The Moment Magnitude Scale
Moment Magnitude is the measure of total energy released by an earthquake. Moment magnitude is the measurement and term generally prefered by scientists and seismologists to the Richter scale because moment magnitude is more precise.
Moment Magnitude is not based on instrumental recordings of a quake, but on the area of the fault that ruptured in the quake. This means that the moment magnitude describes something physical about an earthquake. Moment Magnitude is calculated in part by multiplying the area of the fault's rupture surface by the distance the earth moves along the fault
The Moment Magnitude scale now supercedes the Richter scale.
Comparison between the Richter and Moment Magnitude Scales
| Earthquake | Richter Scale | Moment Magnitude |
| New Madrid, MO, 1812 | 8.7 | 8.1 |
| San Francisco, CA 1906 | 8.3 | 7.7 |
| Prince William, AK 1964 | 8.4 | 9.2 |
| Northridge, CA,1994 | 6.4 | 6.7 |
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Arkansas Center for Earthquake Education and Technology Transfer (ACEETT)
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Last Updated: September 2, 1998 Copyright 1998, UALR
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