What is Mercalli scale in earthquake?

The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli’s Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake.

What is the Mercalli scale and what does it measure?

The Mercalli Intensity Scale measures the intensity of an earthquake by observing its effect on people, the environment and the earth’s surface.

What is earthquake Mercalli?

The Mercalli Scale is based on observable earthquake damage. From a scientific standpoint, the magnitude scale is based on seismic records while the Mercalli is based on observable data which can be subjective. Thus, the magnitude scale is considered scientifically more objective and therefore more accurate.

What is in the Mercalli scale?

The effect of an earthquake on the Earth’s surface is called the intensity. The intensity scale consists of a series of certain key responses such as people awakening, movement of furniture, damage to chimneys, and finally – total destruction.

What is the difference between Richter and Mercalli scale?

While the Mercalli scale describes the intensity of an earthquake based on its observed effects, the Richter scale describes the earthquake’s magnitude by measuring the seismic waves that cause the earthquake. The two scales have different applications and measurement techniques.

Is the Mercalli scale quantitative?

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

This is a semi-quantitative scale used to evaluate ground shaking and damage. This scale is composed of 12 increasing levels of intensity based on observed effects.

What are the three earthquake scales?

Because of the limitations of all three magnitude scales (ML, Mb, and Ms), a new more uniformly applicable extension of the magnitude scale, known as moment magnitude, or Mw, was developed. In particular, for very large earthquakes, moment magnitude gives the most reliable estimate of earthquake size.

What are the scales to measure earthquakes?

Although several scales have been developed over the years, the two commonly used today in the United States are the moment magnitude scale, which measures magnitude (M), or size, and the Modified Mercalli scale, which measures intensity.

What are the different Earthquake magnitude scales?

Several scales have been defined, but the most commonly used are (1) local magnitude (ML), commonly referred to as “Richter magnitude”, (2) surface-wave magnitude (Ms), (3) body-wave magnitude (Mb), and (4) moment magnitude (Mw).