It will almost certainly take several tens of thousands of years, if the growth rate for L'ihi is comparable to that of other Hawaiian volcanoes (about 0.1 foot per year averaged over geologic time).
A: The Richter scale is used to quantitatively measure the magnitude of an earthquake. This tool was devised by the seismologist Charles F. Richter in 1935. Full Answer >
The Richter scale is based on a standard measurement: an earthquake that can be felt 100km away with amplitude of 1mm is given a magnitude measurement of 3.0. This is the base measurement and all other measurements of magnitude are made to this reference.