Dening the Size of Earthquakes

Some earthquakes shake the ground violently, whereas others can barely be felt. Seismologists have
developed two scales to dene size in a uniform way, so that they can systematically describe and
compare earthquakes. The rst scale focuses on the severity of damage at a locality and is called the
Mercalli Intensity scale. The second focuses on the amount of ground motion at a specic distance
from the epicentre, as measured by a seismometer, and is called the magnitude scale.

Mercalli Intensity Scale

The intensity of an earthquake refers to the effect or consequence of an earthquakes ground shaking at
a locality on the Earths surface. In 1902, an Italian scientist named Giuseppe Mercalli devised a scale
for dening intensity by systematically assessing the damage that the earthquake caused. A version of
this scale, called the Modied Mercalli Intensity scale (MMI), with roman numerals, continues to be
used today (Table above).

This map shows Modified Mercalli Intensity contours for the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina,
earthquake. Note that near the epicentre, ground shaking reached MMI of X, and in New York City,
ground shaking reached MMI of II to III.
Note that the specication of earthquake intensity depends on a subjective assessment of damage, and
of the perception of shaking, not on a direct measurement with an instrument. Also, the Mercalli
intensity value varies with location for a given seismic event we cannot assign a single Mercalli
number to a given earthquake. Typically, the intensity is greater near the epicentre, and decreases
progressively away from the epicentre. To illustrate how intensity varies over a region for a given

earthquake, seismologists draw contour lines on a map, to delimit zones in which the earthquake had a
given intensity (figure above).

Earthquake Magnitude Scales

When you read a report of an earthquake disaster in the news, you will likely come across a phrase that
reads something like, An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck the city yesterday at noon. What
does this mean? The magnitude of an earthquake is a number that represents the maximum amplitude
of ground motion that would be measured by a seismometer placed at a specied, standard distance
from the epicentre. By amplitude of ground motion, we mean the amount of up-and-down or backandforth motion of the ground. The larger the ground motion, the greater the deection of a seismometer
pen or needle as it traces out a seismogram. Since the magnitude is calculated to represent motion at a
standard distance from the epicentre, there is one magnitude for an earthquake a magnitude value does
not depend on this distance.
The American seismologist Charles Richter developed a method for dening and measuring earthquake
magnitude in 1935. The scale he proposed came to be known as the Richter scale and is based on the
maximum amplitude of motion that would be recorded at a station about 100 km from the epicentre.
Since theres not necessarily a seismometer exactly at this distance, Richter developed a simple chart to
adjust for distance of the station from the epicentre (figure above a, b). Richters scale became so
widely used that news reports often include wording such as, The earthquake registered a 7.2 on the
Richter scale.
These days, seismologists actually use several different magnitude scales, not just the Richter scale,
because the original Richter scale works well only for shallow earthquakes that are close to the
seismometer station. Because of the distance limitation, a number on the original Richter scale is now
also called a local magnitude (ML). The moment magnitude scale (MW) provides the most accurate
representation of an earthquakes size. To calculate the moment magnitude, seismologists measure the
amplitude of several different seismic waves, determine the dimensions of the slipped area on the fault,
and estimate the displacement that occurred. The largest recorded earthquake in history, the great 1960
Chilean quake, registered as a 9.5 on the MW scale and the catastrophic 2011 Tohoku earthquake had a
magnitude of MW 9.0.

Using the Richter magnitude scale.

All magnitude scales are logarithmic, meaning that an increase of one unit of magnitude represents a
tenfold increase in the maximum amplitude of ground motion. Thus, a magnitude 8 earthquake results
in ground motion that is 10 times greater than that of a magnitude 7 earthquake, and 1,000 times greater
than that of a magnitude 5 earthquake. To make discussion easier, seismologists use familiar adjectives
to describe the size of an earthquake, as listed in Table above.

Adjectives for Describing Earthquakes.

Energy Release by Earthquakes

As we pointed out earlier, earthquakes release energy. Seismologists can calculate the energy release
from equations that relate moment magnitude to energy. Not all versions of this calculation yield the
same result, so energy estimates must be taken as an approximation. According to some researchers, a
magnitude 6 earthquake releases about as much energy as the atomic bomb that was dropped on
Hiroshima in 1945. The 1964 Alaska Good Friday earthquake, during which up to 15 m of slip
occurred on a thrust fault, near Anchorage, released signicantly more energy than the largest hydrogen
bomb ever detonated. Notably, an increase in magnitude by one integer represents approximately a 32fold increase in energy. Thus, a magnitude 8 earthquake releases about 1 million times more energy
than a magnitude 4 earthquake (figure above). In fact, a single magnitude 8.9 earthquake releases as
much energy as the entire average global annual release of seismic energy coming from all other
earthquakes combined! Fortunately, such large earthquakes occur much less frequently than small

earthquakes. There are about 100,000 magnitude 3 earthquakes every year, but a magnitude 8
earthquake happens only about once or twice a year.

Energy released by earthquakes increases dramatically with magnitude.

Credits: Stephen Marshak (Essentials of Geology)