seismology: Development of Seismology

The American scientist John Winthrop (1714–79), often called the founder of seismology, was one of the first to make scientific studies of earthquakes. By analyzing seismic data from a 1909 earthquake near Zagreb (now in Croatia), the Austro-Hungarian meteorologist Andrija Mohorovičić discovered a boundary between the crust and mantle, now called the Mohorovičić discontinuity or Moho. Seismological studies were furthered by the U.S. seismologist Charles F. Richter, who invented the Richter scale to determine an earthquake's magnitude. Each successive point on the logarithmic scale represents an increase by a factor of 10 in wave amplitude. A modified Mercalli scale, originally developed by the Italian seismologist Giuseppe Mercalli, is also based on the earthquake's effects on the surface.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Applications of Seismology
• Development of Seismology
• Seismographic Instruments
• Bibliography

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