It will almost certainly take several tens of thousands of years, if the growth rate for L'ihi is comparable to that of other Hawaiian volcanoes (about 0.1 foot per year averaged over geologic time).
A: The Richter scale is used to quantitatively measure the magnitude of an earthquake. This tool was devised by the seismologist Charles F. Richter in 1935. Full Answer >
Measuring Earthquakes. The recent earthquake that hit northeastern Japan was measured at 9.0 on the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS). Scientists known as seismologists use the MMS to determine the magnitude (strength) of an earthquake. The MMS measures the total energy of an earthquake, called the seismic moment.