Oscillatory tendency of interevent direction in earthquake sequences

Yu Zhou, Yee Leung and Lung Sang Chan

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2017, vol. 478, issue C, 120-130

Abstract: The epicenter motion direction carries important information about the seismogenic dynamics but, to our knowledge, lacks systematic study. In this work, we studied the earthquake process from this perspective. To grasp the feature in directional information, we proposed a new descriptor, i.e., the direction of motion change defined as the difference in azimuths between two consecutive earthquake events. For the aftershock sequences of the Landers and the Northridge Earthquakes, the regional earthquake catalogs of south China, southern California, and New Zealand, and the corresponding aftershock depleted catalogs, we studied the distribution and long-range correlation of the direction of motion change. Similar results are found for the aftershock and regional earthquake process even if aftershocks depleted from the catalogs: Both of them hold a tendency for successive events to migrate in opposite directions along fault zones and show no long-range correlation, rendering plausibly a fundamental characteristic governed by seismogenic dynamics. For aftershocks, the phenomenon is conjectured to be the alternate release of residual stress at both ends of the fissures. With regard to regional earthquakes, the underlying physics and mechanisms are not very clear. It should be something related to the seismodynamic process, such as stress configuration modified by earthquakes. The study from this new perspective of directional information is believed to benefit a better understanding of the earthquake process.

Keywords: Earthquakes; Directional information; Oscillatory tendency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037843711730170X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:478:y:2017:i:c:p:120-130

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2017.02.033

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().