Abstract:
Aftershock activity reflects the viscoelastic relaxation of stress in the Earth’s crust, which accumulates as a result of the rupture processes within the focal zone of the main earthquake. The study of the distribution of secondary events is crucial for understanding the physics of seismogenesis. This research presents the temporal and spatial behavior of aftershocks following eight earthquakes between 1995 and 2020 with magnitudes Mw > 5.9 in the spatial window 18°–30° E / 34°–42° N. The modified Omori law and the Gutenberg-Richter law are applied. Parameters characterizing the decay of aftershock activity, such as the parameter p and constants c and K, are determined using ZMAP in the MATLAB environment. These parameters are valuable for assessing the temporal behavior of aftershocks. The decay rate of aftershock events provides insights into the stress release processes following the main earthquake. The analysis demonstrates that the parameters of aftershock sequences depend on both the magnitude of the main event and the seismotectonic environment, as well as the conditions of the surrounding medium.