IM GIVING 15 POINTS Explain why an 8.0-moment magnitude earthquake on the mid-Atlantic rift at the equator would not have a rating on the Mercalli scale.

Explanation:

The distribution of earthquakes across the globe is shown in Figure 11.7. It is relatively easy to see the relationships between earthquakes and the plate boundaries. Along divergent boundaries like the mid-Atlantic ridge and the East Pacific Rise, earthquakes are common, but restricted to a narrow zone close to the ridge, and consistently at less than 30 km depth. Shallow earthquakes are also common along transform faults, such as the San Andreas Fault. Along subduction zones, as we saw in Chapter 10, earthquakes are very abundant, and they are increasingly deep on the landward side of the subduction zone