Body wave magnitude

Body wave magnitude

Body wave magnitude (mb) is a way of determining the size of an earthquake, using the amplitude of the initial P-wave to calculate the magnitude. The P-wave is a type of body wave that is capable of traveling through the earth at the speed of sound, and is the first wave from an earthquake to reach a seismometer. Because of this, calculating the body wave magnitude can be the quickest method of determining the size of an earthquake that is of a large distance from the seismometer.

Limitations in the calculation method mean that body wave magnitude saturates at around 6 - 6.5mb, with the figure staying the same even when the moment magnitude may be higher.

ee also

*Seismic scale
*Moment magnitude scale


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Surface wave magnitude — The Surface wave magnitude (MS) is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to measure the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements in Rayleigh surface waves that primarily travel along the uppermost layers of the earth. It is… …   Wikipedia

  • Magnitude (Erdbeben) — Die Magnitude ist ein Maß für die Stärke von Erdbeben. Magnituden werden überwiegend aus den Amplituden, seltener auch aus anderen Parametern von Seismogrammen bestimmt. Diese werden wiederum weltweit an Erdbebenmessstationen mit Seismographen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wave function — Not to be confused with the related concept of the Wave equation Some trajectories of a harmonic oscillator (a ball attached to a spring) in classical mechanics (A B) and quantum mechanics (C H). In quantum mechanics (C H), the ball has a wave… …   Wikipedia

  • Richter magnitude scale — Part of a series on earthquakes Types Foreshock • Aftershock • Blind thrust Doublet • Interplate • …   Wikipedia

  • Moment magnitude scale — Part of a series on earthquakes Types Foreshock • Aftershock • Blind thrust Doublet • Interplate • …   Wikipedia

  • Wave drag — is an aerodynamics term that refers to a sudden and very powerful form of drag that appears on aircraft and blade tips moving at high subsonic and supersonic speeds. Overview Wave drag is caused by the formation of shock waves around the aircraft …   Wikipedia

  • Full body scanner — Backscatter x ray image of TSA Security Laboratory Director Susan Hallowell. A full body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person s nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes …   Wikipedia

  • Shock wave — Bombshock redirects here. For the Transformers character, see Micromasters#Bombshock. For other uses, see shockwave. Schlieren photograph of an attached shock on a sharp nosed supersonic body. A shock wave (also called shock front or simply shock …   Wikipedia

  • Quantum mind–body problem — The quantum mind–body problem refers to the philosophical discussions of the mind–body problem in the context of quantum mechanics. Since quantum mechanics involves quantum superpositions, which are not perceived by observers, some… …   Wikipedia

  • Rogue wave — This article is about the deep ocean rogue waves which occur far out at sea. For tsunami and tidal wave phenomena, see those respective articles. For other uses, see Rogue wave (disambiguation). The Draupner wave, a single giant wave measured on… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”