The Problems of Declustering in the Processing of Seismic Information in the Tauro Caucasus Region

ABSTRACT Accurate calculation of a declustered earthquake catalog is essential for adequately evaluating seismic hazards in a given territory. Different declustering methods for different seismotectonic conditions can give different results. In this article, we analyze the efficacy of several declustering algorithms in study seismicity in the Tauro Caucasus region and their influence on seismic hazard assessment. We examine approaches proposed by Gardner and Knopoff (1974), as well as different windowing techniques suggested by Uhrhammer (1986) and a modified version of Grünthal (1985). We also investigate declustering methods introduced by Reasenberg (1985) and Zaliapin and Ben-Zion (2013). The results indicate that, for the Tauro Caucasian region, the Gardner and Knopoff, Gruenthal window and Zaliapin and Ben-Zion methods provide more objective results. In the process of declustering, previously unknown phenomenal manifestations of seismicity have been uncovered.