Dynamic Multifractality in Earthquake Time Series: Insights from the Corinth Rift, Greece

Georgios Michas,Peter Sammonds,Filippos Vallianatos

doi:10.1007/s00024-014-0875-y

Georgios Michas, Peter Sammonds + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-014-0875-y

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Abstract

Earthquake time series are widely used to characterize the main features of seismicity and to provide useful insights into the dynamics of the seismogenic system. Properties such as intermittency and non-stationary clustering are common in earthquake time series such that multifractal concepts seem essential to describe the temporal clustering variability. Here we use a multifractal approach to study the time dynamics of the recent earthquake activity in the Corinth rift. The results indicate the degree of heterogeneous clustering and correlations acting at all time scales that suggest non-Poissonian behavior. Additionally, the multifractal analysis in different time periods showed that the degree of multifractality exhibits strong variations with time, which are associated with the dynamic evolution of the earthquake activity in the rift and the transition between periods of high and low seismicity.

Highlights

Earthquakes are classic examples of complex phenomena that exhibit scale-invariance and fractality in their collective properties
Properties like non-stationarity and intermittency are common in earthquake sequences such that the clustering degree varies with time. These variations can be identified by multifractal approaches that can enlighten the local fluctuations in the scaling properties of seismicity and provide an appropriate tool for mapping the dynamical changes that take place in the physical process of seismogenesis (GEILIKMAN et al, 1990; GODANO et al, 1997)
In the present work we studied the structure and the clustering properties of the 2008–2013 earthquake time series in the Corinth rift by using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA), which is a suitable method to study the clustering variability of non-stationary fluctuating signals

Summary

Introduction

Earthquakes are classic examples of complex phenomena that exhibit scale-invariance and fractality in their collective properties. Properties like non-stationarity and intermittency are common in earthquake sequences such that the clustering degree varies with time These variations can be identified by multifractal approaches that can enlighten the local fluctuations in the scaling properties of seismicity and provide an appropriate tool for mapping the dynamical changes that take place in the physical process of seismogenesis (GEILIKMAN et al, 1990; GODANO et al, 1997). The earthquake activity in the Corinth rift is typically characterized by fluctuating behavior, where periods of low to moderate activity are interspersed by sudden seismic bursts, which are related to frequent earthquake swarms and the occurrence of stronger events, followed by aftershock sequences This intermittent behavior constitutes the multifractal approach as an appropriate tool to study the local fluctuations, the degree of clustering, and the dynamic variability of the seismotectonic activity in this region.

Multifractal Analysis

Results

Discussion and Conclusions