Fractal Clustering as Spatial Variability of Magnetic Anomalies Measurements for Impending Earthquakes and the Thermodynamic Fractal Dimension

Abstract

Several studies focusing on the anomalies of one specific parameter (such as magnetic, ionospheric, radon release, temperature, geodetic, etc.) before impending earthquakes are constantly challenged because their results can be regarded as noise, false positives or are not related to earthquakes at all. This rise concerns the viability of studying isolated physical phenomena before earthquakes. Nevertheless, it has recently been shown that all of the complexity of these pre-earthquake anomalies rises because they could share the same origin. Particularly, the evolution and concentration of uniaxial stresses within rock samples have shown the generation of fractal crack clustering before the macroscopic failure. As there are studies which considered that the magnetic anomalies are created by lithospheric cracks in the seismo-electromagnetic theory, it is expected that the crack clustering is a spatial feature of magnetic and non-magnetic anomalies measurements in ground, atmospheric and ionospheric environments. This could imply that the rise of multiparametric anomalies at specific locations and times, increases the reliability of impending earthquake detections. That is why this work develops a general theory of fractal-localization of different anomalies within the lithosphere in the framework of the seismo-electromagnetic theory. In addition, a general description of the fractal dimension in terms of scaling entropy change is obtained. This model could be regarded as the basis of future early warning systems for catastrophic earthquakes. © 2022 by the authors.