The Richter scale
The Richter scale rates earthquakes based on the amplitude of seismic waves. The moment magnitude scale is a more modern and accurate scale that estimates the total energy released by an earthquake.
There are a number of earthquake magnitude scales, including the moment magnitude scale (the scale currently favoured by seismologists), the Richter or local magnitude scale and the surface wave magnitude scale.
The strength of an earthquake is called its magnitude. This is a measure of the size of the earthquake based on the energy released at the source. It is typically calculated using the Richter scale or the moment magnitude scale.
This is known as magnitude. It is measured on the moment magnitude scale.
Magnitude of the 2011 Japan earthquake on moment magnitude scale is 9.0.The use of the Richter magnitude scale has largely been replaced by the moment magnitude scale in most countries. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), for example, uses the moment magnitude scale designated as MMS or Mw to measure all large earthquakes.UPDATE: Official magnitude was updated to 9.1 on Nov 7, 2016.
The Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw) was developed by the seismologists Hanks and Kanamori during the 70's and their work was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research in 1979.
The moment magnitude scale is more accurate for large earthquake than can cause damage.
The scale used to describe the strength of earthquakes is the Richter scale, which quantifies the energy released by an earthquake based on the amplitude of seismic waves. Another commonly used scale is the moment magnitude scale, which provides a more accurate measurement of an earthquake's size by considering the seismic moment.
The scale most widely used by scientists for measuring earthquakes is the Richter scale. This scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake based on the energy released at the source.
Richter scale, Modified Mercalli scale, Centigrade scale, and the Moment Magnitude scale
A magnitude scale. Formerly the Richter magnitude scale was used, but this has now been replaced by the Moment magnitude scale.
Geologists use the moment magnitude scale (Mw) to rate the magnitude of an earthquake today. This scale takes into account the seismic moment, which provides a more precise measurement of an earthquake's size compared to the Richter scale.