Probabilistic Completeness Studies of the INGV Seismic Network in Italy

An important characteristic of any seismic network is its detection completeness, which should be considered a function of space and time. Many researchers rely on robust estimates of detection completeness, especially when investigating statistical parameters of earthquake occurence. We apply the newly developed probabilistic magnitude of completeness (PMC) method to the INGV network in Italy and report on completeness and earthquake detection capabilities. We have (1) investigated the variation of detection completeness with time over the last two years, (2) conducted scenario computations on possible system failures, (3) estimated the completeness drops due to random failures of stations. The results show that the INGV network is largely stable and strongly affected only by large-scale station outages. This stability indicates that Italy can provide the data of required quality for CSEP (Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability) testing.