Answer: Earthquakes are recorded
by a seismographic network. Each seismic station in the
network measures the movement of the ground at the site.
The slip of block of rock over another in an EQ releases
energy that makes the ground vibrate. That vibration pushes
the adjoining piece of ground and cause it to vibrate and
thus the energy travel out from the EQ in a wave. There
are many different ways to measure different aspects of
an earthquake. Magnitude is the most common measure
of an earthquake's size. It is a measure of the size of
the earthquake source and is the same number no matter where
you are or what the shaking feels like. The Richter scale
measures the largest wiggle on the recording, but other
magnitude scales measure different parts of the earthquake.
Intensity is a measure of the shaking and damage
caused by the earthquake, and this value changes from location
to location.
For further information, see:
Magnitude
& Intensity, NEIC
UC Berkeley Seismo Lab FAQ on Recording Earthquakes
UC Berkeley Seismo Lab FAQ on Different Magnitudes |
