EARTHQUAKE LOCATIONS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SEISMOLOGICAL DATA AND GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA

Abstract

A methodological view on earthquake locations and their geological interpretation is presented. Seismicity is considered a potential trigger and/or predisposing factor for different geological phenomena, like landslides or surface deformation and ruptures. Assuming a physical based model of earthquake nucleation, which in turn is supported by the observation of exhumed faults, earthquake locations from seismicity datasets need to be as much as possible reliable (i.e., precise and accurate) and complete. Application examples on seismicity distributions and other natural/anthropic events for the central-eastern Alps (NE Italy) clarify some critical points of numerical calculations and suggest a critical approach for appropriate data interpretation. Earthquakes