Scholarly record
MAPPING SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN BULGARIA
Abstract
Earthquakes are unevenly distributed in space. Seismic events are predominantly concentrated within well-defined seismic belts, many of which coincide with the boundaries and interaction zones of major tectonic plates. These zones represent areas of accumulated stress and active geodynamic processes, where earthquake generation is most frequent. In seismically active territories such as Bulgaria, earthquakes constitute one of the most significant natural hazards due to their potential societal and infrastructural impact. The seismicity of Bulgaria is unevenly distributed in space, and can be grouping into geographically defined zones, called seismogenic zones. This study presents the spatial distribution of seismic activity, both early instrumental records and contemporary earthquake catalogs, for the period 1900-2024 in the territory of Bulgaria and the surrounding areas, for different magnitude intervals. The resulting maps (in GIS format) provide detailed visualization of the earthquake’s location and their relationship with the fault structures. Analysis of the spatial distribution of earthquakes is fundamental for understanding the physics of the seismic source processes. The obtained results provide a reliable basis for initial analysis of seismic data, identification of active seismic zones, as well as a basis for future thematic developments, such as the creation of a seismic source model.
Publication details
References17
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