Pair analysis of consecutive moderate earthquakes in various seismic regions

Series of relatively large earthquakes in different regions of the Earth were studied. The study regions are characterized by high seismic activity recorded at contemporary seismic networks. The main purpose of this investigation is to describe analytically the seismic process in space and time. We consider statistical distributions of the distances and the time intervals between consecutive earthquakes. The statistical distribution of the parameters describing consecutive seismic events is approximated with suitable characteristic functions. The main purpose of this approach is to propose formal criteria for distinguishing among different active tectonic areas in terms of their seismic activity.