Point Cumulative Semivariogram for Identification of Heterogeneities in Regional Seismicity of Turkey

Geological events are neither isotropic nor homogeneous in their occurrences. These two properties present difficulties for spatial modeling of regionalized variables. This paper presents a point cumulative semivariogram (PCSV) technique for quantifying the heterogeneity characteristics of the phenomenon concerned. The basis of the methodology is to obtain experimental PCSVs for each measurement point which led to estimation of radius of influence around each site. In addition, the experimental PCSVs provide basic information about the heterogeneity of the geological variable in the region, and furthermore many useful interpretations can be made concerning the regional variability of the variable. It provides the measure of cumulative similarity of a regional variable around any measurement site. Because PCSV is a means of measuring total similarity, maps at fixed similarity levels are provided in order to document the regional heterogeneity. Identification of heterogeneities depends on the comparison of fixed PCSV values at a multitude of irregularly scattered sites. The PCSV methodology has been applied to the regional seismic data of Turkey.