Statistical Analysis of the Inter-Event Time, Distance, and Migrating Trend Distribution of Successive Large Earthquakes in Iran

In this study, the waiting time, spatial distance, and migrating trend pattern of successive large earthquakes in Iran have been investigated. In order to carry out this work, the earthquake data of Iran with M ³ 4.5 (1976-2018) have been obtained from the USGS catalog. Then, the statistical distribution of the Interevent time, migrating distance, and directional trend of migration of successive events were studied using different lower magnitude thresholds. The statistical and probability distributions of inter-event times of earthquakes were assessed and modelled by different distribution models. Furthermore, the directional analysis of migrating trends, as well as the spatial distances of successive events with different lower magnitude, was carried out. It is observed that the inter-event time distribution of earthquakes can be quite well fitted by the Gamma distribution model. The results obtained also indicate a decreasing trend in spatial distance distribution and a meaningful correlation between the directional pattern of the migrating trends ofsuccessive events and the dominant trends ofthe active faults of the region. The results of this study can be considered as an effective step to better understanding the temporal-spatial pattern of seismicity in Iran and also as an attempt to achieve earthquake prediction in this country, in a regional scale