earthquake magnitude
Tremor strength measurement
Earthquake magnitude is a numerical measure of an earthquake's size based on the energy released at its source.
The Richter scale was the original measurement system; modern seismology uses the moment magnitude scale, which better captures the strength of large earthquakes.
Each whole number increase represents roughly 32 times more energy: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake releases far more energy than a 6.0.
Magnitude differs from intensity, which measures shaking effects at specific locations.
- seismicRelating to ground tremors
- seismic activityUnderground geological movement
- intensityStrength or force level
- epicenterPoint above seismic origin
- faultImperfection or blame
fault line · shockwave · scale · aftershock · rupture · tectonic · tectonic plates · ring of fire · force · violent · devastating · ground · ground shaking · shake · rumble · destruction · collapse · plates
- magnitudesize, extent, scope, scale, bigness
- Disaster ScalesRichter scale, hurricane category, category one, category four, category five
- scalingscalability, power laws, horizontal scaling, self-similarity, proportionality
- climate recordshottest day, coldest day, highest temperature, lowest temperature, glacier retreat
- Power Laws80/20 rule, 80-20 rule, long tail