scholarly journals European tectosphere and slabs beneath the greater Alpine area – Interpretation of mantle structure in the Alps-Apennines-Pannonian region from teleseismic V<sub>p</sub> studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Handy ◽  
Stefan Schmid ◽  
Marcel Paffrath ◽  
Wolfgang Friederich ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Abrupt Decrease ◽  
Tauern Window ◽  
Lateral Extrusion ◽  
The Alps ◽  
European Plate

Abstract. Based on recent results of AlpArray, we propose a new model of Alpine collision that involves subduction and detachment of thick (180–200 km) European tectosphere. Our approach combines teleseismic P-wave tomography and existing Local Earthquake Tomography (LET) allowing us to image the Alpine slabs and their connections with the overlying orogenic crust at an unprecedented resolution. The images call into question the conventional notion that slabs comprise only seismically fast lithosphere and suggest that the mantle of the downgoing European Plate is heterogeneous, containing both positive and negative Vp anomalies of up to 5–6%. We interpret these as compositional rather than thermal anomalies, inherited from the Variscan and pre-Variscan orogenic cycles. They make up a kinematic entity referred to as tectosphere, which presently dips beneath the Alpine orogenic front. In contrast to the European Plate, the tectosphere of the Adriatic Plate is thinner (100–120 km) and has a lower boundary approximately at the interface between positive and negative Vp anomalies. Horizontal and vertical tomographic slices reveal that beneath the Central and Western Alps, the downgoing European tectospheric slab dips steeply to the S and SE and is only locally still attached to the Alpine crust. However, in the Eastern Alps and Carpathians, the European slab is completely detached from the orogenic crust and dips steeply to the N-NE. This along-strike change in attachment coincides with an abrupt decrease in Moho depth below the Tauern Window, the Moho being underlain by a pronounced negative Vp anomaly that reaches eastward into the Pannonian Basin area. This negative Vp anomaly is interpreted to represent hot upwelling asthenosphere that was instrumental in accommodating Neogene orogen-parallel lateral extrusion of the ALCAPA tectonic unit (upper plate crustal edifice of Alps and Carpathians) to the east. A European origin of the northward-dipping, detached slab segment beneath the Eastern Alps is likely since its imaged down-dip length (300–500 km) matches estimated Tertiary shortening in the Eastern Alps accommodated by south-dipping subduction of European tectosphere. A slab anomaly beneath the Dinarides is of Adriatic origin and dips to the northeast. There is no evidence that this slab dips beneath the Alps. The slab anomaly beneath the northern Apennines, also of Adriatic origin, hangs subvertically and is detached from the Apenninic orogenic crust and foreland. Except for its northernmost segment where it locally overlies the southern end of the European slab of the Alps, this slab is clearly separated from the latter by a broad zone of low Vp velocities located south of the Alpine slab beneath the Po Basin. Considered as a whole, the slabs of the Alpine chain are interpreted as attenuated, largely detached sheets of continental margin and Alpine Tethyan lithosphere that locally reach down to a slab graveyard in the Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ).

scholarly journals Orogenic lithosphere and slabs in the greater Alpine area – interpretations based on teleseismic P-wave tomography

Solid Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2633-2669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Handy ◽  
Stefan M. Schmid ◽  
Marcel Paffrath ◽  
Wolfgang Friederich ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Abrupt Decrease ◽  
Lateral Extrusion ◽  
Wave Tomography ◽  
The Alps

Abstract. Based on recent results of AlpArray, we propose a new model of Alpine collision that involves subduction and detachment of thick (∼ 180 km) European lithosphere. Our approach combines teleseismic P-wave tomography and existing local earthquake tomography (LET), allowing us to image the Alpine slabs and their connections with the overlying orogenic lithosphere at an unprecedented resolution. The images call into question the conventional notion that downward-moving lithosphere and slabs comprise only seismically fast lithosphere. We propose that the European lithosphere is heterogeneous, locally containing layered positive and negative Vp anomalies of up to 5 %–6 %. We attribute this layered heterogeneity to seismic anisotropy and/or compositional differences inherited from the Variscan and pre-Variscan orogenic cycles rather than to thermal anomalies. The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) of the European Plate therefore lies below the conventionally defined seismological LAB. In contrast, the lithosphere of the Adriatic Plate is thinner and has a lower boundary approximately at the base of strong positive Vp anomalies at 100–120 km. Horizontal and vertical tomographic slices reveal that beneath the central and western Alps, the European slab dips steeply to the south and southeast and is only locally still attached to the Alpine lithosphere. However, in the eastern Alps and Carpathians, this slab is completely detached from the orogenic crust and dips steeply to the north to northeast. This along-strike change in attachment coincides with an abrupt decrease in Moho depth below the Tauern Window, the Moho being underlain by a pronounced negative Vp anomaly that reaches eastward into the Pannonian Basin area. This negative Vp anomaly is interpreted as representing hot upwelling asthenosphere that heated the overlying crust, allowing it to accommodate Neogene orogen-parallel lateral extrusion and thinning of the ALCAPA tectonic unit (upper plate crustal edifice of Alps and Carpathians) to the east. A European origin of the northward-dipping, detached slab segment beneath the eastern Alps is likely since its down-dip length matches estimated Tertiary shortening in the eastern Alps accommodated by originally south-dipping subduction of European lithosphere. A slab anomaly beneath the Dinarides is of Adriatic origin and dips to the northeast. There is no evidence that this slab dips beneath the Alps. The slab anomaly beneath the Northern Apennines, also of Adriatic origin, hangs subvertically and is detached from the Apenninic orogenic crust and foreland. Except for its northernmost segment where it locally overlies the southern end of the European slab of the Alps, this slab is clearly separated from the latter by a broad zone of low Vp velocities located south of the Alpine slab beneath the Po Basin. Considered as a whole, the slabs of the Alpine chain are interpreted as highly attenuated, largely detached sheets of continental margin and Alpine Tethyan oceanic lithosphere that locally reach down to a slab graveyard in the mantle transition zone (MTZ).

Time for a change of paradigm for Alpine subduction?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Handy ◽  
Stefan M. Schmid ◽  
Marcel Paffrath ◽  
Wolfgang Friederich
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Tauern Window ◽  
Adriatic Plate ◽  
Lateral Extrusion ◽  
European Plate

&lt;p&gt;The prevailing paradigm of mountain building in the Alps entails subduction of European continental lithosphere some 100km thick beneath the Adriatic plate. Based on recent results of AlpArray, we propose a new model that involves subduction and wholesale detachment of locally much thicker (200-240 km) European lithosphere. Our approach combines teleseismic P-wave tomography and existing Local Earthquake Tomography (LET) to image the Alpine slabs and their connections with the overlying orogenic crust at unprecedented resolution. The images call into question the simple notion that slabs comprise only seismically fast lithosphere and suggest that the mantle of the downgoing European plate is compositionally heterogeneous, containing both positive and negative seismic anomalies of up to 5%. We interpret these as compositional rather than thermal anomalies, inherited from the Paleozoic Variscan orogenic cycle and presently dipping beneath the Alpine orogenic front. In contrast to the European Plate, the lithosphere of the Adriatic Plate is thinner (100-120 km) and has a more poorly defined lower boundary approximately at the interface between positive and negative Vp anomalies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Horizontal and vertical tomographic slices reveal that beneath the Central and Western Alps, the downgoing European Plate dips steeply to the S and SE and is locally detached from the Alpine crust. However, in the Eastern Alps and Carpathians east of the central Tauern Window, the Alpine slab anomaly occupies the 150-400 km depth interval and dips steeply to the N-NE, having completely detached from the &amp;#160;Alpine orogenic crust. This along-strike change coincides with an abrupt eastward decrease in Moho depth (Kind et al., this session), the Moho being underlain by a pronounced negative Vp anomaly reaching eastward into the Pannonian Basin area. This negative Vp anomaly is interpreted to represent hot upwelling asthenosphere that was instrumental in accommodating Neogene orogen-parallel lateral extrusion of the ALCAPA tectonic unit (upper plate crustal edifice of Alps and Carpathians) to the E.&amp;#160; An Adriatic origin of the northward-dipping, detached slab segment beneath the Eastern Alps is unlikely since its imaged down-dip length (200-300 km) matches estimated Tertiary shortening in the Eastern Alps accommodated by south-dipping subduction of European lithosphere, whereas shortening in the south-vergent eastern Southern Alps is only &amp;#8804; 70 km.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A slab anomaly beneath the northernmost Dinarides, laterally adjoining the Eastern Alps, is missing. The slab anomaly beneath the northern Apennines, of Adriatic origin und dipping beneath the Tyrrhenian backarc, hangs subvertically and appears to be almost detached from the Apenninic orogenic crust. Except for its westernmost segment where it meets the Alpine slab, this slab is clearly separated from the latter by a broad extent of upwelling asthenosphere located south of the Alpine slabs beneath the Po Plain, i.e., just south of the Alpine subduction zone. Considered as a whole, the slabs beneath the Alpine chain are interpreted as attenuated, largely detached sheets of continental margin and Alpine Tethyan lithosphere that locally reach down to a slab graveyard in the Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ).&lt;/p&gt;

The seismic structure of the lithosphere in the greater Alpine area from S-to-P converted waves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Kind ◽  
Stefan Schmid ◽  
Xiaohui Yuan ◽  
Ben Heit
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Seismic Structure ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Tauern Window ◽  
Lateral Extrusion ◽  
Alpine Area ◽  
Teleseismic Data ◽  
Nappe Emplacement ◽  
Eastern Edge

&lt;p&gt;In the frame of the AlpArray project we analyse teleseismic data from permanent and temporary stations of the greater Alpine region to study seismic discontinuities in the entire lithosphere. We use broadband S-to-P converted signals from below the seismic stations. In order to avoid sidelobes, no deconvolution or filtering is applied and S arrival times are used as reference. We show a number of north-south and east-west profiles through the greater Alpine area. The Moho signals are always seen very clearly, and also negative velocity gradients below the Moho are visible in a number of profiles. The subducting European Moho is visible in the Eastern Alps west of 13.5&amp;#176;E (the eastern edge of the Tauern Window) and reaches there about 60km depth at 47&amp;#176;N. East of about 13.5&amp;#176;E, the image of the Moho changes completely. No south dipping European Moho is found anymore, instead the Moho is shallowing towards the Pannonian Basin. This suggests severe post-nappe emplacement modifications east of about 13.5&amp;#176;E, most probably associated with delamination of the mantle lithosphere within the formerly subducting European slab, i.e. mantle that separated from the crustal parts of the Alpine-West Carpathian orogen during the last ca. 20 Ma when the Pannonian basin formed and the ALCAPA block underwent its E-directed lateral extrusion.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ratschbacher, L., Frisch, W., Linzer, H.-G. and Merle, O. (1991) Lateral extrusion in the Eastern Alps, Part 2: Structural analysis. Tectonics, vol.10, No.2, 257-271.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Moho and uppermost mantle structure in the greater Alpine area from S-to-P converted waves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Kind ◽  
Stefan M. Schmid ◽  
Xiaohui Yuan ◽  
Ben Heit ◽  
Thomas Meier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Mantle Structure ◽  
Uppermost Mantle ◽  
Waveform Data ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Tauern Window ◽  
Lateral Extrusion ◽  
Alpine Area ◽  
Teleseismic Data

Abstract. In the frame of the AlpArray project we analyze teleseismic data from permanent and temporary stations of the greater Alpine region to study seismic discontinuities down to about 140 km depth. We average broadband teleseismic S waveform data to retrieve S-to-P converted signals from below the seismic stations. In order to avoid processing artefacts, no deconvolution or filtering is applied and S arrival times are used as reference. We show a number of north-south and east-west profiles through the greater Alpine area. The Moho signals are always seen very clearly, and also negative velocity gradients below the Moho are visible in a number of profiles. A Moho depression is visible along larger parts of the Alpine chain. It reaches its largest depth of 60 km beneath the Tauern Window. The Moho depression ends however abruptly near about 13° E below the eastern Tauern Window. The Moho depression may represent the mantle trench, where the Eurasian lithosphere is subducted below the Adriatic lithosphere. East of 13° E an important along-strike change occurs; the image of the Moho changes completely. No Moho deepening is found in this easterly region; instead the Moho is updoming along the contact between the European and the Adriatic lithosphere all the way into the Pannonian Basin. An important along strike change was also detected in the upper mantle structure at about 14° E. There, the lateral disappearance of a zone of negative P-wave velocity gradient indicates that the S-dipping European slab laterally terminates east of the Tauern Window in the axial zone of the Alps. The area east of about 13° E is known to have been affected by severe late-stage modifications of the structure of crust and uppermost mantle during the Miocene when the ALCAPA (Alpine, Carpathian, Pannonian) block was subject to E-directed lateral extrusion.

scholarly journals Neogene kinematics of the Giudicarie Belt and eastern Southern Alpine orogenic front (Northern Italy)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent F. Verwater ◽  
Eline Le Breton ◽  
Mark R. Handy ◽  
Vincenzo Picotti ◽  
Azam Jozi Najafabadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
Lateral Variation ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Tauern Window ◽  
Adriatic Plate ◽  
Lateral Extrusion

Abstract. Neogene indentation of the Adriatic plate into Europe led to major modifications of the Alpine orogenic structures and style of deformation in the Eastern Alps. Especially, the offset of the Periadriatic Fault by the Northern Giudicarie Fault marks the initiation of strike-slip faulting and lateral extrusion of the Eastern Alps. Questions remain on the exact role of this fault zone in changes of the Alpine orogen at depth. This necessitates quantitative analysis of the shortening, kinematics and depth of decoupling underneath the Northern Giudicarie Fault and associated fold-and thrust belt in the Southern Alps. Tectonic balancing of a network of seven cross sections through the Giudicarie Belt parallel to the local shortening direction reveals that it comprises two kinematic domains with different amounts and partly overlapping ages of shortening. These two domains are delimitated by the NW-SE oriented strike-slip Trento-Cles – Schio-Vicenza fault system, cross-cutting the Southern Alpine orogenic front in the south and merging with the Northern Giudicarie Fault in the north. The SW kinematic domain (Val Trompia sector) accommodated at least ~18 km of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene shortening. Since the Middle Miocene, the SW kinematic domain experienced a minimum of ~12–22 km shortening, whereas the NE kinematic domain underwent at least ~25–35 km shortening. Together, these domains contributed to an estimated ~53–75 km of sinistral strike-slip motion along the Northern Giudicarie Fault, implying that (most of) the offset of the Periadriatic Fault is due to Late Oligocene to Neogene indentation of the Adriatic plate into the Eastern Alps. Moreover, the faults linking the Giudicarie Belt with the Northern Giudicarie Fault reach ~15–20 km depth, indicating a thick-skinned tectonic style of deformation. These fault detachments may also connect at depth with a lower crustal Adriatic wedge that protruded north of the Periadriatic Fault and was responsible for N-S shortening and eastward escape of deeply exhumed units in the Tauern Window. Finally, the east-west lateral variation of shortening indicates internal deformation and lateral variation in strength of the Adriatic indenter, related to Permian – Mesozoic tectonic structures and paleogeographic domains.

Young Uplift at the Eastern End of the Alps. Evidence for Uplift Unrelated to the Inversion of the Pannonian Basin?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Stüwe ◽  
Gerit Gradwohl ◽  
Thorsten Bertosch ◽  
Konstantin Hohmann ◽  
Jörg Robl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Crustal Shortening ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Uplift History ◽  
Planation Surfaces

&lt;p&gt;The eastern end of the Alps features a series of low relief surfaces at elevations up to 2500 m. These surfaces have long been known to reflect uplifted planation surfaces that have not yet been dissected by fluvial processes and thus preserve a strong geomorphic disequilibrium. While their age would present a good handle on the age of surface uplift in the Eastern Alps, these surfaces are barely dated and their age is only indirectly inferred to reflect the Miocene and Pliocene uplift history. Recent geomorphological cosmogenic nucleide-based studies have shown that these surfaces may record up to 1000 m of surface uplift in the last 5 Ma. Such a distinct uplift event in the recent past is surprising and needs to be interpreted. Interestingly, this time frame appears not to be accompanied by crustal shortening and the standard hypothesis about the inversion of the Pannonian Basin as the underlying cause needs to be questioned. In order to get a better handle on the nature of this young uplift event and its overriding driver it is crucial to understand its spatial extent. However, much of the Eastern Alps was glaciated in the Pleistocene and currently several studies suggest that elevated low-relief landscapes were shaped by the glacial buzz-saw, instead of interpreting them in terms of fluvial prematurity of recently uplifted planation surfaces. The models of glacial erosion versus fluvial prematurity as the formation agent of the low-relief surfaces can be discerned if it can be shown that the surfaces formed prior to the Pleistocene. Here we report of a currently operating research project in which we employ cosmogenic nucleide burial dating on a substantial part of the entire Eastern Alps to derive the age of these surfaces. We use the burial age of siliceous sediments in caves formed at the phreatic-vadose transition as a proxy. Correlation of cave levels with low-relief surfaces and their mapping in the field is an integral part of the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Moho depth determination in the Eastern Alps-Pannonian basin-Carpathian mountains region based on H-K grid search method and CCP migration of receiver functions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dániel Kalmár ◽  
György Hetényi ◽  
István Bondár ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
Search Method ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Grid Search ◽  
Carpathian Mountains ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Grid Search Method ◽  
Private Network

&lt;p&gt;We perform P-to-S receiver function analysis to determine a detailed map of the crust-mantle boundary in the Eastern Alps&amp;#8211;Pannonian basin&amp;#8211;Carpathian mountains junction. We use data from the AlpArray Seismic Network, the Carpathian Basin Project and the South Carpathian Project temporary seismic networks, the permanent stations of the Hungarian National Seismological network, stations of a private network in Hungary as well as selected permanent seismological stations in neighbouring countries for the time period between 2004.01.01. and 2019.03.31. Altogether 221 seismological stations are used in the analysis. Owing to the dense station coverage we can achieve so far unprecedented resolution, thus extending our previous work on the region. We applied three-fold quality control, the first two on the observed waveforms and the third on the calculated radial receiver functions, calculated by the iterative time-domain deconvolution approach. The Moho depth was determined by two independent approaches, the common conversion point (CCP) migration with a local velocity model and the H-K grid search. We show cross-sections beneath the entire investigated area, and concentrate on major structural elements such as the AlCaPa and Tisza-Dacia blocks, the Mid-Hungarian Fault Zone and the Balaton Line. Finally, we present the Moho map obtained by the H-K grid search method and pre-stack CCP migration and interpolation over the entire study area, and compare results of two independent methods to prior knowledge.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Slab Break-offs in the Alpine Subduction Zone

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel D. Kästle ◽  
Claudio Rosenberg ◽  
Lapo Boschi ◽  
Nicolas Bellahsen ◽  
Thomas Meier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Structure ◽  
Body Wave ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Central Alps ◽  
Slab Geometry ◽  
Tomographic Images ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Geological Constraints ◽  
European Plate

Abstract. After the onset of plate collision in the Alps, at 32–34 Ma, the deep structure of the orogen is inferred to have changed dramatically: European plate break-offs in various places of the Alpine arc, as well as a possible reversal of subduction polarity in the eastern Alps have been proposed. We review body-wave tomographic studies, compare them to our surface-wave-derived model for the uppermost 200 km, and reinterpret them in terms of slab geometries. We infer that the shallow subducting portion of the European plate is likely detached under both the western and eastern (but not the central) Alps. The Alps-Dinarides transition may be explained by a combination of European and Adriatic subduction. This would imply that the deep, high-velocity anomaly (> 200 km depth) mapped by tomographers under the eastern Alps is a detached segment of the European plate. The shallower fast anomaly (100–200 km depth) can be ascribed to European or Adriatic subduction, or both. These findings are compared to previously proposed models for the eastern Alps in terms of slab geometry, but also integrated in a new, alternative geodynamic scenario that best fits both tomographic images and geological constraints.

Structure of the crust and upper mantle in the ALPS from the phase velocity of Rayleigh waves

1966 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1009-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Knopoff ◽  
S. Mueller ◽  
W. L. Pilant
Keyword(s):  
Phase Velocity ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
The North ◽  
Method Effects ◽  
The Alps

Abstract The phase velocity method has been applied to the problem of the determination of the crust and upper mantle under the western Alpine crest and in the Alpine foreland to the north. An extensive data processing package has been designed so that Fourier analysis is applied to the determination of phase velocities, rather than the more usual peak-and-trough method. Effects of contamination by multipath interference, manifested in beats, can be minimized. Advantage is made of apparent azimuthal variations in phase velocity to yield a further refinement in the method whereby the tripartite results are assigned to discrete lines in the network rather than to the area swept out by the wave front. The results show that a well-developed low-velocity channel for S is found throughout the region with a velocity of S in the channel of 4.2 km/sec. The top of the channel is at about 80 km depth. A new analysis of P-wave data shows a likely horizon for reflections at 220 km; this is taken to be the depth of the lower boundary to the channel. The mean P-wave velocity in the lower crust is at least as high as 6.7 km/sec. The crustal and upper mantle structure vary significantly over relatively short distances. The Mohorovičić discontinuity is deepest under the crest of the Alps and shoals to the north and west; a well developed root has been found.

The SWATH-D Seismological Network in the Eastern Alps

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 1592-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Heit ◽  
Luigia Cristiano ◽  
Christian Haberland ◽  
Frederik Tilmann ◽  
Damiano Pesaresi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Dense Network ◽  
Study Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Complex Part ◽  
Broadband Network ◽  
The Alps

Abstract The SWATH-D experiment involved the deployment of a dense temporary broadband seismic network in the Eastern Alps. Its primary purpose was enhanced seismic imaging of the crust and crust–mantle transition, as well as improved constraints on local event locations and focal mechanisms in a complex part of the Alpine orogen. The study region is a key area of the Alps, where European crust in the north is juxtaposed and partially interwoven with Adriatic crust in the south, and a significant jump in the Moho depth was observed by the 2002 TRANSALP north–south profile. Here, a flip in subduction polarity has been suggested to occur. This dense network encompasses 163 stations and complements the larger-scale sparser AlpArray seismic network. The nominal station spacing in SWATH-D is 15 km in a high alpine, yet densely populated and industrialized region. We present here the challenges resulting from operating a large broadband network under these conditions and summarize how we addressed them, including the way we planned, deployed, maintained, and operated the stations in the field. Finally, we present some recommendations based on our experiences.

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