Moment Magnitude Scale - Definition

Definition

The symbol for the moment magnitude scale is, with the subscript meaning mechanical work accomplished. The moment magnitude is a dimensionless number defined by

where is the magnitude of the seismic moment in (107 dyne·cm). The constant values in the equation are chosen to achieve consistency with the magnitude values produced by earlier scales, the Local Magnitude and the Surface Wave magnitude, both referred to as the "Richter" scale by reporters.

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