What is an earthquake?
Um earthquake, or seismic shock, is what the sudden and abrupt movement of land is called. This phenomenon can shake structures and destroy entire cities or not be felt at all, depending on its magnitude, as explained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS, in the acronym in English 🇬🇧).
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What causes an earthquake?
As explained by the USGS, the earthquakes are the result of sliding and friction between the tectonic plates – large semi-rigid rock blocks that make up the Earth's crust and are in constant movement.
Sometimes, the plates collide with each other during this movement in places called “faults”. This friction releases a large amount of energy, in the form of waves, which propagate in all directions and cause tremors felt on the Earth's surface.
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How to measure the magnitude and intensity of earthquakes?
The severity of a earthquake can be measured in two ways: by magnitude and intensity.
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A magnitude This is what measures the size of the tremor and is related to the seismic energy released and the amplitude of the waves recorded at the origin. These measurements are made by devices that record ground movements called seismographs.
The scale used to calculate the size of the earthquake is the Richter Seismological Scale (better known as simply Richter scale), prepared by seismologists Charles Richter (from the United States) and Beno Gutenberg (from Germany).
A Richter scale works as follows:
- Um tremor less than 3,5 generally it is not felt, but is recorded by sensors seismological;
- Already one tremor between 3,5 and 5,4 is sometimes felt by the population, but rarely causes harm;
- Between 6,1 and 6,9 it can be destructive in areas around 100 km from the epicenter;
- In the case of tremors rated between 7,0 and 7,9, serious damage can be caused over a wide range;
- Finally, the earthquakes of 8 or more can cause severe damage in many areas, even if they are hundreds of kilometers away.
It is worth noting that although there is no limit to the scale, there have never been earthquakes with a magnitude of 10 or greater.
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Already intensity describes the effects produced by earthquakes in places on the Earth's surface. The classification of seismic intensity is made based on observation on the spot damage caused to buildings, people or the environment.
Can Brazil suffer from earthquakes?
The chances of a big earthquake happening in Brazil are remote, but the country is not free from the effects of major shocks.
In Brazil, earthquakes are also recorded, but of small intensity.
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In August 2022, for example, 8 earthquakes were recorded on the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (G1).
According to the Brazilian Seismographic Network, the largest event was of magnitude 3.7 and it was felt by the population. Despite this, at this magnitude, the tremor rarely causes damage.
Curto Curatorship:
- What are plate tectonics? Know your maps and movements! (Canaltech);
- The chance of Brazil suffering from large-scale earthquakes is rare; understand (G1);
- The five strongest earthquakes in history (BBC).
@curtonews A strong earthquake hit Turkey and Syria this Monday. Understand what causes sudden tremors. 📲 #CurtoNews #TikTokNews #Terremoto ♬ original sound – Curto News
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