scholarly journals Seismicity and seismotectonics of the Albstadt Shear Zone in the northern Alpine foreland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mader ◽  
Joachim R. R. Ritter ◽  
Klaus Reicherter ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zone ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Velocity Models ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
Seismic Networks ◽  
Maximum Horizontal Stress

Abstract. The region around the town Albstadt, SW Germany, was struck by four damaging earthquakes with magnitudes greater than five during the last century. Those earthquakes occurred along the Albstadt Shear Zone (ASZ) which is characterized by more or less continuous microseismicity. As there are no surface ruptures visible which may be connected to the fault zone, its characteristics can only be studied by its seismicity. We use the earthquake data of the state earthquake service of Baden-Württemberg from 2011 to 2018 and complement it with additional phase picks beginning 2016 at the AlpArray and StressTransfer seismic networks in the vicinity of the ASZ. This extended dataset is used to determine new minimum 1-D seismic vp and vs velocity models and corresponding station delay times for earthquake relocation. Fault plane solutions are determined for selected events and the direction of the maximum horizontal stress is derived. The minimum 1-D seismic velocity models have a simple and stable layering with increasing velocity with depth in the upper crust. The corresponding station delay times can be well explained by the lateral depth variation of the crystalline basement. The relocated events align north-south with most of the seismic activity between the towns of Tübingen and Albstadt east of the 9° E meridian. The events can be separated into several subclusters which indicate a segmentation of the ASZ. The majority of the 36 determined fault plane solutions features a NNE-SSW strike, but also NNW-SSE striking fault planes are observed. The main fault plane associated with the ASZ is dipping steeply and the rake indicates mainly sinistral strike-slip, but we also find minor components of normal and reverse faulting. The determined direction of the maximum horizontal stress of 147° is in good agreement with prior studies. This result indicates that the stress field in the area of the ASZ is mainly generated by the regional plate driving forces as well as the Alpine topography.

scholarly journals Seismicity and seismotectonics of the Albstadt Shear Zone in the northern Alpine foreland

Solid Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1389-1409
Author(s):  
Sarah Mader ◽  
Joachim R. R. Ritter ◽  
Klaus Reicherter ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zone ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Stress Component ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Velocity Models ◽  
Delay Times

Abstract. The region around the town Albstadt, SW Germany, was struck by four damaging earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5 during the last century. These earthquakes occurred along the Albstadt Shear Zone (ASZ), which is characterized by more or less continuous microseismicity. As there are no visible surface ruptures that may be connected to the fault zone, we study its characteristics by its seismicity distribution and faulting pattern. We use the earthquake data of the state earthquake service of Baden-Württemberg from 2011 to 2018 and complement it with additional phase picks beginning in 2016 at the AlpArray and StressTransfer seismic networks in the vicinity of the ASZ. This extended data set is used to determine new minimum 1-D seismic vp and vs velocity models and corresponding station delay times for earthquake relocation. Fault plane solutions are determined for selected events, and the principal stress directions are derived. The minimum 1-D seismic velocity models have a simple and stable layering with increasing velocity with depth in the upper crust. The corresponding station delay times can be explained well by the lateral depth variation of the crystalline basement. The relocated events align about north–south with most of the seismic activity between the towns of Tübingen and Albstadt, east of the 9∘ E meridian. The events can be separated into several subclusters that indicate a segmentation of the ASZ. The majority of the 25 determined fault plane solutions feature an NNE–SSW strike but NNW–SSE-striking fault planes are also observed. The main fault plane associated with the ASZ dips steeply, and the rake indicates mainly sinistral strike-slip, but we also find minor components of normal and reverse faulting. The determined direction of the maximum horizontal stress of 140–149∘ is in good agreement with prior studies. Down to ca. 7–8 km depth SHmax is bigger than SV; below this depth, SV is the main stress component. The direction of SHmax indicates that the stress field in the area of the ASZ is mainly generated by the regional plate driving forces and the Alpine topography.

scholarly journals Relocation and seismotectonic interpretation of the seismic swarm of August - December of 2012 in the Linares area, northeastern Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen M. Gómez-Arredondo ◽  
Juan C. Montalvo-Arrieta ◽  
Arturo Iglesias-Mendoza ◽  
Victor H. Espíndola-Castro
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solutions ◽  
Reverse Faulting ◽  
Northeastern Mexico ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Maximum Horizontal Stress ◽  
Seismotectonic Interpretation

We relocated 52 events of 2.5 ≤ Mc ≤ 3.6 from a seismic sequence of over 250 events that occurred during July-December 2012 southwest of the Linares area, northeastern Mexico. To examine this swarm four seismic stations were installed in the region and operated during different time periods from September to December. Relocation of the swarm showed that the earthquake hypocentral depths were at 8 (±5) km, and the time residuals had values ≤ 0.38 s. The fault plane solutions were generated for individual earthquakes and through the use of the composite mechanism technique. The focal mechanism solutions show pure reverse faulting; the SW dipping NNW - SSE trending nodal plane is the inferred fault plane (strike ~150°, dip ~50° and rake ~67°), which reveals that maximum horizontal stress (SHmax > Shmin > Sv) predominates in the area.

scholarly journals Kinematic interpretation and structural evolution of North Oman, Block 6, since the Late Cretaceous and implications for timing of hydrocarbon migration into Cretaceous reservoirs

GeoArabia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek B. Filbrandt ◽  
Salah Al-Dhahab ◽  
Abdullah Al-Habsy ◽  
Kester Harris ◽  
John Keating ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Oblique Collision ◽  
Oman Mountains ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Platform Margin ◽  
Maximum Horizontal Stress

ABSTRACT On the basis of structural style and differences in Late Cretaceous evolution, the carbonate platform in northern Oman and the allochthonous wedge comprising deepwater sediments and oceanic crust in the Oman Mountains form distinct structural domains. Imbrication associated with the emplacement of the Semail Ophiolite and predominantly SW-verging thrusting of the Arabian Platform margin culminated in the late early Campanian. The structural grain of NW-trending thrust faults and contractional folds contrasts markedly with the style and grain of the region immediately south of the Oman Mountains (our study area) and implies strong strain partitioning. Kinematic indicators from subsurface data, combined with the age of growth faulting, provide the basis for the interpretation that maximum horizontal stress was oriented NW-SE in this foreland region rather than NE-SW during the Campanian. The dominant tectonic control on the formation of faults is believed to have been an oblique “collision” of the Indian Continent with the Arabian Plate during the Santonian-Campanian. Deformation in this domain was dominated by distributed strike-slip and normal faulting. This period of faulting was significant for two reasons: (1) The faults both enhanced existing structures and formed new traps. They also allowed vertical migration of hydrocarbons from Palaeozoic reservoirs (e.g. Haushi clastic accumulations) into Shu’aiba and Natih carbonates above. Until that time, some 75 Ma ago, oil was retained in Late Palaeozoic and older traps. This period of deformation is a “Critical Event” within the context of Oman’s hydrocarbon distribution.(2) Faults with NNW and WNW orientations that developed at that time appear to be directly associated with important fracture systems that affect the productivity of several giant fields comprising Natih and Shu’aiba carbonate reservoirs (e.g. Lekhwair, Saih Rawl). Following this tectonic event, late Maastrichtian to Palaeocene uplift and erosion in excess of 1,000 m, is recorded by truncation of the Aruma Group and Natih Formation, as well as part of the Shu’aiba Formation below the base Cenozoic unconformity. Seismic velocity and porosity anomalies from Lekhwair field in the northwest to the Huqf-Haushi High in the southeast, provide additional support for the areal distribution of this event. Around the Lekhwair and Dhulaima fields, the circular to elliptical subcrop pattern below this unconformity does not support the notion of a peripheral bulge related to the emplacement of the allochthon. The stress field changed during the late Cenozoic with the opening of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and the collision of the Arabian Plate with the Iranian Plate. NE-SW-oriented maximum horizontal stress during the late Cenozoic led to the formation of major folds resulting in, for example, the surface anticlines over the Natih and Fahud fields as well as causing inversion along the Maradi Fault Zone. This may also have led to the uplift of the Oman Mountains. The regional northerly subsidence caused by crustal loading of the Arabian Plate gently tilted traps during the Pliocene-Pleistocene from Lekhwair to Fahud.

The tectonic stress and tectonic motion direction in the Pacific and Adjacent areas as calculated from earthquake fault plane solutions

1965 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Scheidegger
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Tectonic Stress ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Earthquake Fault ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Tectonic Motion ◽  
Consistent Picture

Abstract The best P and T axes as well as the best normals to the null directions were calculated for groups of earthquake fault plane solutions belonging to 29 areas of the Pacific Basin and vicinity. The method employed was one developed in an earlier paper of the writer; it is based on a calculation of the eigenvectors of a quadratic form. It is shown that the principal horizontal stress (PHS) directions obtained in this fashion are in excellent agreement with those obtained from other evidence. In the Western Pacific Basin and vicinity the calculations were sufficiently dense to determine PHS trajectories; the latter are shown and yield a consistent picture of the area in question.

Aftershocks of an M = 4.2 earthquake in Hawaii and comparison with long-term studies of the same volume

1985 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 759-777
Author(s):  
Martha Kane Savage ◽  
Robert P. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Main Shock ◽  
Rift Zone ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Linear Region ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Long Term Studies

Abstract Study of the aftershocks recorded in a 3-hr period after a 4.2 magnitude event on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, on 12 April 1982 shows that the aftershocks occurred on different planes than the main shock, probably as a result of stress redistribution; the aftershock locations are probably controlled by preexisting structures. This study also suggests that these relatively small aftershocks occurred in the same seismicity patterns as larger events recorded in the same volume over a period of 10 yr. Slips on most of the aftershocks and the main shock are in the same direction, perpendicular to the East Rift Zone, as has been found in studies of other, larger earthquakes. However, fault-plane solutions varied more, as did the tensional axes, and several of the smaller events showed movement in the opposite direction from the main shock and the rest of the aftershocks, suggesting some rebound was occurring near the edges of the aftershock zone. Because ten times as much energy was released in the aftershocks in a narrow linear region as elsewhere, and since the main shock epicenter was oceanward of all the aftershocks, we suggest that rupture began at the main shock hypocenter and propagated landward, implying an almost “one-dimensional” fault. For the aftershocks, the relationship between moment and magnitude was: log M0 = (1.18 ± 0.17) ML + (17.3 ± 0.17). Differences in amplification lead to site differences of up to 0.8 units in local magnitude and 1.5 orders of magnitude in energy release. These correlated somewhat with station time corrections in that the stations with the longest delay times also had greatest amplification.

scholarly journals Seismicity in the Northern Rhine Area (1995–2018)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus-G. Hinzen ◽  
Sharon K. Reamer ◽  
Claus Fleischer
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Tectonic Earthquakes ◽  
Digital Seismograms ◽  
Maximum Horizontal Stress ◽  
The University ◽  
Observation Period

AbstractSince the mid-1990s, the local seismic network of the University of Cologne has produced digital seismograms. The data all underwent a daily routine processing. For this study, we re-processed data of almost a quarter century of seismicity in the Northern Rhine Area (NRA), including the Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE) and the Eifel Mountain region (EMR). This effort included refined discrimination between tectonic earthquakes, mine-induced events, and quarry blasts. While routine processing comprised the determination of local magnitude ML, in the course of this study, source spectra-based estimates for moment magnitude MW for 1332 earthquakes were calculated. The resulting relation between ML and MW agrees well with the theory of an ML ∝ 1.5 MW dependency at magnitudes below 3. By applying Gutenberg-Richter relation, the b-value for ML was less (0.82) than MW (1.03). Fault plane solutions for 66 earthquakes confirm the previously published N118° E direction of maximum horizontal stress in the NRA. Comparison of the seismicity with recently published Global Positioning System–based deformation data of the crust shows that the largest seismic activity during the observation period in the LRE occurred in the region with the highest dilatation rates. The stress directions agree well with the trend of major faults, and declining seismicity from south to north correlates with decreasing strain rates. In the EMR, earthquakes concentrate at the fringes of the area with corresponding the largest uplift.

Determining contemporary stress directions from neotectonic joint systems

1991 ◽  
Vol 337 (1645) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Field ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Tectonic Stress ◽  
Stress Fields ◽  
Ebro Basin ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Initiation And Propagation

A neotectonic joint is a crack which propagated in a tectonic stress field that has persisted with little or no change of orientation until the present day. Investigating neotectonic joints is of value because the approximate orientation of the contemporary stress field can be inferred from them. Although exposed neotectonic joints in the flat-lying sedimentary rocks of some cratons are related to regional stress fields, their initiation and propagation occurred close to the Earth’s surface. For example, neotectonic joints in the centre of the Ebro basin (N. Spain) preferentially developed in a thin, near-surface channel sited within a sequence of weak Miocene limestones underlying the upper levels of plateaux. The Ebro basin joints strike uniformly NNW-SSE throughout an area of at least 10 000 km 2 and they are parallel or subparallel to the direction of greatest horizontal stress extrapolated from in situ stress measurements and fault-plane solutions of earthquakes.

Relocation of Koyna earthquakes

1980 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1849-1868
Author(s):  
B. K. Rastogi ◽  
P. Talwani
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Normal Faulting ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Lateral Strike Slip ◽  
Induced Earthquake

abstract The Koyna earthquake of December 10, 1967 was the most damaging reservoir-induced earthquake. It was followed by a long sequence of earthquakes which is still continuing. Precise locations of the Koyna earthquakes have been very much disputed as different locations of the main earthquake and stronger aftershocks were obtained by various workers. Over 1,500 epicenters of Koyna earthquakes through 1973 were obtained by Guha et al. (1974). They cover a large area in a diffused pattern. In view of the continuing seismicity and a recently obtained seismic velocity model, the larger events (ML ≧ 4.0) and about 300 selected smaller events (ML < 4.0) were relocated. The relocated epicenters show some concentration and suggest the possibility of two trends in the NNE and NW directions. There is a NNE trend of epicenters near the dam and another about 20 km west of the reservoir. The NW trend cuts through these NNE trends. The events were grouped to obtain their composite fault-plane solutions which indicate left-lateral strike-slip faulting along the NNE faults and normal faulting in the NW direction. Faults observed in the LANDSAT imagery match with these trends.

The tectonic stress and tectonic motion direction in Europe and Western Asia as calculated from earthquake fault plane solutions

1964 ◽  
Vol 54 (5A) ◽  
pp. 1519-1528 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Scheidegger
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Tectonic Stress ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Plane Normal ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Tectonic Motion ◽  
Vector Sum

Abstract The statistics of fault plane solutions of earthquakes is further analyzed and it is shown that, to find a best axis or best plane to a set of axes, the eigenvectors of a certain matrix must be calculated. The justification for this procedure follows from the same argument as that of Fisher who showed that the best of a series of directions is obtained by forming the vector sum. The eigenvector technique is then applied to the pertinent axes of fault plane solutions of earthquakes that occurred in Europe and Western Asia. It is shown that, in this region, the focal mechanisms of the earthquakes tend to orient themselves in such a fashion that the P axes coincide with the principal horizontal stress directions, the latter being normal to the geographically prominent features. The null axes tend to lie in a plane normal to the best fitting P axes. The chief random element enters into the orientation of the T axes. All this is in conformity with the predictions of theory.

scholarly journals 20 July 2017 Bodrum-Kos Earthquake (Mw:6.6) in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-321
Author(s):  
Semir Över ◽  
Süha Özden ◽  
Esra Kalkan Ertan ◽  
Fatih Turhan ◽  
Zeynep Coşkun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Horizontal Stress ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
Stress Axis ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Normal Type ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime

In the Aegean Sea, the western part of Gökova Gulf, Kos and Bodrum were struck by a 6.6 (Mw) earthquake on July 20, 2017. The fault plane solution for the main shock shows an E-W striking normal type fault with approximately N-S (N4°E) tensional axis (T-axis). Fault plane solutions of 33 aftershocks show two groups of normal type fault with E-W and NE-SW to ENE-WSW orientations. The inversion of the focal mechanisms of the aftershocks yields two different normal faulting stress regimes: one is characterized by an approximately N-S (N5°E) σ3 axis (minimum horizontal stress axis). This extension is obtained from 13 focal mechanisms of aftershocks with approximately E-W direction. The other is characterized by approximately NW-SE (N330°E) σ3 axis. The latter is calculated from 21 seismic faults of aftershocks with approximately NE-SW direction. These aftershocks occurred on relatively small-scale faults that were directed from NE-SW to ENE-WSW, and possibly contributed to expansion of the basin in the west. The 24 focal mechanisms of earthquakes which occurred since 1933 in and around Gökova Basin are introduced into the inversion analysis to obtain the stress state effective in a wider region. The inversion yields an extensional stress regime characterized by an approximately N-S (N355°E) σ3 axis. The E-W directional metric faults, measured in the central part of Gökova Fault Zone bordering the Gökova Gulf in the north, also indicate N-S extension. The NE-SW extension obtained from NE-SW aftershocks appears to be more local and is responsible for the expansion of the western part of the asymmetric Gökova Basin. This N-S extension which appears to act on a regional-scale may be attributed to the geodynamic effects related to the combined forces of the southwestward extrusion of Anatolia and the roll-back process of African subduction beneath Anatolia.

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