Seismicity Patterns, Their Statistical Significance And Physical Meaning (reprint From Pageoph Topical Volumes)

This volume contains twenty-five research papers on seismicity patterns, their interpretation and their possible relevance to learning how to predict earthquakes. The interpretation of seismicity patterns has become somewhat controversial. Some researchers present case histories suggesting that earthquakes may be predicted by increased seismic moment release or seismic quiescence and, in general, by understanding the processes of self-organized criticality. Others deny these hypotheses. Although the problem of recognizing foreshocks in real time remains unsolved, new properties of microearthquakes as a function of time are coming to light. Computer modeling of seismicity also is advancing in sophistication and relevance. Surprisingly, b-values seem to hold substantial information about varying local conditions of earthquake generation.