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The moment is a measure of the total energy dissipated by an earthquake. This is important since it gives an absolute strength of an earthquake. This does not mean that the moment determines how deadly an earthquake is for other factors, such as earthquake depth and the nature of the overlying sediments, also come into play.

2007-09-22 13:46:30 · answer #1 · answered by Amphibolite 7 · 4 0

Describe The Moment Magnitude Scale

2016-10-16 23:44:39 · answer #2 · answered by john-patrick 4 · 0 0

The Moment Magnitude Scale (I'll call it MMS) is used to compare the amount of energy released by earthquakes. It's based around the seismic moment and the moment magnitude using a pretty complicated formula although it is designed to be comparable to the Richter Scale. Each step corresponds to 10 to the power of 1.5, so 2 steps is 10 to the power of 3 or 1000 times the increase in energy. The main advantage between the MMS is that the upper end does not lose it's effect, i.e. there is no upper value that beyond which all earthquakes have the same magnitude. That is the reason for using it to measure larger quakes. It's only used for earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 and above. With the Richter scale, the original Local Magnitude cannot be calculated for events great than 6.8 which led to possible extensions and finally the new Moment Magnitude Scale. The Richter Scale is based on old technology around in 1935 and it is hardly surprising that the scale is now largely outdated.

2016-03-20 04:06:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Describe the moment magnitude scale and explain why it is useful in masuring earthquakes.?

2015-08-18 21:02:31 · answer #4 · answered by Jami 1 · 0 0

gnitude Earthquake Effects Estimated Number
Each Year
2.5 or less Usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph. 900,000
2.5 to 5.4 Often felt, but only causes minor damage. 30,000
5.5 to 6.0 Slight damage to buildings and other structures. 500
6.1 to 6.9 May cause a lot of damage in very populated areas. 100
7.0 to 7.9 Major earthquake. Serious damage. 20
8.0 or greater Great earthquake. Can totally destroy communities near the epicenter. One every 5 to 10 years

Earthquake Magnitude Classes

Earthquakes are also classified in categories ranging from minor to great, depending on their magnitude.
Class Magnitude
Great 8 or more
Major 7 - 7.9
Strong 6 - 6.9
Moderate 5 - 5.9
Light 4 - 4.9
Minor 3 -3.9

2007-09-25 10:14:25 · answer #5 · answered by Loren S 7 · 0 1

describe moment magnitude scale explain masuring earthquakes: https://lnfo.im/e11/describe-the-moment-magnitude-scale-and-explain-why-it-is-useful-in-masuring-earthquakes

2015-05-10 10:05:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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