Analysis of the 2012–2013 Torreperogil-Sabiote seismic swarm

This study analyses the temporal clustering, spatial clustering, and statistics of the 2012–2013 Torreperogil-Sabiote (southern Spain) seismic swarm. During the swarm, more than 2200 events were located, mostly at depths of 2–5 km, with magnitude event up to m_bLg 3.9 (M_w 3.7). On the basis of daily activity rate, three main temporal phases are identified and analysed. The analysis combines different seismological relationships to improve our understanding of the physical processes related to the swarm's occurrence. Each temporal phase is characterized by its cumulative seismic moment. Using several different approaches, we estimate a catalog completeness magnitude of m_c≅ 1.5. The maximum likelihood b-value estimates for each swarm phase are 1.11 ± 0.09, 1.04 ± 0.04, and 0.90 ± 0.04, respectively. To test the hypothesis that a b-value decrease is a precursor to a large event, we study temporal variations in b-value using overlapping moving windows. A relationship can be inferred between change in b-value and the regime style of the rupture. b-values are indicators of the stress regime, and influence the size of ruptures. The fractal dimension D₂ is used to perform spatial analysis. Cumulative gamma and beta functions are used to analyse the behaviour of inter-event distances during the earthquake sequence.     

Patterns of seismic sequences in the Levant—interpretation of historical seismicity

There are historical accounts of about a hundred damaging earthquakes that occurred during the last two millennia in the Levant, in and around the Dead Sea fault system, and about half of which were associated with additional felt shocks. Several modes of earthquake sequences can be distinguished in them: (a) In 46 accounts, only one single event is noted. These are not known from tectonic settings similar to that of the Levant, and may just be a result of incomplete reporting. (b) In four cases, quakes preceded the mainshock by minutes, hours, and up to several weeks—possibly foreshocks. (c) Thirty-five mainshock–aftershock sequences were noted, lasting hours, days, weeks, months, and even more than a year; four of these also have foreshocks. No typical delay time was recognized for the largest or most significant aftershocks: they appeared up to several months later. (d) Six of the reported mainshock–aftershock sequences appeared in a “storm.” Another 13 sequences are insufficient to specify further.     

The “seismic quiescence” effect in the Baikal Rift Zone

This paper presents the results from long-term observations of parameters of the Earth’s natural impulsive electromagnetic field (ENIEMF) in the VLF range recorded in the Baikal Rift Zone. We consider the “seismic quiescence” effect and examine possible factors responsible for changes in the daily variations of the magnetic component before earthquakes. We demonstrate daily variations of the ENIEMF magnetic component and their correlation to local storm activity during a seismically quiet period.     

Magnitudes and time distribution of the swarm earthquakes August–November 2000 in NW Bohemia

During the earthquake swarm in the north-western part of the Czech Republic which happened between August and November 2000 more than 10 500 single events have been recorded at the station Wernitzgruen (WERN), located in the Vogtland (Germany) at about 13 km hypocentral distance. Most of the events were weak and followed each other so closely in time that they could not be identified at more distant stations in Middle Europe. A procedure to determine magnitudes of very small events from recordings in short distances is realized and discussed. The development over time of the seismic activity shows the typical pattern of previous earthquake swarms in this region consisting of multiple swarm episodes. For the first time, however, it is analysed using the time intervals between successive events. However, no new and reproducible patterns were found which could be useful for prognostics of future swarm activities.     

The regional characteristics of seismic activity in China

ＴｈｅｒｅｇｉｏｎａｌｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｓｔｉｃｓｏｆｓｅｉｓｍｉｃａｃｔｉｖｉｔｙｉｎＣｈｉｎａＺｈｅｎ－ＬｉａｎｇＳＨＩ，ＪｉａｎＷＡＮＧａｎｄＸｉａｏ－ＤｏｎｇＺＨＡＮＧ（时振梁，王健，张晓东）（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＧｅｏｐｈｙｓｉｃｓ，Ｓ...     

Features of isostatic gravity anomaly and seismic activity in the Central Asian region

Ｆｅａｔｕｒｅｓｏｆｉｓｏｓｔａｔｉｃｇｒａｖｉｔｙａｎｏｍａｌｙａｎｄｓｅｉｓ┐ｍｉｃａｃｔｉｖｉｔｙｉｎｔｈｅＣｅｎｔｒａｌＡｓｉａｎｒｅｇｉｏｎＳＨＥＮＧ－ＭＩＮＧＦＡＮＧ１）（方盛明）ＲＵＩＦＥＮＧ２）（冯锐）ＣＨＡＮＧ－ＺＨＥＮＧＴＩＡＮ...     

The Kverkfj?ll fissure swarm and the eastern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Rift Zone, Iceland

Rift zones at the divergent plate boundary in Iceland consist of central volcanoes with swarms of fractures and fissures extending away from them. Fissure swarms can display different characteristics, in accordance with their locations within the ∼50-km-wide rift zones. To better discern the characteristics of fissure swarms, we mapped tectonic fractures and volcanic fissures within the Kverkfj?ll volcanic system, which is located in the easternmost part of the Northern Volcanic Rift Zone (NVZ). To do this, we used aerial photographs and satellite images. We find that rifting structures such as tectonic fractures, Holocene volcanic fissures, and hyaloclastite ridges are unevenly distributed in the easternmost part of the NVZ. The Kverkfj?ll fissure swarm extends 60 km north of the Kverkfj?ll central volcano. Holocene volcanic fissures are only found within 20 km from the volcano. The Fjallgarear area, extending north of the Kverkfj?ll fissure swarm, is characterized by narrow hyaloclastite ridges indicating subglacial volcanism. We suggest that the lack of fractures and Holocene volcanic fissures there indicates decreasing activity towards the north in the easternmost part of the NVZ, due to increasing distance from the long-term spreading axis. We argue that arcuate hyaloclastite ridges at the eastern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Rift Zone are mainly formed during deglaciations, when three conditions may occur; firstly, eruption rate increases due to decompression of the mantle. Secondly, the high tensile stresses accumulated during glaciations due to lack of magma supply may be relieved as magma supply increases during deglaciations. Thirdly, faulting may occur during unloading due to differential movements between the thinner and younger Northern Volcanic Rift Zone crust and the thicker and older crust to the east of it.     

The August–December 2000 earthquake swarm in NW Bohemia: the first results based on automatic processing of seismograms

Main features of the August–December 2000 earthquake swarm which occurred in the major focal area of the North-West Bohemia / Vogtland swarm region are presented. Seismograms from four stations of WEBNET were automatically processed to get arrival times, first motion amplitudes and hypocentre coordinates of a representative set of events. Altogether 7017 microearthquakes in the magnitude range of M_L=0–3.3 were identified. It is shown the decay of activity of individual swarm phases followed the modified Omori law, which points to a partial similarity with aftershock sequences of tectonic earthquakes. The space-time distribution of a subset of 2913 events with low location residuals shows a strong space clustering of the earthquake hypocentres and their pronounced migration between individual swarm phases. Most of the activity took place along an elliptical, nearly vertically dipping, 6 km long N-S oriented fault plane in depths ranging from 10.5 to 6.5 km. The P and T axes were estimated by FOCMEC for the 782 strong events and three groups of earthquakes with similar faulting type were distinguished. In contrast to the normal and strike-slip faulting events that created the prevailing portion of the swarm and were distributed uniformly within the focal area, the reverse events were clustered in time and space.     

Application of PP cluster method in the earthquake swarm analysis

ＡｐｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎｏｆＰＰｃｌｕｓｔｅｒｍｅｔｈｏｄｉｎｔｈｅｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅｓｗａｒｍａｎａｌｙｓｉｓＳｈｉ－ＹｏｎｇＺＨＯＵ；（周仕勇）Ｌｉｎｇ－ＲｅｎＺＨＵ；（朱令人）ａｎｄＣｈｕａｎ－ＬｉｎｇＤＥＮＧ（邓传玲）（Ｓｅｉｓｍｏｌｏｇｉｃ...     

Maximum entropy spectral characteristics of seismic activity for great earthquakes in China

ＭａｘｉｍｕｍｅｎｔｒｏｐｙｓｐｅｃｔｒａｌｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｓｔｉｃｓｏｆｓｅｉｓｍｉｃａｃｔｉｖｉｔｙｆｏｒｇｒｅａｔｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅｓｉｎＣｈｉｎａＺＨＩＰＩＮＧＳＯＮＧ１）（宋治平）ＳＨＩＲＯＮＧＭＥＩ２）（梅世蓉）ＡＮＸＵＮＷ...     

Paterns and regularity of ring distribution of seismic activity before great earthquakes in China

ＰａｔｅｒｎｓａｎｄｒｅｇｕｌａｒｉｔｙｏｆｒｉｎｇｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｏｆｓｅｉｓｍｉｃａｃｔｉｖｉｔｙｂｅｆｏｒｅｇｒｅａｔｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅｓｉｎＣｈｉｎａＳＨＩ－ＲＯＮＧＭＥＩ（梅世蓉），ＺＨＩ－ＰＩＮＧＳＯＮＧ（宋治平）ａｎｄＹＡＮ...     

Study on the relationship between geothermal exploitation and seismic activity in Xi''''an region

IntroductionGeothermal energy is a new and clear energy resource. It is very useful in heating and generating electricity and medical treating. The Assembly of International Environmental Protection in 1992 predicted that the usage and development of geothermal energy would exceed the traditional energy such as oil and coal, and its developmental prospect will be very bright.There are great geothermal resources in Weihe basin. The average value of heat flow in Weihe basin is 7.88(10(2 W/m2…     

Influence of plasticity on the seismic soil–micropiles–structure interaction

This paper includes an analysis of the influence of soil plasticity on the seismic response of micropiles. Analysis is carried out using a global three-dimensional modeling in the time domain. The soil behavior is described using the non-associated Mohr–Coulomb criterion. Both the micropiles and the superstructure are modeled as three-dimensional beam elements. Proper boundary conditions are used to ensure waves transmission through the lateral boundaries of the soil mass. Analyses are first conducted for harmonic loadings and then for real earthquake records. They show that plasticity could have a significant influence on the seismic response of the soil–micropiles–structure systems. This influence depends on the amplitude of the seismic loading and the dominant frequencies of both the input motion and the soil–piles–structure system.     

Effects of solar and geomagnetic activity in long-term variations in the ionospheric parameters of the auroral zone in 1963–1986

A stable linear relation between foF2 and W with a correlation coefficient of 0.68–0.96 has been revealed as a result of a joint analysis of the foF2 critical frequencies and the virtual minimal heights (h’F) obtained from the data of vertical sounding (VS) of the ionosphere at Dixon Island auroral station, Wolf numbers (W), and PC geomagnetic index from 1963 to 1986. A significant linear relation exists between foF2 and the PC index with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.18–0.67. The correlation between the PC index and W is low in winter and autumn and is r = 0.50 and 0.74 at a significance level of ss = 0.96–0.99 in spring and summer. When the correlation between PC and foF2 is analyzed, it is necessary to consider the effect of solar activity (SA) on both parameters. The multiple correlation coefficients between these parameters have been calculated with regard to the effect of W. They were R = 0.75−0.98; however, the standardized regression coefficients β _W and β _PC indicated that W and PC considerably and insignificantly affect multiple correlation with foF2, respectively, and this effect depends on the season and time of day. It has been detected that the cyclic variations in foF2 and h’F are asymmetric. The amplitudes of these parameters in cycle 20 are smaller than in cycle 21.     

The correlation between the characteristics of seismic wave propagation in Western Caucasus and the geological–tectonic features of the region

The relationship between the characteristics of seismic waves in the Western Caucasus and the geological-tectonic structure of the region is studied for identifying the specificity of seismic propagation in the mountainous regions with a complicated geological structure and forecasting the characteristics of the propagation from the geological and tectonic data. The interpretation is presented for the estimates of the Q-factor of the medium (Q(f) ~ 55f^0.9 in the region of Sochi and Q(f) ~ 90f^0.7 in the region of Anapa), seismic wave enhancement in the upper crustal layers (A(f) ~ 1), and peak ground acceleration residuals, which were previously determined from the records of the local earthquakes and show the distributions of local variations in the parameters of seismic wave radiation and propagation. The obtained characteristics are interpreted in the context of the up-to-date information about the tectonic, geological, and deep structure of the epicentral zones in the Western Caucasus and neighboring territory of the Black Sea. The discrepancies revealed in the low-frequency behavior of the Q-factor in the vicinities of Sochi and Anapa is accounted for by the spatial scale and character of tectonic dislocations of the rocks in these regions. The local variations in the parameters of seismic radiation and propagation are probably related to the geological features of the region such as the fault structures, including the thrusts, shatter zones, oblique seismic boundaries, variations in the thickness and consolidation of the sedimentary cover, as well as the peculiarities in the structure and material composition of the basement.     

Study of crustal seismic velocity in the Weihe fault depression basin by seismic tomographic imaging

ＳｔｕｄｙｏｆｃｒｕｓｔａｌｓｅｉｓｍｉｃｖｅｌｏｃｉｔｙｉｎｔｈｅＷｅｉｈｅｆａｕｌｔｄｅｐｒｅｓｉｏｎｂａｓｉｎｂｙｓｅｉｓｍｉｃｔｏｍｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃｉｍａｇｉｎｇＧＵＡＮＧＹＩＮＧＸＵＥ１）（薛广盈）ＹＵＮＹＵＤＩＮＧ２）（丁韫玉）ＺＨ...     

Influence of heliospheric and geomagnetic activity on the dynamics of the relativistic electron fluxes in the Earth’s outer radiation belt around the minimum of the solar activity in 2008–2010

The relativistic electron flux in the Earth’s outer radiation belt generally decreased by almost three orders of magnitude during the minimum of cycle 23 in 2009. Such a behavior was possibly caused by very low geomagnetic activity during an extremely weak interplanetary field in that period. This decrease was replaced by an increase in the relativistic electron flux by two orders of magnitude during several months after the sunspot minimum at the beginning of 2010.     

Tomographic determination of the upper crustal structure in the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm region

IntroductionBetween January and April of 1997, 7 earthquakes with M(6.0 occurred successively in Jiashi, Xinjiang. The continual occurrence of strong earthquakes within such a small area and in such a short period of time is exceptional for intraplate earthquakes. The Jiashi earthquake swarm took place on the northeast side of the Pamirs, where the Tarim basin, South Tianshan and West Karakoram meet (HU, et al, 1989). This is also a place where a number of active faults develop, so it is…     

Monitoring and prediction of volcanic activity in Kamchatka from seismological data: 2000–2010

Seismological Observations in Kamchatka were significantly improved due to the installation of new telemetered seismic stations near active volcanoes and the implementation of modern digital technologies for data transmission, acquisition, and processing in 1996–1998. This qualitative leap forward made it possible, not only to create an effective system for monitoring Kamchatka volcanoes and for timely and reliable assessment of the state of these volcanoes, but also to draw conclusions about volcanic hazard. The experience that was gained allowed us to make successful short-term forecasts for eight moderate explosive eruptions on Bezymyannyi Volcano of the ten that have occurred in 2004–2010, successful intermediate-term forecasts of evolving activity on Klyuchevskoi Volcano in three cases, as well as providing a successful forecast of an explosive eruption on Kizimen Volcano.     

Present patterns of decelerating–accelerating seismic strain in South Japan

Decelerating generation of preshocks in a narrow (seismogenic) region and accelerating generation of other preshocks in a broader (critical) region, called decelerating–accelerating seismic strain (D-AS) model has been proposed as appropriate for intermediate-term earthquake prediction. An attempt is made in the present work to identify such seismic strain patterns and estimate the corresponding probably ensuing large mainshocks (M ≥ 7.0) in south Japan (30–38° N, 130–138° E). Two such patterns have been identified and the origin time, magnitude, and epicenter coordinates for each of the two corresponding probably ensuing mainshocks have been estimated. Model uncertainties of predicted quantities are also given to allow an objective forward testing of the efficiency of the model for intermediate-term earthquake prediction.