Quantification of the Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Aftershocks Associated with the 2006 Darb-e-Astaneh (Silakhor) Earthquake, western Iran

The 31 March, 2006 earthquake with Mw=6.1 destroyed villages in the Darb-e-Astaneh (Silakhor) region of the Lurestan province. The epicenteral area of this earthquake lies near the Main Recent Fault (MRF) and its right lateral mechanism indicates that it belongs to this fault zone. The main shock was followed by relatively large number of aftershocks. In this research, the aftershock sequence of this earthquake has been studied by measuring quantitative indices of coefficient of variations (CV), the exponent of the power spectral density function, and the generalized multifractal dimensions. The results reveal the presence of fractal structure in the temporal and spatial distribution of aftershock sequence. The multifractal behavior of the aftershock sequence indicates the clustering of the earthquake activity and the degree of the heterogeneity in the seismotectonic and geodynamic processes in the focal region. The results show that the multifractal dimensions of the aftershock sequence decreases and the multifractal dimensions of aftershock epicenters increases with time. It seems that these changes in the multifractal dimensions are related to the activity of secondary and sympathetic faults and changes in the tectonic stress regime of the region. The results also indicate that the multifractal method rather than monofractal approaches is a powerful tool for quantitative analysis of aftershock process's clustering behavior.