of the damage caused from ground surface shaking caused by an earthquake. When this stress becomes great enough to rupture the crust, or to overcome the friction that prevents one block of crust from slipping past another, energy is released, some of it in the form of various kinds of seismic waves that cause groundshaking, or quaking. As nouns the difference between magnitude and intensity is that magnitude is uncountablecountable the absolute or relative size, extent or importance of something while intensity is the quality of being intense. Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. What is the difference between an intensity scale and a magnitude scale. The intensity of an earthquake is often affected by the distance from the epicenter and often is less further from the epicenter. Varies at different distances from the epicenter, but one value is given for the earthquake as a whole.
The magnitude of an earthquake is the amount of energy released at the source of the earthquake and is measured by a. Earthquakes are one of the most dangerous disasters that humans have. The difference between magnitude and intensity when it comes to an earthquake. What is the difference between earthquake magnitude and intensity. Earthquake magnitude, intensity, energy, and acceleration by. Magnitude measures earthquake size, intensity documents damage c. Usgs resources and links to outside educational resources. The energy at the source of the quake is measured by a magnitude determined from seismographs. Aug 26, 2017 in richter scale each number increases the intensity by explanation. The difference between magnitude and intensity when it.
The mercalli scale is based on observable earthquake damage. An intensity scale measures that physical damage done by an earthquake. This means that the magnitude of the earthquake is a single value for a given earthquake. The mercalli intensity scale is another seismic scale. Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the magnitude scale. Magnitude versus intensity lesson pdf classroom lesson to teach the difference between earthquake magnitude and earthquake intensities 8. Magnitude refers to the energy liberated, while intensity. Take the same brick, so the same magnitude, and drop it on something like a piece of glass, or something that. Mar 12, 2011 difference between earthquake magnitude and intensity. Difference between magnitude and intensity of earthquake. Difference between magnitude and intensity difference.
Get the latest news and update on earthquake, also learn how intensity of an earthquake is measured. Strongly emphasize the important differences between the characterization of. What is the difference between an earthquakes magnitude. The richter scale assigns a number based on how much energy is released during the earthquake. Magnitudeintensity pacific northwest seismic network. What is the difference between the magnitude and the. British geological survey seismology monitoring page. What is the difference between seismograph and richter scale. The richter magnitude scale what is the difference between.
Earthquake magnitude, energy release, and shaking intensity. For instance, one can measure the size of an earthquake by the amount of strain energy released by the fault rupture. Magnitude and intensity are both measurements that are done when an earthquake occurs. Intensity scales, like the modified mercalli scale and the rossiforel scale, measure the amount of shaking at a particular location. Heres what earthquake magnitudes meanand why an 8 can be. In richter scale each number increases the intensity by explanation.
Charles richter with assistance from others at cal tech and is a scale that represents the overall magnitude of an earthquake. Earthquake earthquake intensity and magnitude of earthquakes. Phivolcs again made a distinction between magnitude and intensity, explaining that the former is an absolute measure of the power generated by an earthquake, while the latter refers to how the strong the quake feels in certain areas. Understanding processes behind natural disasters the basics including plate tectonics and earthquakes. The actual seismicwave amplitude at a particular site. Magnitude and intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes. Because the entire range of observed effects is not capable of simple quantitative definition, the strength of the shaking is commonly estimated by reference to intensity scales that describe the effects in qualitative terms.
Often, several slightly different magnitudes are reported for an earthquake. Their dependencies and relationships can be complicated, and even one of these concepts alone can be confusing. What is the difference in intensity of an earthquake of 6. As nouns the difference between magnitude and intensity is that magnitude is uncountablecountable the absolute or relative size, extent or importance of something while. Earthquake size is a quantitative measure of the size of the earthquake at its source. Earthquake magnitude, energy release, and shaking intensity how the size of an earthquake is measured. An earthquake is measured by both magnitudes as well as by intensity. A magnitude scale measures the energy that the seismic waves send out.
The relationship between richter magnitude and modified. Intensity, however, describes the degree of shaking caused by an earthquake at a given place and decreases with distance from the earthquake epicentre. The differences and relationships between magnitude, energy, and fault size is discussed and shown with images. Fun and educational resources including science fair ideas and earthquake science you can understand. This happens because the relation between the seismic measurements and the magnitude is complex and different. Where are the largest magnitude earthquakes most common.
If you have a brick, and call that the magnitude of an earthquake, get a big piece of that foam rubber stuff, or a pillow, or something like that, and drop on the brick. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquakes seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Magnitude of an earthquake is the actual amount of energy released during an earthquake. Chapter 5 quiz chapter 5 quiz 1 what is the difference. Earthquake magnitude, energy release, and shaking intensity are all related measurements of an earthquake that are often confused with one another.
Earthquake intensitywhat controls the shaking you feel. An earthquake of a particular magnitude will produce different intensities at different places, according to geology, population density, cultural features, and distance from the epicenter. The difference is that intensity is the extent of damage released by an earthquake and is measured differently at different places depending on its distance from the epicenter while the magnitude. Because of various shortcomings of the m l scale most. Measures the amount of energy released from an earthquake intensity. Usgs earthquakes information on the basics of earthquakes. Size is used in the sense of the quantity of energy. Science briefs about new earthquake research written for nonscientists. But intensity can change, even though the magnitude is the same. The richter magnitude scale measures the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. Richter scale vs mercalli scale difference between. The magnitude of earthquake is determined from measurements on seismographs, whereas the intensity is determined from effects on people, human structures, and the natural environment. Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or size of an earthquake. Earthquake intensity is very different from earthquake magnitude.
The magnitude do not depend on where the measurement is made. This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale, denoted as ml or m l. The violence of seismic shaking varies considerably over a single affected area. Earthquake intensity is a ranking based on the observed effects of an earthquake in each particular place. Magnitude scales, like the moment magnitude, measure the size of the earthquake at its source.
Vast swaths of the region was hit by less severe shaking. For instance, one can measure the size of an earthquake by. Whats the difference between quake magnitude, intensity. Each whole number on this scale represents 10fold increase in the measured wave amplitude. When an earthquake occurs, its magnitude can be given a single numerical value on the richter magnitude scale. Mercalli scale vs richter scale difference and comparison. Table 1 presents the difference between magnitude and intensity of earthquake. Mercalli intensity of an earthquake of magnitude 1. Intensity decreases as we move farther from the epicenter.
From a scientific standpoint, the magnitude scale is based on seismic records while the mercalli is. Feb 23, 2017 understanding the magnitude and intensity of an earthquake. Explain the difference between magnitude and intensity of an earthquake. Learning earthquake tip 3 earthquake design and construction. The strength, size and impact of an earthquake are typically described using two types of measurement. The correlation between intensity and magnitude of earthquake are provided in table 4. For example, if the magnitude of one quake is 6 and another is 4, than the difference in magnitudes is 2, so the stronger earthquake shakes 102 or 100 times as hard as the milder one. Difference between earthquake magnitude and intensity. Magnitude versus intensity magnitude of an earthquake is a measure of its size. Earthquake magnitude comparison calculator richter scale. This intensity is given normally in mercalli scale.
The severity of earthquake shaking is assessed using a descriptive scale the modified mercalli intensity scale. What is the difference between magnitude and intensity. Magnitude scales do not used express damage and nor do they provide a direct indication of the shaking level on the ground surface. Magnitude also affects intensity, since an earthquake of a higher magnitude has a higher intensity than an earthquake of lower magnitude. The richter magnitude scale is a scale that assigns earthquakes a number between 1 and 10 in order of increasing intensity. There is little difference, they both relate to size and damage 2. Magnitude documents earthquake damage, intensity measures size b. Need some further practice relating earthquake magnitude to energy. No problem, the usgs calculates the difference between a 5. 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. Similarly, the difference between earthquakes of magnitude 3 and 7 4 points on the richter scale will be 10 4 in maximum ground motion.
Intensity 9, or violent, shaking, only struck a small section of southern california in the 1994 magnitude 6. Difference between intensity and magnitude answers. The number indicating magnitude or intensity on richter scale ranges between 0 and 9 but actually the scale has no upper limit of number because it is an open ended and logarithmic scale. Here well look at each of these, as well as their interconnectedness and dependencies. The richter magnitude scale, also known as the local magnitude m scale, assigns a number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It labels an earthquake from i to xii depending on the effects of the earthquake. Magnitude 6 is 3 points more on the richter scale than magnitude 3, so a magnitude 6 earthquake has 10. It is quantitative measure of size of an earthquake and is given as a single numerical value on richter magnitude scale. But, an earthquake in a densely populated area that results in many deaths and considerable damage high intensity may have the same magnitude as an earthquake in a remote area that does no more. Although the ground motion from the earthquake has different intensities at.
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