Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2008

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2008. During this period, 451 earthquakes and 75 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. The three strongest events occurred in the Valais, near Lac des Toules (M_L 3.6), and in Graubünden, near Ilanz (M_L 3.7) and Paspels (M_L 4.0). Although felt by the population, they were not reported to have caused any damage. However, with a total of only 15 events with M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2008 was far below the average over the previous 33 years.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2010

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2010. During this period, 407 earthquakes and 85 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. With a total of only 19 events with M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2010 was below the average over the previous 35 years. The two most noteworthy earthquakes were the M_L 3.4 Barrhorn event near Sankt Niklaus (VS) and the M_L 3.0 event of Feldkirch, both of which produced shaking of intensity IV.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2009

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2009. During this period, 450 earthquakes and 68 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. The three strongest events occurred about 15 km NW of Basel in southern Germany (M_L 4.2), near Wildhaus in the Toggenburg (M_L 4.0) and near Bivio in Graubünden (M_L 3.5). Although felt by the population, they were not reported to have caused any damage. With a total of 24 events with M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2009 was close to the average over the previous 34 years.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2012

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2012. During this period, 497 earthquakes and 88 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. With a total of only 13 events with M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2012 was far below the average over the previous 37 years. Most noteworthy were the earthquake sequence of Filisur (GR) in January with two events of M_L 3.3 and 3.5, the M_L 4.2 and M_L 3.5 earthquakes at a depth of 32 km below Zug in February and the M_L 3.6 event near Vallorcine in October. The epicentral intensity of the M_L 4.2 event close to Zug was IV, with a maximum intensity of V reached in a few areas, probably due to site amplification effects.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2006

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2006. During this period, 572 earthquakes and 91 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. Of these earthquakes, two occurred in conjunction with the construction of the new Gotthard railway tunnel and 165 were induced artificially by the stimulation of a proposed geothermal reservoir beneath the city of Basel. With 20 events with M _L ≥ 2.5, five of which were artificially induced, the seismic activity in the year 2006 was far below the average over the previous 31 years. Nevertheless, six events were felt by the public, most prominently the strongest of the induced Basel events (M _L 3.4), which caused some non-structural building damage. Noteworthy are also the two earthquakes near Cortaillod (M _L 3.2), on the shore of Lake Neuchatel, and in Val Mora (M _L 3.5), between the Engadin and Val Müstair, as well as the 42 aftershocks of the M _L 4.9 Vallorcine earthquake, between Martigny and Chamonix, of September 2005. Editorial handling: Stefan Bucher     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2011

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2011. During this period, 522 earthquakes and 92 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. With a total of only 10 events with M _L????2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2011 was far below the average over the previous 36?years. Most noteworthy were the earthquake sequence of Sierre (VS) in January, with two events of M _L 3.3 and 3.2, the M _L 3.3 earthquake at a depth of 31?km below Bregenz, and the M _L 3.1 event near Delémont. The two strongest events near Sierre produced shaking of intensity IV.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2015 and 2016

This report summarizes the seismicity in Switzerland and surrounding regions in the years 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the Swiss Seismological Service detected and located 735 earthquakes in the region under consideration. With a total of 20 earthquakes of magnitude M_L ≥ 2.5, the seismic activity of potentially felt events in 2015 was close to the average of 23 earthquakes over the previous 40 years. Seismic activity was above average in 2016 with 872 located earthquakes of which 31 events had M_L ≥ 2.5. The strongest event in the analyzed period was the M_L 4.1 Salgesch earthquake, which occurred northeast of Sierre (VS) in October 2016. The event was felt in large parts of Switzerland and had a maximum intensity of V. Derived focal mechanisms and relative hypocenter relocations of aftershocks image a SSE dipping reverse fault, which likely also hosted an M_L 3.9 earthquake in 2003. Another remarkable earthquake sequence in the Valais occurred close to Sion with four felt events (M_L 2.7–3.2) in 2015/16. We associate this sequence with a system of WNW-ESE striking fault segments north of the Rhône valley. Similarities with a sequence in 2011, which was located about 10 km to the NE, suggest the existence of an en-echelon system of basement faults accommodating dextral slip along the Rhône-Simplon line in this area. Another exceptional earthquake sequence occurred close to Singen (Germany) in November 2016. Relocated hypocenters and focal mechanisms image a SW dipping transtensional fault segment, which is likely associated with a branch of the Hegau-Bodensee Graben. On the western boundary of this graben, micro-earthquakes close to Schlattingen (TG) in 2015/16 are possibly related to a NE dipping branch of the Neuhausen Fault. Other cases of earthquakes felt by the public during 2015/16 include earthquakes in the region of Biel, Vallorcine, Solothurn, and Savognin.     

Estimation of seismic hazard and risks for the Himalayas and surrounding regions based on Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes

To estimate seismic hazard, the basic law of seismicity, the Gutenberg–Richter recurrence relation, is applied in a modified form involving a spatial term: $\log N\left( {M,\;L} \right) = A - B\left( {M - 5} \right) + C\log L$ , where N(M,L) is the expected annual number of earthquakes of a certain magnitude M within an area of linear size L. The parameters A, B, and C of this Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes (USLE) in the Himalayas and surrounding regions have been studied on the basis of a variable space and time-scale approach. The observed temporal variability of the A, B, and C coefficients indicates significant changes of seismic activity at the time scales of a few decades. At global scale, the value of A ranges mainly between ?1.0 and 0.5, which determines the average rate of earthquakes that accordingly differs by a factor of 30 or more. The value of B concentrates about 0.9 ranging from under 0.6 to above 1.1, while the fractal dimension of the local seismic prone setting, C, changes from 0.5 to 1.4 and larger. For Himalayan region, the values of A, B, and C have been estimated mainly ranging from ?1.6 to ?1.0, from 0.8 to 1.3, and from 1.0 to 1.4, respectively. We have used the deterministic approach to map the local value of the expected peak ground acceleration (PGA) from the USLE estimated maximum magnitude or, if reliable estimation was not possible, from the observed maximum magnitude during 1900–2012. In result, the seismic hazard map of the Himalayas with spatially distributed PGA was prepared. Further, an attempt is made to generate a series of the earthquake risk maps of the region based on the population density exposed to the seismic hazard.     

Radial anisotropy in the crust and upper mantle beneath the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding regions

Relative SV and SH wave speeds are generally attributed to radial seismic anisotropy which can be used as the indicator of crust/mantle deformation styles. Surface wave data were initially collected from events of magnitude Ms  5.0 and shallow or moderate focal depth occurring between 1980 and 2002: 713 of them generated Rayleigh waves and 660 Love waves, which were recorded by 13 broadband digital stations in Eurasia and India. Up to 1525 source-station Rayleigh waveforms and 1464 Love wave trains were earlier analysed by multiple filtering to obtain Love- and Rayleigh wave group velocity curves in the broad period range 10–105 s. We have performed tomographic inversion to obtain period-dependent group velocity and further shear wave velocity at 2° × 2°-sized grid-cells of a mesh covering the model region, after averaging azimuthal effects. Horizontally and vertically varying shear-wave velocities are observed, but the models of isotropic seismic velocity in the crust and upper mantle cannot fit simultaneously the inverted group-velocity dispersion curves due to the discrepancy in the transmission velocities of Love and Rayleigh waves, whose likely origin is the existence of radial anisotropy in the continental crust and topmost mantle. The strength of radial anisotropy computed from the Love–Rayleigh discrepancy and its spatial extent beneath the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are shown as maps of percentage anisotropy at various depths down to 170 km and cross-sections along five profiles of reference. Areas in which radial anisotropy is in excess of 6% are found in the crust and upper mantle underlying most of the plateau, and even up to 10% in some places. The strength and spatial configuration of radial anisotropy seem to indicate the existence of a regime of horizontal compressive forces in the frame of the convergent Himalayan–Tibetan orogen, the laterally variation of the lithospheric rheology and the differential movement as regards the compressive driving forces.     

Response and Stability of Underground Structures in Rock Mass during Earthquakes

Underground structures are well known to be earthquake resistant. However, the recent earthquakes showed that underground structures are also vulnerable to seismic damage. There may be several reasons such as high ground motions and permanent ground movements. This study attempts to describe various forms of damage to underground structures such as tunnels, caverns, natural caves and abandoned mines during major earthquakes. Results of various model tests on shaking table are also presented to show the effect of ground shaking on the response and collapse of underground structures in continuum and discontinuum. Furthermore, some empirical equations are proposed to assess the damage to underground structures, which may be useful for quick assessments of possible damage.     

A soil acidification study using the PROFILE model on two contrasting regions in Switzerland

The steady-state soil chemistry model PROFILE was used to calculate the chemical status of forest soils under present deposition loads for two areas with dissimilar ecosystem properties. Two regions in Switzerland, with contrasting bedrock geology were selected to be investigated in detail: 88 locations in the Jura Mountains, representative for carbonate bedrock and 91 locations in the Ticino Area dominated by metamorphic crystalline host rocks. Weathering rates calculated for the key regions cover the tremendous range between 0.013 and 25 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In the Ticino Area, the effect of increased abundance of relatively fast weathering silicates (epidote, hornblende and plagioclase) on the weathering rate is apparently masked by the total effects of the physical conditions applied and by the variation in the deposition load. In the Jura Mountains, generally high weathering rates occur with about 50% of the sites yielding rates above 1 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In many of the sites investigated, however, carbonates have already been dissolved completely in the soil horizons of interest resulting in very low weathering rates. The critical load of actual acidity was calculated according to: CL_Acidity=R_Weathering−ANC_Leaching, where alkalinity leaching is estimated by keeping the base cation to aluminum molar ratio at the critical limit of 1 at steady-state. The minimum critical load calculated was 0.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and the maximum was 6.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Comparing the cumulative frequency distributions of critical loads of actual acidity for forest soils in the individual areas it can be seen that the differences between the key regions are less substantial than with the weathering rates. Critical loads of acidity for the Ticino Area range from 1 to 3.9 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Sites yielding the lowest critical loads of acidity are observed in the Jura Mountains. Among these apparent sensitive soils are soils with intermediate or high weathering rates, although it has depleted topsoil layers. Within the context of this model application, it becomes apparent that the sensitivity of these soils with respect to acidification is also governed by the alkalinity leaching term and not only by the susceptibility of its minerals to weathering.     

Geomagnetic depth sounding over the Singhbhum and the surrounding regions of eastern India

Magnetovariational studies have been carried out in Singhbhum and surrounding regions during 1987 and 1989. Three deep-seated linear conductors have been identified. One of them is located to the north of Ranchi, Bokaro and Purulia extending in E-W direction coinciding with high heat flow region and Gondwana sediments. The trend of anomaly at Ranchi and Purulia at longer periods suggests a conductivity anomaly due to the mafic and ultramafic intrusions, considered to be responsible for the uplift of Chhotanagpur plateau. The second conductor is associated with the basin margin fault that separates the Singhbhum craton and Chhotanagpur plateau from the West Bengal basin. This conductive zone appears to extend further south and join the high heat flow region of Attri-Tarabalo. This conductor could be isolated only after eliminating the coast effect from the observed induction vectors. The third conductive zone follows the trend of Mahanadi valley located south of the Sukinda thrust. Conductive anomaly associated with the Sukinda and Singhbhum thrust zones could not be resolved due to the interference from neighbouring conductive structures. These two thrusts may not be very deep-seated structures. The Singhbhum granite batholith is found to be highly resistive and seems to extend to greater depths.     

Events in alpine deformation and metamorphism in the Northern Pennine Zone and Southern Gotthard massif regions,Switzerland

The Pennine nappes consist of broad subrounded anticlinal cores of crystalline basement enveloped by a relatively thin cover of Mesozoic metasediments. They have been subsequently refolded by two more phases of deformation, F 2 and F 3, on a regional scale. The imprint of these deformations, F 2 and F 3, also occur in the southern part of the Gotthard massif and its Mesozoic cover. The main episode of Alpine metamorphism, producing principal porphyroblasts, has occurred after the formation of Pennine nappes as a result of heat emanating from the thermic dome of the Lepontine Alps. The study of metamorphic fabrics suggests that the Alpine metamorphism probably had a higher grade during the time of the rise of thermic dome than during the formation of Pennine nappes.

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Zusammenfassung Die penninischen Decken bestehen aus breiten, abgerundeten antiklinalen Kernen kristallinen Basements, die von relativ geringmÄchtigen mesozoischen Metasedimenten umgeben sind. Sie wurden regional durch zwei weitere Deformationsphasen, F 2 und F 3, noch einmal gefaltet. Die Auswirkungen dieser Deformationen, F 2 und F 3, zeigen sich auch im südlichen Teil des Gotthard-Massivs und seiner mesozoischen Bedeckung. Die Hauptphasen alpiner Metamorphose, die im wesentlichen Porphyroblaste erzeugte, fand nach der Bildung der penninischen Decken statt als Ergebnis von WÄrme, die dem thermischen Dom der Lepontinischen Alpen entströmte. Aus der Untersuchung metamorpher Gefüge geht hervor, da\ die alpine Metamorphose wÄhrend der Zeit der Heraushebung des thermischen Domes offenbar stÄrker war als wÄhrend der Bildung der penninischen Decken.

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Résumé Les nappes pennines consistent en de larges noyaux anticlinaux munis d'une enveloppe relativement peu épaisse de métasédiments mésozoÏques. Elles furent encore plissées à l'échelle régionale au cours de deux autres phases de déformation F 2 et F 3. Les effets de ces déformations F 2 et F 3 se montrent aussi dans la partie méridionale du massif du Gotthard et de sa couverture mésozoÏque. La phase principale du métamorphisme alpin, qui a essentiellement produit des porphyroblastes, a eu lieu après la formation des nappes pennines par suite de l'apport de chaleur émanant du « dÔme thermique » des Alpes Lépontiennes. De l'étude des structures métamorphiques, il ressort que le métamorphisme alpin, pendant la montée du « dÔme thermique », est clairement d'un degré plus élevé que pendant la formation des nappes pennines.

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日本大震与中国及邻区中强地震的遥相关

将日本从北至南划分为5个区, 分析1900—2011年3月共110 a期间发生的67个M_s＝6.9~9.0大震事件, 与其后4 a在中国及邻区发生的M_s≥6.0(极个别为M_s=5.5~5.8)共569个中强地震的对应比较.得出结论: (1)日本大震和中国及邻区中强震二者有很好的遥相关关系; (2)分析了日本各区与中国及邻区地震相对应的特点; (3)中国地区地震的滞后时间多为0.5~2.0 a, 最长4 a; (4)用"遥相关法"预测2011—2013年期间, 中国及邻区的中强地震危险区.年度预测与实际发生地震检验结果显示: 预测的34个次地震危险区中, "报对"28个次, 约占总预测个次的82%, "虚报"6个次, 约占18%, 显示"遥相关法"对年度地震预测有一定效果; (5)提出"蜘蛛网"逆反应模型解释中国及邻区对日本大震的响应现象.