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Fractal dimension and b value of the aftershock sequence of the 2008 M S 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

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Abstract

This study analyzed the seismicity of aftershock events recorded around the earthquake fault area following the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake (China). We calculated the fractal dimension (D) and b value of the Gutenberg–Richter law for the aftershocks that occurred within one year of the original earthquake. The results showed that the D values of the earthquake fault ruptures reflected the complexities of the fault structures, and that higher D values were obtained for areas with larger fault slip and larger coseismic ground displacement. The b values for the Wenchuan aftershock sequence were relatively small, which indicated that the larger stress changes occurred in the area of the earthquake faults. Generally, b values are associated with the rupture mechanism of earthquake faults. Here, lower b values were correlated with those regions where thrust ruptures occurred and higher b values were found for those areas with strike-slip ruptures. More importantly, medium- and large-sized aftershocks appeared to occur primarily within areas with small D and b values. A positive correlation between b and D was established from the aftershock sequence, which is described by the relation D = 2b.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, Shanxi, China

    WU Hao-Yu & LIU Hong-Fu

  2. Earthquake Administration of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, 030021, Shanxi, China

    WU Hao-Yu & WANG Xia

  3. Institute of Geophysics, China Seismological Bureau, Beijing, 100081, China

    XU Wei-Jin

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  1. WU Hao-Yu
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  2. LIU Hong-Fu
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  3. XU Wei-Jin
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  4. WANG Xia
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Correspondence to WU Hao-Yu.

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Hao-Yu, W., Hong-Fu, L., Wei-Jin, X. et al. Fractal dimension and b value of the aftershock sequence of the 2008 M S 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake. Nat Hazards 88, 315–325 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-2866-7

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