How huge could an earthquake possibly be?
The world is shocked with the huge earthquake that happened in Turkey and what happened after it. Here is how huge can an earthquake be.
While a quake with a magnitude greater than 9.5 is theoretically possible, it would require the simultaneous failure of a sizable portion of the earth's crust and the migration of an unusually deep and lengthy fault. According to earthquake geologist and scientific communicator Wendy Bohon, there aren't many areas on Earth where that might occur. According to Bohon, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake is probably somewhere near the upper limit of what the Earth can produce, and a magnitude 10 earthquake is exceedingly implausible.
How huge could an earthquake possibly be?
Thank goodness it's not feasible for Earth, but it's excellent for Hollywood, Bohon added.
The energy released during an earthquake is measured by its magnitude. It differs slightly from the intensity of an earthquake, which can vary depending on one's proximity to the epicenter and the state of the ground. According to Bohon, a person standing on soft ground or sand will feel an earthquake more strongly than a person standing on solid bedrock.
The entire area of a fault that ruptures determines the magnitude of an earthquake. This in turn depends on how far into the crust the fault extends and how long the broken portion is horizontally. The size of an area that can be broken has physical boundaries. Subduction zones, when one tectonic plate pushes under another, are where the deepest faults are found.
