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"Universal" distribution of interearthquake times explained
1Mathematical Department, Nizhny Novgorod State University, Gagarin Prospekt 23, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russia.
Physical Review Letters
|October 10, 2006
Summary
We present a simple theory for earthquake waiting time distributions, showing that "universal" scaling is approximate. Our findings suggest earthquake triggering is a key mechanism, aligning with existing seismicity laws.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Seismology
- Complex Systems
Background:
- Previous studies reported a
- universal
- scaling law for earthquake waiting time distributions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a simple theory explaining the observed
- universal
- scaling law in earthquake waiting times.
- To investigate the role of earthquake triggering in seismicity.
Main Methods:
- Developed a theoretical model based on a benchmark seismicity model.
- Assumed no physical distinction between foreshocks, mainshocks, and aftershocks.
- Performed theoretical calculations and compared with empirical data.
Main Results:
- The proposed theory provides a good fit to the observed data.
- Demonstrated that the universality of the scaling law is only approximate.
- Showed that interevent time distributions offer no additional information beyond the Gutenberg-Richter and Omori power laws.
Conclusions:
- Earthquake triggering is a fundamental physical mechanism in seismicity.
- The
- universal
- scaling law for waiting times is an approximation.
- Existing seismicity laws sufficiently describe interevent time information.
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