LAUSR

As a relatively recent development, spatial smoothing methods have been introduced to identify seismic patterns. Among the methods developed to model the spatial variation, methods based on utilization of 3-D Gaussian isotropic kernels have a wide reception. The most important question remaining to be answered in the application of these methods is the determination of the optimum kernel bandwidth. At the present, researchers’ efforts to clarify the subject have still not yet finalized, this study aims to provide insightful knowledge for future efforts. In this study, for the region bounded by 27°–33° longitudes and 39°–41° latitudes, where the western section of the famous Northern Anatolian fault lies, smoothing techniques are implemented to determine the optimum smoothing kernel bandwidth for point sources. The influence of the modeling of seismicity through the computation of the optimum smoothing kernel bandwidth is examined. In addition, the sensitivity of each smoothing technique to the seismic patterns, whether densely clustered or scarcely populated, is investigated. In the end, the smoothing method based on optimum neighbor number is identified as highly sensitive to the density of seismicity and seismic clusters, and better in modeling high seismicity compared to the model based on single optimum smoothing distance used for the entire region of interest.