Comment on “High-Definition Mapping of the Gutenberg–Richter b-Value and Its Relevance: A Case Study in Italy” by M. Taroni, J. Zhuang, and W. Marzocchi

Taroni et al. (2021) published a statistical framework to reliably
estimate the b-value and its uncertainties, with the goal
being the interpretation in a seismotectonic context and
improving earthquake forecasting capabilities. In this comment,
we show that the results presented for the Italian region
and the conclusions drawn by the authors, are heavily biased
due to quarry-blast events in the Italian earthquake catalog
used in the analysis. Without removing this anthropogenic
component in the data, a meaningful analysis of the earthquake-
size distribution for natural seismicity is, in our opinion,
not possible. This comment highlights the need for basic data
quality analysis before sophisticated statistical tools are applied
to a dataset.

European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement Number 821115
Pianeta Dinamico-Working Earth INGV-MUR project.

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Taroni, M., J. Zhuang, and W. Marzocchi (2021). High-definition mapping
of the Gutenberg–Richter b-value and its relevance: A case study
in Italy, Seismol. Res. Lett. 92, 3778–3784, doi: 10.1785/0220210017.