GEOG 1350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Moment Magnitude Scale, San Andreas Fault, Seismic Wave

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Geography
• Course: GEOG 1350
• Professor: Mark Moscicki

Document Summary

The moment magnitude scale: today, earthquakes are measured using the moment magnitude scale (m, the scale is determined by. The amount of movement along the fault. The elasticity of the crust at the focus: similar to the richter scale, it is a logarithmic scale. Ex. an m7 earthquake represent 10 time the amount of ground motion as an m6 earthquake. Magnitude and frequency of earthquakes: expect for very large earthquakes, the magnitude on the moment magnitude scale is similar to the richter scale, there are only a few m9+ earthquakes each century. The modi ed mercalli intensity scale is a qualitative scale based on damage to structure and the affect on people. Fault types: there are two basic types of geologic faults distingue by the direction of the displacement of rock or sediment, strike-slip faults: displacements are horizontal (san andreas fault, dip-slip faults: displacement are vertical, cause more earthquakes.