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Aftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the
displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousands of
instrumentally detectable aftershocks, which steadily decrease in magnitude and frequency according to known laws. In
some earthquakes the main rupture happens in two or more steps, resulting in multiple main shocks. These are known as
doublet earthquakes, and in general can be distinguished from aftershocks in having similar magnitudes and nearly
identical seismic waveforms.

Contents
Distribution of aftershocks
Aftershock size and frequency with time
Omori's law
Båth's law
Gutenberg–Richter law
Effect of aftershocks
Foreshocks
Modeling
Psychology
References
External links

Distribution of aftershocks
Most aftershocks are located over the full area of fault rupture and either occur along the fault plane itself or along other
faults within the volume affected by the strain associated with the main shock. Typically, aftershocks are found up to a
distance equal to the rupture length away from the fault plane.

The pattern of aftershocks helps confirm the size of area that slipped during the main shock. In the case of the 2004
Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake the aftershock distribution shows in both cases that the
epicenter (where the rupture initiated) lies to one end of the final area of slip, implying strongly asymmetric rupture
propagation.

Aftershock size and frequency with time

Aftershocks rates and magnitudes follow several well-established empirical laws.

Omori's law
The frequency of aftershocks decreases roughly with the reciprocal of time after the main shock. This empirical relation
was first described by Fusakichi Omori in 1894 and is known as Omori's law.[1] It is expressed as

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where k and c are constants, which vary between earthquake sequences. A

modified version of Omori's law, now commonly used, was proposed by Utsu in 1961.[2][3]

where p is a third constant which modifies the decay rate and typically falls in the range 0.7–1.5.

According to these equations, the rate of aftershocks decreases quickly with time. The rate of aftershocks is proportional to
the inverse of time since the mainshock and this relationship can be used to estimate the probability of future aftershock
occurrence.[4] Thus whatever the probability of an aftershock are on the first day, the second day will have 1/2 the
probability of the first day and the tenth day will have approximately 1/10 the probability of the first day (when p is equal
to 1). These patterns describe only the statistical behavior of aftershocks; the actual times, numbers and locations of the
aftershocks are stochastic, while tending to follow these patterns. As this is an empirical law, values of the parameters are
obtained by fitting to data after a mainshock has occurred, and they imply no specific physical mechanism in any given
case. But the Utsu-Omori law has also been obtained theoretically, as the solution of a differential equation describing the
evolution of the aftershock activity[5], where the interpretation of the evolution equation is based on the idea of
deactivation of the faults in the vicinity of the main shock of the earthquake. Also, previously Utsu-Omori law was
obtained from a nucleation process[6]. Results show that the spatial and temporal distribution of aftershocks is separable
into a dependence on space and a dependence on time. And more recently, through the application of a fractional solution
of the reactive differential equation[7], a double power law model shows the number density decay in several possible
ways, among which is a particular case the Utsu-Omori Law.

Båth's law
The other main law describing aftershocks is known as Båth's Law[8][9] and this states that the difference in magnitude
between a main shock and its largest aftershock is approximately constant, independent of the main shock magnitude,
typically 1.1–1.2 on the Moment magnitude scale.

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Gutenberg–Richter law
Aftershock sequences also typically follow the Gutenberg–Richter law of
size scaling, which refers to the relationship between the magnitude and
total number of earthquakes in a region in a given time period.

Where:

is the number of events greater or equal to

is magnitude
Gutenberg–Richter law for b = 1
and are constants
In summary, there are more small aftershocks and fewer large
aftershocks.

Effect of aftershocks
Aftershocks are dangerous because they are usually unpredictable, can be of a
large magnitude, and can collapse buildings that are damaged from the main
Magnitude of the Central Italy
shock. Bigger earthquakes have more and larger aftershocks and the sequences
earthquake of August 2016 (red dot)
can last for years or even longer especially when a large event occurs in a and aftershocks (which continued to
seismically quiet area; see, for example, the New Madrid Seismic Zone, where occur after the period shown here)
events still follow Omori's law from the main shocks of 1811–1812. An
aftershock sequence is deemed to have ended when the rate of seismicity drops
back to a background level; i.e., no further decay in the number of events with time can be detected.

Land movement around the New Madrid is reported to be no more than 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) a year,[10] in contrast to the
San Andreas Fault which averages up to 37 mm (1.5 in) a year across California.[11] Aftershocks on the San Andreas are
now believed to top out at 10 years while earthquakes in New Madrid are considered aftershocks nearly 200 years after the
1812 New Madrid earthquake.[12]

Foreshocks
Some scientists have tried to use foreshocks to help predict upcoming earthquakes, having one of their few successes with
the 1975 Haicheng earthquake in China. On the East Pacific Rise however, transform faults show quite predictable
foreshock behaviour before the main seismic event. Reviews of data of past events and their foreshocks showed that they
have a low number of aftershocks and high foreshock rates compared to continental strike-slip faults.[13]

Modeling
Seismologists use tools such as the Epidemic-Type Aftershock Sequence model (ETAS) to study cascading aftershocks.[14]

Psychology
Following a large earthquake and aftershocks, many people have reported feeling "phantom earthquakes" when in fact no
earthquake was taking place. This condition, known as "earthquake sickness" is thought to be related to motion sickness,
and usually goes away as seismic activity tails off.[15][16]

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References
1. Omori, F. (1894). "On the aftershocks of earthquakes" (http://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2261/289
44/1/jcs702001.pdf) (PDF). Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University of Tokyo. 7: 111–200.
2. Utsu, T. (1961). "A statistical study of the occurrence of aftershocks". Geophysical Magazine. 30: 521–605.
3. Utsu, T.; Ogata, Y.; Matsu'ura, R.S. (1995). "The centenary of the Omori formula for a decay law of aftershock activity"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20150716033502/http://www-solid.eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hassei/2011/papers/utsu_et_al19
95.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Physics of the Earth. 43: 1–33. Archived from the original (http://www-solid.eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.
jp/~hassei/2011/papers/utsu_et_al1995.pdf) (PDF) on 2015-07-16.
4. Quigley, M. "New Science update on 2011 Christchurch Earthquake for press and public: Seismic fearmongering or
time to jump ship" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120129200558/http://www.chcheqjournal.com/2011/science-update
-2011-christchurch-earthquake-press-public-seismic-fear-mongering-time-jump-ship/). Christchurch Earthquake
Journal. Archived from the original (http://www.chcheqjournal.com/2011/science-update-2011-christchurch-earthquak
e-press-public-seismic-fear-mongering-time-jump-ship/) on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
5. Guglielmi, A.V. (2016). "Interpretation of the Omori law". Izv., Phys. Solid Earth. 52: 785–786. arXiv:1604.07017 (http
s://arxiv.org/abs/1604.07017). doi:10.1134/S1069351316050165 (https://doi.org/10.1134%2FS1069351316050165).
6. Shaw, Bruce (1993). "Generalized Omori law for aftershocks and foreshocks from a simple dynamics". Geophysical
Research Letters. 20: 907–910. doi:10.1029/93GL01058 (https://doi.org/10.1029%2F93GL01058).
7. Sánchez, Ewin; Vega, Pedro (2018). "Modelling temporal decay of aftershocks by a solution of the fractional reactive
equation". Applied Mathematics and Computation. 340: 24–49. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2018.08.022 (https://doi.org/10.101
6%2Fj.amc.2018.08.022).
8. Richter, Charles F., Elementary seismology (San Francisco, California, USA: W. H. Freeman & Co., 1958), page 69.
9. Båth, Markus (1965). "Lateral inhomogeneities in the upper mantle". Tectonophysics. 2 (6): 483–514.
Bibcode:1965Tectp...2..483B (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1965Tectp...2..483B). doi:10.1016/0040-1951(65)90003-
X (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0040-1951%2865%2990003-X).
10. Elizabeth K. Gardner (2009-03-13). "New Madrid fault system may be shutting down" (http://www.physorg.com/news1
56169464.html). physorg.com. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
11. Wallace, Robert E. "Present-Day Crustal Movements and the Mechanics of Cyclic Deformation" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20061216222919/http://education.usgs.gov/california/pp1515/chapter7.html). The San Andreas Fault System,
California. Archived from the original (http://education.usgs.gov/california/pp1515/chapter7.html) on 2006-12-16.
Retrieved 2007-10-26.
12. "Earthquakes Actually Aftershocks Of 19th Century Quakes; Repercussions Of 1811 And 1812 New Madrid Quakes
Continue To Be Felt" (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132652.htm). Science Daily. Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091108033329/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132652.htm)
from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
13. McGuire JJ, Boettcher MS, Jordan TH (2005). "Foreshock sequences and short-term earthquake predictability on
East Pacific Rise transform faults". Nature. 434 (7032): 445–7. Bibcode:2005Natur.434..457M (http://adsabs.harvard.
edu/abs/2005Natur.434..457M). doi:10.1038/nature03377 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature03377). PMID 15791246
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15791246).
14. For example: Helmstetter, Agnès; Sornette, Didier (October 2003). "Predictability in the Epidemic-Type Aftershock
Sequence model of interacting triggered seismicity". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 108 (B10): 2482ff.
arXiv:cond-mat/0208597 (https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0208597). Bibcode:2003JGRB..108.2482H (http://adsabs.har
vard.edu/abs/2003JGRB..108.2482H). doi:10.1029/2003JB002485 (https://doi.org/10.1029%2F2003JB002485). "As
part of an effort to develop a systematic methodology for earthquake forecasting, we use a simple model of seismicity
based on interacting events which may trigger a cascade of earthquakes, known as the Epidemic-Type Aftershock
Sequence model (ETAS)."
15. Japanese researchers diagnose hundreds of cases of 'earthquake sickness' (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/
06/20/japanese-researchers-diagnose-hundreds-of-cases-of-earthquake-si/), Daily Telegraph, 20 June 2016
16. After the earthquake: why the brain gives phantom quakes (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/06/aft
er-the-earthquake-why-the-brain-gives-phantom-quakes), The Guardian, 6 November 2016

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External links
Earthquake Aftershocks Not What They Seemed (https://web.archive.org/web/20110304150201/http://www.livescienc
e.com/environment/060607_quake_aftershocks.html) at Live Science

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