Optimal Scaling of Aftershock Zones using Ground Motion Forecasts

Abstract

The spatial distribution of aftershocks following major earthquakes has received significant attention due to the shaking hazard these events pose for structures and populations in the affected region. Forecasting the spatial distribution of aftershock events is an important part of the estimation of future seismic hazard. A simple spatial shape for the zone of activity has often been assumed in the form of an ellipse having semimajor axis to semiminor axis ratio of 2.0. However, since an important application of these calculations is the estimation of ground shaking hazard, an effective criterion for forecasting future aftershock impacts is to use ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) in addition to the more usual approach of using epicentral or hypocentral locations. Based on these ideas, we present an aftershock model that uses self-similarity and scaling relations to constrain parameters as an option for such hazard assessment. We fit the spatial aspect ratio to previous earthquake sequences in the studied regions, and demonstrate the effect of the fitting on the likelihood of post-disaster ground motion forecasts for eighteen recent large earthquakes. We find that the forecasts in most geographic regions studied benefit from this optimization technique, while some are better suited to the use of the a priori aspect ratio.