%0 Journal Article
%@ 0037-1106
%A Sacks, Selwyn
%A Rydelek, Paul
%A Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Carnegie Institution of Washington 5241 Broad Branch Rd., NW Washington, D.C. 20015 (I.S.S.),
%A Center for Earthquake Research and Information The University of Memphis 3890 Central Ave. Memphis, Tennessee 38152 (P.A.R.),
%D 1995
%F epos:1532
%I Seismological Society of America
%J Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
%N 3
%P 808-813
%T Earthquake  "Quanta" as an Explanation for Observed Magnitudes and Stress Drops
%U https://episodesplatform.eu/eprints/1532/
%V 85
%X The familiar linear relation (Gutenberg-Richter) between the logarithm  of  the  number  of  earthquakes  and  their  magnitude  is  commonly  ascribed  to  the  distribution  (fractal) of fault  sizes  in  a  self-similar process.  We  show  that  a  concept  of earthquake  quanta  whose  failure is  governed by  simple  physics  and  suggested by  observations  explains not only the Gutenberg-Richter relation but also the relatively  constant  stress  drop  for larger  magnitude  events.  Results  from  computer  simulation  are  consistent with  observations  from detailed  seismicity studies.