Publication Date
7-1-2024
Abstract
For each geographic location, its seismicity level is usually determined by how close this location is to the boundaries of tectonic plates. However, there is one notable exception: while Ireland and Britain are at approximately the same distance from such boundaries, the seismicity level in Ireland is much lower than in Britain. A recent paper provided a partial explanation for this phenomenon: namely, it turns out that the lithosphere under Ireland is unusually thick, and this can potentially lead to lower seismicity. However, the current explanation of the relation between the lithosphere thickness and seismicity level strongly depends on the specific details of the corresponding hypothetical mechanism. In this paper, we provide a general geometric explanation of this relation, an explanation that does not depend on the specific geophysical details.
Comments
Technical Report: UTEP-CS-24-40