An Ising model for earthquake dynamics

Abstract. This paper focuses on extracting the information contained in seismic space-time patterns and their dynamics. The Greek catalog recorded from 1901 to 1999 is analyzed. An Ising Cellular Automata representation technique is developed to reconstruct the history of these patterns. We find that there is strong correlation in the region, and that small earthquakes are very important to the stress transfers. Finally, it is demonstrated that this approach is useful for seismic hazard assessment and intermediate-range earthquake forecasting.