THE NETWORK FEATURES OF LARGE EARTHQUAKE OCCURRENCE AND SOME WORDS ON THE DEBATE OF EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION

Most of established hypotheses on the formation mechanism of large earthquakes are based on the facts occurred near the epicenter area. The author suggests that the formation mechanism of large earthquakes is characterized by network features. Large earthquakes are considered as nodes of multi level networks. The occurrence of a large earthquake is related to various dynamic ( including astronomical ) factors. This network hypothesis of large earthquake formation can easily integrate most of known phenomena discovered during earthquake prediction.Moreover, it provides new enlightenment to the debate upon the question:“Can earthquakes be predicted?” If the network hypothesis is accepted, the answer could be: at least part of large earthquakes can be predicted.