CLUSTERING ANALYSIS OF THE SEISMICITY OF VAN PROVINCE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS VIA SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION TECHNIQUES

Abstract

: Destructive aftershocks such as the 𝑀𝑤 7.2 Van earthquake on October 23, 2011, and the Hoy (Iran) earthquake with 𝑀𝑤 5.9 on February 23, 2020, occurred in the province of Van and its surroundings. In earthquake studies, the issue of examining the distribution and homogeneity of earthquake incidences with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based via spatial autocorrelation techniques is frequently investigated. Van province and its surroundings are among the areas with high earthquake risk due to its location on the East AnatolianCompressiveTectonicBlock.Theaimofthisstudyistoanalyzethespatialpatterns ofearthquakeswithmagnitude 𝑀𝑤 4 and above that occurred in the province of Van and its surroundings during the instrumental period and to determine to cluster. Spatial cluster analyses play an important role in examining the distribution of seismicity. The data used in the study have been taken from the database system of the Earthquake Department of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi methods from spatial autocorrelation techniques were preferred on the earthquake data set to be used in this research. It has aimed to determine the dangerous areas by testing the earthquake distributions in clustered regions via spatial autocorrelation techniques.