The critical behaviour of a power law between preseismic electric signals and earthquakes of different mechanism in Greece and Japan

The consistency of the critical exponent in the power law relation between the stress drop of the earthquake and the lead time of the precursory seismic electric signal is checked using new data from the recent M _w 4.9 earthquake of strike-slip mechanism that occurred on 12 November 2013 in northern Evia island, Greece and the megathrust M _w 9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011, in Japan. For the first case, the derived exponent is in excellent agreement with previous ones obtained from all non thrust events analysed by the author and matches the value of critical exponent for fracture. On the other hand, the megathrust Tohoku earthquake follows the behaviour of all thrust events studied by the author, and thus, the calculated exponent significantly deviates from this critical value. The different behaviour between non thrust and thrust-type events could be attributed to the fact that thrust mechanism earthquakes usually occur in collision or subduction zones which are characterised by high accumulation of strain. However, a larger number of thrust events are required in order to obtain reliable results and shed light in the above experimental findings.     

Andean earthquakes triggered by the 2010 Maule,Chile (Mw 8.8) earthquake: Comparisons of geodetic,seismic and geologic constraints

The Maule, Chile, (M_w 8.8) earthquake on 27 February 2010 triggered deformation events over a broad area, allowing investigation of stress redistribution within the upper crust following a mega-thrust subduction event. We explore the role that the Maule earthquake may have played in triggering shallow earthquakes in northwestern Argentina and Chile. We investigate observed ground deformation associated with the M_w 6.2 (GCMT) Salta (1450 km from the Maule hypocenter, 9 h after the Maule earthquake), M_w 5.8 Catamarca (1400 km; nine days), M_w 5.1 Mendoza (350 km; between one to five days) earthquakes, as well as eight additional earthquakes without an observed geodetic signal. We use seismic and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations to characterize earthquake location, magnitude and focal mechanism, and characterize how the non-stationary, spatially correlated noise present in the geodetic imagery affects the accuracy of our parameter estimates. The focal mechanisms for the far-field Salta and Catamarca earthquakes are broadly consistent with regional late Cenozoic fault kinematics. We infer that dynamic stresses due to the passage of seismic waves associated with the Maule earthquake likely brought the Salta and Catamarca regions closer to failure but that the involved faults may have already been at a relatively advanced stage of their seismic cycle. The near-field Mendoza earthquake geometry is consistent with triggering related to positive static Coulomb stress changes due to the Maule earthquake but is also aligned with the South America-Nazca shortening direction. None of the earthquakes considered in this study require that the Maule earthquake reactivated faults in a sense that is inconsistent with their long-term behavior.     

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.     

Seismicity of Gujarat

Paper describes tectonics, earthquake monitoring, past and present seismicity, catalogue of earthquakes and estimated return periods of large earthquakes in Gujarat state, western India. The Gujarat region has three failed Mesozoic rifts of Kachchh, Cambay, and Narmada, with several active faults. Kachchh district of Gujarat is the only region outside Himalaya-Andaman belt that has high seismic hazard of magnitude 8 corresponding to zone V in the seismic zoning map of India. The other parts of Gujarat have seismic hazard of magnitude 6 or less. Kachchh region is considered seismically one of the most active intraplate regions of the World. It is known to have low seismicity but high hazard in view of occurrence of fewer smaller earthquakes of M????6 in a region having three devastating earthquakes that occurred during 1819 (M _w7.8), 1956 (M _w6.0) and 2001 (M _w7.7). The second in order of seismic status is Narmada rift zone that experienced a severely damaging 1970 Bharuch earthquake of M5.4 at its western end and M????6 earthquakes further east in 1927 (Son earthquake), 1938 (Satpura earthquake) and 1997 (Jabalpur earthquake). The Saurashtra Peninsula south of Kachchh has experienced seismicity of magnitude less than 6.     

Seismic Source Parameters for the ML = 5.4 Athens Earthquake (7 September 1999) from a New Telemetric Broad Band Seismological Network in Greece

A regional telemetric network of twelve digital broad-band seismic stations has been in full operation since the beginning of 1999, in Greece, operated by the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens (GI-NOA). On 7 September1999, a M_L = 5.4 main shock occurred just 18 kilometers to the north of the Greek capital Athens, causing severe damage and loss of life. The broad band network recorded the seismic sequence and the main shock and 18 aftershocks were selected in order to determine their seismic source parameters and scaling relations by the spectral analysis method.The results indicate a main shock seismic momentM₀ = 5.7 × 10²⁴ dyn-cm in general agreementwith that reported by other agencies and two different source models were used to determine the respective fault radii and displacements for comparison and evaluation purposes.In addition, by investigating source parameters for the aftershocks, it was found that the seismic moment correlates very well with the earthquake magnitude (M_L) and corner frequency (F_C) through the following relationships:Log M₀ = 1.80M_L + 15.19 and Log M₀ = - 3.17F_C + 22.09,respectively. These results and scaling relations are in general agreement with those obtained by other studies and in view of the fact that digital seismic instrumentation is now expanding in Greece, these first results from spectral analysis of digital broad band data can be considered useful for future relevant investigations.     

Technogenic tectonic seismicity in Kuzbass

This paper presents an analysis of the development of the current seismic state of the Kuznetsk coal basin, which is characterized by an increase in technogenic seismicity of different types under the influence of prolonged intensive mining operations. The development of technogenesis led to a significant increase in technogenic seismicity in the Kuznetsk Basin in the 1970-1980s, when the number of technogenic earthquakes began to exceed the number of natural earthquakes. Among the various types of induced seismicity, special attention is paid to strong technogenic tectonic earthquakes with a regional magnitude M_b ≥ 3 and, accordingly, a seismic energy release of more than 10⁹ J, i.e., earthquakes of energy class K > 9. These small-focus earthquakes are often accompanied by destruction of underground mines, collapse of quarries and pits, damage to surface facilities and equipment, and other adverse effects. In this paper, such earthquakes are defined as technogenic tectonic to emphasize their dual origin: technogenic impacts and the subsequent relaxation of tectonic stresses. It is also noted that the Earth’s interior in Kuzbass initially had its own natural seismicity and a developed system of tectonic faults. Natural seismotectonic activity combined with constantly increasing scales of mining and explosive consumption has led to an increase in the number of technogenic seismic events and their intensity. A striking example of such an event was the 18 June, 2013 Bachat earthquake with a regional magnitude M_b= 5.8 and a seismic intensity of 7 in the epicentral zone. It was the world’s largest man-made earthquake induced by the mining of solid minerals. We consider the possible causes of this catastrophic earthquake and discuss the conditions favoring the formation of foci of such technogenic tectonic earthquakes resulting from changes in the geodynamic and hydrogeological conditions in the Earth’s crust under man-caused impacts. These induced changes in natural processes are accompanied by a change in the stress-strain state, resulting in the concentration of tectonic stresses at heterogeneities and in fault zones, which become sources of induced technogenic seismicity.The paper discusses the current period of the occurrence and increase in such anthropogenic seismicity in the Kuzbass region with increasing scales of coal mining and blasting. Over the last 20 years, the consumption of explosives at Kuzbass enterprises increased from 100-200 to 500-600 thousand tons per year, and, accordingly, the amounts of broken and transported rock increased from several million tons per year to a billion tons per year, which disturbed the dynamic equilibrium in the Earth’s crust and changed the existing field of tectonic stresses. Moreover, the continuously increasing consumption of explosives has also increased the technogenic impact on the crust structures. The location of the epicenters of large-scale blasts inducing seismic events with regional magnitudes M_b= 3.0-4.5 has made it possible to identify regions with the greatest technogenic impact in Kuzbass. Using the data of the ISC seismological catalog, we separated seismic events with the above magnitudes into day and night ones. Since blasting work is forbidden at night, night seismic events are referred to as technogenic tectonic earthquakes (night event criterion). The maximum magnitude of seismic events induced by blasting operations in the Kuznetsk Basin was estimated at M_b ≤ 4.4. The annual number of technogenic tectonic earthquakes with 3.0 ≤ M_b ≤ 3.4, 3.5 ≤ M_b ≤ 3.9, 4.0 ≤ M_b ≤ 4.4, and M_b ≥ 4.5 was determined based on the night event criterion. The regions of their occurrence were identified from the location of the epicenters of technogenic tectonic earthquakes.     

Use of site amplification and anelastic attenuation for the determination of source parameters of the Sikkim earthquake of September 18, 2011, using far-field strong-motion data

An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 (M _w) occurred in the Sikkim region of India on September 18, 2011. This earthquake is recorded on strong-motion network in Uttarakhand Himalaya located about 900 km away from the epicenter of this earthquake. In this paper acceleration record from six far-field stations has been used to compute the source parameters of this earthquake. The acceleration spectra of ground motion at these far-field stations are strongly affected by both local site effects and near-site anelastic attenuation. In the present work the spectrum of S-phase recorded at these far-field stations has been corrected for anelastic attenuation at both source and site and the site amplification terms. Site amplifications at different stations and near-site shear wave attenuation factor have been computed by the technique of inversion of acceleration spectra given by Joshi et al. (Pure Appl Geophys 169:1821–1845, 2012a). For estimation of site amplification and shear wave quality factor [Q _β (f)] at the recording sites, ten local events recorded at various stations between July 2011 and December 2011 have been used. The obtained source spectrum from acceleration records is compared with the theoretical source spectrum defined by Brune (J Geophys Res 76:5002, 1970) at each station for both horizontal components of the records. Iterative forward modeling of theoretical source spectrum gives the average estimate of seismic moment (M _o), source radius (r _o) and stress drop (Δσ) as (3.2 ± 0.8) × 10²⁶ dyne cm, 13.3 ± 0.8 km and 59.2 ± 8.8 bars, respectively, for the Sikkim earthquake of September 18, 2011.     

The environmental effects of the 1743 Salento earthquake (Apulia,southern Italy): a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula

The aim of this study was to provide a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, southern Italy). It is well known that this area was struck by the February 20, 1743, earthquake (I ₀ = IX and M _w = 7.1), the strongest seismic event of Salento, that caused the most severe damage in the towns of Nardò (Lecce) and Francavilla Fontana (Brindisi), in the Ionian Islands (Greece) and in the western coast of Albania. It was also widely felt in the western coast of Greece, in Malta Islands, in southern Italy and in some localities of central and northern Italy. Moreover, the area of the Salento Peninsula has also been hit by several low-energy and a few high-energy earthquakes over the last centuries; the instrumental recent seismicity is mainly concentrated in the western sector of the peninsula and in the Otranto Channel. The Salento area has also experienced destructive seismicity of neighboring regions in Italy (the Gargano Promontory in northern Apulia, the Southern Apennines chain, the Calabrian Arc) and in the Balkan Peninsula (Greece and Albania). Accordingly, a critical analysis of several documentary and historical sources, as well as of the geologic–geomorphologic ground effects due to the strong 1743 Salento earthquake, has been carried out by the authors in this paper; the final purpose has been to re-evaluate the 1743 MCS macroseismic intensities and to provide a list of newly classified localities according to the ESI-07 scale on the base of recognized Earthquake Environmental Effects. The result is a quite different damage scenario due to this earthquake that could raise the seismic potential currently recognized for the Salento area, and consequently upgrade the seismic hazard classification of the Salento. Indeed it is important to remind that currently, despite the intense earthquake activity recorded not only in the Otranto Channel, but especially in Greece and Albania, this area is classified in the least dangerous category of the Seismic Classification of the Italian territory (IV category).     

The August 2, 2007, Nevelsk earthquake: Instrumental data analysis

A catalogue of aftershocks of the 2007 Nevelsk earthquake (M _w = 6.2) was prepared on the basis of the data from the local network of digital seismic stations established on the southern part of Sakhalin Island. The parameters of the aftershock hypocenters were determined using the method of the seismic wave travel time inversion. The errors in the determination of the coordinates of the seismic events were analyzed. The particularities of the spatiotemporal distribution of the aftershocks in the source zone of the earthquake were established. It was shown that a strong aftershock was a subsource earthquake with its own source zone. This explains the disagreement between the energetic characteristics and the size of the aftershock zone of the Nevelsk earthquake.     

Constraints on the location and mechanism of the 1511 Western-Slovenia earthquake from active tectonics and modeling of macroseismic data

The 1511 Western Slovenia earthquake (M = 6.9) is the largest event occurred so far in the region of the Alps–Dinarides junction. Though it strongly influences the regional seismic hazard assessment, the epicenter and mechanism are still under debate. The complexity of the active tectonics of the Alps–Dinarides junction is reflected by the presence of both compressional and transpressional deformations. This complexity is witnessed by the recent occurrence of three main earthquake sequences, the 1976 Friuli thrust faulting events, the 1998 Bovec–Krn Mountain and the 2004 Kobarid strike-slip events. The epicenters of the 1998 and 2004 strike-slip earthquakes (M_s = 5.7 and M_s = 4.9, respectively) lie only 50 km far from the 1976 thrust earthquake (M_s = 6.5).We use the available macroseismic data and recent active tectonics studies, to assess a possible epicenter and mechanism for the 1511 earthquake and causative fault. According with previous works reported in the literature, we analyze both a two-and a single-event case, defining several input fault models. We compute synthetic seismograms up to 1 Hz in an extended-source approximation, testing different rupture propagations and applying a uniform seismic moment distribution on the fault segments. We extract the maximum horizontal velocities from the synthetics and we convert them into intensities by means of an empirical relation. A rounded-to-integer misfit between observed and computed intensities is performed, considering both a minimized and a maximized databases, built to avoid the use of half-degree macroseismic intensity data points. Our results are consistent with a 6.9 magnitude single event rupturing 50 km of the Idrija right-lateral strike-slip fault with bilateral rupture propagation.     

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment in the Constantine region,Northeast of Algeria

This paper presents a seismic hazard evaluation and develops an earthquake catalogue for the Constantine region over the period from 1357 to 2014. The study contributes to the improvement of seismic risk management by evaluating the seismic hazards in Northeast Algeria. A regional seismicity analysis was conducted based on reliable earthquake data obtained from various agencies (CRAAG, IGN, USGS and ISC). All magnitudes (M _l, m _b) and intensities (I ₀, I _MM, I _MSK and I _EMS) were converted to M _s magnitudes using the appropriate relationships. Earthquake hazard maps were created for the Constantine region. These maps were estimated in terms of spectral acceleration (SA) at periods of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 s. Five seismogenic zones are proposed. This new method differs from the conventional method because it incorporates earthquake magnitude uncertainty and mixed datasets containing large historical events and recent data. The method can be used to estimate the b value of the Gutenberg-Richter relationship, annual activity rate λ(M) of an event and maximum possible magnitude M _max using incomplete and heterogeneous data files. In addition, an earthquake is considered a Poisson with an annual activity rate λ and with a doubly truncated exponential earthquake magnitude distribution. Map of seismic hazard and an earthquake catalogue, graphs and maps were created using geographic information systems (GIS), the Z-map code version 6 and Crisis software 2012.     

A scaling model for quantification of earthquakes in and near Japan

A simple method is developed to determine seismic moments of earthquakes. The method is qualified through criteria such as simplicity of calculations, coverage of wide magnitude range, and insensitivity to detailed instrumental response. The method is applied to 163 major earthquakes which occurred underneath Japan and the Japan Sea in the time from 1926 to 1977. Magnitudes of these earthquakes, which have been determined by the Japan Meteorological Agency, (M_JMA) cover the range from 4.3 to 7.5. At first, source spectra are analyzed through a very simple way introducing two new parameters: characteristic period T_c and seismic-moment factor M_c. The former is defined as an average value of apparent periods of seismic waves with the maximum trace amplitude at many stations. The latter is an average of products of maximum trace amplitude and its apparent period multiplied by epicentral distance. It is shown that T_c corresponds to the period of the corner frequency of an earthquake and M_c to the seismic-moment density at the period of T_c. A scaling model of earthquake source spectra is presented which satisfies the empirical relations between the surface-wave magnitude M_s and M_JMA, and M_JMA and the body-wave magnitude m_b. Those relations are independent of the Gutenberg and Richter relation between M_s and m_b, because M_JMA is determined from maximum amplitudes of seismic waves with a period of about 4 sec. The static seismic moment of each earthquake can be estimated from calculated M_c using the source spectra of the scaling model. Seismic moments of 18 earthquakes determined by conventional analyses from near- and/or far-field observations are consistent with static seismic moments thus estimated over the range from 2 × 10²³ to 3 × 10²⁷ dyne cm. This shows the potential in practice of the present method, especially in the routine processing of seismic data.     

Physical properties of the variations of the electric field of the earth preceding earthquakes. II. determination of epicenter and magnitude

As reported in the preceding paper, a transient change of the electric field of the earth (seismic electric signal), hereafter called SES, appears many hours before an earthquake (EQ). By measuring this change in a given direction and dividing it with a suitable relative effective resistivity one obtains a quantity that reflects the current density in this direction. Measurements in two directions (E-W and N-S) give the relative signal intensity J_rel at the station under consideration. By measuring J_rel at a number of stations and considering that it attenuates according to a 1/r-law, the epicenter can be determined with an accuracy usually around 100 km. Once the epicenter has been determined, the product J_rel · r can be evaluated so that the magnitude M can be estimated by resorting to an empirical log(J_rel · r) versus M plot. The uncertainty of M is around 0.5 units. Following Sobolev (1975) and for the statistics to be beyond any doubt, predictions were officially documented before the EQ-occurrence. For 23 earthquakes with a magnitude equal or greater than M_s = 5.0 two events were missed.The present method is compared to other electrical methods used in China, Japan and Soviet Union. A number of problems concerning the origin of the effect, its directivity and the attenuation with distance remain open for further studies.     

Process Analysis of In-situ Strain during the Ms8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake—Data from the Stress Monitoring Station at Shandan

Abstract: There were huge life and property losses during the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. Strain fluctuation curves were completely recorded at stress observatory stations in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and its surroundings in the process of the earthquake. This paper introduces the geological background of the Wenchuan earthquake and the profile of in-situ stress monitoring stations. In particular, data of 174 earthquakes (Ms4.0-Ms8.5) were processed and analyzed with various methods, which were recorded at the Shandan station from August 2007 to December 2008. The results were compared with other seismic data, and further analyses were done for the recoded strain seismic waves, co-seismic strain stepovers, pre-earthquake strain valleys, Earth’s free oscillations before and after the earthquake and their physical implications. During the Wenchuan earthquake, the strainmeter recorded a huge extensional strain of 70 seconds, which shows that the Wenchuan earthquake is a rupture process predominated by thrusting. Significant precursory strain anomalies were detected 48 hours, 30 hours, 8 hours and 37 minutes before the earthquake. The anomalies are very high and their forms are very similar to that of the main shock. Similar anomalies can also be found in strain curves of other shocks greater than Ms7.0, indicating that such anomalies are prevalent before a great earthquake. In this paper, it is shown that medium aftershocks (Ms5.5-6.0) can also cause Earth’s free oscillations. Study of free oscillations is of great significance to understand the internal structure of the Earth and focal mechanisms of earthquakes and to recognize slow shocks, thus providing a scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of geological disasters and the prediction of future earthquakes.     

Efficiency test of earthquake prediction around Thessaloniki from electrotelluric precursors

Since the completion of the network in January 1983, the electric field of the earth has been continuously monitored at four sites near Thessaloniki, the capital of northern Greece. From the present study and from previous investigations by similar measurements in Greece, it is evident that transient changes of the electrotelluric field occur prior to earthquakes. The analysis of these electric forerunners leads in many cases to a successful prediction of the epicentral area, the magnitude and the time of the impending event. Predictions prior to regional earthquakes are issued and documented with telegrams.From November 1983 until the end of May 1984 twelve earthquakes (M_L > 3.5) occurred in the vicinity of Thessaloniki. Ten of these were predicted and warnings given by telegram, whereas two smaller seismic events were missed. Two additional predictions were unsuccessful. Independent of their magnitudes, predicted events took place within a time window of 6 hrs to 6 days after the observations of the electrotelluric anomalies. The accuracy of the predicted epicenters in eight cases is better than 100 km, which corresponds roughly to the mean distance between the electric stations. Magnitude estimates deviate by less than 0.5 magnitude units from the seismically observed ones.Considering the two largest earthquakes, it is shown that the probability of making each of these predictions by chance is of the order of 10⁻².     

Structure and peculiarities of the seismic regime in the source zone of the Takoe earthquake on September 1, 2001 (M W 5.2)

The Takoe earthquake (M _W 5.2) occurred between two en-echelon segments of the active Aprelovskii fault on September 1, 2001, and was accompanied by an earthquake swarm, which was successfully recorded by a local network of digital seismic stations located on the southern part of Sakhalin Island. Modern methods were applied to relocate the parameters of the sources for the earthquake swarm event and significantly specify their spatial distribution and relations to the structural-geological features of the complex system of interacting faults. New data on the correlation between the source mechanism and the modern geodynamic setting in the southern part of Sakhalin were obtained.     

Seismic hazard scenario and attenuation model of the Garhwal Himalaya using near-field synthesis from weak motion seismometry

In this paper, we present a seismic hazard scenario for the Garhwal region of the north-western Himalayan range, in terms of the horizontal Peak Ground Acceleration. The scenario earthquake of moment magnitude M _w 8.5 has a 10% exceedance probability over the next 50 years. These estimates, the first for the region, were calculated through a stepwise process based on:

• An estimation of the Maximum Credible Earthquake from the seismicity of the region and Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program considerations, and
• four seismotectonic parameters abstracted from near field weak-motion data recorded at five stations installed in Chamoli District of the Garhwal region in the aftermath of the 1999 Chamoli earthquake. The latter include
• The frequency dependent power law for the shear wave quality factor, Q _S
• the site amplification at each station using horizontal-to-vertical-spectral ratio and generalized inversion technique
• source parameters of various events recorded by the array and application of the resulting relations between the scalar seismic moment M ₀ (dyne-cm) and moment magnitude M _w and the corner frequency, ? _c (Hz) and moment magnitude M _w to simulate spectral acceleration due to higher magnitude events corresponding to the estimated Maximum Credible Earthquake, and
• regional and site specific local spectral attenuation relations at different geometrically central frequencies in the low, moderate and high frequency bands.

     

On generation conditions of strong earthquakes in southern Baikal

In this paper the features of seismic process in the southern depression of Lake Baikal are considered. By the data on focal mechanisms of the earthquakes of February 25, 1999 (M _w = 6.0), and August 27, 2008 (M _w = 6.3), as well as based on configuration of their aftershock fields, it is determined that foci of strong seismic events in southern Baikal are controlled by the greatest structural elements of sublatitudinal and submeridional strikes. It has been shown that a substantial role in the formation of focal zones is played by low-scale destruction of the Earth’s crust, revealed by geological-geophysical data and proved by clustering of seismic shocks. New data on the August 27, 2008, earthquake have proved the high level of seismic danger of this part of the Baikal Rift Zone and allowed us to determine generation conditions of strong earthquakes more precisely.     

Erratum to: The environmental effects of the 1743 Salento earthquake (Apulia,southern Italy): a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula

The aim of this study was to provide a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, southern Italy). It is well known that this area was struck by the February 20, 1743, earthquake (I ₀ = IX and M _w = 7.1), the strongest seismic event of Salento, that caused the most severe damage in the towns of Nardò (Lecce) and Francavilla Fontana (Brindisi), in the Ionian Islands (Greece) and in the western coast of Albania. It was also widely felt in the western coast of Greece, in Malta Islands, in southern Italy and in some localities of central and northern Italy. Moreover, the area of the Salento Peninsula has also been hit by several low-energy and a few high-energy earthquakes over the last centuries; the instrumental recent seismicity is mainly concentrated in the western sector of the peninsula and in the Otranto Channel. The Salento area has also experienced destructive seismicity of neighboring regions in Italy (the Gargano Promontory in northern Apulia, the Southern Apennines chain, the Calabrian Arc) and in the Balkan Peninsula (Greece and Albania). Accordingly, a critical analysis of several documentary and historical sources, as well as of the geologic–geomorphologic ground effects due to the strong 1743 Salento earthquake, has been carried out by the authors in this paper; the final purpose has been to re-evaluate the 1743 MCS macroseismic intensities and to provide a list of newly classified localities according to the ESI-07 scale on the base of recognized Earthquake Environmental Effects. The result is a quite different damage scenario due to this earthquake that could raise the seismic potential currently recognized for the Salento area, and consequently upgrade the seismic hazard classification of the Salento. Indeed it is important to remind that currently, despite the intense earthquake activity recorded not only in the Otranto Channel, but especially in Greece and Albania, this area is classified in the least dangerous category of the Seismic Classification of the Italian territory (IV category).

     

Modeling of coseismic crustal movements initiated by the May 24, 2013, M w = 8.3 Okhotsk deep focus earthquake

The Okhotsk deep focus earthquake (M _w = 8.3), the largest in the history of instrumental seismology, occurred on May 24, 2013, at 05:45 UTC in the Sea of Okhotsk near the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time we have succeeded in catching the field of horizontal and vertical coseismic offsets generated by a strong deep seismic event, and investigating its characteristics using continuous GPS measurements. Based on these data and taking into account the seismological information, we have developed a dislocation model of the Okhotsk deep focus earthquake.