Seismicity in the Vogtland/Western Bohemia Earthquake Region Between 1962 and 1998

The Vogtland/Western Bohemia region is part of the Saxothuringian Earthquake Province. It is an isolated area of active intraplate seismicity. Observations of the seismicity between 1962 and 1998 are summarized. More than 17000 earthquakes have been detected microseismically with M _L reaching from about –1.5 to 4.6. In the considered time interval, the catalogue of Vogtland events can be regarded as complete for magnitudes larger than 1.8. The region is well known for the occurrence of earthquakes clustered contemporarily in time and space. In this study, altogether 82 clusters are defined. Among them, clusters with swarm properties are distinguished from clusters with main shock accompanied by fore- and aftershocks, and from single events. 48 swarms are detected.The magnitude-frequency distribution of the maximum magnitudes of the clusters is studied. In the magnitude range 1.8  M _L  3.1, a bimodal character of the magnitude-frequency distribution is detected for both swarms and nonswarm-like events. The slope is greater for larger magnitudes than in the small-magnitude range. A gap in the magnitude-frequency distribution of clusters is observed for maximum magnitudes between 3.1 and 4.3. Furthermore, clusters themselves are characterized by the b-values of their magnitude-frequency distributions. Swarms show b-values greater than 0.7. Epicenters of swarms are confined to a few subregions. Epicenters of nonswarm-like events are distributed over a larger region than epicenters of swarms but hypocenters of swarms and nonswarm-like clusters may be located close to each other.The envelope of the distribution of magnitudes as a function of time is investigated. In the considered time interval, a statistically significant recurrence of strong events of about 72 months is discovered by a frequency analysis. Comparing the seismicity between 1897 and 1908 with the seismicity between 1962 and 1998 temporal variations in the recurrence become obvious. The Nový Kostel zone is discussed in more detail. The average hypocenters of swarms are located on a SW-dipping fault segment that intersects the Eger Rift in NNW-SSE direction.Discussing properties of the seismicity in the Vogtland/Western Bohemia region it is concluded that the increased seismicity may be explained by the presence of fluids on deep reaching faults. The occurrence of swarms, their variability as well as the small distances between hypocenters of swarms and nonswarm-like events point to strong lateral and possibly temporal changes of the properties of the fault system.     

Migration of Events During The January 1997 Earthquake Swarm (The West Bohemia/Vogtland Region)

A detailed analysis of the time-space pattern of seismic activity during the January 1997 swarm demonstrates the gradual and ordered migration of earthquake foci, suggesting a step-by-step penetration of crustal fluids into a remarkably small fractured volume.     

The Catalogue of the Vogtland/Western Bohemia Earthquakes and Vocatus as an Auxiliary Code

The catalogue of earthquakes from the Vogtland/Western Bohemia region joins data which have been observed with local seismic stations since 1962. Up to now, data on more than 17.000 earthquakes were compiled to the catalogue. A special code VOCATUS supports its use and explains the collected data. Both, catalogue and code VOCATUS are described. From the catalogue, there follows a recurrence of the earthquake occurrence which is discussed in detail.     

The Western Bohemia/Vogtland Region in the Light of the Webnet Network

The local network of digital seismic stations WEBNET monitors the seismic activitv of practically the whole region of Western Bohemia/Vogtland swarms. The network consists of ten short-period stations and one very broadband station. The paper describes the configuration of the network, instrumental equipment and the basic parameters of the stations. The method of and formula for computing the local magnitudes from the WEBNET and KRASLICE seismograms are also given. Based on continuous WEBNET observations in the period 1995-1999, we were able to improve the model of temporal and spatial energy release in the region, the principal characteristics of which are summarised in the paper. Apart from direct P and S waves, the WEBNET seismograms also contain other significant P- and S-type waves, provisionally interpreted as reflected PxP, SxS and SxP waves. The fundamental characteristics of these waves are given in the paper, and tentative mechanisms of their origination are discussed. The large residua in the travel times of the P and S waves, and the discrepancies in the seismograms recorded at stations located east of the principal focal zone are pointed out.     

Role of crustal fluids in triggering the West Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarms: Just what we know (a review)

We summarise the results of seismological studies related to triggering mechanisms, driving forces and source processes of the West Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarms with the aim to disclose the role of crustal fluids in the preparation, triggering and governing of the swarms. We present basic characteristics distinguishing earthquake swarms from tectonic mainshock-aftershock sequences and introduce existing earthquakes swarm models. From the statistical characteristics and time-space distribution of the foci we infer that self-organization is a peculiarity of West Bohemia/Vogtland swarms. We discuss possible causes of the foci migration in these swarms from the viewpoint of co-seismic and/or post-seismic stress changes and diffusion of the pressurized fluids, and we summarize hitherto published models of triggering the 2000-swarm. Attention is paid to the source mechanisms, particularly to their non-shear components. We consider possible causes of different source mechanisms of the 1997-and 2000-swarms and infer that pure shear processes controlled solely by the regional tectonic stress prevail in them, and that additional tensile forces may appear only at unfavourably oriented faults. On data from the fluid injection experiment at the HDR site Soultz (Alsace), we also show that earthquakes triggered by fluids can represent purely shear processes. Thus we conclude that increased pore pressure of crustal fluids in the region plays a key role in bringing the faults from the subcritical to critical state. The swarm activities are mainly driven by stress changes due to co-seismic and post-seismic slips, which considerably depend on the frictional conditions at the fault; crustal fluids keep the fault in a critical state. An open question still remains the cause of the repeatedly observed almost simultaneous occurrence of seismic activity in different focal zones in a wider area of West Bohemia/Vogtland. The analysis of the space-time relations of seismicity in the area between 1991 and 2007 revealed that during a significant part of this time span the seismicity was switching among distant focal zones. This indicates a common triggering force which might be the effect of an increase of crustal-fluid pore-pressure affecting a wider epicentral region.     

Layered Velocity Models of the Western Bohemia Region

A new robust and effective optimization algorithm – isometric algorithm – was used for the inversion of layered velocity models, with constant gradient in each layer, to find suitable 1-D models for the location of microearthquakes in the individual four subregions of the West Bohemian earthquake swarm region. Models which are considered as optimal yield the minimum sum of the absolute values of the travel-time residua in locating the whole group of earthquakes in the given subregion. The results obtained from the inversion of P and S waves and from P waves only are shown. For comparison, optimum homogeneous models derived by the grid search method, again using both P and S waves and P waves only, are given. The computations indicate that the models for the individual subregions differ from each other. For layered models the differences are more pronounced, as expected, in the upper parts, down to depths of about 5 km. In comparison with the subregions Nový Kostel and Plesná, the P and S wave velocities for subregion Lazy are relatively higher and the P and S velocities for subregion Klingenthal relatively lower. In the lower parts the differences are smaller and the velocities have practically identical gradients. The highest velocities were obtained for subregion Lazy and the lowest velocities for subregion Klingenthal, as well for the homogeneous models. The model that represents the whole swarm region was determined in a similar way. This model is compared with the previously published velocity-depth distribution, obtained from DSS profile VI/70 in the vicinity of the area under study.     

The Gravity Field of the Vogtland and NW Bohemia: Presentation of a Project

The Vogtland and NW Bohemia are characterized geoscientifically by periodically occurrence of swarm earthquakes. The basic geophysical mechanism is not yet sufficiently clarified, just like detail questions to geology in especially the deeper underground. Complex geophysical investigations in the seismoactive region indicate geodynamic phenomena like mass redistribution or stress accumulation and release (Spiák et al., 1998). According to Grünthal (1989) a weakness zone is suggested in the region of the swarm earthquakes. This zone can be caused by fluid-tectonics (Kämpf et al., 1992), a mantle plume (pers. com. J. Svancara, 1999) and/or by the geometry of the geological structures (Neunhöfer & Güth, 1988). A three-dimensional gravimetric model can clear up the underground situation. By means of high-resolution gravimetry a three-dimensional model will be developped for the Vogtland and NW Bohemia region. In the first step a homogeneous Bouguer map of the Vogtland and NW Bohemia was created (fig. 1) containing gravity structures analysed by Ibrmajer & Suk (1989) and Blízkovsky et al. (1985). The used gravimetric data were made available by the Saxonian National Office for Environment and Geology, by the Czech Geological Survey, Prague and by the GGA Hannover. In the context with the interpretation of the deep-seismic profile MVE 90 a two-dimensional gravimetric modeling was carried out (Behr et al., 1994), too. Anomaly-producing source bodies apparently do not offer themselves in a two-dimensional model, because after Jung (1961) the length of a gravimetric source structure must be about four times larger than it's width. The technique of the three-dimensional gravimetric modeling by means of any polyhedrons was developed by Götze (1976, 1984). Gravimetry is a potential method and supplies an infinite number of solutions, so the model has to be developed close to other geoscientific results. The aim is to construct a high-resolution three-dimensional underground model, which includes the upper earth's crust and the deep-seated structures of the middle and lower crust, too. The determination of the mass distribution in the underground supplies contradicting or supporting facts for geodynamic views in the Vogtland and NW Bohemia for example of Bankwitz et al. (1993). The interpretation of the Bouguer map of the Vogtland and a three-dimensional gravimetric model ought to contribute a substantial, also geodynamic part to understand the origin and the emergence of the swarm earthquakes in this region.     

Post 2000-swarm microearthquake activity in the principal focal zone of West Bohemia/Vogtland: Space-time distribution and waveform similarity analysis

We present the pattern of seismic activity in the period between 2001 and 2007 for the Novy Kostel focal zone, which is recently the most active zone of the West-Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarm region. While the year 2001 was characterized by dying out of the 2000-swarm activity in the form of a few microswarms, almost no seismicity occurred in the period between 2002 and 2003. Since 2004 an elevated seismic activity occurs in the form of repeating microearthquake swarms. We used a relative location method to relate the hypocenter positions of the post-swarm activity to the geometry of the 2000-swarm cluster. We found that the activity has concentrated in several clusters, which have been repeatedly activated. Some clusters coincide with the position of the previous activity; the others have activated so far inactive deep segments at the southern edge of the Novy Kostel fault. Besides the shift of the hypocenters to the edges of the previously active area we observe a southward migration of the activity and an increase of maximum depths of earthquakes from 10 to 13 km. The waveform similarity analysis disclosed that some fault patches consist of only a single, repeatedly activated fault plane, while the others consist of multiple, differently oriented fault planes activated almost simultaneously. Most of the focal mechanisms are consistent with the geometry of hypocenters showing NNW-SSE trending steep fault planes with left-lateral strike-slip mechanisms and varying dip-slip component.     

One-Dimensional qP-Wave Velocity Model of the Upper Crust for the West Bohemia/Vogtland Earthquake Swarm Region

The western part of the Bohemian Massif (West Bohemia/Vogtland region) is characteristic in the relatively frequent recurrence of intraplate earthquake swarms and in other manifestations of past-to-recent geodynamic activity. In this study we derived 1D anisotropic qP-wave model of the upper crust in the seismogenic West Bohemia/Vogtland region by means of joint inversion of two independent data sets - travel times from controlled shots and arrival times from local earthquakes extracted from the WEBNET seismograms. We derived also simple 1-D P-wave and S-wave isotropic models. Reasons for deriving these models were: (a) only simplified crustal velocity models, homogeneous half-space or 1D isotropic layered models of this region, have been derived up to now and (b) a significant effective anisotropy of the upper crust in the region which was indicated recently by S-wave splitting. Both our anisotropic qP-wave and isotropic P-and S-wave velocity models are constrained by four layers with the constant velocity gradient. Weak anisotropy for P-waves is assumed. The isotropic model is represented by 9 parameters and the anisotropic one is represented by 24 parameters. A new robust and effective optimization algorithm - isometric algorithm - was used for the joint inversion. A two-step inversion algorithm was used. During the first step the isotropic P- and S-wave velocity model was derived. In the second step, it was used as a background model and the parameters of anisotropy were sought. Our 1D models are adequate for the upper crust in the West Bohemia/Vogtland swarm region up to a depth of 15 km. The qP-wave velocity model shows 5% anisotropy, the minimum velocity in the horizontal direction corresponds to an azimuth of 170°. The isotropic model indicates the V_P/V_S ratio variation with depth. The difference between the hypocentre locations based on the derived isotropic and anisotropic models was found to be several hundreds of meters.     

Analysis of State of Stress During The 1997 Earthquake Swarm In Western Bohemia

Focal mechanisms of 70 events of the January 1997 earthquake swarm were analysed using the Gephart and Forsyth method to determine the state of stress in the West Bohemia/Vogtland region and to reveal possible stress variations during the swarm activity. The method was applied to the whole set of 70 focal mechanisms and to several subsets distinguishing magnitudes of events and the spatial and temporal distribution of the swarm. The three representative stress models A ( ₁ ,A: 0/45 (az/dip), ₂ A: 134/35, ₃ A: 243/25), B ( ₁ ,B: 162/38, ₂ B: 263/14, ₃ B: 10/49), and C ( ₁ C: 135/30, ₂ C: 1/50, ₃ C: 239/23) which could characterise the state of stress in the region were found. Model C can be considered to be the most probable stress model because of its consistency with the European stress field. The results of the stress analysis applied to the individual subsets of focal mechanisms indicate that the state of stress was more uniform during the first phase of the swarm. To distinguish between the fault plane and the auxiliary plane of fault plane solutions a statistical approach was used. The results showed that the fault planes striking NW-SE and dipping 45° to NE were activated during the swarm.     

A preliminary seismic model for the region of the west-Bohemian earthquake swarms

Summary A layered model of the crustal and upper mantle structure for the region of the West-Bohemian earthquake swarms is proposed. This model represents a compilation of the results of deep seismic soundings, surface-wave investigations, and some local seismic measurements in the western regions of the Bohemian Massif.     

Comparison of Absolute and Relative Moment Tensor Solutions For The January 1997 West Bohemia Earthquake Swarm

Moment tensor solutions for 70 clustered events of the 1997 West Bohemia microearthquake swarm, as calculated by two different methods, are given. The first method is a single-event, absolute moment tensor inversion which inverts body-wave peak amplitudes using synthetic Green functions. The second method is a multiple-event, relative method for which Green functions are reduced to 2 geometrical angles of rays at the sources. Both methods yield similar moment tensors, which can be divided into at least two or three different classes of focal solutions, indicating that, during the swarm activity, different planes of weakness were active. The major source component of most events is a double couple. However, the deviations from the double-couple mechanisms seem to be systematic for some classes of solutions. Error analysis was based on transforming the estimate of the standard deviation of amplitudes extracting from the seismograms into confidence regions of the absolute moment tensor. They show that the non-DC components are significant at a fairly high confidence level.     

S-wave splitting from records of local micro-earthquakes in West Bohemia/Vogtland: An indicator of complex crustal anisotropy

Most S-wave particle motions of local micro-earthquakes in the West Bohemia/Vogtland region display S-wave splitting. The split S waves are usually well defined, being separated in time and polarized in roughly perpendicular directions in the horizontal projection. In most cases, the polarization of the fast S wave is aligned NW-SE (referred to as “normal splitting”), which is close to the direction of the maximum horizontal compression in the region. However, for some ray directions, the polarization of the fast S wave is aligned NE-SW (referred to as “reverse splitting”). The pattern of normal/reverse splitting on a focal sphere is station-dependent, indicating the presence of inhomogeneities in anisotropy. For some stations, the normal/reverse splitting pattern is asymmetric with respect to the vertical axis, indicating the symmetry axes of anisotropy are probably inclined. The presence of inclined anisotropy is confirmed by observations of directionally dependent delay times between split S waves. A complex and station-dependent anisotropy pattern is probably the result of a complicated anisotropic crust characterized by diverse geological structures. The spatial variation of anisotropy probably reflects the presence of a variety of different types of anisotropic rocks in the region.     

Faulting style and stress field investigations for swarm earthquakes in NE Baveria/Germany – the transition between Vogtland/NW-Bohemia and the KTB-site

A seismicity and stress field analysis of a region in NE Bavaria reveals a complex picture of seismic dislocation. The magnitudes are generally low, the strongest event recorded had a magnitude of 2.3. In the southern part of the area investigated, earthquakes occur very rarely. During the observation period of approximately four years, only four events, two of them forming a doublet, were recorded. Hypocentral depths in the southern part are considerably great (15 to 17 km) and indicate a mafic lower crust. The seismicity of the Marktredwitz area, located in the western extension of the Eger rift, is dominated by earthquake swarms that are strongly clustered in space and time. The swarms occurred at depths between 10 and 14 km. Precise relative relocations show clear planar arrangements of the hypocentres and enable to identify the orientation of active fault planes. A comparison of the structural and geomorphological settings reveals major similarities in the occurrence of earthquake swarms compared to the situation in the bordering Vogtland/NW-Bohemia swarm area.Focal mechanisms cover a wide range of faulting styles. Normal fault, strike slip and reverse fault mechanisms as well as movements along sub-horizontal planes were found. The focal mechanisms were used to invert for the stress field. The inversion results reveal an ambiguity for the state of stress in the area of investigation and allow two different interpretations: A clockwise rotation of the stress field from North to South as well as a predominance of two slightly different stress regimes are possibilities.     

江苏南部地区现今震源机制和应力场特征

利用2000年3月至2014年4月江苏及邻区数字地震波形资料,采用P波、S波初动和振幅比求解方法计算了江苏南部地区123次中小地震震源机制解。分析震源机制解特征表明,研究区中小地震震源类型以走滑型为主,其次为正断层类型,P、T轴优势方向分别为NEE—SWW和NNW—SSE向。依据盆地和断裂发育、历史及现代中小地震分布、震源机制等特征将研究区划分为A区和B区。采用Gphart方法分别反演了这两个区域应力张量,结果显示:A区最大主应力方位角为78°,倾角为23°,最小主应力方位角为340°,倾角为17°;B区最大主应力方位角为60°,倾角为25°,最小主应力方位角为330°,倾角为1°。两个分区应力场结果的差异显示了局部应力场的不均匀性,体现了局部地区地质条件、构造活动等差异性。各分区应力场特征与区内的中强地震震源机制特征较为一致,这在一定程度也佐证了反演结果的可靠性。     

大同─阳高2次地震前后震源应力场的变化过程

利用１９８９、１９９１年大同－阳高两次地震前后几年的地震记录资料，详细分析了其震源应力场的变化，结果表明，６．１级地震前震源应力场中两个主应力轴的方向曾发生逆转，主压应力袖逆转时间约１０个月，主张应力轴逆转时间为２个月。６．１级主震前４个月，两个主应力轴的方向、仰角都恢复到正常状态，且与华北区域应力场的特征某本一致，而１９９１年５．８级地震前却没有出现上述现象。说明大同－阳高２次地震是在同一震源应力场作用之下孕育、发展的，亦说明５．８级地震是６．１级地震的晚期强余震。指出山西地震带６级以上地震的孕育发生似是在华北区域应力场的作用之下完成的。     

Similarity of Waveforms at Stations Moxa and Plauen for the 1985/86 Swarm

A peculiarity of the Vogtland/West Bohemia earthquake region is the appearance of earthquake swarms. The strongest swarms in this century occurred in 1908 and 1985/86. The swarm in 1985/86 is the first one, for which digital data (about 220 events, 400 waveforms, sampling rate 100 Hz) are available for stations Moxa (MOX) and Plauen (PLN). The waveforms of the swarms in the Vogtland show a high similarity. The similarity is quantified by cross-correlation applied to approximately 400 waveforms. The results are shown in the form of similarity matrices. Four types of events have been detected using the results of the cross-correlation between the S-waveforms recorded at station PLN. Type IV occurs predominantly at the end of the swarm. The waveforms of type IV are clearly different from the waveforms of the other types. The differences between the waveforms of the first three types are less pronounced. Especially the first three types occur alternately.     

汶川8.0级地震序列的小震震源机制及应力场特征

利用区域地震台网的数字地震波记录资料,由垂直向记录P和S振幅比值,结合部分清晰的P波初动记录资料,反演得到了2008年5月12日至2009年4月12日汶川8.0级地震序列中829个ML≥3.5的小震震源机制解。采用统计和力轴张量计算方法,分析了震源机制解参数并求取了余震区平均应力场。结果表明:用余震区北段小震震源机制解求得的节面为直立或倾斜,走向为NNE-SSW向,主压应力P轴方位为SWW-NEE方向,计算得到的平均应力张量σ1方向为77.1°;用余震区南段小震震源机制解求得的节面倾角较陡,在50°～90°之间,走向相对较分散,平均应力张量σ1方向为92.4°,呈EW向。从余震区南、北段的平均应力场方位随时间演化过程可以看出,余震区在2008年8月、9月、12月和2009年1月处于应力场调整阶段。最后研究了余震区南、北段的震源机制一致性参数θ及逆冲型地震类型随时间的变化,得到了一些有意义的结果。     

云南禄劝地震震源处的应力场求解

采用前人反演得到的云南禄劝地震的地震矩张量和主震及部分余震的震源机制解,以该主震震中为中心在全球CMT目录中查询到的部分地震的震源机制解,先将地震矩张量转化为震源机制解,运用精细网格搜索反演方法将震源机制解反演得到禄劝地震和其周边地区的应力场。对反演得出的两个应力场进行差异性对比研究,结果表明禄劝地震震源处主压应力场为NNW—SSE向,主压应力与主张应力相当,周边地区的主压应力方向为NW—SE,断层破裂面倾角大,以走滑正断层为主,主压应力占优势。但是由于云南地区主要由NNW—SSE和NW—SE方向的主压应力控制,并受本文所选的周边地区的经纬度及所处地区的控制,所以该区域在总体上受NW—SE方向的压应力控制,局部地区受NNW—SSE方向的压应力控制。该结果可以用来分析该地区的地震地质背景和断层形成条件,对地球动力环境的研究有一定的意义。     

Scenario of the January 1997 West Bohemia Earthquake Swarm

In order to learn more about the nature of the dynamic processes taking place in the West Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarm region, we investigated the temporal and spatial variations of the source mechanisms of the January 1997 swarm beneath Nový Kostel (NKC). Visual analyses of WEBNET seismograms of over 800 events revealed that a specific feature of this swarm was the occurrence of eight classes of multiplet events. The result of single-source, absolute moment tensor inversion of the P and SH peak amplitudes of a subset of 70 events representing all multiplet classes indicated that eight statistically significant types of mechanisms occurred during the swarm. Two of them, types A and B in our denotation, comprised all M _L 1.3 events and predominated in the swarm. Type A were pure strike-slip mechanisms or strike-slip mechanisms containing a small normal component, with a nearly pure double-couple source. For class B events, oblique-thrust faulting and non-double-couple components significant at a fairly high confidence level were typical. Type A events predominated in the southern subcluster of the swarm, whereas most of type B events occurred in the subcluster northwards from NKC. This indicates that two major seismogenic planes were active during the swarm. The swarm essentially developed in four phases: in the first, type A events prevailed and the southern plane was active; during the second, characterised by the occurrence of both type A and B events (the former in the southern, the latter predominantly in the northern subcluster), the activity of the swarm culminated; in the third and fourth, the occurrence of type B events in the northern plane predominated, and only weak single events occurred southwards from NKC. Mechanisms of types AB , C , D , E , F and G , which were typical for M _L 1.2 events, occurred randomly throughout the swarm. Type AB events were identified in both the southern and northern clusters, type C , E , F and G mechanisms only southwards from NKC. Type D events exhibited a large scatter of hypocentres which fell in neither the southern nor the northern cluster. Focal mechanisms like those reported in this study and with analogous temporal and spatial variations were observed by other authors already fifteen years ago in the 1985/86 earthquake swarm and may, therefore, be typical for the region under study.