05-04-2018, 04:09 PM
Midnight - I certainly understand what you are saying. My understanding of the article is that one method uses sea level as a reference, but the actual number it's supposed to provide is relative to the surface. This obviously can provide errors as you'll have to know the exact surface level above the epicenter which may or may not be known accurately, plus you will have an uncertainty in the position of the epicenter, and then there are just the usual measurement uncertainties.
It might be (I'm uncertain) that in Hawaii's case, the errors are larger closer to the ocean or out in it because the earthquakes are farther away from the sensors. I've posted the link to the article Kirt quoted from below (I posted it earlier in the thread). Thanks all for an interesting discussion! I'll certainly do some more reading.
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-does-it-m...e_products
It might be (I'm uncertain) that in Hawaii's case, the errors are larger closer to the ocean or out in it because the earthquakes are farther away from the sensors. I've posted the link to the article Kirt quoted from below (I posted it earlier in the thread). Thanks all for an interesting discussion! I'll certainly do some more reading.
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-does-it-m...e_products