The May 11 Paphos, Cyprus, earthquake: implications for stress regime and tsunami modelling for the Eastern Mediterranean shorelines

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ergin Ulutaş
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
Tsunami Modelling

scholarly journals Spatial Variations of B-Value and Fundamental Parameters of The Earthquake Occurrences in The Eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahruz Ahadov ◽  
Serkan Ozturk
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Empirical Relation ◽  
B Value ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Earthquake Catalogues ◽  
Seismic Region ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
B Values ◽  
Fundamental Parameters ◽  
Correlation Models

Abstract The Gutenberg-Richter (GR) law is a well-known empirical relation in seismology, which describes the frequency of earthquake occurrence as a function of the magnitude. The \(b\)-value anomalies may indicate the high or low-stress levels in the heterogeneity or the crust's thermal gradient. Some researchers have examined the spatial and temporal anomalies of the \(b\)-value before the mainshock and the aftershocks' spatial variability. The variations of the magnitude completeness (\({M}_{c}\)) have estimated from the different earthquake catalogues. The high-resolution map of the GR \(b\)-value, \({M}_{c}\) and stress variance have analysed in the different seismic regions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus. This study considered the spatial anomalies and correlation models between the \(b\)-value, faulting styles, and stress regime and moment release. Lower \(b\)-values (\(b\le 1\)) were observed along with the Main Marmara Fault (MMF), eastern Turkey, western Alborz, northern Zagros, southeast Iran and the northeast Caucasus, which indicates the active seismic region. The \({M}_{c}\) level in most of Turkey is in and around 2.8, and in the Caucasus is \({M}_{c}\)=3, while Iran has \({M}_{c}\)=3.5 value. This work includes a stress inversion map in the region based on the focal mechanisms. The normal, strike-slip and a few thrust fault solutions were observed in the research area. Consequently, the spatial pattern of the \(b\)-values and stress regime can be used as a tool for predicting the forthcoming seismic hazard regions.

scholarly journals Importance of earthquake rupture geometry on tsunami modelling: the Calabrian Arc subduction interface (Italy) case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (3) ◽  
pp. 1805-1819
Author(s):  
Roberto Tonini ◽  
Roberto Basili ◽  
Francesco Emanuele Maesano ◽  
Mara Monica Tiberti ◽  
Stefano Lorito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Tsunami Modelling ◽  
Tsunami Waves ◽  
Planar Fault ◽  
Tsunami Waveforms ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Fault Characterization ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles ◽  
End Members ◽  
Relative Differences

SUMMARY The behaviour of tsunami waves at any location depends on the local morphology of the coasts, the encountered bathymetric features, and the characteristics of the source. However, the importance of accurately modelling the geometric properties of the causative fault for simulations of seismically induced tsunamis is rarely addressed. In this work, we analyse the effects of using two different geometric models of the subduction interface of the Calabrian Arc (southern Italy, Ionian Sea) onto the simulated tsunamis: a detailed 3-D subduction interface obtained from the interpretation of a dense network of seismic reflection profiles, and a planar interface that roughly approximates the 3-D one. These models can be thought of as representing two end-members of the level of knowledge of fault geometry. We define three hypothetical earthquake ruptures of different magnitudes (Mw 7.5, 8.0, 8.5) on each geometry. The resulting tsunami impact is evaluated at the 50-m isobath in front of coastlines of the central and eastern Mediterranean. Our results show that the source geometry imprint is evident on the tsunami waveforms, as recorded at various distances and positions relative to the source. The absolute differences in maximum and minimum wave amplitudes locally exceed one metre, and the relative differences remain systematically above 20 per cent with peaks over 40 per cent. We also observe that tsunami energy directivity and focusing due to bathymetric waveguides take different paths depending on which fault is used. Although the differences increase with increasing earthquake magnitude, there is no simple rule to anticipate the different effects produced by these end-member models of the earthquake source. Our findings suggest that oversimplified source models may hinder our fundamental understanding of the tsunami impact and great care should be adopted when making simplistic assumptions regarding the appropriateness of the planar fault approximation in tsunami studies. We also remark that the geological and geophysical 3-D fault characterization remains a crucial and unavoidable step in tsunami hazard analyses.

scholarly journals Present-day stress state in northwestern Syria

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-316
Author(s):  
Mohamad Khir Abdul-Wahed ◽  
Mohammed ALISSA
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime

Northwestern Syria is a key area in the eastern Mediterranean to study the active tectonics and stress pattern across the Arabia-Eurasia convergent plate boundary. This study aims to outline the present-day stress regime in this region of Syria using the fault plane solutions of the largest events recorded by the Syrian National Seismological Network from 1995 to 2011. A dataset of fault-plane solutions was obtained for 48 events having at least 5 P-wave polarities. The tectonic regime for most of these events is extensional and produces normal mechanisms in agreement with the local configurations of the seismogenic faults in the region. Strike-slip mechanisms are more scarce and restricted to certain areas, such as the northern extension of the Dead Sea fault system. The results of the current study reveal the spatial variations of SHmax orientation across the northwestern Syria region. This spatial variation of the present-day stress field highlights the role of main geometrically complex shear zones in the present-day stress pattern of northwestern Syria. However, these results show, regardless of the relatively small magnitudes of the studied events, they provide a picture of the local stress deviations that have currently been taking place along the local active faults.

Dairy Queen. Churns and milk products in the Aegean Bronze Age

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
Near East ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Specific Function ◽  
Milk Products ◽  
The Third ◽  
Household Processing

This article assembles examples of an unusual vessel found in domestic contexts of the Early Bronze Age around the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Identified as a “barrel vessel” by the excavators of Troy, Lesbos (Thermi), Lemnos (Poliochni), and various sites in the Chalkidike, the shape finds its best parallels in containers identified as churns in the Chalcolithic Levant, and related vessels from the Eneolithic Balkans. Levantine parallels also exist in miniature form, as in the Aegean at Troy, Thermi, and Poliochni, and appear as part of votive figures in the Near East. My interpretation of their use and development will consider how they compare to similar shapes in the archaeological record, especially in Aegean prehistory, and what possible transregional relationships they may express along with their specific function as household processing vessels for dairy products during the third millennium BC.

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