Epicenter and Magnitude of the Earthquake Assignment

Epicenter and Magnitude of the Earthquake - Assignment Example To locate the epicenter of the earthquake, the seismologists examine seismograms from three seismic stations. The seismologists measure the time interval of S-waves and P-waves in about 45 seconds and place the vertical lines at an interval of about 2 seconds. The measured S-P time interval will help to determine waves distance of travel from the focus to the station. It is paramount to note that the actual location of the epicenter is on the circle's perimeter to be drawn around the station. Therefore, to triangulate this position, there must be three seismic stations. A circle with an appropriate radius is drawn around every station and where the three circles intersect is the epicenter of the earthquake. Â  The seismologists use a well-known Richter scale to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. To determine the earthquake’s Richter magnitude, seismologists require one to know the surface the wave’s amplitude and the distance to the origin of the earthquake at the seismic recording site or location. The distance of the seismic recording and footage station from the epicenter can be determined by getting the time difference between the arrival of the P-waves and S-waves at the station. The difference is called S-P interval. The amplitude of the surface wave depends on the earthquakes magnitude and the distance between the epicenter and recording station. It is a measure of how many millimeters the ground will move at the recording station. The amplitude and S-P interval is then used to determine the Richter magnitude.