Estimating the Recurrence Periods of Earthquake Data in Turkey

Hande Konşuk, Serpil Aktaş

Department of Statistics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

DOI: 10.4236/ojer.2013.21002                

Abstract

In this paper, the 231 earthquake data of magnitude 5 and higher, between north (39.00^o-42.00^o) and east (26.00^o-45.00^o) coordinates in Turkey from July 12, 1900 to October 23, 2011 are statistically analyzed. The probability density function and cumulative function of the magnitude are derived. It is shown that magnitude random variable is distrib-uted as the exponential distribution. The recurrence periods is also calculated. Recurrence period is estimatedapproxi-matelytwo times a year for an earthquake having magnitude 5.2. Using the Gutenberg-Richter function, the relation between magnitude and frequency is represented.

Keywords

Earthquake; Recurrence Estimation; Gutenberg-Richter Relation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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