Delineation of seismic zonation using fractal modeling in West Yazd province, Central Iran

Abstract

This study is an attempt to identify seismic zones utilizing number-size (N-S) and concentration-area (C-A) fractal models in the West Yazd province, Central Iran. The analysis was based on the earthquakes’ magnitude and Quaternary faults’ density. Fault density map was generated and classified by fractal modeling. The result indicates that the main fault densities correlate with Dehshir and Eqlid faults. Furthermore, the areas with relatively large earthquake magnitudes are located in the SE and NE parts of the region. The Quaternary faults’ density and earthquake magnitudes were weighted based on the results of the fractal modeling. Finally, weighted maps were combined and classified to show that Dehshir fault has the main role for seismicity in this area. Comparison between results derived via the fractal modeling and conventional seismic zonation map is satisfactory. Furthermore, fractal modeling approach distinguishes different seismic zones with higher accuracy in smaller areas. For validation of results, earthquakes since 2012 were collected and associated with seismic zones. These earthquakes which are correlated with major seismic zones are mainly located near the Dehshir and main Zagros faults.