Richter scale

The Richter scale[1] (/ˈrɪktər/), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and
the Gutenberg–Richter scale,[2] is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles
Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and presented in Richter's landmark 1935 paper, where he
called it the "magnitude scale".[3] This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale, denoted
as ML or ML .[4]

Because of various shortcomings of the original ML scale, most seismological authorities now use other
similar scales such as the moment magnitude scale (Mw ) to report earthquake magnitudes, but much of
the news media still erroneously refers to these as "Richter" magnitudes. All magnitude scales retain the
logarithmic character of the original and are scaled to have roughly comparable numeric values (typically
in the middle of the scale). Due to the variance in earthquakes, it is essential to understand the Richter
scale uses common logarithms simply to make the measurements manageable (i.e., a magnitude 3 quake
factors 10³ while a magnitude 5 quake factors 105 and has seismometer readings 100 times larger).[5]

Richter magnitudes
The Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves
recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included to compensate for the variation in the distance
between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquake. The original formula is:[6]

where A is the maximum excursion of the Wood-Anderson seismograph, the empirical function A0
depends only on the epicentral distance of the station, . In practice, readings from all observing stations
are averaged after adjustment with station-specific corrections to obtain the ML value.[6]

Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a
tenfold increase in measured amplitude. In terms of energy, each whole number increase corresponds to
an increase of about 31.6 times the amount of energy released, and each increase of 0.2 corresponds to
approximately a doubling of the energy released.

Events with magnitudes greater than 4.5 are strong enough to be recorded by a seismograph anywhere in
the world, so long as its sensors are not located in the earthquake's shadow.[7][8][9]

The following describes the typical effects of earthquakes of various magnitudes near the epicenter.[10]
The values are typical and may not be exact in a future event because intensity and ground effects depend
not only on the magnitude but also on (1) the distance to the epicenter, (2) the depth of the earthquake's
focus beneath the epicenter, (3) the location of the epicenter, and (4) geological conditions.
 Typical
maximum Average frequency
modified of occurrence
Magnitude Description Average earthquake effects
Mercalli globally
(estimated)
intensity[11]
Microearthquakes, not felt. Recorded by Continual/several
1.0–1.9 Micro I
seismographs.[12] million per year

Felt slightly by some people. No damage Over one million per

2.0–2.9 Minor I
to buildings. year
Often felt by people, but very rarely
Over 100,000 per
3.0–3.9 Slight II to III causes damage. Shaking of indoor
year
objects can be noticeable.

Noticeable shaking of indoor objects and

rattling noises. Felt by most people in the
affected area. Slightly felt outside.
10,000 to 15,000
4.0–4.9 Light IV to V Generally causes zero to minimal
per year
damage. Moderate to significant damage
is very unlikely. Some objects may fall off
shelves or be knocked over.
Can cause damage of varying severity to
poorly constructed buildings. Zero to 1,000 to 1,500 per
5.0–5.9 Moderate VI to VII
slight damage to all other buildings. Felt year
by everyone.

Damage to a moderate number of well-

built structures in populated areas.
Earthquake-resistant structures survive
with slight to moderate damage. Poorly
6.0–6.9 Strong VII to IX designed structures receive moderate to 100 to 150 per year
severe damage. Felt in wider areas; up
to hundreds of kilometers from the
epicenter. Strong to violent shaking in
the epicentral area.

Causes damage to most buildings, some

to partially or completely collapse or
receive severe damage. Well-designed
7.0–7.9 Major structures are likely to receive damage. 10 to 20 per year
Felt across great distances with major
damage mostly limited to 250 km from
the epicenter.
Major damage to buildings, and
structures likely to be destroyed. Will
VIII or higher
cause moderate to heavy damage to
8.0–8.9 Great One per year
sturdy or earthquake-resistant buildings.
Damaging in large areas. Felt in
extremely large regions.

Near total destruction – severe damage

or collapse to all buildings. Heavy One to three per
9.0–9.9 Extreme damage and shaking extend to distant
locations. Permanent changes in ground century[13]
topography.

(Based on U.S. Geological Survey documents.)[14]

The intensity and death toll depend on several factors (earthquake depth, epicenter location, and
population density, to name a few) and can vary widely.
Millions of minor earthquakes occur every year worldwide, equating to hundreds every hour every
day.[15] On the other hand, earthquakes of magnitude ≥8.0 occur about once a year, on average.[15] The
largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean earthquake of May 22, 1960, which had a magnitude
of 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale.[16]

Seismologist Susan Hough has suggested that a magnitude 10 quake may represent a very approximate
upper limit for what the Earth's tectonic zones are capable of, which would be the result of the largest
known continuous belt of faults rupturing together (along the Pacific coast of the Americas).[17] A
research at the Tohoku University in Japan found that a magnitude 10 earthquake was theoretically
possible if a combined 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of faults from the Japan Trench to the Kuril–
Kamchatka Trench ruptured together and moved by 60 metres (200 ft) (or if a similar large-scale rupture
occurred elsewhere). Such an earthquake would cause ground motions for up to an hour, with tsunamis
hitting shores while the ground is still shaking, and if this kind of earthquake occurred, it would probably
be a 1-in-10,000-year event.[18]

Development
Prior to the development of the magnitude scale, the only measure of an
earthquake's strength or "size" was a subjective assessment of the intensity
of shaking observed near the epicenter of the earthquake, categorized by
various seismic intensity scales such as the Rossi–Forel scale. ("Size" is
used in the sense of the quantity of energy released, not the size of the
area affected by shaking, though higher-energy earthquakes do tend to
affect a wider area, depending on the local geology.) In 1883, John Milne
surmised that the shaking of large earthquakes might generate waves
detectable around the globe, and in 1899 E. Von Rehbur Paschvitz
observed in Germany seismic waves attributable to an earthquake in
Tokyo.[19] In the 1920s, Harry O. Wood and John A. Anderson developed
the Wood–Anderson seismograph, one of the first practical instruments for
recording seismic waves.[20] Wood then built, under the auspices of the
California Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institute, a network of Charles Francis Richter
seismographs stretching across Southern California.[21] He also recruited (c. 1970)
the young and unknown Charles Richter to measure the seismograms and
locate the earthquakes generating the seismic waves.[22]

In 1931, Kiyoo Wadati showed how he had measured, for several strong earthquakes in Japan, the
amplitude of the shaking observed at various distances from the epicenter. He then plotted the logarithm
of the amplitude against the distance and found a series of curves that showed a rough correlation with
the estimated magnitudes of the earthquakes.[23] Richter resolved some difficulties with this method[24]
and then, using data collected by his colleague Beno Gutenberg, he produced similar curves, confirming
that they could be used to compare the relative magnitudes of different earthquakes.[25]

Additional developments were required to produce a practical method of assigning an absolute measure
of magnitude. First, to span the wide range of possible values, Richter adopted Gutenberg's suggestion of
a logarithmic scale, where each step represents a tenfold increase of magnitude, similar to the magnitude
scale used by astronomers for star brightness.[26] Second, he wanted a magnitude of zero to be around the
limit of human perceptibility.[27] Third, he specified the Wood–Anderson seismograph as the standard
instrument for producing seismograms. Magnitude was then defined as "the logarithm of the maximum
trace amplitude, expressed in microns", measured at a distance of 100 km (62 mi). The scale was
calibrated by defining a magnitude 0 shock as one that produces (at a distance of 100 km (62 mi)) a
maximum amplitude of 1 micron (1 μm, or 0.001 millimeters) on a seismogram recorded by a Wood-
Anderson torsion seismometer.[28] Finally, Richter calculated a table of distance corrections,[29] in that
for distances less than 200 kilometers[30] the attenuation is strongly affected by the structure and
properties of the regional geology.[31]

When Richter presented the resulting scale in 1935, he called it (at the suggestion of Harry Wood) simply
a "magnitude" scale.[32] "Richter magnitude" appears to have originated when Perry Byerly told the press
that the scale was Richter's and "should be referred to as such."[33] In 1956, Gutenberg and Richter, while
still referring to "magnitude scale", labelled it "local magnitude", with the symbol ML , to distinguish it
from two other scales they had developed, the surface-wave magnitude (MS) and body wave magnitude
(MB) scales.[4]

Details
The Richter scale was defined in 1935 for particular circumstances
and instruments; the particular circumstances refer to it being
defined for Southern California and "implicitly incorporates the
attenuative properties of Southern California crust and mantle."[34]
The particular instrument used would become saturated by strong
earthquakes and unable to record high values. The scale was How Richter magnitude is
replaced in the 1970s by the moment magnitude scale (MMS, determined – the larger the value on
symbol Mw ); for earthquakes adequately measured by the Richter the log graph, the higher the
damage caused.
scale, numerical values are approximately the same. Although
values measured for earthquakes now are Mw , they are frequently
reported by the press as Richter values, even for earthquakes of magnitude over 8, when the Richter scale
becomes meaningless.

The Richter and MMS scales measure the energy released by an earthquake; another scale, the Mercalli
intensity scale, classifies earthquakes by their effects, from detectable by instruments but not noticeable,
to catastrophic. The energy and effects are not necessarily strongly correlated; a shallow earthquake in a
populated area with soil of certain types can be far more intense in impact than a much more energetic
deep earthquake in an isolated area.

Several scales have been historically described as the "Richter scale", especially the local magnitude ML
and the surface wave Ms scale. In addition, the body wave magnitude, mb , and the moment magnitude,
Mw , abbreviated MMS, have been widely used for decades. A couple of new techniques to measure
magnitude are in the development stage by seismologists.

All magnitude scales have been designed to give numerically similar results. This goal has been achieved
well for ML , Ms , and Mw .[35][36] The mb scale gives somewhat different values than the other scales.
The reason for so many different ways to measure the same thing is that at different distances, for
different hypocentral depths, and for different earthquake sizes, the amplitudes of different types of
elastic waves must be measured.

ML is the scale used for the majority of earthquakes reported (tens of thousands) by local and regional
seismological observatories. For large earthquakes worldwide, the moment magnitude scale (MMS) is
most common, although Ms is also reported frequently.

The seismic moment, M0 , is proportional to the area of the rupture times the average slip that took place
in the earthquake, thus it measures the physical size of the event. Mw is derived from it empirically as a
quantity without units, just a number designed to conform to the Ms scale.[37] A spectral analysis is
required to obtain M0 . In contrast, the other magnitudes are derived from a simple measurement of the
amplitude of a precisely defined wave.

All scales, except Mw , saturate for large earthquakes, meaning they are based on the amplitudes of waves
that have a wavelength shorter than the rupture length of the earthquakes. These short waves (high-
frequency waves) are too short a yardstick to measure the extent of the event. The resulting effective
upper limit of measurement for ML is about 7 and about 8.5[38] for Ms .[39]

New techniques to avoid the saturation problem and to measure magnitudes rapidly for very large
earthquakes are being developed. One of these is based on the long-period P-wave;[40] The other is based
on a recently discovered channel wave.[41]

The energy release of an earthquake,[42] which closely correlates to its destructive power, scales with the
3⁄ power of the shaking amplitude (see Moment magnitude scale for an explanation). Thus, a difference
2
in magnitude of 1.0 is equivalent to a factor of 31.6 ( ) in the energy released; a difference
in magnitude of 2.0 is equivalent to a factor of 1000 ( ) in the energy released.[43] The
elastic energy radiated is best derived from an integration of the radiated spectrum, but an estimate can be
based on mb because most energy is carried by the high-frequency waves.

Magnitude empirical formulae

These formulae for Richter magnitude are alternatives to using Richter correlation tables based on
Richter standard seismic event In the formulas below,
is the epicentral distance in kilometers, and is the same distance represented as sea level great
circle degrees.

The Lillie empirical formula is:

where is the amplitude (maximum ground displacement) of the P wave, in micrometers

(μm), measured at 0.8 Hz.

Lahr's empirical formula[44] proposal is:

where

is seismograph signal amplitude in mm and

 is in km, for distances under 200 km .

and

where is in km, for distances between 200 km and 600 km .

The Bisztricsany empirical formula (1958) for epicentre distances between 4° and 160° is:[45]

where

is the duration of the surface wave in seconds, and

is in degrees.
is mainly between 5 and 8.

The Tsumura empirical formula is:[46]

where

is the total duration of oscillation in seconds.

mainly takes on values between 3 and 5.

The Tsuboi (University of Tokyo) empirical formula is:

where is the amplitude in μm.

See also
Earth sciences
portal

1935 in science
Seismic intensity scales
Seismic magnitude scales
Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)

Notes
1. Kanamori 1978, p. 411. Hough (2007, pp. 122–126) discusses the name at some length.
2. McPhee, John (1998). Annals of the Former World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 608.
3. Kanamori 1978, p. 411; Richter 1935.
4. Gutenberg & Richter 1956b, p. 30.
5. "Discovery Project 17: Orders of Magnitude" (https://www.stewartmath.com/precalc_7e_dp/p
recalc_7e_dp17.html). stewartmath.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
 6. Ellsworth, William L. (1991). "The Richter Scale ML" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160425
121745/http://www.johnmartin.com/earthquakes/eqsafs/safs_693.htm). In Wallace, Robert
E. (ed.). The San Andreas Fault System, California. United States Geological Survey.
p. 177. Professional Paper 1515. Archived from the original (http://www.johnmartin.com/eart
hquakes/eqsafs/safs_693.htm) on April 25, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
7. Brush, Stephen G. (September 1980). "Discovery of the Earth's core" (http://aapt.scitation.or
g/doi/10.1119/1.12026). American Journal of Physics. 48 (9): 705–724. doi:10.1119/1.12026
(https://doi.org/10.1119%2F1.12026). ISSN 0002-9505 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/000
2-9505).
8. Michael Allaby (2008). A dictionary of earth sciences (3rd ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-
921194-4. OCLC 177509121 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/177509121).
9. Einarsson, P. (September 1978). "S-wave shadows in the Krafla Caldera in NE-Iceland,
evidence for a magma chamber in the crust" (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02597222).
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s://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Monitoring-Earthquakes/Oth
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reproduced afterward in Earth's science primers. Recent evidence shows that earthquakes
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when the focus is very shallow (a few hundred meters). See: Thouvenot, F.; Bouchon, M.
(2008). "What is the lowest magnitude threshold at which an earthquake can be felt or
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19. Bolt 1993, p. 47.
20. Hough 2007;
21. Hough 2007, p. 57.
22. Hough 2007, pp. 57, 116.
23. Richter 1935, p. 2.
24. Richter 1935, pp. 1–5.
25. Richter 1935, pp. 2–3.
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28. Richter 1935, p. 5. See also Hutton & Boore 1987, p. 1; Chung & Bernreuter 1980, p. 10.
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30. Richter 1935, p. 32.
31. Chung & Bernreuter 1980, p. 5.
32. Richter 1935, p. 1. His article is titled: "An Instrumental Earthquake Magnitude Scale".
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retrieved March 14, 2018.

External links
Seismic Monitor (http://www.iris.edu/seismon/) – IRIS Consortium
USGS Earthquake Magnitude Policy (implemented on January 18, 2002) (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20160504144754/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/docs/020204mag_policy.ph
p) – USGS
Perspective: a graphical comparison of earthquake energy release (https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=YXMKSOsv3QA) – Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
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