In most earthquake hazard models, the b-value of the Gutenberg-Richter law plays a central role in forecasting future seismicity based on the observed history. The cumulative earthquake-size distribution is commonly described by a power law: log10(N) = a - bM, where N is the cumulative number of earthquakes of magnitude M or greater, a is the earthquake productivity of a volume, and b is the relative size distribution (Gutenberg and Richter 1944; Ishimoto and Iida 1939). The slope of this power law, the b-value, is a critical parameter in seismology that describes...

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