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- Magnitude and Intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes. Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake. Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs. Intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.
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What is the magnitude of an earthquake?
What is the difference between earthquake intensity and earthquake magnitude?
What is the difference between magnitude and intensity?
What is a magnitude scale?
Magnitude is the size of the earthquake. An earthquake has a single magnitude. The shaking that it causes has many values that vary from place to place based on distance, type of surface material, and other factors. See the Intensity section below for more details on shaking intensity measurements. Types of Magnitudes
Today, earthquake magnitude measurement is based on the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS). MMS measures the movement of rock along the fault. It accurately measures larger earthquakes, which can last for minutes, affect a much larger area, and cause more damage.
Furthermore, earthquake intensity, or strength, is distinct from earthquake magnitude, which is a measure of the amplitude, or size, of seismic waves as specified by a seismograph reading. See below Earthquake magnitude.
Magnitude describes the overall size of an earthquake as an event in the earth. Magnitude represents the total energy the earthquake radiates, and is calculated using information on how large an area moves, the distance that one side of the fault moves past the other, and the rigidity of the rock.
The Richter scale [1] ( / ˈrɪktər / ), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, [2] is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and presented in Richter's landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude s...
8.9: Magnitude vs. Intensity. Magnitude and Intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes. Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake. Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs. Intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.
