Global induced stress field from large earthquakes since 1900 and chained earthquake occurrence

Great earthquakes produce significant damages over large areas. The timely identification of impending earthquakes is crucial for seismic hazard mitigation. We assess the stress induced from neighboring earthquakes for 120 years around the circum-Pacific plate boundaries. Large earthquakes perturbed the stress fields. We analyze 1,636 earthquakes with moment magnitudes greater than or equal to 6.4 in 1900-2020. The cumulative Coulomb stress changes reach up to the order of tens to hundreds of bar at the plate boundaries. Large earthquakes followed in the regions with large lateral gradients of cumulative Coulomb stress changes induced by precedent earthquakes. Laterally heterogeneous stress fields may play an important role in nucleation of great earthquakes.