Articles | Volume 26, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2691-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2691-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Consistency of seismic hazard estimates from a physics-based earthquake simulator: a case study in south-eastern Spain
Octavi Gómez-Novell
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
CN Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
now at: Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i l’Oceà, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
Francesco Visini
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Chieti, Italy
Paula Herrero-Barbero
CN Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
José A. Álvarez-Gómez
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Julián García-Mayordomo
CN Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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Octavi Gómez-Novell, Francesco Visini, José Antonio Álvarez-Gómez, Bruno Pace, and Julián García-Mayordomo
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Earthquake surface ruptures are a hazard for infrastructure and life that requires proper assessment. We use a physics-based earthquake cycle simulator to derive fault displacement hazard statistics in a test fault system and their dependence to fault geometry. Our results show that more complex fault geometries increase surface rupture probabilities and might improve the agreement with observations. Earthquake cycle simulators are thus a promising tool for fault displacement hazard analyses.
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We model fault-based seismicity rates (expected number of earthquakes over time): instead of relying on past earthquake records, we calculate these rates by converting the slip rates of active faults into earthquake activity, both for individual faults and for ruptures involving several adjacent faults. Our results show that the latter better match observations and past geological evidence, and highlight the importance of incorporating complex fault interactions into seismic hazard models.
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Knowing the rate at which earthquakes happen along active faults is crucial to characterize the hazard that they pose. We present an approach (Paleoseismic EArthquake CHronologies, PEACH) to correlate and compute seismic histories using paleoseismic data, a type of data that characterizes past seismic activity from the geological record. Our approach reduces the uncertainties of the seismic histories and overall can improve the knowledge on fault rupture behavior for the seismic hazard.
David Galán Pérez, Iñigo Aniel-Quiroga, Albert Gallego, Ignacio Aguirre-Ayerbe, Mauricio González, Omar Quetzalcóatl, Jose A. Álvarez-Gómez, and Luis Pedraz
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Tsunamis can have devastating consequences, yet it remains challenging to identify which earthquakes generate them. This study presents a criterion for identifying tsunamigenic events based on numerical simulations, as well as a global database of tsunami simulations based on historical earthquakes. By comparing the results with historical records, this approach can improve tsunami identification and support tsunami warnings worldwide.
Juan Portela, Marta Béjar-Pizarro, Alejandra Staller, Cécile Lasserre, Beatriz Cosenza-Muralles, José Antonio Álvarez-Gómez, and José Jesús Martínez-Díaz
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We combined satellite radar and GPS data to model how the faults in El Salvador and nearby regions accumulate deformation. Motion across the central El Salvador Fault Zone is shared by several fault branches, while the offshore subduction zone appears to be weakly locked. These results improve the understanding of regional deformation and seismic hazard in Central America.
Octavi Gómez-Novell, Francesco Visini, José Antonio Álvarez-Gómez, Bruno Pace, and Julián García-Mayordomo
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 651–673, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-651-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-651-2026, 2026
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Earthquake surface ruptures are a hazard for infrastructure and life that requires proper assessment. We use a physics-based earthquake cycle simulator to derive fault displacement hazard statistics in a test fault system and their dependence to fault geometry. Our results show that more complex fault geometries increase surface rupture probabilities and might improve the agreement with observations. Earthquake cycle simulators are thus a promising tool for fault displacement hazard analyses.
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This study explores whether seismic hazard depends on the time interval over which an earthquake catalogue is recorded. Using a synthetic earthquake catalogue from the Eastern Betics Shear Zone spanning 1 Myr, we divided it into 10,000 sub-catalogues, each with the same duration as the historical and instrumental catalogue – i.e., 1,000 years. The resulting hazard curves, derived from a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, show that each sub-catalogue yields different return period values.
Giulia Alessandrini, Octavi Gómez-Novell, Silvia Castellaro, Michela Giustiniani, and Umberta Tinivella
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4886, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4886, 2025
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We model fault-based seismicity rates (expected number of earthquakes over time): instead of relying on past earthquake records, we calculate these rates by converting the slip rates of active faults into earthquake activity, both for individual faults and for ruptures involving several adjacent faults. Our results show that the latter better match observations and past geological evidence, and highlight the importance of incorporating complex fault interactions into seismic hazard models.
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Roberto Basili, Laurentiu Danciu, Céline Beauval, Karin Sesetyan, Susana Pires Vilanova, Shota Adamia, Pierre Arroucau, Jure Atanackov, Stéphane Baize, Carolina Canora, Riccardo Caputo, Michele Matteo Cosimo Carafa, Edward Marc Cushing, Susana Custódio, Mine Betul Demircioglu Tumsa, João C. Duarte, Athanassios Ganas, Julián García-Mayordomo, Laura Gómez de la Peña, Eulàlia Gràcia, Petra Jamšek Rupnik, Hervé Jomard, Vanja Kastelic, Francesco Emanuele Maesano, Raquel Martín-Banda, Sara Martínez-Loriente, Marta Neres, Hector Perea, Barbara Šket Motnikar, Mara Monica Tiberti, Nino Tsereteli, Varvara Tsironi, Roberto Vallone, Kris Vanneste, Polona Zupančič, and Domenico Giardini
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This study presents the European Fault-Source Model 2020 (EFSM20), a dataset of 1248 geologic crustal faults and four subduction systems, each having the necessary parameters to forecast long-term earthquake occurrences in the European continent. This dataset constituted one of the main inputs for the recently released European Seismic Hazard Model 2020, a key instrument to mitigate seismic risk in Europe. EFSM20 adopts recognized open-standard formats, and it is openly accessible and reusable.
Vera D'Amico, Francesco Visini, Andrea Rovida, Warner Marzocchi, and Carlo Meletti
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We propose a scoring strategy to rank multiple models/branches of a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) model that could be useful to consider specific requests from stakeholders responsible for seismic risk reduction actions. In fact, applications of PSHA often require sampling a few hazard curves from the model. The procedure is introduced through an application aimed to score and rank the branches of a recent Italian PSHA model according to their fit with macroseismic intensity data.
Octavi Gómez-Novell, Bruno Pace, Francesco Visini, Joanna Faure Walker, and Oona Scotti
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Knowing the rate at which earthquakes happen along active faults is crucial to characterize the hazard that they pose. We present an approach (Paleoseismic EArthquake CHronologies, PEACH) to correlate and compute seismic histories using paleoseismic data, a type of data that characterizes past seismic activity from the geological record. Our approach reduces the uncertainties of the seismic histories and overall can improve the knowledge on fault rupture behavior for the seismic hazard.
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The strike-slip Carboneras fault is one of the largest sources in the Alboran Sea, with it being one of the faster faults in the eastern Betics. The dimensions and location of the Carboneras fault imply a high seismic and tsunami threat. In this work, we present tsunami simulations from sources generated with physics-based earthquake simulators. We show that the Carboneras fault has the capacity to generate locally damaging tsunamis with inter-event times between 2000 and 6000 years.
Francesco Visini, Carlo Meletti, Andrea Rovida, Vera D'Amico, Bruno Pace, and Silvia Pondrelli
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As new data are collected, seismic hazard models can be updated and improved. In the framework of a project aimed to update the Italian seismic hazard model, we proposed a model based on the definition and parametrization of area sources. Using geological data, seismicity and other geophysical constraints, we delineated three-dimensional boundaries and activity rates of a seismotectonic zoning and explored the epistemic uncertainty by means of a logic-tree approach.
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Short summary
Evaluating seismic hazard requires past earthquake observations to perform accurate forecasts. Physics-based earthquake cycle simulators are algorithms that model long-term earthquake sequences on faults, overcoming completeness limitations of observations. We test the performance of physics-based seismic hazard assessments in comparison with traditional approaches in Spain. The physics-based approach yields more accurate forecasts, highlighting the potential of simulators for seismic hazard.
Evaluating seismic hazard requires past earthquake observations to perform accurate forecasts....
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