Asymptotic Behavior of a Model of Characteristic Earthquakes and its Implications for Regional Seismicity

The recently introduced Minimalist Model [VázquezPrada et al, 2002] of characteristic earthquakes provides a simple representation of the seismicity originated in a single fault. Here, we first characterize the properties of this model for large systems. Then, assuming, as it has been observed, that the size of the faults in a big enough region is fractally distributed, with a fractal dimension D = 1.7, we describe the total seismicity produced in that region. The resulting catalogue accounts for the addition of all the characteristic events triggered in the faults and also includes the rest of non-characteristic earthquakes. The global accumulated size-frequency relation correctly describes a Gutenberg-Richter form, with a b exponent of around 0.7.