%A Selwyn Sacks
%A Paul Rydelek
%J Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
%T Earthquake  "Quanta" as an Explanation for Observed Magnitudes and Stress Drops
%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.
%N 3
%P 808-813
%V 85
%D 1995
%I Seismological Society of America
%L epos1532