@article{MalekJanskyNovotnyetal.2004, author = {Malek, J. and Jansky, J. and Novotny, O. and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk}, title = {Vertically inhomogeneous models of the upper crustal structure in the West-Bohemian seismoactive region inferred from the celebration 2000 refraction data}, issn = {0039-3169}, year = {2004}, abstract = {As part of the international refraction measurements in Central Europe in the year 2000, three profiles traversed the region of earthquake swarms in West-Bohemia/Vogtland. The shots were also recorded at the permanent stations of the local seismic networks. The travel times of P-waves, observed in the West-Bohemian region, are discussed and interpreted in the present paper. In general, significantly lower P-wave velocities were found in the Saxothuringian (northern) part of the studied area than in the adjacent southern parts. The observed travel times are interpreted separately for the individual geological units, in particular for the plutons, crystallinicum, and the Marianske Lazne(Marienbad) Complex. After smoothing the selected data using rational approximations, the Wiechert-Herglotz method was used to compute vertically inhomogeneous velocity models. The characteristic features of the derived models are relatively low P-wave velocities at the surface and prominent velocity increases within the uppermost crust down to a depth of about one kilometer}, language = {en} } @article{LipkeZitzmannAmbergeretal.2007, author = {Lipke, Katrin and Zitzmann, Max and Amberger, Manuel and Ehlert, Carsten and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank and Ohrnberger, Matthias}, title = {Traveltime residuals at regional and teleseismic distances for SE-Asia}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-14117}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Traveltime residuals for worldwide seismic stations are calculated. We use P and S waves from earthquakes in SE-Asia at teleseismic and regional distances. The obtained station residuals help to enhance earthquake localisation. Furthermore we calculated regional source dependent station residuals. They show a systematic dependence of the locality of the source. These source dependent residuals reflect heterogenities along the path and can be used for a refinement of earthquake localisation.}, language = {en} } @article{DonnerGhodsKrueeretal.2015, author = {Donner, Stefanie and Ghods, Abdolreza and Kr{\"u}er, Frank and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Landgraf, Angela and Ballato, Paolo}, title = {The Ahar-Varzeghan Earthquake Doublet (M-w 6.4 and 6.2) of 11 August 2012: Regional Seismic Moment Tensors}, series = {Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America}, volume = {105}, journal = {Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America}, number = {2A}, publisher = {Seismological Society of America}, address = {Albany}, issn = {0037-1106}, doi = {10.1785/0120140042}, pages = {791 -- 807}, year = {2015}, abstract = {On 11 August 2012 an earthquake doublet (M-w 6.4 and 6.2) occurred near the city of Ahar, northwest Iran. Both events were only 6 km and 11 minutes apart, producing a surface rupture of about 12 km in length. Historical and modern seismicity has so far been sparse in this area. Spatially, the region represents a transitional zone between different tectonic domains, including compression in Iran, westward extrusion of the Anatolian plate, and thrusting beneath the Caucasus. In this study, we inverted the surface waveforms of the two mainshocks and 11 aftershocks (M-w >= 4.3) to obtain regional seismic moment tensors. The earthquakes analyzed can be grouped into pure strike slip (including the first mainshock) and oblique reverse mechanisms (including the second mainshock). The sequence provides information about faulting mechanisms at the spatial scale of the entire rock volume affected by the earthquake doublet, including coinciding deformation on minor faults (sub) parallel to the main fault and Riedel shears. It occurred on a so far unknown fault structure, which we call the Ahar fault. Alongside the seismological data, we used geological maps, satellite images, and digital elevation data to analyze the geomorphology of the region. Our analysis suggests that the adjacent North Tabriz fault, which accomodates up to 7 mm/yr of right-lateral strike-slip faulting, does not compensate the entire lateral shear strain, and that part of it is compensated farther north. Combined, our results suggest a temporally and spatially complex style of deformation (reverse and strike slip) overprinting older reverse deformation.}, language = {en} } @article{RoesslerKruegerRuempkeretal.2006, author = {R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank and R{\"u}mpker, Georg and Psencik, Ivan}, title = {Tensile source components of swarm events in West Bohemia in 2000 by considering seismic anisotropy}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-12975}, year = {2006}, abstract = {Earthquake swarms occur frequently in West Bohemia, Central Europe. Their occurrence is correlated with and propably triggered by fluids that escape on the earth's surface near the epicentres. These fluids raise up periodically from a seemingbly deep-seated source in the upper mantle. Moment tensors for swarm events in 1997 indicate tensile faulting. However, they were determined under assumption of seismic isotropy although anisotropy can be observed. Anisotropy may obscure moment tensors and their interpretation. In 2000, more than 10,000 swarm earthquakes occurred near Novy Kostel, West Bohemia. Event triggering by fluid injection is likely. Activity lasted from 28/08 until 31/12/00 (9 phases) with maximum ML=3.2. High quality P-wave seismograms were used to retrieve the source mechanisms for 112 events between 28/08/00 and 30/10/00 using > 20 stations. We determine the source geometry using a new algorithm and different velocity models including anisotropy. From inversions of P waves we observe ML<3.2, strike-slip events on steep N-S oriented faults with additional normal or reverse components. Tensile components seem to be evident for more than 60\% of the processed swarm events in West Bohemia during the phases 1-7. Being most significant at great depths and at phases 1-4 during the swarm they are time and location dependent. Although tensile components are reduced when anisotropy is assumed they persist and seem to be important. They can be explained by pore-pressure changes due to the injection of fluids that raise up. Our findings agree with other observations e.g. correlation of fluid transport and seismicity, variations in b-value, forcing rate, and in pore pressure diffusion. Tests of our results show their significance.}, language = {en} } @article{DonnerRoesslerKruegeretal.2013, author = {Donner, Stefanie and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank and Ghods, Abdolreza and Strecker, Manfred}, title = {Segmented seismicity of the M (w) 6.2 Baladeh earthquake sequence (Alborz Mountains, Iran) revealed from regional moment tensors}, series = {Journal of seismology}, volume = {17}, journal = {Journal of seismology}, number = {3}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1383-4649}, doi = {10.1007/s10950-013-9362-7}, pages = {925 -- 959}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The M (w) 6.2 Baladeh earthquake occurred on 28 May 2004 in the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran. This earthquake was the first strong shock in this intracontinental orogen for which digital regional broadband data are available. The Baladeh event provides a rare opportunity to study fault geometry and ongoing deformation processes using modern seismological methods. A joint inversion for hypocentres and a velocity model plus a surface-wave group dispersion curve analysis were used to obtain an adapted velocity model, customised for mid- and long-period waveform modelling. Based on the new velocity model, regional waveform data of the mainshock and larger aftershocks (M (w) a parts per thousand yen3.3) were inverted for moment tensors. For the Baladeh mainshock, this included inversion for kinematic parameters. All analysed earthquakes show dominant thrust mechanisms at depths between 14 and 26 km, with NW-SE striking fault planes. The mainshock ruptured a 28A degrees south-dipping area of 24 x 21 km along a north-easterly direction. The rupture plane of the mainshock does not coincide with the aftershock distribution, neither in map view nor with respect to depth. The considered aftershocks form two main clusters. The eastern cluster is associated with the mainshock. The western cluster does not appear to be connected with the rupture plane of the mainshock but, instead, indicates a second activated fault plane dipping at 85A degrees towards the north.}, language = {en} } @article{RoesslerKruegerOhrnberger2007, author = {R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank and Ohrnberger, Matthias}, title = {Rupture propagation of the TsE (Mw7.7) on 17 July 2006 off-coast Java}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-12964}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The Mw=7.7 tsunamogenic earthquake (TsE) on 17 July 2006, 08:19:28 shock the Indian Ocean at about 15 km depth off-coast Java, Indonesia. It caused a local tsunami with wave heights exceeding 2 m. The death toll reached several hundred. Thousands of people were displaced. By means of standard array methods, we have investigated the propagation and the extent of the rupture front of the causative earthquake. Waveform similarity is expressed by means of the semblance. We back-propagate the semblance for first-arrival phases recorded at broad-band stations within teleseismic distances (30°-95°). Image enhancement is realised by stacking the semblance of 8 arrays within different epicentral and azimuthal directions. From teleseismic observations we find rupturing of a 200 x 100 km wide area in at least 2 phases with propagation from NW to SE and source duration >125 s. The event has some characteristics of a circular rupture followed by unilateral faulting with change in slip rate. Unusually slow rupturing (≈1.5 km/s) is indicated. Fault area and aftershock distribution coincide. Spatial and temporal resolution are frequency dependent. Studies of a Mw6.0 earthquake on 2006/09/21 and one synthetic source show a ≈1° limit in resolution. Retrieved source area, source duration as well as peak values for semblance and beam power increase with the size of the earthquake making possible an automatic detection and classification of large and small earthquakes.}, language = {en} } @article{KielingRoesslerKrueger2011, author = {Kieling, Katrin and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank}, title = {Receiver function study in northern Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula}, series = {Journal of seismology}, volume = {15}, journal = {Journal of seismology}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1383-4649}, doi = {10.1007/s10950-010-9222-7}, pages = {235 -- 259}, year = {2011}, abstract = {In this receiver function study, we investigate the structure of the crust beneath six seismic broadband stations close to the Sunda Arc formed by subduction of the Indo-Australian under the Sunda plate. We apply three different methods to analyse receiver functions at single stations. A recently developed algorithm determines absolute shear-wave velocities from observed frequency-dependent apparent incidence angles of P waves. Using waveform inversion of receiver functions and a modified Zhu and Kanamori algorithm, properties of discontinuities such as depth, velocity contrast, and sharpness are determined. The combination of the methods leads to robust results. The approach is validated by synthetic tests. Stations located on Malaysia show high-shear-wave velocities (V (S)) near the surface in the range of 3.4-3.6 km s (-aEuro parts per thousand 1) attributed to crystalline rocks and 3.6-4.0 km s (-aEuro parts per thousand 1) in the lower crust. Upper and lower crust are clearly separated, the Moho is found at normal depths of 30-34 km where it forms a sharp discontinuity at station KUM or a gradient at stations IPM and KOM. For stations close to the subduction zone (BSI, GSI and PSI) complexity within the crust is high. Near the surface low V (S) of 2.6-2.9 km s (-aEuro parts per thousand 1) indicate sediment layers. High V (S) of 4.2 km s (-aEuro parts per thousand 1) are found at depth greater than 6 and 2 km at BSI and PSI, respectively. There, the Moho is located at 37 and 40 km depth. At station GSI, situated closest to the trench, the subducting slab is imaged as a north-east dipping structure separated from the sediment layer by a 10 km wide gradient in V (S) between 10 and 20 km depth. Within the subducting slab V (S) a parts per thousand aEuro parts per thousand 4.7 km s (-aEuro parts per thousand 1). At station BSI, the subducting slab is found at depth between 90 and 110 km dipping 20A degrees +/- 8A degrees in approximately N 60A degrees E. A velocity increase in similar depth is indicated at station PSI, however no evidence for a dipping layer is found.}, language = {en} } @article{HiemerRoesslerScherbaum2012, author = {Hiemer, Stefan and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Scherbaum, Frank}, title = {Monitoring the West Bohemian earthquake swarm in 2008/2009 by a temporary small-aperture seismic array}, series = {Journal of seismology}, volume = {16}, journal = {Journal of seismology}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1383-4649}, doi = {10.1007/s10950-011-9256-5}, pages = {169 -- 182}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The most recent intense earthquake swarm in West Bohemia lasted from 6 October 2008 to January 2009. Starting 12 days after the onset, the University of Potsdam monitored the swarm by a temporary small-aperture seismic array at 10 km epicentral distance. The purpose of the installation was a complete monitoring of the swarm including micro-earthquakes (M (L) < 0). We identify earthquakes using a conventional short-term average/long-term average trigger combined with sliding-window frequency-wavenumber and polarisation analyses. The resulting earthquake catalogue consists of 14,530 earthquakes between 19 October 2008 and 18 March 2009 with magnitudes in the range of -aEuro parts per thousand 1.2 a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand M (L) a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 2.7. The small-aperture seismic array substantially lowers the detection threshold to about M (c) = -aEuro parts per thousand 0.4, when compared to the regional networks operating in West Bohemia (M (c) > 0.0). In the course of this work, the main temporal features (frequency-magnitude distribution, propagation of back azimuth and horizontal slowness, occurrence rate of aftershock sequences and interevent-time distribution) of the recent 2008/2009 earthquake swarm are presented and discussed. Temporal changes of the coefficient of variation (based on interevent times) suggest that the swarm earthquake activity of the 2008/2009 swarm terminates by 12 January 2009. During the main phase in our studied swarm period after 19 October, the b value of the Gutenberg-Richter relation decreases from 1.2 to 0.8. This trend is also reflected in the power-law behavior of the seismic moment release. The corresponding total seismic moment release of 1.02x10(17) Nm is equivalent to M (L,max) = 5.4.}, language = {en} } @article{HiemerScherbaumRoessleretal.2011, author = {Hiemer, Stefan and Scherbaum, Frank and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and K{\"u}hn, Nicolas}, title = {Determination of tau(0) and Rock Site kappa from Records of the 2008/2009 Earthquake Swarm in Western Bohemia}, series = {Seismological research letters}, volume = {82}, journal = {Seismological research letters}, number = {3}, publisher = {Seismological Society of America}, address = {El Cerrito}, issn = {0895-0695}, doi = {10.1785/gssrl.82.3.387}, pages = {387 -- 393}, year = {2011}, language = {en} } @article{PassarelliHainzlCescaetal.2015, author = {Passarelli, Luigi and Hainzl, Sebastian and Cesca, Simone and Maccaferri, Francesco and Mucciarelli, Marco and R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Corbi, Fabio and Dahm, Torsten and Rivalta, Eleonora}, title = {Aseismic transient driving the swarm-like seismic sequence in the Pollino range, Southern Italy}, series = {Geophysical journal international}, volume = {201}, journal = {Geophysical journal international}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0956-540X}, doi = {10.1093/gji/ggv111}, pages = {1553 -- 1567}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Tectonic earthquake swarms challenge our understanding of earthquake processes since it is difficult to link observations to the underlying physical mechanisms and to assess the hazard they pose. Transient forcing is thought to initiate and drive the spatio-temporal release of energy during swarms. The nature of the transient forcing may vary across sequences and range from aseismic creeping or transient slip to diffusion of pore pressure pulses to fluid redistribution and migration within the seismogenic crust. Distinguishing between such forcing mechanisms may be critical to reduce epistemic uncertainties in the assessment of hazard due to seismic swarms, because it can provide information on the frequency-magnitude distribution of the earthquakes (often deviating from the assumed Gutenberg-Richter relation) and on the expected source parameters influencing the ground motion (for example the stress drop). Here we study the ongoing Pollino range (Southern Italy) seismic swarm, a long-lasting seismic sequence with more than five thousand events recorded and located since October 2010. The two largest shocks (magnitude M-w = 4.2 and M-w = 5.1) are among the largest earthquakes ever recorded in an area which represents a seismic gap in the Italian historical earthquake catalogue. We investigate the geometrical, mechanical and statistical characteristics of the largest earthquakes and of the entire swarm. We calculate the focal mechanisms of the M-l > 3 events in the sequence and the transfer of Coulomb stress on nearby known faults and analyse the statistics of the earthquake catalogue. We find that only 25 per cent of the earthquakes in the sequence can be explained as aftershocks, and the remaining 75 per cent may be attributed to a transient forcing. The b-values change in time throughout the sequence, with low b-values correlated with the period of highest rate of activity and with the occurrence of the largest shock. In the light of recent studies on the palaeoseismic and historical activity in the Pollino area, we identify two scenarios consistent with the observations and our analysis: This and past seismic swarms may have been 'passive' features, with small fault patches failing on largely locked faults, or may have been accompanied by an 'active', largely aseismic, release of a large portion of the accumulated tectonic strain. Those scenarios have very different implications for the seismic hazard of the area.}, language = {en} } @article{RoesslerRumpkerKrueger2004, author = {R{\"o}ßler, Dirk and Rumpker, Georg and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank}, title = {Ambiguous moment tensors and radiation patterns in anisotropic media with applications to the modeling of earthquake mechanisms in W-Bohemia}, issn = {0039-3169}, year = {2004}, abstract = {Anisotropic material properties are usually neglected during inversions for source parameters of earthquakes. In general anisotropic media, however, moment tensors for pure-shear sources can exhibit significant non-double-couple components. Such effects may be erroneously interpreted as an indication for volumetric changes at the source. Here we investigate effects of anisotropy on seismic moment tensors and radiation patterns for pure-shear and tensile-type sources. Anisotropy can significantly influence the interpretation of the source mechanisms. For example, the orientation of the slip within the fault plane may affect the total seismic moment. Also, moment tensors due to pure- shear and tensile faulting can have similar characteristics depending on the orientation of the elastic tensor. Furthermore, the tensile nature of an earthquake can be obscured by near-source anisotropic properties. As an application, we consider effects of inhomogeneous anisotropic properties on the seismic moment tensor and the radiation patterns of a selected type of micro-earthquakes observed in W-Bohemia. The combined effects of near-source and along- path anisotropy cause characteristic amplitude distortions of the P, S1 and S2 waves. However, the modeling suggests that neither homogeneous nor inhomogeneous anisotropic properties alone can explain the observed large non-double-couple components. The results also indicate that a correct analysis of the source mechanism, in principle, is achievable by application of anisotropic moment tensor inversion}, language = {en} }