SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF FRACTAL PROPERTIES OF SEISMICITY

Abstract

Analysis of earthquake catalogs revealed a long-term relationship between the fractal properties of seismicity in space and energy and their correlation with the structure of active faults. The scatter diagram of the fractal dimension d and seismic b-value divides into two branches. One shows a direct proportionality between b and d and corresponds with a long-term relation between them in space. The other shows temporal d and b variations, in particular, in aftershock sequences. The relevant correlation is negative. These results indicate that the mechanism responsible for the relation between these parameters in the case of local temporal and spatial changes in the earth is different from the mechanism responsible for their long-term relationship.