Probabilistic Assessment of Earthquake Recurrence in Northeast India and Adjoining Regions

Northeast India and adjoining regions (20°–32° N and 87°–100° E) are highly vulnerable to earthquake hazard in the Indian sub-continent, which fall under seismic zones V, IV and III in the seismic zoning map of India with magnitudes M exceeding 8, 7 and 6, respectively. It has experienced two devastating earthquakes, namely, the Shillong Plateau earthquake of June 12, 1897 (M _w 8.1) and the Assam earthquake of August 15, 1950 (M _w 8.5) that caused huge loss of lives and property in the Indian sub-continent. In the present study, the probabilities of the occurrences of earthquakes with magnitude M ≥ 7.0 during a specified interval of time has been estimated on the basis of three probabilistic models, namely, Weibull, Gamma and Lognormal, with the help of the earthquake catalogue spanning the period 1846 to 1995. The method of maximum likelihood has been used to estimate the earthquake hazard parameters. The logarithmic probability of likelihood function (ln L) is estimated and used to compare the suitability of models and it was found that the Gamma model fits best with the actual data. The sample mean interval of occurrence of such earthquakes is estimated as 7.82 years in the northeast India region and the expected mean values for Weibull, Gamma and Lognormal distributions are estimated as 7.837, 7.820 and 8.269 years, respectively. The estimated cumulative probability for an earthquake M ≥ 7.0 reaches 0.8 after about 15–16 (2010–2011) years and 0.9 after about 18–20 (2013–2015) years from the occurrence of the last earthquake (1995) in the region. The estimated conditional probability also reaches 0.8 to 0.9 after about 13–17 (2008–2012) years in the considered region for an earthquake M ≥ 7.0 when the elapsed time is zero years. However, the conditional probability reaches 0.8 to 0.9 after about 9–13 (2018–2022) years for earthquake M ≥ 7.0 when the elapsed time is 14 years (i.e. 2009).     

Statistical prediction of the next great earthquake around Tehran,Iran

The analysis of seismic activity variations with space and time is a complex problem. Several statistical methods have been adopted to study these variations. One of the tasks that has attracted the attention of the seismological and statistical community is to explain seismicity patterns by statistical models and apply the results for earthquake prediction. Here the probability distribution of recurrence times as described by Exponential, Gamma, Lognormal, Pareto, Rayleigh and Weibull probability distributions and the idea of conditional probability has been applied to predict the next great (Ms ≥ 6.0 and Ms ≥ 6.5) earthquake around Tehran (r ≤ 200 km). Conditional probability specifies the likelihood that a given earthquake will happen within a specified time. This likelihood is based on the information about past earthquake occurrences in the given region and the basic assumption that future seismic activity will follow the pattern of past activity. The rapid growth of Tehran to approximately 12 million inhabitants has resulted in a much more rapid increase in its vulnerability to natural disasters, especially earthquakes. Several earthquakes affected this region in the past, mostly on the Mosha, Taleqan, Eyvankey and Garmsar faults. The estimated recurrence times for Exponential, Gamma, Lognormal, Pareto, Rayleigh and Weibull distributions has been computed to be 66.64, 14.79, 26.88, 2.37, 67.58 and 80.47, respectively. Accordingly, one may expect that a large damaging earthquake may occur around Tehran approximately every 10 years.     

Probabilistic Assessment of Earthquake Hazard in Gujarat and Adjoining Region of India

The Gujarat and adjoining region falls under all four seismic zones V, IV, III and II of the seismic zoning map of India, and is one of the most seismically prone intracontinental regions of the world. It has experienced two large earthquakes of magnitude M _w 7.8 and 7.7 in 1819 and 2001, respectively and several moderate earthquakes during the past two centuries. In the present study, the probability of occurrence of earthquakes of M ≥ 5.0 has been estimated during a specified time interval for different elapsed times on the basis of observed time intervals between earthquakes using three stochastic models namely, Weibull, Gamma and Lognormal. A complete earthquake catalogue has been used covering the time interval of 1819 to 2006. The whole region has been divided into three major seismic regions (Saurashtra, Mainland Gujarat and Kachchh) on the basis of seismotectonics and geomorphology of the region. The earthquake hazard parameters have been estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. The logarithmic of likelihood function (ln L) is estimated and used to test the suitability of models in three different regions. It was found that the Weibull model fits well with the actual data in Saurashtra and Kachchh regions, whereas Lognormal model fits well in Mainland Gujarat. The mean intervals of occurrence of earthquakes are estimated as 40.455, 20.249 and 13.338 years in the Saurashtra, Mainland Gujarat and Kachchh region, respectively. The estimated cumulative probability (probability that the next earthquake will occur at a time later than some specific time from the last earthquake) for the earthquakes of M ≥ 5.0 reaches 0.9 after about 64 years from the last earthquake (1993) in Saurashtra, about 49 years from the last earthquake (1969) in Mainland Gujarat and about 29 years from the last earthquake (2006) in the Kachchh region. The conditional probability (probability that the next earthquake will occur during some specific time interval after a certain elapsed time from last earthquake) is also estimated and it reaches about 0.8 to 0.9 during the time interval of about 57 to 66 years from the last earthquake (1993) in Saurashtra region, 31 to 51 years from the last earthquake (1969) in Mainland Gujarat and about 21 to 28 years from the last earthquake (2006) in Kachchh region.     

Fracture characteristics of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm inferred from source spectra

Broadband P and S waves source spectra of 12 MS5.0 earthquakes of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm recorded at 13 GDSN stations have been analyzed. Rupture size and static stress drop of these earthquakes have been estimated through measuring the corner frequency of the source spectra. Direction of rupture propagation of the earthquake faulting has also been inferred from the azimuthal variation of the corner frequency. The main results are as follows: ①The rupture size of MS6.0 strong earthquakes is in the range of 10～20 km, while that of MS=5.0～5.5 earthquakes is 6～10 km.② The static stress drop of the swarm earthquakes is rather low, being of the order of 0.1 MPa. This implies that the deformation release rate in the source region may be low. ③ Stress drop of the earthquakes appears to be proportional to their seismic moment, and also to be dependent on their focal mechanism. The stress drop of normal faulting earthquakes is usually lower than that of strike-slip type earthquakes. ④ For each MS6.0 earthquake there exists an apparent azimuthal variation of the corner frequencies. Azimuthally variation pattern of corner frequencies of different earthquakes shows that the source rupture pattern of the Jiashi earthquake swarm is complex and no uniform rupture expanding direction exists.     

A priliminary study on the sequence characteristics and focal mechanism solution of the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm

ｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＸｉｎｊｉａｎｇｉｓａｓｅｉｓｍｉｃａｌｙａｃｔｉｖｅｒｅｇｉｏｎｉｎＣｈｉｎａ,ａｎｄＪｉａｓｈｉｉｓａｆｏｃａｌｍｏｎｉｔｏｒｉｎｇａｒｅａｉｎＸｉｎｊｉａｎｇ．ＩｎｔｈｅｐｅｒｉｏｄｆｒｏｍＪａｎｕａｒｙ２１ｔｏＡｐｒｉｌ...     

Earthquake probabilities and magnitude distribution ( M ≥6.7) along the Haiyuan fault, northwestern China

In recent years, some researchers have studied the paleoearthquake along the Haiyuan fault and revealed a lot of paleoearthquake events. All available information allows more reliable analysis of earthquake recurrence interval and earthquake rupture patterns along the Haiyuan fault. Based on this paleoseismological information, the recurrence probability and magnitude distribution for M≥6.7 earthquakes in future 100 years along the Haiyuan fault can be obtained through weighted computation by using Poisson and Brownian passage time models and considering different rupture patterns. The result shows that the recurrence probability of M _S≥6.7 earthquakes is about 0.035 in future 100 years along the Haiyuan fault. Foundation item: Joint Seismological Science Foundation of China (103034) and Major Research “Research on Assessment of Seismic Safety” from China Earthquake Administration during the tenth Five-year Plan.     

On the relation of moderate-short term anomaly of earth resistivity to earthquake

IntroductionMany anomalies due to earthquake have been recorded in observation of earth-resistivity for30 years and over, which showed that there objectively existed the anomalies of each-resistivity.The crustal strUcture and medium conditions are quite complex, so the complexity of the temporal,spatial and intensive development of the anomalies is inevitable. Both of time and amplitUde ofanomalies among some stations near an epicenter are different (even among different observational directi…     

Temporal distribution of earthquakes using renewal process in the Dasht-e-Bayaz region

Temporal distribution of earthquakes with M _w > 6 in the Dasht-e-Bayaz region, eastern Iran has been investigated using time-dependent models. Based on these types of models, it is assumed that the times between consecutive large earthquakes follow a certain statistical distribution. For this purpose, four time-dependent inter-event distributions including the Weibull, Gamma, Lognormal, and the Brownian Passage Time (BPT) are used in this study and the associated parameters are estimated using the method of maximum likelihood estimation. The suitable distribution is selected based on logarithm likelihood function and Bayesian Information Criterion. The probability of the occurrence of the next large earthquake during a specified interval of time was calculated for each model. Then, the concept of conditional probability has been applied to forecast the next major (M _w > 6) earthquake in the site of our interest. The emphasis is on statistical methods which attempt to quantify the probability of an earthquake occurring within a specified time, space, and magnitude windows. According to obtained results, the probability of occurrence of an earthquake with M _w > 6 in the near future is significantly high.     

Periodic spectral characteristics of seismicity before strong earthquakes and their application

IntroductionMaximumentropyspectralmethod(MEM)(Burg,1972)hadbeenamethodusuallyusedinstudyingtheseismicityanditsmainpurposeistofindthedominantspectrainthelong-termseismicityprocessesinthepastyears(Zhu,1985).Inthispaper,themethodisappliedtostudywhethertherearesomespecialspectraofseismicityinsomespecificstagesinearthquake-generatingprocesses.Sowestudyseparatelythenormalandabnormalstageofearthquakeactivity,whoseactiveprocessisregardedasstablestochasticprocess,inordertofindtheirspectracharactersan…     

Improved stress release model: Application to the study of earthquake prediction in Taiwan area

Introduction Stress release model (SRM) was proposed by Vere-Jones (1978) for statistical study of seismicity. Physically it is a stochastic version of the elastic rebound theory of earthquake genesis. The classical elastic rebound model suggests that the stress has been slowly accumulating until the burst of an earthquake occurrence for stress release. This can be simulated by the jump Markov process in stochastic field, and SRM was developed on the basis of Knopoff (s Markov model (Knop…     

Changes in source parameters of foreshocks and aftershocks of the 2001 Ms=6.0 Yajiang,Sichuan, earthquake

In this paper changes in focal mechanisms) parameters of wave spectra, and stress drops for the Ms=5.0 forcshock and Ms=6.0 mainshock in February 2001 in Yajiang County, Sichuan, and seismicity in cpiccntral region are studied. Comparison of focal mechanisms for the Yajiang earthquakes with distribution patterns of aftcrshocks, the nodal plane Ⅰ, striking in the direction of NEN, of the Yajiang M=5.0 event is chosen as the faulting plane, the nodal plane Ⅱ, striking in the direction of WNW, of the M=6.0 event as the faulting plane. The strikes of the two faulting planes are nearly perpendicular to each other. The level of stress drops in the cpicentral region before the occurrence of the M=6.0 earthquake increases, which is consistent with increase of seismicity in the epicentral region. The rate decay of the Yajiang earthquake sequence, changes in wave spectra for foreshocks and aftershocks,and focal mechanisms are complex.     

Consistent CMT solutions from Harvard University before great earthquakes in Kurile Islands and its significance for earthquake prediction

Introduction In the development of seismic science,the improvement of observational instruments is prone to produce new parameters and promote rapid growth of seismology.For example,after the global digital seismograph network is established,some studies that could not be made or easily made in the past are now being carried out successively.As a result,analytical studies based on digital data have been made one after another and digital seismology has formed.Up to now,Harvard University has …     

中国海域及邻区地震时间分布特征研究

地震时间分布特征研究是进行地震预测和地震危险性分析的重要基础.以中国海域统一地震目录为基础资料,以指数分布模型、伽马分布模型、威布尔分布模型、对数正态分布模型以及布朗过程时间分布(BPT)模型为目标模型,采用极大似然法估算模型参数.根据赤池信息准则(AIC)、贝叶斯信息准则(BIC)以及K-S检验结果确定能够描述海域地...     

On the seismicity of central Kamchatka before the 1997, M = 7.9 Kronotskii earthquake

We report results from a detailed study of seismicity in central Kamchatka for the period from 1960 to 1997 using a modified traditional approach. The basic elements of this approach include (a) segmentation of the seismic region concerned (the Kronotskii and Shipunskii geoblocks, the continental slope and offshore blocks), (b) studying the variation in the rate of M = 4.5–7.0 earthquakes and in the amount of seismic energy release over time, (c) studying the seismicity variations, (d) separate estimates of earthquake recurrence for depths of 0–50 and 50–100 km. As a result, besides corroborating the fact that a quiescence occurred before the December 5, 1997, M = 7.9 Kronotskii earthquake, we also found a relationship between the start of the quiescence and the position of the seismic zone with respect to the rupture initiation. The earliest date of the quiescence (decreasing seismicity rate and seismic energy release) was due to the M = 4.5–7.0 earthquakes at depths of 0–100 km in the Kronotskii geoblock (8–9 years prior to the earthquake). The intermediate start of the quiescence was due to distant seismic zones of the Shipunskii geoblock and the circular zone using the RTL method, combining the Shipunskii and Kronotskii geoblocks (6 years). Based on the low magnitude seismicity (M≥2.6) at depths of 0–70 km in the southwestern part of the epicentral zone (50–100 km from the mainshock epicenter), the quiescence was inferred to have occurred a little over 3 years (40 months) before the mainshock time and a little over 2 years (25 months) in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter (0–50 km). These results enable a more reliable identification of other types of geophysical precursors during seismic quiescences before disastrous earthquakes.     

Relocation of earthquakes in northeastern region of Qinghai-Xizang plateau and characteristics of earthquake activity

IntroductionThenortheasternregionofQinghai-Xizangplateauisthejunctionregionofthethreeblocks,ie.,Qinghai-Xizang,AIxaandordosblock.TianandDing(l998)studiedtheclockwisetypequasi-trijunctionaroundHaiyuan-YinchuaninnortheasternregionofQinghai-Xizangplateau.Thethreet6ctonicbranchesofthequasi4rjunctionareQiIianshanfaultzone,Yinchuan-Jedai-Linhe(YJL)fractureddepressionbasinandLiupanshanfaultzone.TheQilianshanfaultzoneshowssin-istraIandcompressionalmovement,themovementofYJLbasinisofdextraland…     

Occurrence probability of moderate to large earthquakes in Italy based on new geophysical methods

We develop new approaches to calculating 30-year probabilities for occurrence of moderate-to-large earthquakes in Italy. Geodetic techniques and finite-element modelling, aimed to reproduce a large amount of neotectonic data using thin-shell finite element, are used to separately calculate the expected seismicity rates inside seismogenic areas (polygons containing mapped faults and/or suspected or modelled faults). Thirty-year earthquake probabilities obtained from the two approaches show similarities in most of Italy: the largest probabilities are found in the southern Apennines, where they reach values between 10% and 20% for earthquakes of M _W ≥ 6.0, and lower than 10% for events with an M _W ≥ 6.5.     

Characteristics of foreshock and its identi-fication

Introduction The characteristics of generalized foreshock and direct foreshock and their identification,as well as their application to medium and short-term prediction of strong earthquake is a major study objective in seismometry both in China and abroad.China has made many short-term and imminent earthquake predictions.Among the ones with clear hazard-mitigating effect and social manifestation,direct foreshock has made an obvious contribution,for example,the MS=7.2Menglian earthquake occu…     

Intermediate-term precursors of large (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> ≥ 6.6) Kamchatka earthquakes for the period from 1987 to 2004: A retrospective assessment of their information content for prediction

Data from the literature were used to systematize intermediate-term (with advance times of 1 month to ∼2.5 years) precursors to the M ≥ 6.6 Kamchatka earthquakes of 1987–2004. The precursors were observed as changes in seismological, geodetic, geophysical, water-level, and hydrochemical parameters. Retrospective assessment of the information content in these intermediate-term precursors for earthquake prediction is in progress. The focus was on estimating the occurrence times of various precursors as functions of earthquake parameters (magnitude M, hypocentral distance R, and epicenter location). In the conditions of the Kamchatka observing network, precursors can be identified by a combination of methods, mostly before M ∼ 7 earthquakes or greater south of the Kronotskii Peninsula, for which M/logR ≥ 3. It is shown that the relative proportion of earthquakes for which precursors have been identified in the observations considered here is 0.43–0.86.     

Characteristics of seismic activity before the MS8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

The characteristics of spatio-temporal seismicity evolution before the Wenchuan earthquake are studied. The results mainly involve in the trend abnormal features and its relation to the Wenchuan earthquake. The western Chinese mainland and its adjacent area has been in the seismically active period since 2001, while the seismic activity shows the obvious quiescence of M≥?7.0, M≥?6.0 and M?≥5.0 earthquakes in Chinese mainland. A quiescence area with M?≥7.0 has been formed in the middle of the North-South seismic zone since 1988, and the Wenchuan earthquake occurred just within this area. There are a background seismicity gap of M?≥5.0 earthquakes and a seismogenic gap of M_L?≥4.0 earthquakes in the area of Longmenshan fault zone and its vicinity prior to the Wenchuan earthquake. The seismic activity obviously strengthened and a doughnut-shape pattern of M?≥4.6 earthquakes is formed in the middle and southern part of the North-South seismic zone after the 2003 Dayao, Yunnan, earthquake. Sichuan and its vicinity in the middle of the doughnut-shape pattern show abnormal quiescence. At the same time, the seismicity of earthquake swarms is significant and shows heterogeneity in the temporal and spatial process. A swarm gap appears in the M4.6 seismically quiet area, and the Wenchuan earthquake occurred just on the margin of the gap. In addition, in the short term before the Wenchuan earthquake, the quiescence of earthquake with M_L≥?4.0 appears in Qinghai-Tibet block and a seismic belt of M_L?≥3.0 earthquakes, with NW striking and oblique with Longmenshan fault zone, is formed.     

Evolution of cumulative Coulomb failure stress in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang （Tibetan） Plateau and its effect on large earthquake occurrence

We simulate accumulative Coulomb failure stress change in a layered Maxwell viscoelastic media in the north-eastern Qinghai-Xizang(Tibetan)Plateau since 1920.Lithospheric stress/strain evolution is assumed to be drivenby dislocations of large earthquakes(M≥7.0)and secular tectonic loading.The earthquake rupture parameters suchas the fault rupture length,width,and slip are either adopted from field investigations or estimated from their sta-tistic relationships with the earthquake magnitudes and seismic moments.Our study shows that among 20 largeearthquakes(M≥7.0)investigated,17 occurred in areas where the Coulomb failure stress change is positive,with atriggering rate of 85%.This study provides essential data for the intermediate to long-term likelihood estimation oflarge earthquakes in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.