The minimal spanning tree method for calculating seismic multi-fractal

Abstract

There are many methods to calculate seismic fractal at present. However, there are still more or less questions to every method. In this paper, we introduce a new way to calculate seismic fractal — the minimal spanning tree. We make an important improvement for this method. By studying some seismic events of four regions including Wushi, Wusu, Tangshan and Haicheng, we obtain that, before the strong earthquake occurrence, the multi-fractal spectrum of the space-time distribution of earthquakes changes from centralized to loose. The result shows that the complexity of fractal structure and the inhomogeneity of the space-time distribution of earthquakes are both increasing. By studying the numerical simulation of point sets, we draw the conclusion that the physical essence of multi-fractal spectrums before and after a strong earthquake occurrence is a changing process from homogeneous to inhomogeneous, from simple to complex.