Crossref journal-article
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (13)
Abstract

We estimate the relative importance of small and large earthquakes for static stress changes and for earthquake triggering, assuming that earthquakes are triggered by static stress changes and that earthquakes are located on a fractal network of dimension D. This model predicts that both the number of events triggered by an earthquake of magnitude m and the stress change induced by this earthquake at the location of other earthquakes increase with m as ∼10Dm/2. The stronger the spatial clustering, the larger the influence of small earthquakes on stress changes at the location of a future event as well as earthquake triggering. If earthquake magnitudes follow the Gutenberg‐Richter law with b > D/2, small earthquakes collectively dominate stress transfer and earthquake triggering because their greater frequency overcomes their smaller individual triggering potential. Using a southern California catalog, we observe that the rate of seismicity triggered by an earthquake of magnitude m increases with m as 10αm, where α = 1.05 ± 0.05. We also find that the magnitude distribution of triggered earthquakes is independent of the triggering earthquake's magnitude m. When α ≈ b, small earthquakes are roughly as important to earthquake triggering as larger ones. We evaluate the fractal correlation dimension D of hypocenters using two relocated catalogs for southern California. The value of D measured for distances 0.1 < r < 5 km is D = 1.54 for the Shearer et al. catalog and D = 1.73 for the Hauksson et al. catalog. The value of D reflects both the structure of the fault network and the nature of earthquake interactions. By considering only those earthquake pairs with interevent times larger than 1000 days, we can largely remove the effects of short‐term clustering. Then D ≈ 2, close to the value D = 2α = 2.1 predicted by assuming that earthquake triggering is due to static stress. The value D ≈ 2b implies that small earthquakes are as important as larger ones for stress transfers between earthquakes and that considering stress changes induced by small earthquakes should improve models of earthquake interactions.

Bibliography

Helmstetter, A., Kagan, Y. Y., & Jackson, D. D. (2005). Importance of small earthquakes for stress transfers and earthquake triggering. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 110(B5). Portico.

Authors 3
  1. Agnès Helmstetter (first)
  2. Yan Y. Kagan (additional)
  3. David D. Jackson (additional)
References 66 Referenced 189
  1. 10.1029/95JB02397
  2. 10.1029/91JB00191
  3. 10.1029/2002JB002130
  4. 10.1029/JB086iB07p06039
  5. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1991.tb02512.x
  6. 10.1029/93JB02581
  7. 10.1023/A:1011473432628
  8. 10.1016/S0031-9201(03)00030-X
  9. 10.1029/2001JB000911
  10. 10.1785/0120020229
  11. {'issue': '46', 'key': 'e_1_2_8_12_1', 'article-title': 'Testing the stress shadow hypothesis', 'volume': '84', 'author': 'Felzer K. R.', 'year': '2003', 'journal-title': 'Eos Trans. AGU'} / Eos Trans. AGU / Testing the stress shadow hypothesis by Felzer K. R. (2003)
  12. 10.1785/0120030069
  13. 10.1029/96JB02946
  14. 10.1126/science.256.5062.1430
  15. 10.1029/98JB01576
  16. 10.1785/0120000913
  17. {'issue': '46', 'key': 'e_1_2_8_18_1', 'article-title': 'Comprehensive waveform cross‐correlation of southern California seismograms: Part 1. Refined hypocenters obtained using the double‐difference method and tectonic implications', 'volume': '84', 'author': 'Hauksson E.', 'year': '2003', 'journal-title': 'Eos Trans. AGU'} / Eos Trans. AGU / Comprehensive waveform cross‐correlation of southern California seismograms: Part 1. Refined hypocenters obtained using the double‐difference method and tectonic implications by Hauksson E. (2003)
  18. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.058501
  19. 10.1103/PhysRevE.66.061104
  20. 10.1029/2003GL017670
  21. 10.1029/2003JB002503
  22. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.238501
  23. 10.1029/2001JB001645
  24. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_25_1', 'first-page': '313', 'article-title': 'Local magnitudes and apparent variations in seismicity rates in southern California', 'volume': '83', 'author': 'Hutton L. K.', 'year': '1993', 'journal-title': 'Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am.'} / Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. / Local magnitudes and apparent variations in seismicity rates in southern California by Hutton L. K. (1993)
  25. 10.2307/2289732
  26. 10.1029/JB084iB07p03596
  27. {'issue': '46', 'key': 'e_1_2_8_28_1', 'article-title': 'Are foreshocks mainshocks whose aftershocks happen to be big?', 'volume': '76', 'author': 'Jones L. M.', 'year': '1995', 'journal-title': 'Eos Trans. AGU'} / Eos Trans. AGU / Are foreshocks mainshocks whose aftershocks happen to be big? by Jones L. M. (1995)
  28. 10.1007/BF01209146
  29. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1991.tb04607.x
  30. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1991.tb06343.x
  31. 10.5194/npg-1-172-1994
  32. 10.1785/0120010172
  33. 10.1785/gssrl.73.6.921
  34. 10.1785/012003098
  35. 10.1029/2004JB003280
  36. 10.1016/0031-9201(76)90026-1
  37. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1987.tb01653.x
  38. 10.1126/science.236.4808.1563
  39. 10.1029/2001JB000678
  40. 10.1016/S0065-2687(00)80006-0
  41. 10.1029/2002JB001946
  42. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2005.02700.x
  43. 10.1785/BSSA0880010117 / Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. / Seismicity alert probabilities at Parkfield, California, revisited by Michael J. (1998)
  44. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1979.tb02569.x
  45. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1992.tb00113.x
  46. 10.1126/science.175.4024.885
  47. 10.1016/0040-1951(89)90191-1
  48. 10.1029/92JB00708
  49. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_50_1', 'first-page': '1', 'article-title': 'Aftershock sequences of some large earthquakes in the region of Greece', 'volume': '20', 'author': 'Papazachos B.', 'year': '1967', 'journal-title': 'Ann. Geofis.'} / Ann. Geofis. / Aftershock sequences of some large earthquakes in the region of Greece by Papazachos B. (1967)
  50. 10.1029/2001JB000646
  51. 10.1029/JB090iB07p05479
  52. 10.1126/science.243.4895.1173
  53. 10.1126/science.265.5176.1251
  54. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_55_1', 'first-page': '1117', 'article-title': 'Microfractures, aftershocks, and seismicity', 'volume': '58', 'author': 'Scholz C. H.', 'year': '1968', 'journal-title': 'Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull.'} / Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull. / Microfractures, aftershocks, and seismicity by Scholz C. H. (1968)
  55. 10.1029/93GL01058
  56. {'issue': '46', 'key': 'e_1_2_8_57_1', 'article-title': 'Comprehensive waveform cross‐correlation of southern California seismograms: part 2. Event locations obtained using cluster analysis', 'volume': '84', 'author': 'Shearer P.', 'year': '2003', 'journal-title': 'Eos Trans. AGU'} / Eos Trans. AGU / Comprehensive waveform cross‐correlation of southern California seismograms: part 2. Event locations obtained using cluster analysis by Shearer P. (2003)
  57. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_58_1', 'first-page': '230', 'article-title': 'Regional variation in the number of aftershocks (m\n \n b\n ≥ 5) of large, subduction‐zone earthquakes (M\n \n w\n ≥ 7.0)', 'volume': '78', 'author': 'Singh S. K.', 'year': '1988', 'journal-title': 'Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am.'} / Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. / Regional variation in the number of aftershocks (m b ≥ 5) of large, subduction‐zone earthquakes (M w ≥ 7.0) by Singh S. K. (1988)
  58. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_59_1', 'first-page': '1685', 'article-title': "Exponential increase of the total number of an earthquake's aftershocks and the decrease of their mean value with increasing depth", 'volume': '12', 'author': "Solov'ev S. L.", 'year': '1962', 'journal-title': 'Izv. Akad. Nauk. SSSR, Ser. Geofiz.'} / Izv. Akad. Nauk. SSSR, Ser. Geofiz. / Exponential increase of the total number of an earthquake's aftershocks and the decrease of their mean value with increasing depth by Solov'ev S. L. (1962)
  59. 10.1029/2002JB002365
  60. 10.1038/45144
  61. {'key': 'e_1_2_8_62_1', 'first-page': '129', 'article-title': 'Aftershocks and earthquake statistics (I) Some source parameters which characterize an aftershock sequence and their interrelations', 'volume': '3', 'author': 'Utsu T.', 'year': '1969', 'journal-title': 'J. Fac. Sci. Hokkaido Univ., Ser. VII'} / J. Fac. Sci. Hokkaido Univ., Ser. VII / Aftershocks and earthquake statistics (I) Some source parameters which characterize an aftershock sequence and their interrelations by Utsu T. (1969)
  62. 10.4294/jpe1952.43.1
  63. Working Group On California Earthquake Probabilities(2003) Earthquake probabilities in the San Francisco Bay region: 2002–2031 U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep. 03‐214.
  64. 10.4294/jpe1952.38.305
  65. 10.1029/2000GL012806
  66. 10.1029/2003JB002879
Dates
Type When
Created 20 years, 5 months ago (March 14, 2005, 10:26 p.m.)
Deposited 1 year, 10 months ago (Oct. 12, 2023, 1:37 a.m.)
Indexed 2 days, 15 hours ago (Aug. 21, 2025, 1:52 p.m.)
Issued 20 years, 5 months ago (March 15, 2005)
Published 20 years, 5 months ago (March 15, 2005)
Published Online 20 years, 5 months ago (March 15, 2005)
Published Print 20 years, 3 months ago (May 1, 2005)
Funders 0

None

@article{Helmstetter_2005, title={Importance of small earthquakes for stress transfers and earthquake triggering}, volume={110}, ISSN={0148-0227}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004jb003286}, DOI={10.1029/2004jb003286}, number={B5}, journal={Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth}, publisher={American Geophysical Union (AGU)}, author={Helmstetter, Agnès and Kagan, Yan Y. and Jackson, David D.}, year={2005}, month=mar }