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of the 2011 Japan earthquake on moment magnitude scale is 9.0.The use of the Richter magnitude scale has largely been replaced by the moment magnitude scale in most countries.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 most commonly referred to scale by the press and the public is the Richter scale for measuring earthquake magnitude. However this was actually replaced in the 1970s by the Moment Magnitude scale which is the magnitude scale favoured and in use by seismologists.
The instrument is called "seismometer."The first sacle of measurment for earthquakes is called the richter magnitude scale after its inventor, Charles Richter (in 1935 ), which categorises them in terms obtained by calculating the logarithm of their amplitude.This scale has been replaced in the 1970s, by the moment magnitude scale which measures the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released.The modern scale retains the familiar continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one.
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 moment magnitude scale is more accurate for large earthquake than can cause damage.
This is known as magnitude. It is measured on 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.
The standard units used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes are the Richter scale and the moment magnitude scale.
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 Formerly the Richter magnitude scale was used, but this has now been replaced by the Moment magnitude scale.
An earthquake's magnitude is a measure of how strong it is
to rate an earthquake
The most commonly used scale to measure the magnitude of earthquakes is the Richter scale. However, the moment magnitude scale (Mw) is now more widely used as it provides a more accurate measurement for larger earthquakes. Other scales include the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, which measures the intensity of shaking at a specific location.
You can measure earthquakes on the Moment magnitude scale or the Richter 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 magnitude of an earthquake is caluated to measure the amount of energy released during the earthquake.
to rate an earthquake