Regional and global variations in the temporal clustering of tectonic tremor activity

Abstract

The temporal distribution of tremor activity exhibits a highly non-Poissonian behavior, and its maximum period of non-Poissonian clustering statistically describes the recurrence interval of major tremor bursts. Here, we examine variations in the temporal clustering properties of tremor activity by assessing their characteristic times, which are determined by the maximum period of the non-Poissonian distribution. By applying a two-point correlation integral to some of the world's major tremor zones, including Shikoku, Kii-Tokai, and Kyushu in Japan; Cascadia, Jalisco, and Guerrero in Mexico; southern Chile; Taiwan; and Manawatu in New Zealand, we reveal local spatial variations in the temporal clustering properties in each tremor zone and show global-scale variations in tremor activity. The spatial variation in local tremor activity is characterized by a gradual transition in the along-dip direction and shorter-wavelength heterogeneities in the along-strike direction, possibly associated with a spatial change in frictional conditions at the plate interface and rheological conditions in the surrounding materials. The characteristic time correlates positively with locally measured median tremor duration, implying an inherent correlation between the moment release rate and the recurrence interval of tremors.