GEOG 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Moment Magnitude Scale, San Andreas Fault, Magma Chamber
Document Summary
Intensity: a measure of how destructive an earthquake is, use the mercalli scale to measure which uses roman numerals to rank how destructive an earthquake is. Magnitude: the measure of the seismic energy that is released by the earthquake, quantitative, measured with the richter scale usually for general public scientists use moment magnitude scale which takes into account more variables and is more accurate. Elastic rebound theory: tension builds up between plates which are being held together by friction, eventually overpowers the friction and snaps" releasing seismic energy creating an earthquake. San andreas fault where you see a transform plate boundary, lots of earthquakes. There are 1300 known volcanoes on earth, 600 of which are active, 70 in the us. Volcano is the term for the surface end of a vent or a pipe that leads down and connect to a magma chamber. Crater is the opening at the top of the volcano.
