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EQTip03 Magnitude Intensity

This document discusses the key differences between earthquake magnitude and intensity. Magnitude measures the actual energy released by an earthquake at the hypocenter, while intensity measures the severity of ground shaking experienced at a given location. Larger magnitudes correspond to greater energy release but intensity varies by location from the epicenter. Intensity is a more useful metric for assessing building damage potential and for seismic design, as it considers factors like peak ground acceleration. Common scales used are the Richter scale for magnitude and Modified Mercalli or MSK scales for intensity.

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Sebastian Tamayo
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45 views2 pages

EQTip03 Magnitude Intensity

This document discusses the key differences between earthquake magnitude and intensity. Magnitude measures the actual energy released by an earthquake at the hypocenter, while intensity measures the severity of ground shaking experienced at a given location. Larger magnitudes correspond to greater energy release but intensity varies by location from the epicenter. Intensity is a more useful metric for assessing building damage potential and for seismic design, as it considers factors like peak ground acceleration. Common scales used are the Richter scale for magnitude and Modified Mercalli or MSK scales for intensity.

Uploaded by

Sebastian Tamayo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Learning

Earthquake Design
and
Construction

Earthquake Tip
What are Magnitude and Intensity?
Terminology
The point on the fault where slip starts is the Focus
or Hypocenter, and the point vertically above this on
the surface of the Earth is the Epicenter (Figure 1). The
depth of focus from the epicenter, called as Focal Depth,
is an important parameter in determining the
damaging potential of an earthquake. Most of the
damaging earthquakes have shallow focus with focal
depths less than about 70km. Distance from epicenter
to any point of interest is called epicentral distance.
Epicentral Distance
Place of
Interest

Epicenter

Fault
Rupture

Focal
Depth

Focus
Figure 1: Basic terminology
A number of smaller size earthquakes take place
before and after a big earthquake (i.e., the Main Shock).
Those occurring before the big one are called
Foreshocks, and the ones after are called Aftershocks.

Magnitude

Magnitude is a quantitative measure of the actual


size of the earthquake. Professor Charles Richter
noticed that (a) at the same distance, seismograms
(records of earthquake ground vibration) of larger
earthquakes have bigger wave amplitude than those of
smaller earthquakes; and (b) for a given earthquake,
seismograms at farther distances have smaller wave
amplitude than those at close distances. These
prompted him to propose the now commonly used
magnitude scale, the Richter Scale. It is obtained from
the seismograms and accounts for the dependence of
waveform amplitude on epicentral distance. This scale
is also called Local Magnitude scale. There are other
magnitude scales, like the Body Wave Magnitude,
Surface Wave Magnitude and Wave Energy Magnitude.
These numerical magnitude scales have no upper and
lower limits; the magnitude of a very small earthquake
can be zero or even negative.
An increase in magnitude (M) by 1.0 implies 10
times higher waveform amplitude and about 31 times
higher energy released. For instance, energy released
in a M7.7 earthquake is about 31 times that released in
a M6.7 earthquake, and is about 1000 (3131) times
that released in a M5.7 earthquake. Most of the energy

released goes into heat and fracturing the rocks, and


only a small fraction of it (fortunately) goes into the
seismic waves that travel to large distances causing
shaking of the ground en-route and hence damage to
structures. (Did you know? The energy released by a
M6.3 earthquake is equivalent to that released by the
1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima!!)
Earthquakes are often classified into different
groups based on their size (Table 1). Annual average
number of earthquakes across the Earth in each of
these groups is also shown in the table; it indicates that
on an average one Great Earthquake occurs each year.
Table 1: Global occurrence of earthquakes
Group

Magnitude

Annual Average Number

Great
8 and higher
1
Major
7 7.9
18
Strong
6 6.9
120
Moderate
5 5.9
800
Light
4 4.9
6,200 (estimated)
Minor
3 3.9
49,000 (estimated)
Very Minor
< 3.0
M2-3: ~1,000/day; M1-2: ~8,000/day
Source: http::/neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html

Intensity
Intensity is a qualitative measure of the actual
shaking at a location during an earthquake, and is
assigned as Roman Capital Numerals. There are many
intensity scales. Two commonly used ones are the
Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale and the MSK
Scale. Both scales are quite similar and range from I
(least perceptive) to XII (most severe). The intensity
scales are based on three features of shaking
perception by people and animals, performance of
buildings, and changes to natural surroundings. Table
2 gives the description of Intensity VIII on MSK Scale.
The distribution of intensity at different places
during an earthquake is shown graphically using
isoseismals, lines joining places with equal seismic
intensity (Figure 2).

X
IX
VIII
VII
Figure 2: Isoseismal Map of the 2001 Bhuj (India)
Earthquake (MSK Intensity)
Source:
http::/www.nicee.org/nicee/EQReports/Bhuj/isoseismal.html

IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 3


What are Magnitude and Intensity?
Table 2: Description of shaking intensity VIII as per
MSK scale
Intensity VIII - Destruction of Buildings
(a) Fright and panic. Also, persons driving motorcars are
disturbed. Here and there branches of trees break off. Even
heavy furniture moves and partly overturns. Hanging
lamps are damaged in part.
(b) Most buildings of Type C suffer damage of Grade 2, and
few of Grade 3. Most buildings of Type B suffer damage of
Grade 3, and most buildings of Type A suffer damage of
Grade 4. Occasional breaking of pipe seams occurs.
Memorials and monuments move and twist. Tombstones
overturn. Stonewalls collapse.
(c) Small landslips occur in hollows and on banked roads on
steep slopes; cracks develop in ground up to widths of
several centimeters. Water in lakes becomes turbid. New
reservoirs come into existence. Dry wells refill and existing
wells become dry. In many cases, changes in flow and level
of water are observed.
Note:
Type A structures - rural constructions; Type B - ordinary
masonry constructions; Type C - Well-built structures
Single, Few about 5%; Many about 50%; Most about 75%
Grade 1 Damage Slight damage; Grade 2 Moderate
damage; Grade 3 Heavy damage; Grade 4 Destruction;
Grade 5 Total damage

Basic Difference: Magnitude versus Intensity


Magnitude of an earthquake is a measure of its size.
For instance, one can measure the size of an
earthquake by the amount of strain energy released by
the fault rupture. This means that the magnitude of the
earthquake is a single value for a given earthquake. On
the other hand, intensity is an indicator of the severity
of shaking generated at a given location. Clearly, the
severity of shaking is much higher near the epicenter
than farther away. Thus, during the same earthquake
of a certain magnitude, different locations experience
different levels of intensity.
To elaborate this distinction, consider the analogy
of an electric bulb (Figure 3). The illumination at a
location near a 100-Watt bulb is higher than that
farther away from it. While the bulb releases 100 Watts
of energy, the intensity of light (or illumination,
measured in lumens) at a location depends on the
wattage of the bulb and its distance from the bulb.
Here, the size of the bulb (100-Watt) is like the
magnitude of an earthquake, and the illumination at a
location like the intensity of shaking at that location.

Magnitude and Intensity in Seismic Design


One often asks: Can my building withstand a
magnitude 7.0 earthquake? But, the M7.0 earthquake
causes different shaking intensities at different
locations, and the damage induced in buildings at
these locations is different. Thus, indeed it is particular
levels of intensity of shaking that buildings and
structures are designed to resist, and not so much the
magnitude. The peak ground acceleration (PGA), i.e.,
maximum acceleration experienced by the ground
during shaking, is one way of quantifying the severity
of the ground shaking. Approximate empirical
correlations are available between the MM intensities
and the PGA that may be experienced (e.g., Table 3).
For instance, during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, the area

page 2
enclosed by the isoseismal VIII (Figure 2) may have
experienced a PGA of about 0.25-0.30g. However, now
strong ground motion records from seismic
instruments are relied upon to quantify destructive
ground shaking. These are critical for cost-effective
earthquake-resistant design.
Table 3: PGAs during shaking of different intensities
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
MMI
PGA
0.03-0.04 0.06-0.07 0.10-0.15 0.25-0.30 0.50-0.55 >0.60
(g)
Source: B.A.Bolt, Earthquakes, W.H.Freeman and Co., New York, 1993

Based on data from past earthquakes, scientists


Gutenberg and Richter in 1956 provided an
approximate correlation between the Local Magnitude
ML of an earthquake with the intensity I0 sustained in
the epicentral area as: ML 2 3 I0 + 1. (For using this
equation, the Roman numbers of intensity are replaced
with the corresponding Arabic numerals, e.g., intensity
IX with 9.0). There are several different relations
proposed by other scientists.
100 Watt Bulb

Near
Bright
(100 lumens)

Normal
(50 lumens)
Far
Dull
(20 lumens)
Figure 3: Reducing illumination with distance
from an electric bulb
Resource Material
Richter,C.F., (1958), Elementary Seismology, W. H. Freeman and
Company Inc, San Francisco, USA. (Indian Reprint in 1969 by
Eurasia Publishing House Private Limited, New Delhi)
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/general/handouts/magnitude_intensity.
html

Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Building Materials and Technology Promotion
Council, New Delhi, India
This release is a property of IIT Kanpur and BMTPC New
Delhi. It may be reproduced without changing its contents
and with due acknowledgement. Suggestions/comments
may be sent to: [email protected]. Visit www.nicee.org or
www.bmtpc.org, to see previous IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips.
June 2002

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