Order parameter analysis of seismicity of the Mexican Pacific coast

The natural time domain has shown to be an important tool to obtain relevant information hidden in time series of complex systems not easily obtainable by means of standard analysis methods. By assuming that tectonism is a complex system and that earthquakes are similar to a phase transition, it is possible to define an order parameter for seismicity in the context of the natural time domain. In this work we analyze the statistical features of the order parameter (OP) computed for the seismic Mexican catalog spanning from 1974 to 2012. We found that in four out of the six regions the pdf of the order parameter fluctuations is similar with that earlier reported by other authors, but in two of these regions noticeable differences are identified. Also, except for Michoacán, the scaled pdfs analysis of all regions collapse on a universal curve with non-Gaussian tails.

► We study the seismicity occurring within the most important seismic region in Mexico. ► We applied the natural time analysis in order to get dynamical information from the system. ► Our analysis considers the statistical behavior of the order parameter for seismicity in natural time analysis.