1/fα fluctuations in geoelectrical signals observed in a seismic area of Southern Italy

Recent studies have shown that many natural systems display temporal fluctuations with long-range power-law correlations, suggesting a fractal geometry of the underlying dynamical system. Four geoelectrical time series, measured in a seismic area of Southern Italy, are investigated by means of spectral tools in order to evidence the existence of power-law correlations. Results show the scaling behaviour for all the signals recorded, pointing to the presence of fractal features expressing a long-term correlation with scaling exponents which indicate stabilizing mechanisms. Furthermore, our findings suggest an observational evidence of correlations between the variation of parameters describing the temporal fluctuations of geoelectrical signals and earthquakes that occurred in the area investigated. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.