SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – California residents are no strangers to earthquakes but what is the science behind these destructive jolts of energy?
First, let’s start with the way we measure the size of an earthquake, which is known as magnitude and is the number most commonly associated with reports of earthquakes. The Richter Scale is a logarithmic scale of numbers, with each whole number representing a 10-fold increase in the amplitude of waves measured on a seismogram, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The categories range from minor to major and the scale starts at zero and ends at a 10. The energy released by an earthquake and intensity of shaking often correlate with magnitude, but the USGS notes that several other factors determine how strong an earthquake feels at the surface. Those factors include the local geology, depth of the earthquake, and proximity to the epicenter.
You may be aware of fault lines, which are fractures in the Earth’s crust that allows two segments of rock to move past each other. When these segments move rapidly, an earthquake is caused. There are three types of fault lines: normal, reverse and strike-slip faults…