Monitoring earthquakes

Earthquake-recording methods of the past and present

Earthquakes are measured using an instrument called a seismograph, which produces a visual record of tremors in the Earth’s crust. This shows the seismic waves of the earthquake as a wiggly line, allowing you to plot the different waves types. The small but fast P waves appear first, followed by the larger but slower S waves and surface waves. The amount of time between the arrival of the P and S waves shows how far away the earthquake was, allowing scientists to work out the exact location of the epicentre. The size of the waves also helps them determine the magnitude or size of the earthquake, which is measured using the Richter Scale. How a seismograph works The clever device that records earthquakes as they happen 15tons Weight of the largest spring-pendulum seismometer The…

You're reading a preview of

How It Works Book of Incredible Earth (Digital) - 1 Issue, How It Works Book Of Incredible Earth 6th Edition

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.