Recent developments of the Middle East catalog

This article summarizes a recent study in the framework of the Global Earth model (GEM) and the Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) project to establish the new catalog of seismicity for the Middle East, using all historical (pre-1900), early and modern instrumental events up to 2006. According to different seismicity, which depends on geophysical, geological, tectonic, and seismicity data, this region is subdivided to nine subregions, consisting of Alborz–Azerbaijan, Afghanistan–Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Caucasus, Central Iran, Kopeh–Dagh, Makran, Zagros, and Turkey (Eastern Anatolia; after 30° E). After omitting the duplicate events, aftershocks, and foreshocks by using the Gruenthal method, and uniform all magnitude to Mw scale, 28,244 main events remain for the new catalog of Middle East from 1250 B.C. through 2006. The magnitude of completeness (Mc) was determined as 4.9 for five out of nine subregions, where the least values of Mc were found to be 4.2. The threshold of Mc is around 5.5, 5.0, 4.5, and 4.0, for the time after 1950, 1963, 1975, and 2000, respectively. The average of teleseismic depths in all regions is less than 15 km. Totally, majority of depth for Kopeh–Dagh and Central Iran, Zagros, and Alborz–Azerbaijan, approximately, is 15, 13, and 11 km and for Afghanistan–Pakistan, Caucasus, Makran, Turkey (after 30° E), and Saudi Arabia is about 9 km.     

The SHARE European Earthquake Catalogue (SHEEC) 1000–1899

In the frame of the European Commission project “Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe” (SHARE), aiming at harmonizing seismic hazard at a European scale, the compilation of a homogeneous, European parametric earthquake catalogue was planned. The goal was to be achieved by considering the most updated historical dataset and assessing homogenous magnitudes, with support from several institutions. This paper describes the SHARE European Earthquake Catalogue (SHEEC), which covers the time window 1000–1899. It strongly relies on the experience of the European Commission project “Network of Research Infrastructures for European Seismology” (NERIES), a module of which was dedicated to create the European “Archive of Historical Earthquake Data” (AHEAD) and to establish methodologies to homogenously derive earthquake parameters from macroseismic data. AHEAD has supplied the final earthquake list, obtained after sorting duplications out and eliminating many fake events; in addition, it supplied the most updated historical dataset. Macroseismic data points (MDPs) provided by AHEAD have been processed with updated, repeatable procedures, regionally calibrated against a set of recent, instrumental earthquakes, to obtain earthquake parameters. From the same data, a set of epicentral intensity-to-magnitude relations has been derived, with the aim of providing another set of homogeneous Mw estimates. Then, a strategy focussed on maximizing the homogeneity of the final epicentral location and Mw, has been adopted. Special care has been devoted also to supply location and Mw uncertainty. The paper focuses on the procedure adopted for the compilation of SHEEC and briefly comments on the achieved results.     

Time–Frequency–Wavenumber Analysis of Surface Waves Using the Continuous Wavelet Transform

A modified approach to surface wave dispersion analysis using active sources is proposed. The method is based on continuous recordings, and uses the continuous wavelet transform to analyze the phase velocity dispersion of surface waves. This gives the possibility to accurately localize the phase information in time, and to isolate the most significant contribution of the surface waves. To extract the dispersion information, then, a hybrid technique is applied to the narrowband filtered seismic recordings. The technique combines the flexibility of the slant stack method in identifying waves that propagate in space and time, with the resolution of f–k approaches. This is particularly beneficial for higher mode identification in cases of high noise levels. To process the continuous wavelet transform, a new mother wavelet is presented and compared to the classical and widely used Morlet type. The proposed wavelet is obtained from a raised-cosine envelope function (Hanning type). The proposed approach is particularly suitable when using continuous recordings (e.g., from seismological-like equipment) since it does not require any hardware-based source triggering. This can be subsequently done with the proposed method. Estimation of the surface wave phase delay is performed in the frequency domain by means of a covariance matrix averaging procedure over successive wave field excitations. Thus, no record stacking is necessary in the time domain and a large number of consecutive shots can be used. This leads to a certain simplification of the field procedures. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, we tested it on synthetics as well on real field data. For the real case we also combine dispersion curves from ambient vibrations and active measurements.     

Some petrological aspects of the Prairie Creek diamond-bearing kimberlite diatreme,Arkansas

Based on modal and chemical composition, the rocks of the Prairie Creek diatreme situated 4 km SSE of Murfreesboro, Pike County, Arkansas, are classified as micaceous kimberlite. The K-Ar isotopic analysis of phlogopite from this diatreme yielded an age of 106 ± 3 m.y. (Albian) which is in agreement with stratigraphic relations. Electron beam probe data on minerals from kimberlite breccia, one of the three textural types, are presented. The breccia is considered as the potential source of the diamonds that have been mined at the diatreme. It contains phenocrysts of olivine (Fo_90–92) and serpentine pseudomorphs after olivine embedded in a groundmass of serpentine, minor calcite, chrome-diopside, phlogopite (Mg/Mg+Fe = 84.15%), perovskite, spinels, and pentlandite. Xenoliths of shales, sandstones, and mantle-derived ultramafic material are also present. Spinels are rich in Cr, Ti, and Fe and generally low in Al. Zoned spinels show enrichments in Ti and Fe towards their rims. A positive correlation between 100(Fe³⁺+Ti)/(Cr+Al+Fe³⁺+Ti) and 100 Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) ratios exists in these spinels and probably reflects an oxygen fugacity increase during magma crystallization. Occluded gases in diamonds and kimberlites corroborate the hypothesis that the parent magma of the Prairie Creek kimberlite was derived by partial melting of upper-mantle garnet lherzolite under volatile-rich conditions, primarily enriched in H₂O and CO₂.     

Multiproxy record for the last 4500 years from Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro)

A multi‐proxy record is presented for approximately the last 4500 cal a BP from Lake Shkodra, Albania/Montenegro. Lithological analyses, C/N ratio and δ¹³C of the organic and inorganic carbon component suggest that organic matter and bulk carbonate are predominantly authigenic. The δ¹⁸O record of bulk carbonate indicates the presence of two prominent wet periods: one at ca. 4300 cal a BP and one at ca. 2500–2000 cal a BP. The latter phase is also found in southern Spain and Central Italy, and represents a prominent event in the western and central Mediterranean. In the last 2000 years, four relatively wet intervals occurred between ca. 1800 and 1500 cal a BP (150–450 AD), 1350–1250 (600–700 AD), 1100–800 (850–1150 AD), and at ca. 90 cal a BP (1860 AD). Between ca. 4100 and 2500 cal a BP δ¹⁸O values are relatively high, with three prominent peaks indicating drier conditions at ca. 4100–4000 cal a BP, ca. 3500 and at ca. 3300 cal a BP. Four additional drier events are identified at 1850 (ca. 100 AD), 1400 (ca. 550 AD), 1150 (800 AD) and ca.750 cal a BP (1200 AD). The pollen record does not show changes in accordance with these episodes owing to the poor sensitivity of vegetation in this area, which is dominated by an orographic rainfall effect and where changes in altitudinal vegetation belts do not affect the pollen rain in the lake catchment. However, since ca. 900 cal a BP a significant decrease in the percentage arboreal pollen and in pollen concentrations suggest major deforestation produced by human activities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global seismicity of 1982: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 308 earthquakes

The centroid-moment tensor analysis is applied to digital recordings of 308 moderate and large earthquakes that occurred during 1982 and were recorded by the Global Digital Seismograph Network (GDSN) and International Deployment of Accelerometers (IDA) networks. The tables contain numerical results for all events. A graphical representation of the source geometry is shown for the full moment tensor solution, as well as for the “best double couple”.     

The record of historic earthquakes in lake sediments of Central Switzerland

Deformation structures in lake sediments in Central Switzerland can be attributed to strong historic earthquakes. The type and spatial distribution of the deformation structures reflect the historically documented macroseismic intensities thus providing a useful calibration tool for paleoseismic investigations in prehistoric lake sediments.The Swiss historical earthquake catalogue shows four moderate to strong earthquakes with moment magnitudes of M_w=5.7 to M_w=6.9 and epicentral intensities of I₀=VII to I₀=IX that affected the area of Central Switzerland during the last 1000 years. These are the 1964 Alpnach, 1774 Altdorf, 1601 Unterwalden, and 1356 Basel earthquakes. In order to understand the effect of these earthquakes on lacustrine sediments, four lakes in Central Switzerland (Sarner See, Lungerer See, Baldegger See, and Seelisberg Seeli) were investigated using high-resolution seismic data and sediment cores. The sediments consist of organic- and carbonate-rich clayey to sandy silts that display fine bedding on the centimeter to millimeter scale. The sediments are dated by historic climate and environmental records, ¹³⁷Cs activity, and radiocarbon ages. Deformation structures occur within distinct zones and include large-scale slumps and rockfalls, as well as small-scale features like disturbed and contorted lamination and liquefaction structures. These deformations are attributed to three of the abovementioned earthquakes. The spatial distribution of deformation structures in the different lakes clearly reflects the historical macroseismic dataset: Lake sediments are only affected if they are situated within an area that underwent groundshaking not smaller than intensity VI to VII. We estimate earthquake size by relating the epicentral distance of the farthest liquefaction structure to earthquake magnitude. This relationship is in agreement with earthquake size estimations based on the historical dataset.