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Earthquake Scaling Equations Under Small Strain, Steady Moment Release-Rate Conditions in Southern Andes from 2015 to 2017
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  • Patricio A. Toledo,
  • Cristián E. Siegel,
  • Benoit Derode,
  • Raul Madariaga,
  • Jaime M. Campos
Patricio A. Toledo
Universidad de Chile

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Cristián E. Siegel
Universidad de Chile
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Benoit Derode
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie
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Raul Madariaga
Ecole Normale Superieure
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Jaime M. Campos
University of Chile
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Abstract

In the South Andes western edge, a very active seismic contact, with earthquakes up to magnitude $9.5$ and ca. $4000\thinspace\textnormal{km}$ extension threatens cities and very large populations. The existence of modern seismological networks along the contact allowed the observation of unprecedented earthquake cycle characteristics, which can improve our ability to estimate earthquake hazard, a main objective of seismology. Using dimensional and similarity analysis techniques, we show precise mechanical conditions under which the earthquake generation process unfolds, and derive a set of scaling equations linking renormalized variables. Later on, we test our theoretical results using a curated earthquake point-catalog by using gridding, box-counting, statistical bootstrap and fixed-point iteration collapse techniques. We found non-trivial scaling laws valid across multiple orders of magnitude capable of describing a complex interplay between renormalized earthquake occurrence and renormalized moment release rate. We discuss finite-strain and seismic-moment release-rate conditions; declustering, foreshock, mainshock, aftershock notions; cutoff magnitudes, earthquake hazard implications and a possible large-scale tectonic energy transfer mechanism.
19 Feb 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
20 Feb 2023Published in ESS Open Archive