Abstract
In this study, we investigate the relationship between topological and seismological parameters of earthquake sequences generated by the Olami-Feder-Christensen (OFC) [Olami et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 68(8), 1244 (1992)] spring-block model and converted in undirected graphs by using the visibility graph method [Lacasa et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105(13), 4972-4975 (2008)]. In particular, we study the relationship between the Gutenberg-Richter b-value and the so-called K-M slope, which describes the relationship between magnitudes and connectivity degrees. This relationship was found to follow a rather universal law in observational earthquake sequences, and, thus, in the present work, we aim at verifying such universality also in earthquake sequences generated by the OFC spring-block model. We found that for ⟨b⟩ between approximately 1 and 2, which is nearly the range of variation for most of the real seismicity cases observed worldwide, the relationship between ⟨b⟩ and ⟨K-M slope⟩ does not depend on the lattice size L. Furthermore, the slope of the regression line between ⟨b⟩ and ⟨K-M slope⟩ in the range of ⟨b⟩ between 1 and 2 changes with the definition of magnitude and the length of the earthquake sequence.
Highlights
The idea that the Earth’s crust is a self-organized critical (SOC) system is nowadays extensively recognized (Geller et al, 1997)
This relationship was found to follow a rather universal law in observational earthquake sequences, and, in the present work, we aim at verifying such universality in earthquake sequences generated by the OFC spring-block model
We found that for b between approximately 1 and 2, which is nearly the range of variation for most of the real seismicity cases observed worldwide, the relationship between b and K–M slope does not depend on the lattice size L
Summary
The idea that the Earth’s crust is a self-organized critical (SOC) system is nowadays extensively recognized (Geller et al, 1997). The SOC theoretical frame has been able to successfully describe the global behavior of many complex systems This type of system is made of many components interacting with each other in a nonlinear way and may evolve through self-organization, allowing that emergent behavior takes place at macroscopic scales (Sayama, 2015). The mechanism that scitation.org/journal/cha causes catastrophic events is the same as the one that causes small events and the type of event that will happen (large or small) cannot be known beforehand until the system is allowed to evolve In this way, these systems never reach the equilibrium but evolve from one metastable state to the one (Bak, 2013). The OFC spring-block model is based on the equivalence that can be established between an earthquake seen as a friction process and the dynamics of a system near a critical point (Brown et al, 1991)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
