In New Zealand – Great Sea Earthquake April 24, 2023: This is the current status of the 7.1 level earthquake
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck New Zealand. Learn all the details about the marine earthquake here.
Iconic image: An undersea earthquake shakes a coastal town Photo: Photo Alliance/Yasar Antar/AFP/DBA | Left Antar
On Monday, April 24, 2023 at 02:41 am, an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale occurred. But what does this classification actually mean and what values can be used to classify an earthquake more accurately?
What do we currently know about the marine earthquake?
The earthquake spread into the sea, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand It happened. However, no city was directly affected by the undersea earthquake in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. On the Richter scale, the earthquake is rated at 7.1. In addition to this scale, there are other details that can be useful when evaluating a natural event. The origin of a marine earthquake eruption, for example, is important for assessing earthquake intensity. The depth of this event is currently assumed to be 43 kilometers. This value also influences marine earthquake intensity values, which vary from place to place due to various other factors, but can still be recorded as a maximum. A distinction is made between experience and estimated severity. While the former is captured by concretely reported values, the latter is the intensity estimated by measuring tools. The same values are also based on the Richter scale. For the current event, a maximum of 7.6 was reported as the experienced density and a maximum of 7.025 as the estimated density.
How accurate is this information about the marine earthquake near New Zealand?
The total number of seismic stations used to locate an earthquake gives an indication of the accuracy of the measurements. The figure for this earthquake is relatively high, which means that current knowledge of earthquakes can tentatively be classified as highly accurate relative to other measurements. The accuracy rating is supplemented by the distance between adjacent stations. In general, the smaller this is, the more reliable the calculated horizontal position of the earthquake. In the present case, this distance is relatively small, which is why quake positioning can be considered very reliable.
Quick check: This is what we currently know about a marine earthquake
| Seaquake: New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| position: | Kermadec Islands, New Zealand |
| Coordinates: | Latitude = -29.968 degrees and Longitude = -177.826 degrees |
| Places within a radius of 100 km: | undefined |
| Magnitude: | 7.1 |
| Accuracy: | very accurate |
| reliability: | Very reliable |
| Depth: | 43 kilometers |
| Experienced intensity: | 7.6 |
| rated intensity: | 7025 |
| Notification time: | 04/24/2023 – 02:41 AM |
What does the Richter scale mean for a marine earthquake?
The Richter scale, developed and introduced by American seismologist Charles Francis Richter in the 1930s, makes it possible to make statements about the strength of earthquakes and submarine earthquakes using magnitude, a term derived from the Latin word “magnitudo”. (size) arises. To determine this, you need a seismogram that can record ground movements very accurately. The maximum deviation of the measuring instrument – the amplitude – is combined with the distance between the measuring station and the epicenter, which gives the magnitude of the earthquake. A seismologist developed a logarithmic scale so that deviations on a seismogram are easy to read and can be identified continuously. An earthquake of magnitude 7 is 10 times greater than a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, 100 times greater than a magnitude of 5, and 1000 times greater than a magnitude of 4 on the Richter scale.
Richter Scale: The most important things at a glance
| Richter magnitudes | Classification of earthquake strength | earthquake impact | Frequency of events around the world |
|---|---|---|---|
| <2.0 | microscopic | Small earthquakes, not felt | 8000 x per day (of scale 1.0) |
| 2.0 to 3.0 | Extremely light | Generally it is not observable, but it is measured | 1500 times a day |
| 3.0 to 4.0 | very easy | It is often noticed, and damage is rare | 135 times a day |
| 4.0 to 5.0 | a light | Objects in the room move clearly, vibration sounds, and mostly no damage | 35 times a day |
| 5.0 to 6.0 | Medium strength | Major damage to vulnerable buildings, no minor damage to strong buildings | 4.5 times a day, 1600 times a year |
| 6.0 to 7.0 | strong | Destruction within a radius of up to 70 km | 130 times annually |
| 7.0 to 8.0 | big | destroy large areas | 13 times a year |
| 8.0 to 9.0 | Very large | Devastation in areas of several hundred kilometers | 0.9x annually |
| 9.0 to 10.0 | extra large | Thousands of miles of destruction | 4 times in 122 years (1952/60/64, 2011) |
| more than 10 | global catastrophe | It was never recorded, and is believed to be an earthquake measuring 11 on the Richter scale 66 million years ago, caused by an asteroid impact in Yucatan. | 1 x 66 million years |
Before the introduction of the Richter scale, other seismographs were used, for which the Richter values do not transmit well, and therefore cannot transmit previously measured earthquakes. However, since measurements using this scale began, there have been at least five documented earthquakes of magnitude 9 or higher. These have occurred in Russia (1952), Chile (1960), Alaska (1964), Indonesia (2004) and Japan (2011). The earthquake that caused devastating damage in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023 had a value of 7.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake caused a huge number of deaths, which cannot be definitively determined at the moment.
+++ Editorial note: This text was automatically generated based on current data from the USGS (US Geological Survey). The USGS sent the latest event update on April 24, 2023 – 10:54 PM. Get more information about the event On the official USGS website here. We accept feedback and comments at [email protected]. +++
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ROJ / news.de
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