Synonyms
Earthquake forecasting; Seismic potential
Definition
Seismic Gap. A segment of an active plate boundary that, relative to rest of the boundary, has not recently ruptured and is considered to be more likely to produce an Earthquake in the future.
The seismic gap theory (for a summary of early work in this field see McCann et al., 1979) states that a segment of a plate boundary that has not ruptured recently has the greatest chance of rupturing in the future (relative to other segments that have experienced large earthquakes). This is based on the recognition that tectonic plates move relative to one another at an approximately constant speed and the assumption that the slip of plate boundary faults occurs primarily during major (magnitude 7 or greater) earthquakes. There are clear applications of this method to the estimation of earthquake hazards and to “earthquake forecasting” (e.g., McCann et al., 1979). However, there are questions about the applicability of this method...
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Bibliography
2007 Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 2008. The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, Version 2 (UCERF 2): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1437 and California Geological Survey Special Report 203, 104 pp. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1437/].
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Cassidy, J.F. (2013). Seismic Gap. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_315
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_315
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