GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The idea of a logarithmic earthquake magnitude scale was first developed by Charles Richter in the 1930’s for measuring the size of earthquakes occurring in southern California using relatively high-frequency data from nearby seismograph stations.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Richter scale measures the largest wiggle (amplitude) on the recording, but other magnitude scales measure different parts of the earthquake. The USGS currently reports earthquake magnitudes using the Moment Magnitude scale, though many other magnitudes are calculated for research and comparison purposes.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale that measures the largest jolt of energy released by an earthquake. The moment magnitude scale is a logarithmic scale that measures the total amount of energy released by an earthquake.