Magnitude Calibration Function
Magnitude Calibration Function :
That a magnitude becomes a defined and comparable quantity, which relates to the size or strength of an earthquake independent of the place of observation, one has to correct the related measured values such as amplitude, period, duration, waveform, moment or energy content for path effects (geometric spreading, intrinsic attenuation, scattering, ...), source mechanism, and/or recording site effects. These correction terms are then accounted for in a magnitude calibration function. Because of the complexity of all these effects and the difficulty to model them theoretically, especially for short-period data, these "functions" are usually derived as average functions or tabulated values from large empirical data sets. For a commented summary of calibration functions and tables see DS 3.1
