Seismic moment‐frequency relation for shallow earthquakes: Regional comparison

Abstract

We determine the parameter values for the seismic moment‐frequency relation using Flinn‐Engdahl's regionalization of global seismicity and the Harvard centroid‐moment tensor data. The earthquake size distribution is approximated by the gamma law: a version of the Gutenberg‐Richter distribution with an exponential taper at the maximum moment. There is no statistically significant variation of the β value (the analog of the b value) for all seismic regions except for the midocean ridge systems. For the latter regions β=0.93, whereas for all other zones β=0.63. The maximum moment Mxg can be statistically evaluated only for subduction zones treated as a whole, Mxg = 1021 − 2 × 1022 Newton m, which corresponds to the worldwide Mxg value. For other regions, as well as for single subduction zones, Mxg is determined by comparing the number of events in each zone with the seismic moment rate calculated on the basis of the NUVEL‐1 model of plate motion. For subduction zones, we obtain the estimate of Mxg which agrees with the statistical value, giving evidence that most tectonic deformation is released by earthquakes. We test the hypothesis that no statistically significant variation in Mxg occurs in subduction and continent collision zones; the hypothesis cannot be rejected with available data. For the midocean ridges, the Mxg estimate cannot be unambiguously determined; it is quite possible that the estimate is significantly biased because only a small part of tectonic deformation at the ridges is released by earthquakes. These results have importance in evaluating seismic risk and may also lead to developing a physical theory for earthquake generation.