Regional Multifractal Variability of the Overall Seismic Activity in Pakistan from 1820 to 2020 via the Application of MDFA on Earthquake Catalogs

Abstract

The overall seismicity of Pakistan from 1820 to 2020 is analysed in terms of its multifractal behaviour. Seismic events of magnitude ML = 3.0 and above are spatially clustered into four distinct groups, each one corresponding to a different region of high seismic activity. The Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDA) method applied on each cluster reveals pronounced inter-cluster heterogeneity in terms of the resulting generalised Hurst exponent and fractality spectrum, possibly due to the particular tectonic characteristics of the regions under investigation. Additional results on the variability of the Gutenberg–Richter b-value across the defined clusters further corroborate the uniqueness of the seismic profile of each region.

Keywords

• earthquakes
• catalog data
• MFDFA
• hurst exponent