Attenuation of coda waves in the contact zone between the Dinarides and the Adriatic Microplate

The attenuation of coda waves is analysed for nine seismic stations in the area of convergent motion of the Adriatic microplate and the Dinarides. The frequency dependent coda quality factor of the form Q_c = Q₀ fⁿ is estimated for up to seven central frequencies (1.5, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 Hz) and for 21 successive 30 s long time windows. Q₀ was found to increase from 68–353 for short lapse times of 20–50 s, to 158–373 for lapse times of 90–100 s. Parameter n is observed to vary between 0.46 and 0.89, with a pronounced tendency to decrease with increasing Q₀, and vice versa. Both Q₀ and n seem to stabilize for lapse times larger than 50–80 s, indicating that a change in rock properties controlling coda attenuation occurs at depths of about 100–160 km. The spatial distribution of observed Q₀ is well correlated with observed seismicity and inferred tectonic activity. In particular, we observe significant negative correlation of Q₀ with the peak ground acceleration (PGA) estimate for the return period of 475 years. The degree of frequency dependence n, is the smallest for stations on the islands, where the crust is the thinnest. The largest n is observed over the thickest crust in the region, where the Moho lies at depths of over 55 km.     

HVSR of ambient noise in Ston (Croatia): comparison with theoretical spectra and with the damage distribution after the 1996 Ston-Slano earthquake

Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of ambient vibrations measured in the ancient town of Ston (Croatia) on 99 locations, are shown to be well matched to the theoretical ones computed for body-waves as well as for the surface waves. This match is poorer for sites on the slopes of nearby hills. The ratios of measured peak horizontal ground acceleration during the damaging earthquake in 1996 (M _L = 6.0) and the ones obtained using empirical attenuation laws is approximately equal to the mapped value of the dynamic amplification factor determined on the basis of observed HVSR in the vicinity of the accelerometric station. The HVSR of the accelerogram is very similar to the HVSR of the ambient noise. The damage to the building stock in the old town centre caused by the earthquake series of 1996 is closely related to the estimated soil amplification and its fundamental frequency. More measurements in buildings are needed to arrive at confident conclusions about possible soil-structure resonance.     

克罗地亚测震学的发展和地震层析成像研究

编者按:克罗地亚地球物理学家莫霍洛维奇在研究1909年10月8日克罗地亚地震的地震波走时特征时,首次发现了该地区的地壳与地幔的分界面,后被命名"莫霍界面",简称Moho界面.1927年,莫霍洛维奇又在地震记录中识别出了s*震相,证实了在地壳内部还会存在另一个康拉德(Conrad)间断面.地震层析成像是研究地球内部结构的重要方法之一.为纪念莫霍洛维奇诞生150周年,莫霍界面发现100周年,特发此文,以兹纪念.     

Magnification of undamped seismographs and the analysis of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake record obtained on the Vicentini seismograph in Zagreb (Croatia)

A method to estimate the dynamic magnification of nonlinear seismographs is presented. The method was tested by applying it to the record of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake seismogram obtained on the Vicentini seismograph in Zagreb, in order to reconstruct the ground motion amplitudes. The magnitudes inferred from the corrected Vicentini recording of P- and surface waves are internally consistent ( m _b= 7.74, M _s= 8.48) and agree with the values published in various catalogues, within the error limits of magnitude determination for individual events. The corrected P-waveform is compatible with a rupture slip profile exhibiting several distinct maxima along the 300 km-long section of the San Andreas fault, in accordance with recent studies and contemporary geodetic measurements.     

Origin and geodynamic evolution of Late Paleogene magmatic associations along the Periadriatic-Sava-Vardar magmatic belt

Abstract

Along the Periadriatic Lineament in the Alps and the Sava-Vardar Zone of the Dinarides and Hellenides, Paleogene magmatic associations form a continuous belt, about 1700 km long. The following magmatic associations occur: (1) Eocene granitoids; (2) Oligocene granitoids including tonalites; (3) Oligocene shoshonite and calc-alkaline volcanics with lamprophyres; (4) Egerian-Eggenburgian (Chattian) calc-alkaline volcanics and granitoids. All of these magmatic associations are constrained by radiometric ages, which indicate that the magmatic activity was mainly restricted to the time span between 55 and 29 Ma. These igneous rocks form, both at surface and in the subsurface, the distinct linear Periadriatic-Sava-Vardar magmatic belt, with three strikes that are controlled by the indentation of Apulia and Moesia and accompanying strike-slip faulting. The geology, seismicity, seismic tomography and magnetic anomalies within this belt suggest that it has been generated in the African-Eurasian suture zone. Based on published analytical data, the petrology, major and trace element contents and Sr, Nd and O isotopie composition of each magmatic association are briefly defined. These data show that Eocene and Oligocene magmatic associations of the Late Paleogene Periadriatic-Sava-Vardar magmatic belt originated along a consuming plate margin. Based on isotopie systems, two main rock groups can be distinguished: (1) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7036–0.7080 and δ¹⁸O = 5.9–7.2‰, indicating basaltic partial melts derived from a continental mantle-lithosphere, and (2) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7090–72131 and δ¹⁸O = 7.3–11.5‰, indicating crustal assimilation and melting. The mantle sources for the primary basalt melts are metasomatized garnet peridotites and/or spinel lherzolites and phlogopite lherzolites of upper mantle wedge origin. The geodynamic evolution of the plutonic and volcanic associations of the Periadriatic-Sava-Vardar magmatic belt was related to the Africa-Eurasia suture zone that was dominated by break-off of the subducted lithospheric slab of Mesozoic oceanic crust, at depths of 90–100 km. This is indicated by their contemporaneity along the 1700 km long belt. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.     

Continuous monitoring of dynamic parameters of the DGFSM building (Zagreb,Croatia)

Continuous broad-band measurements of vibrations on the 3rd floor of the building of the Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics (DGFSM) in Zagreb provided high quality data that enabled monitoring of fluctuations of the building’s basic dynamic parameters (fundamental frequencies and the corresponding damping). It was found that nonlinear behaviour is present even for the small strains induced by ambient vibrations, which was manifested in measurable reduction of fundamental frequency and increase of damping for larger excitation levels. Notable correspondence of the long-term wander of the fundamental frequency with the relative air humidity and the annual precipitation cycle indicate that variation of soil saturation may have caused variability in the soil-structure interaction. The damping was found to vary synchronously with the air temperature. The results point to the importance of considering all aspects of nonlinearity of building response even for small strains.     

Absolute Sea Level Surface Modeling for the Mediterranean from Satellite Altimeter and Tide Gauge Measurements

Changes in the height of the ocean can be described through the relative and absolute sea level changes depending on the geodetic reference the sea level records are related to. Satellite altimetry provides absolute sea level (ASL) measurements related to the global geodetic reference, whereas tide gauges provide relative sea level (RSL) measurements related to the adjacent land. This study aims at computing the ASL surfaces for different time epochs from combined satellite altimeter and tide gauge records. A method of sea level data fusion is proposed to enable modeling of the impact of present and future sea level changes on the coast. Sea surface modeling was investigated for ten different gridding methods commonly used for the interpolation of altimeter data over the open ocean and extrapolation over the coastal zones. The performance of gridding methods was assessed based on the comparison of the gridded altimeter data and corrected tide gauge measurements. Finally, the sea level surfaces related to the GRS80 global reference ellipsoid were computed for the Mediterranean Sea over the altimeter period. In addition, the current sea level trends were estimated from both sea level measurements.     

Peak Horizontal-to-Vertical Acceleration Ratio and Local Amplification of Strong Ground Motion

Residuals of the peak horizontal acceleration for site-independent attenuation relations are shown to have weak positive correlation with the average observed peak horizontal/vertical acceleration ratio (q) at the recording site. This ratio systematically increases as the hardness of the soil decreases. Taking the average observed q at the recording station into account reduces the scatter of data slightly in fitting the assumed peak acceleration attenuation law. If the soil classification of the data is available, soil dependence is found to be weaker if the data are corrected for the effect of q prior to regression. This correction reduced the mean value of q = 1.85 for the Dinarides area to q = 1.52, which, on the average, is characteristic of rock sites.     

Amplification of elastic waves by a three dimensional valley. Part 2: Transient response

Transient response of three dimensional dipping layers of different shapes subjected to incident P, SV, SH and Rayleigh waves is investigated. The time domain response is constructed from steady state solutions through the Fourier synthesis. An indirect boundary integral equation method is applied to calculate the required steady state solutions. The material of the half-space and the layer is assumed to be linear, weakly inelastic, homogeneous and isotropic. Numerical results show that the maximum amplification of motion is strongly dependent upon the type of incident wave, the shape of the basin and signal frequency. The change in the shape of the valley from hemispherical to semi-prolate causes a significant increase in the amplitude of surface waves near the edges; however, the maximum amplification of motion near the centre of the valley decreases. This phenomenon is especially apparent for the case of an incident P wave. In comparison to the corresponding two dimensional responses, the amplitude of motion near the centre of the valley is in general higher for three dimensional models.