05-04-2018, 03:07 PM
Kirt - I'll put it a different way. Measuring the depth of an earthquake is difficult and scientists use various models to figure it out, but the results can be dodgy with large errors. Put those numbers into a computer and you end up with a result that's as good (or bad) as the data you entered.
For example, when an earthquake is shallow, that data can say the earthquake occurred above the ground (which is nonsense of course), but if you look at the data and the error, you'll see it might have occurred between 1.2 miles above the ground to 0.8 miles underground (I'm assuming an error of +/- one mile). After reviewing the data, the scientist will say, well, it likely occurred at a depth of 0.4 miles +/- 0.4 miles, as it can't occur above the surface, and the data suggest it didn't occur below 0.8 miles.
For example, when an earthquake is shallow, that data can say the earthquake occurred above the ground (which is nonsense of course), but if you look at the data and the error, you'll see it might have occurred between 1.2 miles above the ground to 0.8 miles underground (I'm assuming an error of +/- one mile). After reviewing the data, the scientist will say, well, it likely occurred at a depth of 0.4 miles +/- 0.4 miles, as it can't occur above the surface, and the data suggest it didn't occur below 0.8 miles.