Revealing the spatiotemporal complexity of the magnitude distribution and b-value during an earthquake sequence.

ABSTRACT: The Magnitude-Frequency-Distribution (MFD) of earthquakes is typically modeled with the (tapered) Gutenberg-Richter relation. The main parameter of this relation, the b-value, controls the relative rate of small and large earthquakes. Resolving spatiotemporal variations of the b-value is critical to understanding the earthquake occurrence process and improving earthquake forecasting. However, this variation is not well understood. Here we present remarkable MFD variability during the complex 2016/17 central Italy sequence using a high-resolution earthquake catalog. Isolating seismically active volumes ('clusters') reveals that the MFD differed in nearby clusters, varied or remained constant in time depending on the cluster, and increased in b-value in the cluster where the largest earthqua

SUBMITTER: Herrmann M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9424211 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature