Statistical Investigations of Earthquake Swarms within the Vogtland/NW-Bohemian Area

The microseismicity of the Vogtland/NW-Bohemian region has been continually recorded since 1962. Earthquakes mostly occur in single clusters as swarms. The long-term data set has been analysed by statistical methods dividing the whole seismic region into significant clusters. The b-value and fractal dimension D of epicentre distribution, as well as the distribution of times between events for particular swarms has been determined for each cluster to find the parameters characteristic for swarm-like occurrence. The correlation between b and D is discussed with a view to the changing data quality of location and magnitude calculation.