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 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 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 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.     

Source parameters of earthquakes in the reservoir-triggered seismic (RTS) zone of Koyna–Warna, Western India

New empirical relations are derived for source parameters of the Koyna–Warna reservoir-triggered seismic zone in Western India using spectral analysis of 38 local earthquakes in the magnitude range M _L 3.5–5.2. The data come from a seismic network operated by the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, India, during March 2005 to April 2012 in this region. The source parameters viz. seismic moment, source radius, corner frequency and stress drop for the various events lie in the range of 10¹³–10¹⁶ Nm, 0.1–0.4 km, 2.9–9.4 Hz and 3–26 MPa, respectively. Linear relationships are obtained among the seismic moment (M ₀), local magnitude (M _L), moment magnitude (M _w), corner frequency (fc) and stress drop (?σ). The stress drops in the Koyna–Warna region are found to increase with magnitude as well as focal depths of earthquakes. Interestingly, accurate depths derived from moment tensor inversion of earthquake waveforms show a strong correlation with the stress drops, seemingly characteristic of the Koyna–Warna region.     

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 2004

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2004. During this period, 677 earthquakes and 96 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. With 22 events with M_L≥2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2004 was close to the average over the last 30 years. As in previous years, most of the activity was concentrated in the Valais and in Graubünden. In addition, several moderate earthquakes occurred in the lower crust below the northern Alpine foreland. Unusual was that five earthquakes were sufficiently strong to cause ground shaking of intensity IV over large portions of the territory. Two were located in Switzerland (Liestal, M_L 3.8, and Brugg, M_L 4.0). The epicenters of the other three strong events were located outside Switzerland (Besan?on in the French Jura, M_L 4.8, Waldkirch in southern Germany, M_L 5.1, and Lago di Garda in northern Italy, M_L 5.3).     

Seismicity and source parameters of local earthquakes in Bilaspur region of Himachal Lesser Himalaya

The pattern of local seismicity (110 events) and the source parameters of 26 local events (1.0?≤?Mw?≤?2.5) that occurred during May 2008 to April 2009 in Bilaspur region of Himachal Lesser Himalaya were determined. The digital records available from one station have been used to compute the source parameters and f _max based on the Brune source model (1970) and a high-frequency diminution factor (Boore 1983) above f _max. The epicentral distribution of events within 30 km of local network is broadly divided into three clusters of seismic activity: (1) a cluster located to the south of the Jamthal (JAMT) station and falls to the north of the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) which seems to reflect the contemporary local seismicity of the segment of the MBT, (2) an elongated zone of local seismicity NE–SW trending, delineated NE of JAMT station that falls in the Lesser Himalaya between the MBT and the Main Central Thrust, and (3) NE–SW trending zone of local seismic activity located at about 10 km east of NHRI station and about 15 km northeast of NERI station and extending over a distance of about 20 km. Majority of events occur at shallow depths up to 20 km, and the maximum number of events occurs in the focal depth range between 10 and 15 km. The entire seismic activity is confined to the crust between 5 and 45 km. The average values of these source parameters range from 3.29?×?10¹⁷ to 3.73?×?10¹⁹?dyne-cm for seismic moment, 0.1 to 9.7 bars for stress drops, and 111.78 to 558.92 m for source radii. The average value of f _max for these events varies from 7 to 18 Hz and seems to be source dependent.     

Source parameters and scaling relations for small earthquakes in the Kachchh region of Gujarat,India

The scaling relationships for stress drop and corner frequency with respect to magnitude have been worked out using 159 accelerograms from 34 small earthquakes (M _w 3.3–4.9) in the Kachchh region of Gujarat. The 318 spectra of P and S waves have been analyzed for this purpose. The average ratio of P- to S-wave corner frequency is found to be 1.19 suggestive of higher corner frequency for P wave as compared to that for S wave. The seismic moments estimated from P waves, M ₀(P), range from 1.98 × 10¹⁴ N m to 1.60 × 10¹⁶ N m and those from S waves, M ₀(S), range from 1.02 × 10¹⁴ N m to 3.4 × 10¹⁶ N m with an average ratio, M ₀(P)/M ₀(S), of 1.11. The total seismic energy varies from 1.83 × 10¹⁰ J to 2.84 × 10¹³ J. The estimated stress drop values do not depend on earthquake size significantly and lie in the range 30–120 bars for most of the events. A linear regression analysis between the estimated seismic moment (M ₀) and corner frequency (f _c) gives the scaling relation M ₀ f _c ³  = 7.6 × 10¹⁶ N m/s³. The proposed scaling laws are found to be consistent with similar scaling relations obtained in other seismically active regions of the world. Such an investigation should prove useful in seismic hazard and risk-related studies of the region. The relations developed in this study may be useful for the seismic hazard studies in the region.     

Seasonal variations in soil radon emanation: long-term continuous monitoring in light of seismicity

Soil gas radon release patterns have been monitored continuously for more than 3 years in the Eastern Mediterranean Province (EMP) (Southern Turkey), alongside regional seismic events, providing a multidisciplinary approach. In the period from January 2008 to January 2011, 14 earthquakes M _L ≥4 occurred in the study area. By monitoring the sites for more than 3 years, the site-characteristic patterns of soil radon emanation of each site have become evident. Radon emanation data show seasonal (semi-annual) variation characteristics; high soil radon values are between May and October and low soil radon values are between November and April. With available rainfall data, the soil gas radon data can be more reliably evaluated. It is shown in this paper that if radon emanation data are available over sufficiently long periods of time and baseline data (and their seasonal variations) are known with certainty for each monitoring site, then the observation of positive anomalies might provide a correlation or connection to seismic activity.     

Characteristics of three recent earthquake sequences in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

We have analysed three recent earthquake sequences in the northern part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. A 1998 sequence at Haroharo with a largest event of M_L 4.8, and a 2004 sequence near Lake Rotoehu (largest event M_L 5.4), had normal b-values, and displayed an aftershock decay pattern, with most of the activity within the first few days. In contrast, a 2005 sequence a few tens of kilometres away at Matata (largest event M_L 4.1), had very different characteristics, with a slow development and decay, no tendency for enhanced seismicity after the larger events, and a very high b-value.The focal mechanisms of the Rotoehu and Matata events are normal, and have stress patterns consistent with the geodetically observed extension of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in a northwest–southeast direction. The extensive recent volcanism in the Okataina Volcanic Centre does not seem to have affected the stress pattern in this area.The Rotoehu sequence showed a strong resemblance, particularly in the time distribution of events, to the well-known swarm activity in the Vogtland region on the German/Czech border, in which larger events were followed by a burst of seismicity, as in a normal aftershock sequence. Some of the arguments that have been advanced to explain the Vogtland swarm as seismicity induced by fluid injection apply to Rotoehu, but there is no direct evidence of fluid involvement. The Matata sequence appears to have a continuing trigger mechanism, either a slow injection of fluid, or a slow slip event, in an environment in which opening pore spaces prevent high overpressures developing. The Matata sequence occurred close to the area of the 1987 M_L 6.3 Edgecumbe Earthquake, so exhibiting two extremes of seismic temporal pattern, namely mainshock–aftershock and a swarm with many events of similar magnitude, within a small area.     

Multi-scale imaging of a slow active fault zone: contribution for improved seismic hazard assessment in the Swiss Alpine foreland

Seismic hazard assessment of slow active fault zones is challenging as usually only a few decades of sparse instrumental seismic monitoring is available to characterize seismic activity. Tectonic features linked to the observed seismicity can be mapped by seismic imaging techniques and/or geomorphological and structural evidences. In this study, we investigate a seismic lineament located in the Swiss Alpine foreland, which was discussed in previous work as being related to crustal structures carrying in size the potential of a magnitude M 6 earthquake. New, low-magnitude (?2.0 ≤ M_L ≤ 2.5) earthquake data are used to image the spatial and temporal distribution of seismogenic features in the target area. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are applied to the waveform dataset to better constrain earthquakes distribution and source processes. Potential tectonic features responsible for the observed seismicity are modelled based on new reinterpretations of oil industry seismic profiles and recent field data in the study area. The earthquake and tectonic datasets are then integrated in a 3D model. Spatially, the seismicity correlates over 10–15 km with a N–S oriented sub-vertical fault zone imaged in seismic profiles in the Mesozoic cover units above a major decollement on top of the mechanically more rigid basement and seen in outcrops of Tertiary series east of the city of Fribourg. Observed earthquakes cluster at shallow depth (<4 km) in the sedimentary cover. Given the spatial extend of the observed seismicity, we infer the potential of a moderate size earthquake to be generated on the lineament. However, since the existence of along strike structures in the basement cannot be excluded, a maximum M 6 earthquake cannot be ruled out. Thus, the Fribourg Lineament constitutes a non-negligible source of seismic hazard in the Swiss Alpine foreland.     

Spectral source parameters for weak local earthquakes in the Pannonian basin

Dynamic source parameters are estimated from P-wave displacement spectra for 18 local earthquakes (1.2 < M_L < 3.7) that occurred in two seismically active regions of Hungary between 1995 and 2004. Although the geological setting of the two areas is quite different, their source parameters cannot be distinguished. The source dimensions range from 200 to 900 m, the seismic moment from 6.3x10¹¹ to 3.48×10¹⁴ Nm, the stress drop from 0.13 to 6.86 bar, and the average displacement is less than 1 cm for all events. The scaling relationship between seismic moment and stress drop indicates a decrease in stress drop with decreasing seismic moment. A linear relationship of M _w = 0.71 M _L + 0.92 is obtained between local magnitude and moment magnitude.     

Evaluating of the earthquake hazard parameters with Bayesian method for the different seismic source regions of the North Anatolian Fault Zone

The earthquake hazard parameters and earthquake occurrence probabilities are computed for the different regions of the North Anatolia Fault Zone (NAFZ) using Bayesian method. A homogenous earthquake catalog for M _S magnitude which is equal or larger than 4.0 is used for a time period between 1900 and 2015. Only two historical earthquakes (1766, M _S = 7. 3 and 1897, M _S = 7. 0) are included in Region 2 (Marmara Region) where a large earthquake is expected in the near future since no large earthquake has been observed for the instrumental period. In order to evaluate earthquake hazard parameters for next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 years, M _max (maximum regional magnitude), β value, λ (seismic activity or density) are computed for the different regions of NAFZ. The computed M _max values are changed between 7.11 and 7.89. While the highest magnitude value is calculated in the Region 9 related to Tokat-Erzincan, the lowest value in the Region 10 including the eastern of Erzincan. The “quantiles” of “apparent” and “true” magnitudes of future time intervals of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 years are calculated for confidence limits of probability levels of 50, 70 and 90 % of the 10 different seismic source regions. The region between Tokat and Erzincan has earthquake hazard level according to the determined parameters. In this region the expected maximum earthquake size is 7.8 with 90 % occurrence probability in next 100 years. While the regional M _max value of Marmara Region is computed as 7.61, expected maximum earthquake size is 7.37 with 90 % occurrence probability in next 100 years.     

Damage risk assessment of breakwaters under tsunami attack

Turkey was struck by two major events on 17 August and 12 November 1999, named Izmit (M _w = 7.4) and Düzce (M _w = 7.2) earthquakes, respectively. Rubble mound breakwaters in Izmit Bay experienced little damage, as forecasted by the new risk assessment model in which tsunami occurrence risk was included in the damage estimations. In order to determine the occurrence probability of structural damage under design conditions, including the environmental loading parameters of tsunami and storm waves, tidal range and storm surge, the Conditional Expections Monte Carlo simulation was applied in the risk assessment model developed in this study for the Esenköy Fishery Harbour, Turkey. A tsunami was not the key design parameter when compared to storm waves for the main breakwater of the harbour, however, in places with great seismic activity, the tsunami risk should be important depending on the occurrence probability and magnitude of the tsunami.     

Source parameters of some recent earthquakes in the Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt

Gulf of Aqaba is recognized as an active seismic zone where many destructive earthquakes have occurred. The estimation of source parameters and coda Q attenuation are the main target of this work. Fifty digital seismic events in eight short-period seismic stations with magnitude 2.5–5.2 are used. Most of these events occurred at hypocentral depths in the range of 7–20 km, indicating that the activity was restricted in the upper crust. Seismic moment, M _o, source radius, r, and stress drop, Δσ, are estimated from P- and S-wave spectra using the Brune’s seismic source model. The average seismic moment generated by the whole sequence of events was estimated to be 4.6E?+?22 dyne/cm. The earthquakes with higher stress drop occur at 10-km depth. The scaling relation between the seismic moment and the stress drop indicates a tendency of increasing seismic moment with stress drop. The seismic moment increases with increasing the source radius. Coda waves are sensitive to changes in the subsurface due to the wide scattering effects generating these waves. Single scattering model of local earthquakes is used to the coda Q calculation. The coda with lapse times 10, 20, and 30 s at six central frequencies 1.5, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 Hz are calculated. The Q _c values are frequency dependent in the range 1–25 Hz, and are approximated by a least squares fit to the power law [ $ {Q_c}(f) = {Q_o}{(f/{f_o})^\eta } $ ]. The average of Q _c values increases from 53?±?10 at 1.5 Hz to 700?±?120 at 24 Hz. The average of Q _o values ranges from 13?±?1 at 1.5 Hz to 39?±?4 at 24 Hz. The frequency exponent parameter η ranges between 1.3?±?0.008 and 0.9?±?0.001.     

Source mechanism and parameters of the 19 October 2012 earthquake,northern Egyptian continental margin

The 19 October 2012 earthquake (M _L = 5.1) occurred in the northern continental margin of Egypt within the Nile Cone at latitude 32.35° N and longitude 31.27° E. The quake was felt over a wide area in north Egypt and East Mediterranean countries, but no casualties have been reported. This area had experienced the large earthquake (Ms = 6.7) of 12 September 1955. The fault plane solution of the 19 October 2012 earthquake is here presented based on the digital seismograms recorded by the Egyptian National Seismological Network (ENSN) and other regional seismic stations. The analysis is carried out using the well-known techniques of first motion polarities of P-wave and the amplitude ratios of P-, SH-, and SV-waves with lower hemisphere projection. The fault plane solution based on the first P-wave onset demonstrates a left lateral strike-slip faulting mechanism, while the solution based on both P-wave polarities and amplitude ratios of P-, SH-, and SV-waves reveals a reverse fault with strike-slip component trending NW–SE to NE–SW, in conformity with the N–S compression along the Hellenic Arc convergence zone. Following the Brune’s model, the source dynamic parameters for the 19 October 2012 earthquake are estimated as corner frequency = 1.47 Hz, fault radius = 0.7 km, stress drop = 22.1 MPa, seismic moment = 2.80E + 16 Nm, and moment magnitude M _w = 4.9. These parameters may provide important quantitative information for the seismic hazard assessment studies.