Skip to main content

Earthquake Forecasting and Verification

  • Reference work entry
Extreme Environmental Events

Article Outline

Glossary

Definition of the Subject

Introduction

Earthquake Forecasting

Forecast Verification

Future Directions

Bibliography

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

Binary forecast:

A type of forecast where earthquakes are forecast to occur in certain regions and forecast not to occur in other regions.

Continuum forecast:

A type of forecast where the likelihood of an earthquake throughout an entire region is specified.

Failure to predict:

Earthquake event that occurs where no earthquake are forecasted to occur.

False alarm:

Earthquake event that is forecasted to occur at a specific location at a specific time but does not occur.

PDF:

Probability Density Function – A probability density function is any function \({f(x)}\) that describes the probability density in terms of the input variable x such that \({f(x)}\) is greater than or equal to zero for all values of x and the total area of the function is 1.

Bibliography

Primary Literature

  1. Bakun WH, Lindh AG (1985) The Parkfield, California, earthquake prediction experiment. Science 229:619–624

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bevington PR, Robinson DK (1992) Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences. McGraw‐Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  3. Borcherdt RD, Johnston MJS, Glassmoyer G, Dietel C (2006) Recordings of the 2004 parkfield earthquake on the general earthquake observation system array: Implications for earthquake precursors, fault rupture, and coseismic strain changes. Bull Seismol Soc Am 96(4b):73–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bowman DD, King GCP (2001) Accelerating seismicity and stress accumulation before large earthquakes. Geophys Res Lett 28:4039–4042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bowman DD, Ouillon G, Sammis CG, Sornette A, Sornette D (1998) An observational test of the critical earthquake concept. J Geophys Res 103:24359–24372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bowman DD, Sammis CG (2004) Intermittent criticality and the Gutenberg–Richter distribution. Pure Appl Geophys 161:1945–1956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Brehm DJ, Braile LW (1998) Intermediate‐term earthquake prediction using precursory events in the New Madrid seismic zone. Bull Seismol Soc Am 88:564–580

    Google Scholar 

  8. Brehm DJ, Braile LW (1999) Intermediate‐term earthquake prediction using the modified time-to‐failure method in southern California. Bull Seismol Soc Am 89:275–293

    Google Scholar 

  9. Buffe CG, Nishenko SP, Varnes DJ (1994) Seismicity trends and potential for large earthquakes in the Alaska–Aleutian region. Pure Appl Geophys 142:83–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Buffe CG, Varnes DJ (1993) Predictive modeling of the seismic cycle of the greater San Francisco Bay region. J Geophys Res 98:9871–9883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Chen D, Cane MA, Kaplan A, Zebian SE, Huang D (2004) Predictability of El Niño in the past 148 years. Nature 428:733–736

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Cover TM, Thomas JA (1991) Elements of Information Theory. Wiley‐Interscience, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Ellsworth WL, Mathews MV, Nadeau RM, Nishenko SP, Reasenberg PA, Simpson RW (1999) A physically‐based earthquake recurrence model for estimation of long-term earthquake probabilities. Open-File Report 99-522, US Geological Survey

    Google Scholar 

  14. Frankel AF (1995) Mapping seismic hazard in the central and eastern United States. Seismol Res Let 60:8–21

    Google Scholar 

  15. Frankel AF, Mueller C, Barnhard T, Perkins D, Leyendecker EV, Dickman N, Hanson S, Hopper M (1996) National seismic hazard maps. Open-File Report 96-532, US Geological Survey

    Google Scholar 

  16. Geller RJ (1997) Earthquake prediction: A critical review. Geophys J Int 131:425–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Geller RJ, Jackson DD, Kagen YY, Mulargia F (1997) Earthquakes cannot be predicted. Science 275:1616–1617

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Goes SDB, Ward SN (1994) Synthetic seismicity for the San Andreas fault. Annali Geofis 37:1495–1513

    Google Scholar 

  19. Gross S, Rundle JB (1998) A systematic test of time-to‐failure analysis. Geophys J Int 133:57–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Harte D, Vere-Jones D (2005) The entropy score and its uses in earthquake forecasting. Pure Appl Geophys 162:1229–1253. doi:10.1007/s00024-004-2667-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Helmstetter A Is earthquake triggering driven by small earthquakes? Phys Rev Let 91:0585014

    Google Scholar 

  22. Holliday JR, Chen CC, Tiampo KF, Rundle JB, Turcotte DL, Donnellan A (2007) A RELM earthquake forcast based on pattern informatics. Seis Res Lett 78(1):87–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Holliday JR, Nanjo KZ, Tiampo KF, Rundle JB, Turcotte DL (2005) Earthquake forecasting and its verification. Nonlinear Process Geophys 12:965–977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Holliday JR, Rundle JB, Tiampo KF, Klein W, Donnellan A (2006) Modification of the pattern informatics method for forecasting large earthquake events using complex eigenvectors. Tectonophysics 413:87–91. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.10.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Holliday JR, Rundle JB, Tiampo KF, Klein W, Donnellan A (2006) Systematic procedural and sensitivity analysis of the pattern informatics method for forecasting large (M ≥ 5) earthquake events in southern California. Pure Appl Geophys 163:2433–2454. doi:10.1007/s00024-006-0131-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Jaumé SC, Sykes LR (1999) Evolving towards a critical point: A review of accelerating seismic moment/energy release prior to large and great earthquakes. Pure Appl Geophys 155:279–306

    Google Scholar 

  27. Jolliffe IT, Stephenson DB (2003) Forecast Verification. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  28. Kagan YY, Jackson DD (2000) Probabilistic forecasting of earthquakes. Geophys J Int 143:438–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Kagan YY, Knopoff L (1981) Stochastic synthesis of earthquake catalogs. J Geophys Res 86(4):2853–2862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Kanamori H (2003) Earthquake prediction: An overview. In: Lee WHK, Kanamori H, Jennings PC, Kisslinger C (eds) International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 1205–1216

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  31. Keilis‐Borok V (2002) Earthquake predictions: State-of-the-art and emerging possibilities. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 30:1–33

    Google Scholar 

  32. Keilis‐Borok V, Shebalin P, Gabrielov A, Turcotte D (2004) Reverse tracing of short-term earthquake precursors. Phys Earth Planet Int 145:75–85

    Google Scholar 

  33. Keilis‐Borok VI (1990) The lithosphere of the earth as a nonlinear system with implications for earthquake prediction. Rev Geophys 28:19–34

    Google Scholar 

  34. King GCP, Bowman DD (2003) The evolution of regional seismicity between large earthquakes. J Geophys Res 108:2096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Kossobokov VG, Keilis‐Borok VI, Turcotte DL, Malamud BD (2000) Implications of a statistical physics approach for earthquake hazard assessment and forecasting. Pure Appl Geophys 157:2323–2349

    Google Scholar 

  36. Lindh AG (2005) Success and failure at Parkfield. Seis Res Let 76:3–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Lomnitz C (1994) Fundamentals of Earthquake Prediction. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  38. Main IG (1999) Applicability of time-to‐failure analysis to accelerated strain before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Geophys J Int 139:F1–F6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Mason IB (2003) Binary events. In: Joliffe IT, Stephenson DB (eds) Forecast Verification. Wiley, Chichester, pp 37–76

    Google Scholar 

  40. Mogi K (1985) Earthquake Prediction. Academic Press, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  41. Molchan GM (1997) Earthquake predictions as a decision‐making problem. Pure Appl Geophys 149:233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ogata Y (1988) Statistical models for earthquake occurrences and residual analysis for point processes. J Am Stat Assoc 83:9–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Ogata Y (1999) Seismicity analysis through point‐process modeling: a review. Pure Appl Geophys 155:471–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Ogata Y, Zhuang J (2006) Space-time ETAS models and an improved extension. Tectonophysics 413:13–23. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.10.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Rikitake T (1982) Earthquake forecasting and warning. D. Reidel Publishing Co, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  46. Robinson R (2000) A test of the precursory accelerating moment release model on some recent New Zealand earthquakes. Geophys J Int 140:568–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Robinson R, Benites R (1995) Synthetic seismicity models of multiple interacting faults. J Geophys Res 100:18229–18238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Robinson R, Benites R (1996) Synthetic seismicity models for the Wellington Region, New Zealand: implications for the temporal distribution of large events. J Geophys Res 101:27833–27844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Rundle JB, Rundle PB, Donnellan A (2005) A simulation‐based approach to forecasting the next great San Francisco earthquake. Proc Natl Acad Sci 102(43):15363–15367

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Rundle JB, Rundle PB, Donnellan A, Fox G (2004) Gutenberg–Richter statistics in topologically realistic system‐level earthquake stress‐evolution simulations. Earth Planets Space 55(8):761–771

    Google Scholar 

  51. Rundle JB, Tiampo KF, Klein W, Martins JSS (2002) Self‐organization in leaky threshold systems: The influence of near-mean field dynamics and its implications for earthquakes, neurobiology, and forecasting. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99(Suppl 1):2514–2521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Rundle JB, Turcotte DL, Shcherbakov R, Klein W, Sammis C (2003) Statistical physics approach to understanding the multiscale dynamics of earthquake fault systems. Rev Geophys 41(4):1019. doi:10.1029/2003RG000135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Rundle PB, Rundle JB, Tiampo KF, Donnellan A, Turcotte DL (2006) Virtual California: fault model, frictional parameters, applications. Pure Appl Geophys 163:1819–1846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Sammis CG, Bowman DD (2006) Competing models for accelerating moment release before large earthquakes. 5th Annual ACES International Workshop, Mauii, Hawaii, USA

    Google Scholar 

  55. Sammis CG, Bowman DD, King G (2004) Anomalous seismicity and accelerating moment release preceding the 2001–2002 earthquakes in northern Baha California, Mexico. Pure Appl Geophys 161:2369–2378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Scholz CH (2002) The Mechanics of Earthquakes & Faulting, 2nd edn. Cambridg University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  57. Schorlemmer D, Jackson DD, Gerstenberger M (2003) Earthquake likelihood model testing. http://moho.ess.ucla.edu/~kagan/sjg.pdf. Accessed 8 Oct 2004

  58. Shebalin P, Keilis‐Borok V, Zaliapin I, Uyeda S, Nagao T, Tsybin N (2004) Advance short-term prediction of the large Tokachi‐oki earthquake, September 25, \({M=8.1}\): A case history. Earth Planets Space 56:715–724

    Google Scholar 

  59. Stein RS (1999) The role of stress transfer in earthquake occurence. Nature 402:605–609

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Swets JA (1973) The relative operating characteristic in psychology. Science 182:990–1000

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Sykes LR, Jaumé SC (1990) Seismic activity on neighboring faults as a long-term precursor to large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area. Nature 348:595–599

    Google Scholar 

  62. Sykes LR, Shaw BE, Scholz CH (1999) Rethinking earthquake prediction. Pure Appl Geophys 155:207–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Tiampo KF, Rundle JB, McGinnis S, Gross SJ, Klein W (2002) Eigenpatterns in southern California seismicity. J Geophys Res 107(B12):2354. doi:10.1029/2001JB000562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Tiampo KF, Rundle JB, McGinnis S, Gross SJ, Klein W (2002) Pattern dynamics and forecast methods in seismically active regions. Pure Appl Geophys 159:2429–2467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Turcotte DL (1991) Earthquake prediction. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 19:263–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Turcotte DL (1997) Fractals & Chaos in Geology & Geophysics, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  67. Utsu T (1984) Estimation of parameters for recurrence models of earthquakes. Earthquake Res Insti-Univ Tokyo 59:53–66

    Google Scholar 

  68. Utsu T (2003) A list of deadly earthquakes in the world: 1500–2000. In: Lee WHK, Kanamori H, Jennings PC, Kisslinger C (eds) International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 691–717

    Google Scholar 

  69. Ward SN (1992) An application of synthetic seismicity in earthquake statistics: the Middle America trench. J Geophys Res 97(B5):6675–6682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Ward SN (1996) A synthetic seismicity model for southern California: cycles, probabilities, and hazard. J Geophys Res 101(B10):22393–22418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Ward SN (2000) San Francisco Bay Area earthquake simulations: a step toward a standard physical earthquake model. Bull Seismo Soc Am 90(2):370–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (1988) Probabilities of large earthquakes occurring in California on the San Andreas fault. Open-File Report 88-398, US Geological Survey

    Google Scholar 

  73. Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (1990) Probabilities of large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region, California. Circular 1053, US Geological Survey

    Google Scholar 

  74. Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (1995) Seismic hazards in southern California: probable earthquakes, 1994–2024. Seis Soc Am Bull 85:379–439

    Google Scholar 

  75. Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (2003) Earthquake probabilities in the San Francisco Bay Region, 2002–2031. Open-File Report 2003-214, US Geological Survey

    Google Scholar 

  76. Wyss M (1997) Nomination of precursory seismic quiescence as a significant precursor. Pure Appl Geophys 149:79–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Wyss M, Habermann RE (1988) Precursory seismic quiescence. Pure Appl Geophys 126:319–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Yakovlev G, Turcotte DL, Rundle JB, Rundle PB (2006) Simulation‐based distributions of earthquake recurrence times on the San Andreas fault system. Bull Seis Soc Am 96:1995–2007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Yang W, Vere-Jones D, Li M (2001) A proposed method for locating the critical region of a future earthquake using the critical earthquake concept. J Geophys Res 106:4151–4128

    Google Scholar 

  80. Zechar JD, Jordan TH (2005) Evaluation techniques for alarm-based forecasts. EOS Trans. AGU. Fall meeting

    Google Scholar 

  81. Zoback ML (1992) First- and second‐order patterns of stress in the lighosphere: The world stress map project. J Geophys Res 97:11703–11728

    Article  Google Scholar 

Books and Reviews

  1. Jolliffe IT, Stephenson DB (2003) Forecast Verification. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  2. Turcotte DL, Schubert G (2002) Geodynamics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  3. Wilks DS (1995) Statistical Methods in the Atmospheric Sciences. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer-Verlag

About this entry

Cite this entry

Holliday, J.R., Rundle, J.B., Turcotte, D.L. (2011). Earthquake Forecasting and Verification. In: Meyers, R. (eds) Extreme Environmental Events. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7695-6_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics