Rupture process of the M L=4.1 earthquake in Huailai Basin on July 20, 1995

On July 20, 1995, an earthquake of M _L=4.1 occurred in Huailai basin, northwest of Beijing, with epicenter coordinates 40.326°N, 115.448°E and focal depth 5.5 km. Following the main shock, seismicity sharply increased in the basin. This earthquake sequence was recorded by Sino-European Cooperative Huailai Digital Seismograph Network (HDSN) and the hypocentres were precisely located. About 2 hours after the occurrence of the main shock, a smaller event of M _L=2.0 took place at 40.323°N, 115.447°E with a focal depth of 5.0 km, which is very close to the main shock. Using the M _L=2.0 earthquake as an empirical Green’s function, a regularization method was applied to retrieve the far-field source-time function (STF) of the main shock. Considering the records of HDSN are the type of velocity, to depress high frequency noise, we removed instrument response from the records of the two events, then integrated them to get displacement seismogram before applying the regularization method. From the 5 field stations, P phases in vertical direction which mostly are about 0.5 s in length were used. The STFs obtained from each seismic phases are in good agreement, showing that the M _L=4.1 earthquake consisted of two events. STFs from each station demonstrate an obvious “seismic Doppler effect”. Assuming the nodal plane striking 37° and dipping 40°, determined by using P wave first motion data and aftershock distribution, is the fault plane, through a trial and error method, the following results were drawn: Both of the events lasted about 0.1 s, the rupture length of the first one is 0.5 km, longer than the second one which is 0.3 km, and the rupture velocity of the first event is 5.0 km/s, larger than that of the second one which is about 3.0 km/s; the second event took place 0.06 s later than the first one; on the fault plane, the first event ruptured in the direction γ=140° measured clockwise from the strike of the fault, while the second event ruptured at γ=80°, the initial point of the second one locates at γ=−100° and 0.52 km from the beginning point of the first one. Using far-field ground displacement spectrum measurement method, the following source parameters about the M _L=4.1 earthquake were also reached: the scalar earthquake moment is 3.3×10¹³ N·m, stress drop 4.6 MPa, rupture radius 0.16 km. Contribution No. 99FE2022, Institute of Geophysics, China Seismological Bureau. This study is supported by the Chinese Joint Seismological Science Foundation (95-07-411).     

Macroseismic field of the October 27, 2004 Vrancea (Romania) moderate subcrustal earthquake

On October 27, 2004, a moderate size earthquake occurred in the Vrancea seismogenic region (Romania). The Vrancea seismic zone is an area of concentrated seismicity at intermediate depths beneath the bending area of the southeastern Carpathians. The 2004 M _w?=?6 Vrancea subcrustal earthquake is the largest seismic event recorded in Romania since the 1990 earthquakes. With a maximum macroseismic intensity of VII Medvedev–Sponheuer–Kárník (MSK-64) scale, the seismic event was felt to a distance of 600 km from the epicentre. This earthquake caused no serious damage and human injuries. The main purpose of this paper is to present the macroseismic map of the earthquake based on the MSK-64 intensity scale. After the evaluation of the macroseismic effects of this earthquake, an intensity dataset has been obtained for 475 sites in the Romanian territory. Also, the maximum horizontal accelerations recorded in the area by the K2 network are compared to the intensity values.     

Earthquake ground motion modeling of induced seismicity in the Groningen gas field

A physics‐based numerical approach is used to characterize earthquake ground motion due to induced seismicity in the Groningen gas field and to improve empirical ground motion models for seismic hazard and risk assessment. To this end, a large‐scale (20 km × 20 km) heterogeneous 3D seismic wave propagation model for the Groningen area is constructed, based on the significant bulk of available geological, geophysical, geotechnical, and seismological data. Results of physics‐based numerical simulations are validated against the ground motion recordings of the January 8, 2018, M_L 3.4 Zeerijp earthquake. Taking advantage of suitable models of slip time functions at the seismic source and of the detailed geophysical model, the numerical simulations are found to reproduce accurately the observed features of ground motions at epicentral distances less than 10 km, in a broad frequency range, up to about 8 Hz. A sensitivity analysis is also addressed to discuss the impact of 3D underground geological features, the stochastic variability of seismic velocities and the frequency dependence of the quality factor. Amongst others, results point out some key features related to 3D seismic wave propagation, such as the magnitude and distance dependence of site amplification functions, that may be relevant to the improvement of the empirical models for earthquake ground motion prediction.     

Empirical model for estimating Fourier amplitude spectra of ground acceleration in Taiwan region

A collection of ground‐motion recordings (1070 acceleration records) of moderate (5.1⩽M_L⩽6.5) earthquakes obtained during the execution of the Taiwan Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (TSMIP) since 1991 was used to study source scaling model and attenuation relations for a wide range of earthquake magnitudes and distances and to verify the models developed recently for the Taiwan region. The results of the analysis reveal that the acceleration spectra of the most significant part of the records, starting from S‐wave arrival, can be modelled accurately using the Brune's ω‐squared source model with magnitude‐dependent stress parameter Δσ, that should be determined using the recently proposed regional relationships between magnitude (M_L) and seismic moment (M₀) and between M₀ and Δσ. The anelastic attenuation Q of spectral amplitudes with distance may be described as Q=225 ƒ^1.1 both for deep (depth more than 35 km) and shallow earthquakes. The source scaling and attenuation models allow a satisfactory prediction of the peak ground acceleration for magnitudes 5.1⩽M⩽6.5 and distances up to about 200 km in the Taiwan region, and may be useful for seismic hazard assessment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Location Performance and Detection Threshold of the Spanish National Seismic Network

Spain is a low-to-moderate seismicity area with relatively low seismic hazard. However, several strong shallow earthquakes have shaken the country causing casualties and extensive damage. Regional seismicity is monitored and surveyed by means of the Spanish National Seismic Network, maintenance and control of which are entrusted to the Instituto Geográfico Nacional. This array currently comprises 120 seismic stations distributed throughout Spanish territory (mainland and islands). Basically, we are interested in checking the noise conditions, reliability, and seismic detection capability of the Spanish network by analyzing the background noise level affecting the array stations, errors in hypocentral location, and detection threshold, which provides knowledge about network performance. It also enables testing of the suitability of the velocity model used in the routine process of earthquake location. To perform this study we use a method that relies on P and S wave travel times, which are computed by simulation of seismic rays from virtual seismic sources placed at the nodes of a regular grid covering the study area. Given the characteristics of the seismicity of Spain, we drew maps for M _L magnitudes 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0, at a focal depth of 10 km and a confidence level 95 %. The results relate to the number of stations involved in the hypocentral location process, how these stations are distributed spatially, and the uncertainties of focal data (errors in origin time, longitude, latitude, and depth). To assess the extent to which principal seismogenic areas are well monitored by the network, we estimated the average error in the location of a seismic source from the semiaxes of the ellipsoid of confidence by calculating the radius of the equivalent sphere. Finally, the detection threshold was determined as the magnitude of the smallest seismic event detected at least by four stations. The northwest of the peninsula, the Pyrenees, especially the westernmost segment, the Betic Cordillera, and Tenerife Island are the best-monitored zones. Origin time and focal depth are data that are far from being constrained by regional events. The two Iberian areas with moderate seismicity and the highest seismic hazard, the Pyrenees and Betic Cordillera, and the northwestern quadrant of the peninsula, are the areas wherein the focus of an earthquake is determined with an approximate error of 3 km. For M _L 2.5 and M _L 3.0 this error is common for almost the whole peninsula and the Canary Islands. In general, errors in epicenter latitude and longitude are small for near-surface earthquakes, increasing gradually as the depth increases, but remaining close to 5 km even at a depth of 60 km. The hypocentral depth seems to be well constrained to a depth of 40 km beneath the zones with the highest density of stations, with an error of less than 5 km. The M _L magnitude detection threshold of the network is approximately 2.0 for most of Spain and still less, almost 1.0, for the western sector of the Pyrenean region and the Canary Islands.     

Precise determination of focal parameters for July 20, 1995 M_L=4.1 earthquake sequence in the Huailai basin

IntroductionSince the late 1970s, the quickly developed global digital seismograph network has been providing high quality recordings of large earthquakes in global scale, based on which digital seismology has made great progress. Compared with large earthquakes, moderate and small sized shocks have more frequent occurrence, and comprise clues to geological tectonics and tectonic stress field in a region. Preceding and following a large earthquake, usually occur numbers of small events that im…     

2014年金寨M_L3.9震群序列遗漏地震检测及发震构造分析

针对2014年8月—2015年1月安徽金寨发生的M_L3.9震群,利用匹配滤波技术补充台网目录遗漏的地震事件,再利用波形互相关震相检测技术标定P波和S波到时,进一步采用双差定位方法对震群进行重定位,结合震源机制解等分析此次震群活动可能的发震构造。计算结果显示,通过互相关扫描检测到1376个地震台网常规分析遗漏的地震,数量约为台网目录给出的585个事件的2.35倍。检测到的遗漏地震震级估算为M_L0～2.3,通过震级-频次统计分析,加入遗漏地震后地震目录的完整性在M_L0～1.5范围内有较明显的改善。重定位后地震走时残差更小,水平位置更集中,沿NNE向断裂F和NW向青山-晓天断裂呈现近直立的条带状分布。结合地质构造、震源机制解和水库因素,推测2014年金寨M_L3.9震群可能是由周边水库水下渗引起NW向青山-晓天断裂与NNE向断裂F慢滑动而触发的。     

Monitoring the West Bohemian earthquake swarm in 2008/2009 by a temporary small-aperture seismic array

The most recent intense earthquake swarm in West Bohemia lasted from 6 October 2008 to January 2009. Starting 12 days after the onset, the University of Potsdam monitored the swarm by a temporary small-aperture seismic array at 10 km epicentral distance. The purpose of the installation was a complete monitoring of the swarm including micro-earthquakes (M _L < 0). We identify earthquakes using a conventional short-term average/long-term average trigger combined with sliding-window frequency-wavenumber and polarisation analyses. The resulting earthquake catalogue consists of 14,530 earthquakes between 19 October 2008 and 18 March 2009 with magnitudes in the range of − 1.2 ≤ M _L ≤ 2.7. The small-aperture seismic array substantially lowers the detection threshold to about M _c = − 0.4, when compared to the regional networks operating in West Bohemia (M _c > 0.0). In the course of this work, the main temporal features (frequency–magnitude distribution, propagation of back azimuth and horizontal slowness, occurrence rate of aftershock sequences and interevent-time distribution) of the recent 2008/2009 earthquake swarm are presented and discussed. Temporal changes of the coefficient of variation (based on interevent times) suggest that the swarm earthquake activity of the 2008/2009 swarm terminates by 12 January 2009. During the main phase in our studied swarm period after 19 October, the b value of the Gutenberg–Richter relation decreases from 1.2 to 0.8. This trend is also reflected in the power-law behavior of the seismic moment release. The corresponding total seismic moment release of 1.02×10¹⁷ Nm is equivalent to M _L,max = 5.4.     

乳山震群震源区地壳速度结构初步研究

运用距离乳山震群最近的乳山台2011-2014年远震波形资料,计算接收函数,确定震群震源区及邻近区域的地壳厚度和波速比。结果显示：乳山台下方各个方位的接收函数差异比较大,地壳速度结构呈现横向非均匀性;震源区与邻近区域存在明显差别,邻近区域的中、下地壳存在明显的高速区,震源区中下地壳中存在明显的低速区;震群中M_L3.0以上地震基本发生在高低速交界处。据此推断,乳山震群可能是由于中下地壳小范围内的物质的不均匀性导致上地壳破裂。     

Source parameters of central California earthquakes on February 24 and September 4, 1972

The directivity function method is combined with an earthquake sequence study to obtain the reliable estimates of rupture area and rupture velocity of two right-lateral strike-slip earthquakes occurring along the San Andreas fault zone in central California. By utilizing a significant difference in velocity structure on both sides of the main fault, a modified version of the directivity function is formulated and applied to near-field SH waves. On assuming aftershock areas following their step-wise increase with time as rupture areas, an extensive systematic search for the best fit between the observed and theoretical directivity functions is made for a combination of both source parameters. The rupture at the February 24, 1972 earthquake (M_L = 5.0) propagated unilaterally with an average velocity of about 2.3 km/sec. It produced a rectangular area, the horizontal and vertical lengths being about 5 and 2 km, respectively. The rupture at the September 4, 1972 earthquake (M_L = 4.6) was of bilateral, yielding a nearly square rupture area of which side length is about 2 km. The rupture velocity of this earthquake, though some ambiguities resulting from a lower quality of the observed directivity function, is estimated at 1.9 km/sec or less. A difference in average rupture velocity between both earthquakes might imply its dependence on the ambient tectonic environment such as represented by local stress and humidity. By taking into account a post-earthquake creep increase of about 3.0–3.5 cm observed at a creepmeter station situated over the focus of the February 24, 1972 earthquake, its stress drop and seismic moment are estimated at about 10 bar and 10²³ dyn · cm, respectively. The above procedure has a broad applicability for recovering reliable estimates of source parameters, especially when it is combined with a synthetic approach.     

Joint inversion of GNSS and teleseismic data for the rupture process of the 2017 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>w</Subscript>6.5 Jiuzhaigou,China, earthquake

The spatio-temporal slip distribution of the earthquake that occurred on 8 August 2017 in Jiuzhaigou, China, was estimated from the teleseismic body wave and near-field Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data (coseismic displacements and high-rate GPS data) based on a finite fault model. Compared with the inversion results from the teleseismic body waves, the near-field GNSS data can better restrain the rupture area, the maximum slip, the source time function, and the surface rupture. The results show that the maximum slip of the earthquake approaches 1.4 m, the scalar seismic moment is ~ 8.0 × 10¹⁸ N·m (M_w?≈?6.5), and the centroid depth is ~ 15 km. The slip is mainly driven by the left-lateral strike-slip and it is initially inferred that the seismogenic fault occurs in the south branch of the Tazang fault or an undetectable fault, a NW-trending left-lateral strike-slip fault, and belongs to one of the tail structures at the easternmost end of the eastern Kunlun fault zone. The earthquake rupture is mainly concentrated at depths of 5–15 km, which results in the complete rupture of the seismic gap left by the previous four earthquakes with magnitudes >?6.0 in 1973 and 1976. Therefore, the possibility of a strong aftershock on the Huya fault is low. The source duration is ~ 30 s and there are two major ruptures. The main rupture occurs in the first 10 s, 4 s after the earthquake; the second rupture peak arrives in ~ 17 s. In addition, the Coulomb stress study shows that the epicenter of the earthquake is located in the area where the static Coulomb stress change increased because of the 12 May 2017 M_w7.9 Wenchuan, China, earthquake. Therefore, the Wenchuan earthquake promoted the occurrence of the 8 August 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake.     

Analysis of the liquefaction phenomena in the village of Vittorito (L��Aquila)

This paper describes a case-history of liquefaction occurred near the village of Vittorito after the April 6, 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (moment magnitude M_w = 6.3), approximately 45 km far from the epicentre. In the document, first, an estimation of the seismic motion in the area has been made. Thereafter, the performed geotechnical investigation is described, followed by the application of some fast assessment criteria for the occurrence of liquefaction, recently proposed by the new Italian Building Code. A careful assessment of all the parameters involved in conventional Seed and Idriss (1971) liquefaction analyses is considered. The cyclic resistance ratio CRR is evaluated by cone penetration tests CPT and by in situ seismic dilatometer tests SMDT; in the latter case CRR is evaluated by different empirical correlations with shear wave velocity V_s and horizontal stress index K_D. Analytical data confirmed the observed occurrence of the liquefaction in Vittorito, even if the acceleration field in the area, produced by the L’Aquila earthquake, was very low.     

Synthesis of accelerations of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake ( M S 7.8) in near- and far-field by using semi-empirical method

In this paper a heterogeneous fault model of the Tangshan earthquake is suggested, which consists of two southern sub-faults striking N30°E and two northern sub-faults striking N50°E. Total length of the main shock fault is 114 km and seismic moment is about 1.4 × 10²⁰ N·m. The epicentre of the main shock is located at the southern part, near the intersection of the two bands. Accelerations of two aftershocks (M _L 5.5, M _S 6.9) were used as empirical Green’s functions to synthesize the accelerations of the main shock in near and far field. A method that small events and main shock are considered not satisfying the similarity relationship in the improved empirical Green’s function is also applied in this paper. Peak values, duration and response spectra of synthesized accelerations in far field are in agreement with the observed records. The synthesized results in near field are also in agreement with the epicentral intensity distribution of the main shock. The results show that the peak acceleration of Tangshan earthquake in epicentral region exceeds 1.1 g. It is consistent with the peak accelerations recorded in some large earthquakes occurred in recent years. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation of China.     

Preliminary analysis on the source properties and seismogenic structure of the 2017 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>s</Subscript>7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake

At GMT time 13:19, August 8, 2017, an M_s7.0 earthquake struck the Jiuzhaigou region in Sichuan Province, China, causing severe damages and casualties. To investigate the source properties, seismogenic structures, and seismic hazards, we systematically analyzed the tectonic environment, crustal velocity structure in the source region, source parameters and rupture process, Coulomb failure stress changes, and 3-D features of the rupture plane of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Our results indicate the following: (1) The Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred on an unmarked fault belonging to the transition zone of the east Kunlun fault system and is located northwest of the Huya fault. (2) Both the mainshock and aftershock rupture zones are located in a region where crustal seismic velocity changes dramatically. Southeast to the source region, shear wave velocity at the middle to lower crust is significantly low, but it rapidly increases northeastward and lies close to the background velocity across the rupture fault. (3) The aftershock zone is narrow and distributes along the northwest-southeast trend, and most aftershocks occur within a depth range of 5–20 km. (4) The focal mechanism of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake indicates a left-lateral strike-slip fault, with strike, dip, and rake angles of 152°, 74° and 8°, respectively. The hypocenter depth measures 20 km, whereas the centroid depth is about 6 km. The co-seismic rupture mainly concentrates at depths of 3–13 km, with a moment magnitude (M_w) of 6.5. (5) The co-seismic rupture also strengthens the Coulomb failure stress at the two ends of the rupture fault and the east segment of the Tazang fault. Aftershocks relocation results together with geological surveys indicate that the causative fault is a near vertical fault with notable spatial variations: dip angle varies within 66°–89° from northwest to southeast and the average dip angle measures ~84°. The results of this work are of fundamental importance for further studies on the source characteristics, tectonic environment, and seismic hazard evaluation of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake.     

The 20 April 2013 Lushan,Sichuan, mainshock,and its aftershock sequence: tectonic implications

Using the double-difference relocation algorithm, we relocated the 20 April 2013 Lushan, Sichuan, earthquake (M _S 7.0), and its 4,567 aftershocks recorded during the period between 20 April and May 3, 2013. Our results showed that most aftershocks are relocated between 10 and 20 km depths, but some large aftershocks were relocated around 30 km depth and small events extended upward near the surface. Vertical cross sections illustrate a shovel-shaped fault plane with a variable dip angle from the southwest to northeast along the fault. Furthermore, the dip angle of the fault plane is smaller around the mainshock than that in the surrounding areas along the fault. These results suggest that it may be easy to generate the strong earthquake in the place having a small dip angle of the fault, which is somewhat similar to the genesis of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The Lushan mainshock is underlain by the seismically anomalous layers with low-V_P, low-V_S, and high-Poisson’s ratio anomalies, possibly suggesting that the fluid-filled fractured rock matrices might significantly reduce the effective normal stress on the fault plane to bring the brittle failure. The seismic gap between Lushan and Wenchuan aftershocks is suspected to be vulnerable to future seismic risks at greater depths, if any.     

Observations of seismic activity in Southern Lebanon

Recent seismic activity in southern Lebanon is of particular interest since the tectonic framework of this region is poorly understood. In addition, seismicity in this region is very infrequent compared with the Roum fault to the east, which is seismically active. Between early 2008 and the end of 2010, intense seismic activity occurred in the area. This was manifested by several swarm-like sequences and continuous trickling seismicity over many days, amounting in total to more than 900 earthquakes in the magnitude range of 0.5?≤?M _d?≤?5.2. The region of activity extended in a 40-km long zone mainly in a N-S direction and was located about 10 km west of the Roum fault. The largest earthquake, with a duration magnitude of M _d?=?5.2, occurred on February 15, 2008, and was located at 33.327° N, 35.406° E at a depth of 3 km. The mean-horizontal peak ground acceleration observed at two nearby accelerometers exceeded 0.05 g, where the strongest peak horizontal acceleration was 55 cm/s² at about 20 km SE of the epicenter. Application of the HypoDD algorithm yielded a pronounced N-S zone, parallel to the Roum fault, which was not known to be seismically active. Focal mechanism, based on full waveform inversion and the directivity effect of the strongest earthquake, suggests left-lateral strike-slip NNW-SSE faulting that crosses the NE-SW traverse faults in southern Lebanon.     

Acceleration Time Histories for a Scenario Earthquake in Moscow at Sites with Different Soil Conditions

According to general seismic zoning maps, Moscow is in an area with a seismic intensity of 5, in which the maximum seismic effect is expected from remote deep-focal earthquakes in the Vrancea zone (Eastern Carpathians, Romania). In our previous studies, an earthquake with a hypocenter at a depth of 80–150 km in the Vrancea zone, a moment magnitude of M_w = 8.0, and a drop in stress of Δσ = 325 bar was used as a scenario earthquake for Moscow. A series of model acceleration time histories for ground vibrations was calculated for this earthquake for the reference local conditions of the Moskva seismic station (Moscow, Pyzhevskii per. 3). In this paper, these acceleration time histories are used to calculate the acceleration time histories and estimate the ground vibration parameters for an scenario earthquake at other sites on the territory of Moscow for which information on soil conditions is available. Since the epicentral distance is large (~1300 km), it can be assumed that changes in the shape and spectral content of the acceleration time histories at different sites in Moscow are only caused by different local conditions.     

Kamchatka subduction zone,May 2013: the Mw 8.3 deep earthquake,preceding shallow swarm and numerous deep aftershocks

A sequence of 98 teleseismically recorded earthquakes occurred off the east coast of Kamchatka at depths between 10-90 km around latitude 52.5°N and longitude 160°E on May 16–23, 2013. The swarm occurred along the northern limit of the rupture area of the 1952 M_w 9.0 great Kamchatka earthquake, the fifth largest earthquake in the history of seismic observations. On May 24, 2013 the strongest deep earthquake ever recorded of M_w 8.3 occurred beneath the Sea of Okhotsk at a depth of 610 km in the Pacific slab of the Kamchatka subduction zone, becoming the northernmost deep earthquake in the region. The deep M_w 8.3 earthquake occurred down-dip of the shallow swarm in a transition zone between the southern deep and northern shallow segments of the Pacific slab. Several deep aftershocks followed, covering a large, laterally elongated part of the slab. We suppose that the two described earthquake sequences, the May 16–23 shallow earthquake swarm and the May 24–28 deep mainshock-aftershock series, represent a single tectonic event in the Pacific slab having distinct properties at different depth levels. A low-angle underthrusting of the shallow part of the slab recorded by the shallow earthquake swarm activated the deep part; this process induced the deep mainshock-aftershock series only three days after the swarm. The domain of the subducting slab activated by the May 2013 earthquake occurrence was extraordinarily large both down-dip and along-strike.     

Earthquake hazard and risk assessment based on Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes: Greater Caucasus and Crimea

We continue applying the general concept of seismic risk analysis in a number of seismic regions worldwide by constructing regional seismic hazard maps based on morphostructural analysis, pattern recognition, and the Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes (USLE), which generalizes the Gutenberg-Richter relationship making use of naturally fractal distribution of earthquake sources of different size in a seismic region. The USLE stands for an empirical relationship log₁₀N(M, L)?=?A?+?B·(5 – M)?+?C·log₁₀L, where N(M, L) is the expected annual number of earthquakes of a certain magnitude M within a seismically prone area of linear dimension L. We use parameters A, B, and C of USLE to estimate, first, the expected maximum magnitude in a time interval at seismically prone nodes of the morphostructural scheme of the region under study, then map the corresponding expected ground shaking parameters (e.g., peak ground acceleration, PGA, or macro-seismic intensity). After a rigorous verification against the available seismic evidences in the past (usually, the observed instrumental PGA or the historically reported macro-seismic intensity), such a seismic hazard map is used to generate maps of specific earthquake risks for population, cities, and infrastructures (e.g., those based on census of population, buildings inventory). The methodology of seismic hazard and risk assessment is illustrated by application to the territory of Greater Caucasus and Crimea.     

The 2014–2015 earthquake series in the northern Upper Rhine Graben,Central Europe

Since March 2014, an unusually large amount of earthquakes occur southeast of the city of Darmstadt in the northern Upper Rhine Graben. During the period, until April 2015, we have recorded 356 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from M_L?=??0.6 to 4.2. We identified two source clusters separated laterally by about 5 km. The hypocentres within these clusters are aligned vertically extending over a depth range from 1 to 8 km with a lateral extent of about 1 to 2 km. Focal mechanisms show left-lateral strike-slip movements; b values are changing with time between b?=?0.6 and b?=?0.9. This is the first time in almost 150 years that such high earthquake rates have been observed in the region. Historical accounts dating back to the nineteenth century report of over 2000 felt earthquakes over a time span from 1869 to 1871. From these, maximum intensities of VII have been estimated. Other seismic activities in the region were reported in the 1970s. The observations of the 2014–2015 earthquake series do not completely match a typical main shock–aftershock sequence or a typical earthquake swarm. Especially the activity at the beginning of the earthquake series may be considered as a mixture of a main shock–aftershock sequence and a short-lasting swarm event. Whether or not the time gap between the current seismic activity, which actually takes place at the same locations as parts of the seismic swarm in 1869–1871, and the seismic activity in the nineteenth century or the seismic activity in the 1970s can be interpreted as a seismic cycle remains unclear.