Global test of seismic static stress triggering model

Abstract

Seismic static stress triggering model is tested using Harvard centroid moment tensor (CMT) solution catalogue of 1976–2000 and concept of “earthquake doublet”. Result shows that seismic static stress triggering effect does exist in the view of global earthquakes, but the effect is very weak. Dividing the earthquakes into thrust focal mechanism, normal focal mechanism, strike-slip focal mechanism, we find that non-strike-slip focal mechanism earthquakes have significant triggering effect, whereas, the triggering effect in strike-slip focal mechanism earthquakes is not obvious. Divided the subsequent events delay time of “earthquake doublet” into 5 classes of t≥1, t<1, t≥10, t<10, 1≤t≤10 (t is in unit of d), then seismic static stress triggering effect does not change with delay time in short time period after earthquakes. The research on seismic static stress triggering in different regions of the world indicates that triggering effect is significant in subduction belts. Seismic static stress triggering model is tested by using “earthquake doublets” in China and its adjacent region. The result indicates that seismic static stress triggering effect cannot be observed easily in China and its adjacent region due to the seismic focal mechanism type (most of the earthquakes are strike-slip earthquakes).