Earthquake hazard characterization by using entropy: application to northern Chilean earthquakes

Abstract

The mechanical description of the seismic cycle has an energetic analogy in terms of statistical physics and the second law of thermodynamics. In this context, an earthquake can be considered a phase transition, where continuous reorganization of stresses and forces reflects an evolution from equilibrium to non-equilibrium states, and we can use this analogy to characterize the earthquake hazard of a region. In this study, we used 8 years (2007-2014) of high-quality Integrated Plate Boundary Observatory Chile (IPOC) seismic data for >100000 earthquakes in northern Chile to test the theory that Shannon entropy, H, is an indicator of the equilibrium state of a seismically active region. We confirmed increasing H reflects the irreversible transition of a system and is linked to the occurrence of large earthquakes. Using variation in H, we could detect major earthquakes and their foreshocks and aftershocks, including the 2007 Mw 7.8 Tocopilla earthquake, the 2014 Mw 8.1 Iquique earthquake, and the 2010 and 2011 Calama earthquakes (Mw 6.6 and 6.8, respectively). Moreover, we identified possible periodic seismic behaviour between 80 and 160km depth.