The 2008 West Bohemia earthquake swarm in the light of the WEBNET network

A swarm of earthquakes of magnitudes up to M _L = 3.8 stroke the region of West Bohemia/Vogtland (border area between Czechia and Germany) in October 2008. It occurred in the Novy Kostel focal zone, where also all recent earthquake swarms (1985/1986, 1997, and 2000) took place, and was striking by a fast sequence of macroseismically observed earthquakes. We present the basic characteristics of this swarm based on the observations of a local network WEBNET (West Bohemia seismic network), which has been operated in the epicentral area, on the Czech territory. The swarm was recorded by 13 to 23 permanent and mobile WEBNET stations surrounding the swarm epicenters. In addition, a part of the swarm was also recorded by strong-motion accelerometers, which represent the first true accelerograms of the swarm earthquakes in the region. The peak ground acceleration reached 0.65 m/s². A comparison with previous earthquake swarms indicates that the total seismic moments released during the 1985/1986 and 2008 swarms are similar, of about 4E16 Nm, and that they represent the two largest swarms that occurred in the West Bohemia/ Vogtland region since the M _L = 5.0 swarm of 1908. Characteristic features of the 2008 swarm are its short duration (4 weeks) and rapidity and, consequently, the fastest seismic moment release compared to previous swarms. Up to 25,000 events in the magnitude range of 0.5 < M _L < 3.8 were detected using an automatic picker. A total of nine swarm phases can be distinguished in the swarm, five of them exceeding the magnitude level of 2.5. The magnitude–frequency distribution of the complete 2008 swarm activity shows a b value close to 1. The swarm hypocenters fall precisely on the same fault portion of the Novy Kostel focal zone that was activated by the 2000 swarm (M _L ≤ 3.2) in a depth interval from 6 to 11 km and also by the 1985/1986 swarm (M _L ≤ 4.6). The steeply dipping fault planes of the 2000 and 2008 swarms seem to be identical considering the location error of about 100 m. Furthermore, focal mechanisms of the 2008 swarm are identical with those of the 2000 swarm, both matching an average strike of 170° and dip of 80° of the activated fault segment. An overall upward migration of activity is observed with first events at the bottom and last events at the top of the of the activated fault patch. Similarities in the activated fault area and in the seismic moments released during the three largest recent swarms enable to estimate the seismic potential of the focal zone. If the whole segment of the fault plane was activated simultaneously, it would represent an earthquake of M _L ~5. This is in good agreement with the estimates of the maximum magnitudes of earthquakes that occurred in the West Bohemia/Vogtland region in the past.     

Relation of surface movements in West Bohemia to earthquake swarms

GPS observations in the Western Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarm region revealed indications of horizontal displacements of low amplitude, and no clear long-term trend in 1993–2007. On the other hand, in 1998–2001 there was relatively significant active movement along NNE-SSW oriented line that we called the “Cheb-Kraslice GPS Boundary” (ChKB), identical with an important limitation of earthquake activity. The most impressive were dextral (right-lateral) movements in the 1998–1999 period followed by reverse sinistral (left-lateral) movements in 1999–2000 that correlate with prevailing motion defined by fault plane solutions of the Autumn 2000 earthquake swarm. Before the February 2004 micro-swarm, two points located on opposite sides of the Mariánské Lázně fault showed extension in the order of about 7 mm in the same NNE-SSW direction of ChKB. The new NOKO permanent GPS station in Novy Kostel showed the peak-to-peak vertical changes up to 10 mm before and during the February 2007 micro-swarm. Annual precise levelling campaigns in the local network around Novy Kostel revealed regular vertical displacements during the 1994, 1997 and 2000 earthquake swarms. The points around the Novy Kostel seismological station showed uplift during the active periods, including the micro-swarm February 2004. However, no such indication was observed on levelling points in the period of the February 2007 swarm. Long-term vertical displacements depend on the same direction NNE-SSW (ChKB) as the GPS displacements. Both geodetic techniques have revealed oscillating displacements, GPS horizontal, and levelling vertical, rather than any long-term trends in the study period 1993–2007. The displacements exhibited significant spatial and temporal relation to tectonic activity (earthquake swarms) including their coincidence with the seismologically determined sense of motion along the fault plane during earthquakes.     

2013年8月河北蔚县小震群遗漏地震检测与发震构造分析

华北地区近年来小震群活动频繁, 在有数字波形记录的中强地震相对缺乏的背景下, 小震群发震构造精细研究可为华北地区地震危险性分析和地震趋势判断提供重要依据. 本文利用匹配滤波技术对2013年8月22—25日河北蔚县小震群遗漏地震事件进行检测, 并通过地震精定位和震源机制求解分析此次震群的发震构造. 计算结果显示, 通过互相关扫描检测到18次被地震台网常规分析遗漏的地震, 约为地震目录给出的13次地震事件的1.38倍. 该震群发震构造有北东向和北西向两组断裂, 震群活动前期以北东向构造活动为主, 后期地震主要发生在北西向构造, 北西向构造在此次震群活动中地震频度和强度均高于北东向构造. 震源机制计算结果显示北西向构造发震机制以正断拉张为主.      

Groundwater monitoring for earthquake prediction by an amateur network in Japan

Since 1976 groundwater-levels and the temperature of thermal water have been monitored in 100 wells distributed mostly in the southern Kanto and Tokai districts of Japan in order to predict earthquakes. Good examples of groundwater precursors were recognized prior to the following destructive earthquakes: the 1978 West Off Izu-Oshima Earthquake (M 7.0), the 1978 Off Miyagi Earthquakes (M 7.4), and the 1980 East Off Izu Peninsula Earthquake (M 6.7). In the 1978 West Off Izu-Oshima Earthquake, groundwater levels and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) volume strainmeters, installed in the Izu peninsula, showed precursory changes at about the same time. In the other cases, however, precursory behavior was observed only in water level and temperature monitoring. Empirical relations are given between earthquake magnitude and the epicentral distance of the farthest groundwater anomaly, and between earthquake magnitude and the precursor time of groundwater.     

Self-organization of earthquake swarms

The temporal clustering of swarm activity differs significantly from characteristics of aftershock sequences accompanying mainshocks. This is often assumed to be caused by crustal structure complexities and fluid migration. However, the underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood, especially, the processes and conditions which lead to the apparent differences between the swarm patterns and typical mainshock–aftershock sequences. In previous works, we have shown that the most conspicuous characteristics of tectonic earthquakes can be reproduced by stick-slip block models incorporating visco-elastic interactions. Now, the same model is shown to reproduce an almost periodical occurrence of earthquake swarms in the case of an enlarged postseismic response. The simulated swarms respect not only the Gutenberg-Richter law for the event sizes, they also reproduce several observations regarding their spatio-temporal patterns. In particular, the comparison with the January 1997 and the year 2000 swarm in Vogtland/NW-Bohemia shows a good agreement in the interevent-time distributions and the spatio-temporal spreading of the swarm activity. The simulated seismicity patterns result from self-organization within the swarm due to local stress transfers and viscous coupling. Consequently, the agreement with the Vogtland swarm activity do not allow any decision about the preparatory process of the swarms; in particular, the question whether the swarms are initially triggered by fluid intrusion or tectonic motion cannot be answered. However, the model investigations suggest that the process of self-organization is very important for understanding the activity patterns of earthquake swarms.     

珊溪水库震群的地震定位

2006年2月,位于浙江文成与泰顺交界的珊溪水库发生了最大震级为ML4.6的震群.我们分别利用浙江省区域数字地震台网和珊溪水库现场数字监测网的观测数据,运用不同的定位方法,对震群进行了定位.通过比较分析,讨论了不同的定位方法与不同观测数据的定位效果.     

内蒙古敖汉旗震群的微震匹配定位及其发震断层研究

内蒙古敖汉旗地区在2018—2019年间曾发生多次小震丛集活动,不同地震事件的波形记录易相互交叠,导致地震目录缺失。针对以上问题,采用匹配定位（Match&Locate）方法,对台网遗漏地震进行识别、检测与定位,并通过CAP方法反演敖汉旗震群最大地震的震源机制解,利用匹配定位后的小震分布定量地拟合发震断层面参数,从而综合判定敖汉旗震群的发震断层面几何形态和发震构造。结果显示：通过匹配定位方法共识别、定位405个小震事件,是原有地震目录事件的5.4倍,震群主体沿NW-SE向展布于红山—八里罕断裂与赤峰—开源断裂相交区域的东侧,震源深度集中于8—10 km。断层拟合结果和最大地震震源机制解表明敖汉旗震群的发震构造应是一条左旋走滑型隐伏正断层,断层面走向为157°,倾角为84°。综合分析红山—八里罕断裂和赤峰—开源断裂的断层性质和活动特征,认为敖汉旗震群的发震断层可能是这两条深大断裂在不断活动中相互作用而形成。     

江苏及邻区震群活动特征分析

系统地整理研究了江苏及其邻近地区36次小震群活动,总结了震群活动的参数特征,探讨了震群活动与大震的关系,分析检验了前兆震群类型的判定指标.江苏地区震群活动分布集中,强度以ML2.0～3.9地震为主,震群序列总频次在30次以下居多,持续时间在15天以内的震群占总数的55％;震群序列中地震总频次和震群持续时间与震群的最大震级之间不成正比;研究区78％震群发生后对应M4.6以上中强地震,其中500km范围内时间间隔在1年内的占对应地震总数的57％,具有一定的中短期地震预测指示意义;震群与未来中强地震的距离较为离散,但尚无在原地发生大地震的震例.震群强度大小与未来中强地震的对应率高低和对应的地震强度大小没有明显的相关关系,震群频次的多少与其后发生地震的对应率高低也没有明显的相关关系.采用U-p组合或者全组合判定震群类型的效果相对较好,检验正确率约占总数的50％,但总体而言效果并不十分有效,需要参考其它方法和手段综合判定.     

Influence of fluids on deep crustal Jabalpur earthquake of 21, May 1997: Geophysical evidences

We present the geophysical evidences on the role of fluids for generation of the lower crustal Jabalpur earthquake (21 May 1997, mb 6.0, Mw 5.8), in the mid-continental fracture zone of the Indian Peninsular Shield. With a focal depth of 35 km, it indicates a high angled (< 62^∘ enclosed with maximum principal stress direction) reverse fault with small component of left-lateral strike slip in the lower crust. The Son-Narmada-Tapti (SONATA) magalineament, during the past two centuries, has experienced about 25 moderate to strong earthquakes; two of which namely the Son Valley (1927, M 6.5) and Jabalpur (21 May 1997) were disastrous. Historical earthquakes and recent earthquake swarms indicate a moderate to high seismicity in SONATA belt that is due to high strain accumulation, flexuring of the crust and neotectonic movements of the faults in the rift zones. By analyzing geophysical parameters such as Zero-Free air-based (ZFb) gravity anomalies (∼ −10 to –30 mGals), heat flow values (45–47 mWm⁻²), magneto-telluric values (1- Ohm m), strain rate (1.5 × 10⁻⁸) and failure stress conditions, we identify plausible causative factors for the occurrence of lower crustal earthquake in this region Fluids, due to dehydration of serpentinite in the lower crust, are suggested to be present in the earthquake source zone. The estimated pore-fluid factor for the Jabalpur earthquake (λ _v ) is 0.95. The diffusion of pore-pressure relaxation, represented as pressure perturbation generated by coseismic stress change was seen in the form of swarm activity two years prior to the Jabalpur earthquake. We suggest the existence of a deep pre-fractured zone with low shear stress (τ = 15–18 MPa) that indicates the presence of fluid filled fractured mafic material in the felsic crust, in critical state of unstable failure condition, and also fluid driven migration of swarm activity before the Jabalpur earthquake.     

2016年8月唐山震群视应力变化特征

2016年8月河北唐山发生震群活动,具有频次高、持续时间长等特点。利用首都圈数字化地震台网监测的2016年1月—2017年5月河北唐山地区M_L≥2.5地震,采用遗传算法反演震源参数,计算相应地震视应力值。分析结果如下：①此次地震序列为前震—主震—余震型;②视应力值在震群发生前明显增高,发生过程中出现高低相间现象,在M_L 4.3主震出现峰值,震源区应力状态不稳定,震后视应力恢复正常;③震群视应力与震级呈现一定正相关。     

西南地区前兆震群以及显著地震与区域强震的时空特征

本文系统清理并分析了西南划分的五个预报区[1]中的强震发生前的前兆震群和显著性地震特征。在西南划分的五个预报区中,各区域的前兆震群和显著地震存在共性特征,但又具有明显的区域个性。从共性特征上看,西南划分的五个预报区的前兆震群和显著性地震发生后1-2年可能发生强震,强震一般发生在前兆震群或显著性地震附近地区或相关联构造带上;川滇往往是块体内部构造较复杂的区域,发生的强震会有前兆震群或显著性地震发生。从个性特征上看,西南划分的五个预报区的前兆震群和显著性地震发生与西南地区的地震地质构造具有一定关系,也就是说特殊的构造使得各区域的前兆震群和显著性地震具有明显的个性特征。     

Two categories of earthquake precursors,physical and tectonic,and their roles in intermediate-term earthquake prediction

I suggest that earthquake precursors can be divided into two major categories, physical and tectonic. I define physical precursor to be a direct or indirect indication of initiation or progression of an irreversible rupture-generating physical process within the preparation zone of a forthcoming earthquake. Tectonic precursor is defined as a manifestation of tectonic movement which takes place outside the preparation zone of an impending earthquake as a link in a chain of particular local tectonism in each individual area preceding the earthquake.Most intermediate-term, short-term and immediate precursors of various disciplines within the source regions of main shocks are considered physical ones. Some precursory crustal deformations around the source regions are, however, possibly tectonic precursors, because they may be caused by episodic plate motions or resultant block movements in the neighboring regions of the fault segments that will break. A possible example of this phenomena is the anomalous crustal uplift in the Izu Peninsula, Japan, before the 1978 Izu-Oshima earthquake ofM _s 6.8. Some precursory changes in seismicity patterns in wide areas surrounding source regions also seem to be tectonic precursors, because they were probably caused by the particular tectonic setting of each region. A typical example is a so-called doughnut pattern before the 1923 Kanto, Japan, earthquake ofM _s 8.2.Although most studies on earthquake precursors so far seem to regard implicitly all precursory phenomena observed as physical ones, the two categories should be distinguished carefully when statistical analysis or physical modeling is carried out based on reported precursory phenomena. In active plate boundary zones, where a practical strategy for earthquake prediction may well be different from that in intraplate regions, tectonic precursors can be powerful additional tools for intermediate-term earthquake prediction.     

Fracture characteristics of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm inferred from source spectra

Broadband P and S waves source spectra of 12 MS5.0 earthquakes of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm recorded at 13 GDSN stations have been analyzed. Rupture size and static stress drop of these earthquakes have been estimated through measuring the corner frequency of the source spectra. Direction of rupture propagation of the earthquake faulting has also been inferred from the azimuthal variation of the corner frequency. The main results are as follows: ①The rupture size of MS6.0 strong earthquakes is in the range of 10～20 km, while that of MS=5.0～5.5 earthquakes is 6～10 km.② The static stress drop of the swarm earthquakes is rather low, being of the order of 0.1 MPa. This implies that the deformation release rate in the source region may be low. ③ Stress drop of the earthquakes appears to be proportional to their seismic moment, and also to be dependent on their focal mechanism. The stress drop of normal faulting earthquakes is usually lower than that of strike-slip type earthquakes. ④ For each MS6.0 earthquake there exists an apparent azimuthal variation of the corner frequencies. Azimuthally variation pattern of corner frequencies of different earthquakes shows that the source rupture pattern of the Jiashi earthquake swarm is complex and no uniform rupture expanding direction exists.     

Stress interactions between normal faults and adjacent strike-slip faults of 1997 Jiashi earthquake swarm

During a 4-month period starting from 21 January, 1997, an earthquake swarm of seven major events (Ms≥6.0) struck the Jiashi region at the northwestern corner of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang,, China. Previous relocation studies suggested that these strong earthquakes had occurred along at least two parallel rupture zones. According to the relocated hypocenters and focal mechanisms of the events, we have constructed fault models for these seven earthquakes to calculate the Coulomb stress changes produced by each of these events. Furthermore, we extended our model calculations to include an ad- jacent 1996 Ms=6.9 Artushi earthquake, which occurred one year before the Jiashi earthquake swarm. Our calculations show that the Coulomb stress change caused by the preceding events was around 0.05 MPa at the hypocenter of the 4th event, and higher than 0.08 MPa at the hypocenters of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th events. Our results reveal a Coulomb stress interactive cycle of earthquake triggering between two adjacent normal and strike-slip faults.     

Relocation of the 1998 Zhangbei-Shangyi earthquake sequence using the double difference earthquake location algorithm

Introduction On January 10, 1998, at 11h50min Beijing Time (03h50min UTC), an earthquake of ML=6.2 occurred in the border region between the Zhangbei County and Shangyi County of Hebei Province. In total 87 events with ML3.0 were recorded by Beijing Telemetry Seismic Network (BTSN) before March of 1999. Before relocation the preliminary hypocenters determined by BTSN showed an epicentral distribution of 25 km long and 25 km wide without any predominate orientation. The epicentral a…     

Earthquake swarms and volcanism in New Zealand

The term « swarm » is used to describe a group of related earthquakes, concentrated in space and time, without an obvious principal event. Large shallow earthquakes are often followed by aftershocks, but the pattern in which aftershocks occur differs in detail from that of a swarm. Sequences of New Zealand earthquakes that have been called swarms differ markedly from one another. The most vigorous of them, near Taupo in 1922, appears to have been an ordinary tectonic earthquake accompanied by foreshocks and aftershocks, and by surface faulting. No fault movements accompanied the 1964 swarm in the same area. Other localities that have experienced swarms include Great Barrier Island, Matamata, Kawerau, and Opunake. Swarms are considered by some writers to be characteristic of volcanic regions. Although all New Zealand swarms have occurred in areas of Quaternary volcanism, there are still no observations showing what part, if any, volcanism plays in the generation of earthquake swarms.     

Fractal analysis of earthquake swarms of Vogtland/NW-Bohemia intraplate seismicity

The special type of intraplate microseismicity with swarm-like occurrence of earthquakes within the Vogtland/NW-Bohemian Region is analysed to reveal the nature and the origin of the seismogenic regime. The long-term data set of continuous seismic monitoring since 1962, including more than 26000 events within a range of about 5 units of local magnitude, provides an unique database for statistical investigations. Most earthquakes occur in narrow hypocentral volumes (clusters) within the lower part of the upper crust, but also single event occurrence outside of spatial clusters is observed. Temporal distribution of events is concentrated in clusters (swarms), which last some days until few month in dependence of intensity. Since 1962 three strong swarms occurred (1962, 1985/86, 2000), including two seismic cycles. Spatial clusters are distributed along a fault system of regional extension (Leipzig-Regensburger Störung), which is supposed to act as the joint tectonic fracture zone for the whole seismogenic region. Seismicity is analysed by fractal analysis, suggesting a unifractal behaviour of seismicity and uniform character of seismotectonic regime for the whole region. A tendency of decreasing fractal dimension values is observed for temporal distribution of earthquakes, indicating an increasing degree of temporal clustering from swarm to swarm. Following the idea of earthquake triggering by magma intrusions and related fluid and gas release into the tectonically pre-stressed parts of the crust, a steady increased intensity of intrusion and/or fluid and gas release might account for that observation. Additionally, seismic parameters for Vogtland/NW-Bohemia intraplate seismicity are compared with an adequate data set of mining-induced seismicity in a nearby mine of Lubin/Poland and with synthetic data sets to evaluate parameter estimation. Due to different seismogenic regime of tectonic and induced seismicity, significant differences between b-values and temporal dimension values are observed. Most significant for intraplate seismicity are relatively low fractal dimension values for temporal distribution. That observation reflects the strong degree of temporal earthquake clustering, which might explain the episodic character of earthquake swarms and support the idea of push-like triggering of earthquake avalanches by intruding magma.     

Mechanism of the 1996–97 non-eruptive volcano-tectonic earthquake swarm at Iliamna Volcano,Alaska

A significant number of volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquake swarms, some of which are accompanied by ground deformation and/or volcanic gas emissions, do not culminate in an eruption. These swarms are often thought to represent stalled intrusions of magma into the mid- or shallow-level crust. Real-time assessment of the likelihood that a VT swarm will culminate in an eruption is one of the key challenges of volcano monitoring, and retrospective analysis of non-eruptive swarms provides an important framework for future assessments. Here we explore models for a non-eruptive VT earthquake swarm located beneath Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, in May 1996–June 1997 through calculation and inversion of fault-plane solutions for swarm and background periods, and through Coulomb stress modeling of faulting types and hypocenter locations observed during the swarm. Through a comparison of models of deep and shallow intrusions to swarm observations, we aim to test the hypothesis that the 1996–97 swarm represented a shallow intrusion, or “failed” eruption. Observations of the 1996–97 swarm are found to be consistent with several scenarios including both shallow and deep intrusion, most likely involving a relatively small volume of intruded magma and/or a low degree of magma pressurization corresponding to a relatively low likelihood of eruption.     

Helium isotopes in the Izu Peninsula,Japan: Relation of magma and crustal activity

The relation of magma and crustal activity has been studied from spatial distribution of ³He/⁴He ratios of gas and/or water samples over the Izu Peninsula, where significant crustal deformation associated with seismic swarm activities has been observed since 1970s. The air-corrected values of ³He/⁴He ratios ranged from 3.5 to 8.2 R_A, where R_A is the atmospheric ³He/⁴He ratio = 1.4 × 10^? 6, indicating that helium is mostly of magmatic origin. Among the three pressure sources proposed to explain the crustal deformation, two inflation sources beneath the inland of northeast and the mid east coast of the Izu Peninsula locate in the broad distribution of high ³He/⁴He ratios, which supports relation of magma to the crustal uplift. In contrast, the distribution of ³He/⁴He ratios around the tensile fault assumed in the area of seismic swarms appears not to indicate existence of significant amount of magma below the tensile fault. Alternatively, the results suggest magma below a point several kilometers south of the tensile fault. The seismic swarms are explained either by fluid pressurization of thermal water heated by this magma or by intrusion of magma to the tensile fault moved obliquely from the deep magma reservoir.     

2012年江苏高邮、宝应交界MS4.9地震发震断层参数测定

基于一维单侧有限移动震源模式,根据地震波传播过程中的多普勒效应,分别利用P波和S波拐角频率的方位变化,反演2012年7月20日江苏高邮、宝应交界MS4.9地震的发震断层面参数。P波和S波拐角频率的反演结果一致显示:本次地震的断层面破裂方向为232°左右,破裂面呈NE-SW向;地震马赫数v/c为0.2左右,平均破裂速度小于S波速度,破裂长度较短,为0.2~0.3km左右。破裂面方位与震源机制解、宏观烈度调查和余震精定位的研究结果具有一致性,结合震区周边的地质构造背景,分析认为滁河断裂很可能是高邮、宝应交界MS4.9地震的发震构造。