Gutenberg–Richter law Gutenberg–Richter law In seismology, the Gutenberg–Richter law (GR law) expresses the relationship between the magnitude and total number of earthquakes in any given region and time period of "at least" that magnitude. or Where: The relationship between earthquake magnitude and frequency was first proposed by Charles Francis Richter and Beno Gutenberg in a paper published in 1956. This relationship between event magnitude and frequency of occurrence is remarkably common, although the values of a and b may vary significantly from region to region or over time. The parameter b (commonly referred to as the "b-value") is commonly close to 1.0
Seismic magnitude scales well" with the seismic moment magnitude in the range of 4.5 to 7.5, but underestimate larger magnitudes. Body-waves consist of P-waves that are the first to arrive (see seismogram), or S-waves, or reflections of either. Body-waves travel through rock directly. The original "body-wave magnitude" – mB or m (uppercase "B") – was developed by and to overcome the distance and magnitude limitations of the scale inherent in the use of surface waves. is based on the P- and S-waves, measured over a longer period, and does not saturate until around M 8. However, it is not sensitive to events smaller