🎛️ Earthquake Generator
M 6.0
Strong Earthquake
Adjust the slider to generate earthquakes of different magnitudes.
Watch how various magnitude scales respond - notice the saturation effects!
📈 Magnitude Scale Meters
Local Magnitude (ML)
6.0
Wood-Anderson seismometer response
⚠️ SATURATED - No longer reliable!
Body Wave (mb)
6.0
P-wave amplitudes (1-5 Hz)
⚠️ SATURATED at ~M6.5!
Surface Wave (Ms)
6.0
Surface waves (~20s period)
⚠️ SATURATED at ~M8.2!
Moment Magnitude (Mw)
6.0
Seismic moment-based (no saturation)
Never saturates!
ML/mb - High Frequency
Local & Teleseismic
Ms - Long Period
Large Events
Mw - Physical
All Sizes
Modern Standard
No Saturation
📏 Amplitude & Energy Scaling
Amplitude increases 10x per magnitude unit
Energy increases 32x per magnitude unit
Energy increases 32x per magnitude unit
Energy Comparison
2.0 × 10¹⁵ J
Equivalent to 63 tons TNT
📊 3-Component Seismogram
Vertical (Z) Component
North-South (N) Component
East-West (E) Component
P-waves (Primary)
S-waves (Secondary)
Surface waves
Coda
🚨 Understanding Magnitude Saturation
Why scales saturate:
• ML & mb: High-frequency waves don't grow proportionally with very large earthquakes
• Ms: Surface waves saturate for events larger than ~M8.2
• Mw: Based on total seismic moment - never saturates
Historical impact:
The 1960 Chilean earthquake (Mw 9.5) was initially underestimated using Ms (~8.5), leading to the development of moment magnitude scale.
• ML & mb: High-frequency waves don't grow proportionally with very large earthquakes
• Ms: Surface waves saturate for events larger than ~M8.2
• Mw: Based on total seismic moment - never saturates
Historical impact:
The 1960 Chilean earthquake (Mw 9.5) was initially underestimated using Ms (~8.5), leading to the development of moment magnitude scale.