Block Models of Lithosphere Dynamics and Seismicity
Abstract
The necessity of catastrophe modeling is stipulated both by the essential increase of losses due to recent natural and anthropogenic hazards and by a lack of reliable real observation data. This paper focuses on risks of earthquakes. The region of Italy is considered as an example. A brief overview of different approaches in mathematical modeling of the lithosphere dynamics is presented. A model of the block structure dynamics and seismicity is described in detail and used for the analysis of the Vrancea (Romania) seismoactive region. The corresponding synthetic earthquake catalog is viewed as a basis for a possible generator of catastrophic events for estimating the seismic risks in the region.