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    Richter Scale and Modified Mercalli Intensity

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    Sadia Islam
    Information about the definition of Richter scale and MMI scale as well as their similarities and differences.

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    Richter Scale and Modified Mercalli Intensity

    Uploaded by

    Sadia Islam
    147 views2 pages
    Information about the definition of Richter scale and MMI scale as well as their similarities and differences.

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    Richter scale and MMI scale

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    Information about the definition of Richter scale and MMI scale as well as their similarities and differences.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    147 views2 pages

    Richter Scale and Modified Mercalli Intensity

    Uploaded by

    Sadia Islam
    Information about the definition of Richter scale and MMI scale as well as their similarities and differences.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Richter Scale and Modified Mercalli

    Intensity:
    Richter Scale -
    The Richter Scale measures the energy released by an
    earthquake using a seismograph. A base-10 logarithmic
    scale is obtained by calculating the logarithm of the
    amplitude of waves recorded by the seismograph. The
    Richter Scale is an absolute scale; wherever an
    earthquake is recorded, it will measure the same on the
    Richter Scale.

    A seismometer detects the vibrations caused by an


    earthquake and then plots the vibrations on a
    seismograph – through amplitudes of waves to show the

    amount of energy released from the


    ground during an earthquake.

    The Richter scale also measures the


    strength and power of an
    earthquake. It is numbered from 0-
    10 to express the earthquake’s
    intensity. Seismic wave amplitudes
    increase by 10 times for each unit of
    the scale.

    Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale


    -
    The Mercalli Intensity Scale
    measures the intensity of an
    earthquake by observing its effect on people, the environment and the earth’s surface. Unlike with
    the Richter scale, the Mercalli scale does not calculate the magnitude (energy) of an earthquake
    directly. Rather, it classifies earthquakes by the effects they have and the destruction they cause.
    When there is little damage, the scale describes how people felt the earthquake, or how many
    people felt it.

    Mercalli Scale Richter scale


    Measures The effects caused by earthquake The energy released by the
    earthquake
    Measuring Observation Seismograph
    Tool
    Calculation Quantified from observation of Base-10 logarithmic scale obtained
    effect on earth’s surface, human,by calculating logarithm of the
    objects and man-made structures amplitude of waves.
    Scale I (not felt) to XII (total destruction)
    From 2.0 to 10.0+ (never recorded).
    A 3.0 earthquake is 10 times
    stronger than a 2.0 earthquake.
    Consistency Varies depending on distance from Varies at different distances from
    epicentre the epicentre, but one value is given
    for the earthquake as a whole.

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