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Earthquake Descriptor
Earthquakes are normally assumed to originate from
a single point known as the focus or hypocenter
which is invariably within about 700km of the
surface
In reality, however, most earthquakes are generated
by movement along a fault plane, so the focal region
may extend for several kilometers.
The point on the Earths surface vertically above the
focus is the epicenter.
The angle subtended at the center of the Earth by
the epicenter and the point at which the seismic
waves are detected is known as the epicentral angle.
Earthquake Magnitude (N.)
The magnitude is a number that characterizes the relative size of an earthquake. Magnitude is based on
measurement of the maximum motion recorded by a seismograph.
Earthquake Magnitude
The Richter Scale
The first widely-used method, the Richter scale, was developed by Charles F.
Richter in 1934.
The magnitude of an earthquake is a measure of its energy release on a
logarithmic scale; a change in magnitude of one on the Ritcher scale implies
a 30-fold increase in energy release Figure 1 -Charles Ritcher
studying a Seismogram
It used a formula based on amplitude of the largest wave recorded on a
specific type of seismometer and the distance between the earthquake and
the seismometer.
That scale was specific to California earthquakes; other scales, based on
wave amplitudes and total earthquake duration, were developed for use in
other situations and they were designed to be consistent with Richters
scale.
The Richter scale has no lower limit and no maximum. It's a "logarithmic"
scale, which means that each one-point increase on the scale represents a
10-fold increase in the magnitude of the quake.
Earthquake Magnitude
The Richter Scale
A quake with magnitude between 2
and 3 is the lowest normally
perceptible to humans. A
magnitude 5 quake is considered
moderate.
Worldwide, there are about 1,500
earthquakes of magnitude 5 or
higher every year.
An earthquake of magnitude 6 or
higher is considered major.
The largest earthquakes in history
have been of about magnitude 9.
Figure 2 - The 1906 San
Francisco earthquake,
with a magnitude of 8.3,
was approximately one
million times as powerful
as the atomic bomb
dropped on Hiroshima.
Earthquake Magnitude
The Moment Magnitude Scale
Unfortunately, many scales, such as the Richter
scale, do not provide accurate estimates for large
magnitude earthquakes.
Today the moment magnitude scale,
abbreviated MW, is preferred because it works over
a wider range of earthquake sizes and is applicable
globally.
The moment magnitude scale is based on the total
moment release of the earthquake. Figure 3 - The area of the
Moment is a product of the distance a fault moved circle is proportional to
and the force required to move it. It is derived from the energy of an event at
modeling recordings of the earthquake at multiple moment magnitude +1
stations. versus moment
magnitude +2.
Figure 4 - Earthquake
Moment Magnitudes &
Energy Release
Seismic Moment (N.)
The seismic moment is a measure of the size of an earthquake based on the area of fault rupture, the average
amount of slip, and the force that was required to overcome the friction sticking the rocks together that were
offset by faulting.
Seismic Moment
Though Richter magnitude is the most commonly
quoted measure of earthquake size, it is not the most
accurate.
A better measure is seismic moment, Mo.
Seismic moment occurs just before a fault ruptures,
when the shear forces on either side of the fault create a
couple, or torque, whose size/moment equals the
product of the shear forces and the perpendicular forces
between them.
Moment of couple= F2b Figure 5 - Image inspired
F= A strain by Khan, M. Aftab and
= the rigidity of the rock around the source, linearly related to Alan E. Mussett. Looking
the size of the earthquake Into the Earth: An
A= surface area of the fault Introduction to Geological
Geophysics.New York:
Strain= d/2b
Cambridge, 2000
Moment of couple= Ad= Mo
d= offset of the fault (how much the fault slips)
Modern Seismometer
Modern seismometer Works via
electromagnetic forces holding a mass in
place, and measuring the current required to
do so.
If you speeded up any earthquake signal and
listened to it with a hi fi, it would sound like
thunder. east-west north-south up-down
Three components of motion can be
measured
Foreshocks, Aftershocks, and Swarms (N.)
When a series of earthquakes with shallow focal depths occur within a limited time and area and if there is an
event, which is much larger than the rest, this event is called the main shock
Foreshock
Earthquakes which occur before a main shock
near the area in which the main shock occurs
occur from minutes to days or even longer before
the main shock
important for earthquake prediction
Not all main shocks have foreshocks