Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
2 M. Sc. Student, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
Abstract
Seismic values are the main parameters in evaluating the neotectonic activity of a region. In August 11, 2011, two Mb=6.4 and Mb=6.3 earthquakes occurred in Ahar-Varzaghan region within 11 minutes. Seismotectonic investigations imply that the faults generating the events are the young faults of the regions. Also, distribution of the epicenters represent a pattern consistent with the fault trends in the area. Temporal and spatial distribution of the earthquakes (fractal analysis) as earthquake pre-indicators together with a-b values were used toassessthe neotectonic activity and explore the seismic model of the Ahar area. Results showa sharp decrease in b-value,indicating that the main shock was associated with a zone of high strain rate. The seismic model presented for the Ahar area illustrates three periods after the main shock including: 1) an early quiescence Q1, 2) an aftershock period B, and 3) a late quiescence Q2. The rather increase in b-value during the Q2period is interpreted to indicate stress decrease in the region.
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