4 ms·

How does energy scale with distance from epicenter?

• ars 16y ago
  Probably goes down by r^2 However earthquakes may be "flat", in which case it's by r (i.e. r^1). It's probably somewhere in between those.
  • jules 16y ago
    Wouldn't it go down by r^2 if the earthquake is flat, and by r^3 if it's not?
    • wisty 16y ago
      No. A circle with 2X the radius has 2X the diameter, thus the energy will be cut in half. Unless you also expect a linear attenuation, due to energy loss through the bedrock.
• wisty 16y ago
  Small earthquakes have a lot of energy in the higher end of the frequency scale, which is rapidly dissipated. Larger earthquakes have more low-frequency energy, so they go further. There's no simple equation, they just use regression to fit the attenuation as a factor of 1/r, 1/r^2 (...), and for magnitude, and for frequency. You can start here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/about/attenuation.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/about/attenuation.php