Structural characteristics of epicentral areas in Central Europe: study case Cheb Basin (Czech Republic)

The earthquake distribution pattern of Central Europe differs systematically from the neighbouring areas of NW and southern Europe regarding the fault plane kinematics. Within a belt between the French Massif Central and the northern part of the Bohemian Massif (1000 km) sinistral faulting along N-S zones dominates on the contrary to the Alps and their foreland with common bookshelf shears. One of the prominent N-S structures is the Regensburg-Leipzig-Rostock Zone (A) with several epicentral areas, where the main seismic center occurs in the northern Cheb Basin (NW Bohemia). The study demonstrates new structural results for the swarm-quake region in NW-Bohemia, especially for the Nový Kostel area in the Cheb Basin. There the N-S-trending newly found Počatky-Plesná zone (PPZ) is identical with the main earthquake line. The PPZ is connected with a mofette line between Hartušov and Bublák with evidence for CO₂ degassing from the subcrustal mantle. The morphologically more prominent Mariánské Lázně fault (MLF) intersects the PPZ obliquely under an acuate angle. In the past the MLF was supposed to be the tectonic structure connected with the epicentral area of Nový Kostel. But evidence from the relocated hypocentres along the PPZ (at 7–12 kms depth) indicate that the MLF is seismically non-active. Asymmetric drainage patterns of the Cheb Basin are caused by fault related movement along Palaeozoic basement faults which initiate a deformation of the cover (Upper Pliocene to Holocene basin filling). The PPZ forms an escarpment in Pliocene and Pleistocene soft rock and is supposingly acting as an earthquake zone since late Pleistocene time. The uppermost Pleistocene of 0.12–0.01 Ma deposited only in front of the fault scarp dates the fault activity. The crossing faults envelope crustal wedges under different local stress conditions. Their intersection line forms a zone beginning at the surface near Nový Kostel, dipping south with increasing depth, probably down to about 12 km. The intersection zone represents a crustal anomaly. There fault movements can be blocked up and peculiar stress condition influence the behaviour of the adjacent crust. An ENE-WNW striking dextral wrench fault was detected which is to expect as kinematic counterpart to the ca. N-S striking sinistral shear zones. Nearly E-W striking fracture segments were formerly only known as remote sensing lineaments or as joint density zones. The ENE shear zone is characterized by a set of compressional m-scale folds and dm-scale faults scattered within a 20 m wide wrench zone. It is built up of different sets of cleavage-like clay plate pattern of microscopical scale. The associated shear planes fit into a Riedel shear system. One characteristic feature are tiny channels of micrometer scale. They have originated after shear plane bending and are the sites of CO₂ mantle degassing.     

Relation of surface movements in West Bohemia to earthquake swarms

GPS observations in the Western Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarm region revealed indications of horizontal displacements of low amplitude, and no clear long-term trend in 1993–2007. On the other hand, in 1998–2001 there was relatively significant active movement along NNE-SSW oriented line that we called the “Cheb-Kraslice GPS Boundary” (ChKB), identical with an important limitation of earthquake activity. The most impressive were dextral (right-lateral) movements in the 1998–1999 period followed by reverse sinistral (left-lateral) movements in 1999–2000 that correlate with prevailing motion defined by fault plane solutions of the Autumn 2000 earthquake swarm. Before the February 2004 micro-swarm, two points located on opposite sides of the Mariánské Lázně fault showed extension in the order of about 7 mm in the same NNE-SSW direction of ChKB. The new NOKO permanent GPS station in Novy Kostel showed the peak-to-peak vertical changes up to 10 mm before and during the February 2007 micro-swarm. Annual precise levelling campaigns in the local network around Novy Kostel revealed regular vertical displacements during the 1994, 1997 and 2000 earthquake swarms. The points around the Novy Kostel seismological station showed uplift during the active periods, including the micro-swarm February 2004. However, no such indication was observed on levelling points in the period of the February 2007 swarm. Long-term vertical displacements depend on the same direction NNE-SSW (ChKB) as the GPS displacements. Both geodetic techniques have revealed oscillating displacements, GPS horizontal, and levelling vertical, rather than any long-term trends in the study period 1993–2007. The displacements exhibited significant spatial and temporal relation to tectonic activity (earthquake swarms) including their coincidence with the seismologically determined sense of motion along the fault plane during earthquakes.     

Seismic regime of the west Bohemian earthquake swarm region: Preliminary results

Summary The western part of the Bohemian Massif located between two tectonic units, the Moldanubian and the Saxo-Thuringian, is characterized by the re-occurrence of earthquake swarms. The focal region for these swarms includes the territory of West Bohemia and the adjacent territory of SE Saxony and NE Bavaria. During the most recent swarm in December 1985 – January 1986, more than 8000 small earthquakes were recorded; the two largest earthquakes with local magnitudes (M_L) of 4·6 and 4·1. This paper presents a summary of the seismic energy release in space and time for the western part of the Bohemian Massif, based on seismic observations of permanent seismic stations established in West Bohemia since 1986. It was found out that microearthquake activity, mostly of a swarm-like character, persisted between two macroseismically observed swarms. The foci of the microearthquakes predominantly cluster in six main epicentral zones, four of which are located in West Bohemia or in its immediate vicinity in Saxony. The remaining two are in Saxony and in Bavaria. The four epicentral zones in West Bohemia were studied in detail. It was found that the individual zones differ in size, in depth of hypocentres, in geometry, as well as in temporal activity. Moreover, it was found that the seismicity in the most active epicentral zone is closely related to the system of principal tectonic faults referred to as the Kruné Hory fault and the Mariánské Lázn fault.     

Evolution of paleostress fields and brittle deformation in Hronov-Poříčí Fault Zone,Bohemian Massif

This paper investigates the tectonic history and describes the paleostress evolution of the Hronov-Po?í?í Fault Zone in the northeastern part of the Bohemian Massif. A detailed structural research has been carried out in 50 localities. Faults and fractures have been investigated and measured. An analysis of the fault-slip data within the studied area resulted in the identification of four tectonic phases. The maximum principal stress was observed to be acting NE-SW during the first and youngest phase. The trend of the horizontal compression runs at 223° in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the reverse faults occurring in this phase, as well as to the studied fault zone. The minimum principal stress was found to be subvertical dipping at 87° and trending at 358°. Both the brittle tectonic investigations and paleostress analysis have documented that, at present, the Hronov-Po?í?í Fault Zone is under compressive regime with dextral component.     

Present-day seismicity of the south-eastern Elbe Fault System (NE Bohemian Massif)

The Variscan Bohemian Massif is disrupted by the NW-SE striking Elbe Fault System in its northern part. The increased tectonic activity associated with this structure is manifested by increased seismicity in the eastern part of the Sudetes. With the use of a temporary local seismic network, the total number of micro-earthquakes located in this region increased to 153 for the period 1996–2003. The local magnitudes vary between −0.6 and 1.8 and the seismic energy was often released in swarm-like sequences. Five seismic events with well-defined P-onset polarities at five or six stations enabled the estimation of focal mechanisms. The present-day activity of the WNW-ESE to NNW-SSE fault systems is discussed on the basis of source mechanisms, the alignment of the epicentres, as well as morphological and geological evidence. The majority of the recent seismic activity is concentrated in a 40–60 km wide zone of a generally NW-SE trend. This structure represents a regional zone of weakness within the SE termination of the Elbe Fault System, defined by a mesh of interconnected faults, of which many are deep-seated and highly permeable and some are associated with light to moderate historical earthquakes. Both in the areas due south and due north of this zone the present-day seismic activity is very low. The increased tectonic activity can be interpreted as a result of the abundance of suitably oriented faults and their interconnection into major fault systems, the proximity of the Outer Carpathian indentor and the Cainozoic volcanic and associated recent post-volcanic activity. The similar character of swarms and their coincidence with the post-volcanic activity in the southeastern part of the Elbe Fault System and in some focal zones of the western Bohemian seismically active area suggests that overpressurized fluids may represent a potential swarm-triggering mechanism.     

Comparison of two extensometric stations in Hungary

Quartz-tube extensometers are used to measure rock deformations in two geodynamic observatories in Hungary in order to contribute to the investigation of recent tectonic movements on the area of the Pannonian Basin. One of the observatories is situated on the border of the Alps at Sopronbánfalva and is set in the metamorphic (gneiss) material of the mountains. The other station is in the basically karstic environment of the Mátyáshegy (Mátyás Hill) near Budapest. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the local conditions, such as structure of the observatory, topography or geologic features of the surrounding rocks, lead to additional or modified deformations of the extensometric stations. Data collected over eight years were processed and analysed to compare the observatories taking into account geologic, lithologic and topograpic properties of the measurement sites. Tidal and coherence analysis of the continuous strain measurements revealed that the instrument at Sopronbánfalva is more sensitive to atmospheric pressure loading than the extensometer at Mátyáshegy. Signal to noise values from the data processing of the short period variations support the higher stability of tidal strain measurements at Mátyáshegy. The strain rates measured by extensometers in both observatories are in good agreement with the strain rates inferred from GPS measurements of the Hungarian GPS Geodynamic Reference Network and the Central European GPS Reference Network.     

汶川地震前后川滇及其邻区GPS水平运动演化特征

利用川滇及其邻区2004-2007年、2007-2009年GPS水平运动观测资料,对汶川地震前、震时与震后地壳运动及主要活动断裂带构造变形演化特征、汶川地震可能的同震与震后影响进行了分析.结果表明:2007-2009年汶川震区呈现出显著的右旋逆冲同震变形;大震在一定程度上对甘川交界及其北侧的西秦岭构造区、安宁河—则木河断裂的构造运动有所促进;对鲜水河断裂构造运动总体反映调整影响但对其南段可能有促进作用.     

Continuous gas monitoring in the West Bohemian earthquake area,Czech Republic: First results

Two stations monitoring concentrations of carbon dioxide and radon in soil gas (Oldřišská and Novy Kostel) and one station monitoring flow of carbon dioxide at a mofette (Soos) have been operated in the area of the West Bohemian earthquake swarms. We present preliminary results obtained on the base of four-year observations. We found that data are not influenced considerably by barometric pressure. Although the CO₂ concentration varies greatly, the long-term trends at stations Oldřišská and Novy Kostel are similar, which indicates that the CO₂ flow is controlled by common geogenic processes. Also temporal trends of CO₂ and Rn concentrations in soil gas at individual stations are analogous. We found diurnal variations of both CO₂ concentration in soil gas and the CO₂ flow at mofettes due to the earth tides. A response to tides of semi-diurnal period is insignificant in CO₂ concentration and only weak in the CO₂ flow. We also examined possible pre-seismic, co-seismic and post-seismic effects of the intensive 2008 earthquake swarm on the CO₂ concentration at Oldřišská and Novy Kostel, and on the CO₂ flow at Soos. However, all potential indications were insignificant and there has not been proven any influence of the swarm on the CO₂ concentration as well as on the CO₂ flow. Nevertheless, a gradual decrease of amplitudes of diurnal variations before the swarm and the lowest amplitudes during the swarm is a noteworthy phenomenon, which might indicate the strain changes of the rock associated with earthquake swarm.     

青藏高原东北缘上地幔地震各向异性:来自SKS、PKS和SKKS震相分裂的证据

基于青藏高原东北缘甘肃区域台网41个宽频带地震台站的远震记录资料,通过PKS、SKS和SKKS震相的剪切波分裂分析,获取了台站下方介质的各向异性分裂参数,得到该地区上地幔各向异性分布图像,并结合GPS速度场和地壳剪切波各向异性分析青藏高原东北缘各向异性形成机制及壳幔各向异性特征.分析结果认为,在阿尔金断裂带西侧,各向异性快波偏振呈NWW-SEE方向,与断裂带走向有一定夹角,与塔里木盆地向柴达木盆地俯冲方向一致,说明该地区上地幔物质变形主要受古构造运动的影响,属于"化石"各向异性.在祁连山-河西走廊构造区,XKS快波偏振呈NW-SE方向,一致性较好,与区域断层走向方向相同;由区域小震的地壳剪切波分裂分析得到的地壳剪切波快波偏振在该区域呈NE-SW方向,与相对于稳定欧亚大陆GPS运动速率一致,地壳和地幔快波偏振方向的差异表明壳幔变形可能有不同的形变机制.在陇中盆地及其周缘,由于处于活跃青藏地块与稳定鄂尔多斯地块之间的过渡带,相对于其他区域具有更加复杂的构造背景,地壳快波偏振和地幔快波偏振总体上呈NWW-SEE方向,说明壳幔变形机制可能相同;但不同台站结果之间存在一定离散性,推测是由于受局部构造特征差异性造成.     

华北地区GPS地壳应变能密度变化率场及其构造运动分析

利用GAMIT软件将华北地区GPS地壳形变监测网1995、1996及1999年3期观测数据同全球IGS跟踪站资料进行了统一处理,并采用基线向量单天解及其全协方差矩阵和武汉大学PowerAdj Ver3.0软件在ITRF97框架下进行了GPS网整体平差,得出了相对于欧亚板块的水平运动速度场;进一步利用GPS速度场计算华北地区GPS地壳应变率场及应变能密度变化率场. GPS结果表明:华北地区现以(3-12mm/a)±3.4mm/a速度相对于稳定的欧亚板块向东或东南方向运动;唐山-河间-磁县是一个压缩活动边界,大同-太原则是一拉张活动边界,呈略带右旋的拉张运动;北京-天津-渤海湾地区,以及邢台地区是高剪应变率地区;张家口-北京-天津-渤海湾地区,以及济南地区是高应变能密度变化率地区,地壳积累能量高,且渤海湾地区处于面膨胀变化率正、负值过渡带,那里可能存在与地震危险性有关的应变能积累背景.     

Recent movement changes of main fault zones in the Sichuan-Yunnan region and their relevance to seismic activity

The Wenchuan earthquake occurred near the "triple junction" linking the Bayan Har block, the South China block, and the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block, and its influences on the surrounding blocks and the main fault zones in the Sichuan-Yunnan region, i.e., the block boundary zone, cannot be ignored. In this paper, changes of movement and stress of the fault zones before and after a strong earthquake were simulated based on the GPS repetition survey results recently obtained during 1999–2007, 2009–2011, and 2011–2013 with a two-dimensional finite-element contact model and the "block- loading" method. The results show that, before the Wenchuan earthquake, the movement of the Longmenshan fault zone was very slow and its compressive stress accumulated rapidly; after the Wenchuan earthquake, movements toward the E-SSE direction of the Bayan Har, southwestern Yunnan, and rhombic blocks were enhanced, and the dextral and horizontal compressive speeds and annual accumulative compressive stress of the Longmenshan fault zone increased markedly by factors of 4.5, 2.1, and 2.5, respectively. The southern Xianshuihe, Anninghe, Zemuhe, Daliangshan, and Lijiang-Xiaojinhe fault zones accumulated compressive stress rapidly, forming enhanced compressive stress zones along a NE strike crossing the central part of the Sichuan-Yunnan region. The tensional movement of the Xianshuihe fault zone was enhanced and the slip movement in the central part of the zone was reversed in a short time. The changes are tightly related to the medium-intensity earthquakes that occurred during the same period in this region, revealing that the spatial migration of seismic activity is related to changes of movement of the blocks.     

Repeated Geodetic Measurements in the West Bohemia Seismoactive Region: Period 1993 - 1996

The western part of the Bohemian Massif is characterized by repeated occurrences of intraplate earthquake swarms. To study surface deformations of this anomalous region, a network covering about 2000 square kilometres for repeated geodetic measurements was established in 1993 - 1994. The positions of the individual points of the network were carefully picked with respect to local tectonic structure and earthquake foci distribution. GPS and precise levelling measurements were performed 1-2 times a year. The GPS data were processed by Bernese GPS software. No tendency to any displacement - either horizontal or vertical - of geological blocks was derived from the geodetic data for the period 1993 - 96. Only displacements of less than 5 mm/year in average could occur in the whole region in that period; larger displacements would have been revealed by our measurements.     

芦山MS7.0地震前水平位移和同震水平位移研究

本文利用“中国地壳运动观测网络（二期）”多个GPS连续观测站观测数据处理结果,将2013年4月20日四川芦山MS7.0地震区域参考框架同震水平位移与全球参考框架同震水平位移进行比较,结果表明两组框架解一致,说明两种参考框架均可当作位错参考框架,也即全球参考框架同震水平位移也可视为区域参考框架同震水平位移．区域参考框架下GPS连续观测站地震前的水平位移和同震水平位移结果表明,震前数年,SCTQ站西侧的GPS站构造运动十分显著,而该站水平位移却很小,即出现反常的闭锁．但该站的同震水平位移使其弹性回跳至正常构造水平位移水平,因此SCTQ站震前的位移闭锁是水平位移空间分布中的异常,是芦山MS7.0地震的前兆．水平位移时空变化表明,该站震前和震时位移完全符合里德的弹性回跳理论．区域参考框架中位移时间系列和同震水平位移的综合研究有助于对芦山地震地壳运动前兆的认识和解释．尽管本文未能直接采用其它GPS连续观测站的资料,但结合本文和其它研究结果可以证实,震中附近其它站地震前后的变化与SCTQ站类似．基于芦山地震前水平位移和同震水平位移及其与前兆关系的研究,本文进一步讨论了GPS监测网的布设、 数据处理和分析等问题．      

Tectonic model of Egypt based on magnetic analysis

The main target of this work was to study the dynamics of the Earth’s crust for Egypt based on the magnetic survey. High-resolution land magnetic data were analyzed, combined with the results of GPS and seismic stress analyses. The constructed tectonic map shows that the N35°-N45°W trend of the structure (related to the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez tectonics) predominates along the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, covering wide parts of the study area. The N45°-N65°E tectonic trend (related to the Syrian Arc tectonics), prevailing in the northern part of Egypt, is of the second rank. The Aqaba (N15°-25°E) and E-W trends prevail in the northern part and along the transition zone of stable/unstable shelves. The depth to the basement rocks ranges from the surface along the Red Sea and southern parts of Egypt to more than 4 km below sea level at the northern part of the study area.     

大规模GPS揭示中国现今地壳构造形变特征

利用全国260多个陆态网络连续站以及2 000多个陆态网络区域站2011—2015年观测数据,计算分析中国大陆现今整体地壳构造形变特征以及板内应变场空间分布特征。根据密集、大范围的GPS速度场可知中国大陆现今整体速度场依然呈现西强东弱的态势,其中最大值出现在喜马拉雅地区,一般速率在35~42mm/a之间,而川滇地区形成的右旋剪切带的形变特征最为醒目,其西南部最小速率在3~9mm/a之间,北部最大速率在17~23mm/a;由应变场的空间分布可以看出应力最大的地区主要是喜马拉雅、昆仑山中部、川滇地区的鲜水河断裂带、天山地区以及京津唐地区;东部沿海地区应变速率表现为东西拉张型,主要是由于2011年日本大地震对该地区的影响还未完全消退造成的。     

Local seismic observations at stations Nový Kostel and Skalná, and their iterpretation: Period 1986–93

Summary Systematic observations of natural seismic activity in the West-Bohemian earthquake-swarm region began at two autonomous seismological stations of the Geophysical Institute, the digital station Novy Kostel (NKC) and the analogue station Skalná (SKC), in May 1986 and December 1989, respectively. This paper presents the station data of NKC and SKC, the method of processing the records, and the database structure. It also includes the interpretation of observations made at these stations in the period 1986–1993. It was found that the seismic activity in the West Bohemian region, in the Vogtland (Saxony) and NE Bavaria was continuous. Between two strong earthquake swarms, the energy in this area was released in the form of a large number of micro-earthquakes of a markedly swarm-like nature, mostly concentrated in six focal regions.     

利用GPS观测研究山西断陷带现今构造应力场变化与地震活动

基于1999—2007年山西断陷带GPS站点位移速率,采用格林函数法计算了山西断陷带地壳10 km深处的最大主应力和最大剪应力变化,并与区域地质构造、中强地震活动及其震源机制解等对比分析,结果表明:山西断陷带中强地震活动受区域构造应力场的控制,现今应力场变化强烈的区域,地震活动水平相对较高,地震震源机制与构造应力场变化特征一致性较强;构造应力场变化和中强地震活动还受构造相关区强震活动的影响,2009年以来忻定盆地原平段至石岭关隆起区中强地震活跃可能与汶川8.0级地震影响有关;山西南部尤其是运城盆地具有较高的背景应力水平,应进一步关注该区域的地震危险性。     

Numerical analysis of contemporary hori-zontal tectonic deformation fields in China from GPS data

Introduction To correctly understand the tectonic deformation of continental lithosphere, its dynamical mechanics and seismic activity, we should firstly acquire the velocity field and strain field of lithospheric tectonic motion with fine resolution and consistent accuracy (Molnar and Lyon-Caen, 1989; Molnar, 1990). And the quality, distribution and density of observed data are the basis for studying crustal tectonic deformation. In the past, crustal deformation is usually determined indi-r…     

Crustal motion of Chinese mainland monitored by GPS

To measure and monitor the crustal motion in China, a GPS network has been established with an average side length of 1 000 km and with more than 20 points on the margins of each major tectonic block and fault zone in China. Three campaigns were carried out in 1992,1994 and 1996, respectively by this network. Here we present, for the first time, the horizontal displacement rates of 22 GPS monitoring stations distributed over the whole China and global IGS stations surrounding China, based on these GPS repeated measurements. From these results by GPS, we have obtained the sketch of crustal motion in China.     

Long-term crustal deformation monitored by gravity and space techniques at Medicina, Italy and Wettzell, Germany

Series of gravity recordings at the stations Medicina (Italy) and Wettzell (Germany) are investigated to separate seasonal gravity variations from long-term trends in gravity. The findings are compared to height variations monitored by continuous GPS observations. To study the origin of these variations in height and gravity the environmental parameters at the stations are included in the fact finding. In Medicina, a clear seasonal signal is visible in the gravity and height data series, caused by seasonal fluctuations in the atmosphere including mass redistribution, the ocean, groundwater but also by geo-mechanical effects such as soil consolidation and thermal expansion of the structure supporting the GPS antenna. In Wettzell, no seasonal effect could be clearly identified, and the long-term trend in gravity is mainly caused by ground water variations. The successful combination of height and gravity series with the derived ratio of gravity to height changes indicates that the long-term trends in height and gravity are most likely due to mass changes rather than to tectonic movements.