Comparison of the new national standard magnitude scales with the traditional magnitude scales

The new national standard magnitude scales and traditional magnitude scales are analyzed by using broadband seismic data from Sichuan seismic network science April of 2013. The results suggest that the differences between the new and the traditional M_L, and the M_S（BB） and M_S7 are small, hence, they are the high correlated. The new m_b is greater than or equal to the traditional m_b for all events, while the new M_L is greater than the traditional M_L for most events. In addition, the M_S（BB） is less than the M_S7 for half of the events. Moreover, the new M_L is more suitable in the actual regional geological condition compared with the traditional one, the new m_b is easier to measure, the M_S（BB） and m_B（BB） are more stable and adapt to the current broadband digital seismic data. Therefore, the new national standard magnitude scale not only has a good continuity of magnitude determination, but also has been greatly improved in terms of operability and applicability.