@article{KaramzadehToularoudHeimannDahmetal.2018,
  author    = {Karamzadeh Toularoud, Nasim and Heimann, Sebastian and Dahm, Torsten and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank},
  title     = {Application based seismological array design by seismicity scenario modelling},
  series = {Geophysical journal international},
  volume    = {216},
  journal   = {Geophysical journal international},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0956-540X},
  pages     = {1711 -- 1727},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The design of an array configuration is an important task in array seismology during experiment planning. Often the array response function (ARF), which depends on the relative position of array stations and frequency content of the incoming signals, is used as the array design criterion. In practice, additional constraints and parameters have to be taken into account, for example, land ownership, site-specific noise levels or characteristics of the seismic sources under investigation. In this study, a flexible array design framework is introduced that implements a customizable scenario modelling and optimization scheme by making use of synthetic seismograms. Using synthetic seismograms to evaluate array performance makes it possible to consider additional constraints. We suggest to use synthetic array beamforming as an array design criterion instead of the ARF. The objective function of the optimization scheme is defined according to the monitoring goals, and may consist of a number of subfunctions. The array design framework is exemplified by designing a seven-station small-scale array to monitor earthquake swarm activity in Northwest Bohemia/Vogtland in central Europe. Two subfunctions are introduced to verify the accuracy of horizontal slowness estimation; one to suppress aliasing effects due to possible secondary lobes of synthetic array beamforming calculated in horizontal slowness space and the other to reduce the event's mislocation caused by miscalculation of the horizontal slowness vector. Subsequently, a weighting technique is applied to combine the subfunctions into one single scalar objective function to use in the optimization process.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{DahmHeimannFunkeetal.2018,
  author    = {Dahm, Torsten and Heimann, Sebastian and Funke, Sigward and Wendt, Siegfried and Rappsilber, Ivo and Bindi, Dino and Plenefisch, Thomas and Cotton, Fabrice Pierre},
  title     = {Correction to: Seismicity in the block mountains between Halle and Leipzig, Central Germany: centroid moment tensors, ground motion simulation, and felt intensities of two M approximate to 3 earthquakes in 2015 and 2017 (vol 22, pg 985, 2018)},
  series = {Journal of seismology},
  volume    = {22},
  journal   = {Journal of seismology},
  number    = {6},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Dordrecht},
  issn      = {1383-4649},
  doi       = {10.1007/s10950-018-9773-6},
  pages     = {1669 -- 1671},
  year      = {2018},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{KriegerowskiCescaOhrnbergeretal.2018,
  author    = {Kriegerowski, Marius and Cesca, Simone and Ohrnberger, Matthias and Dahm, Torsten and Kr{\"u}ger, Frank},
  title     = {Event couple spectral ratio Q method for earthquake clusters},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {683},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-42602},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426029},
  pages     = {12},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {We develop an amplitude spectral ratio method for event couples from clustered earthquakes to estimate seismic wave attenuation (Q-1) in the source volume. The method allows to study attenuation within the source region of earthquake swarms or aftershocks at depth, independent of wave path and attenuation between source region and surface station. We exploit the high-frequency slope of phase spectra using multitaper spectral estimates. The method is tested using simulated full wave-field seismograms affected by recorded noise and finite source rupture. The synthetic tests verify the approach and show that solutions are independent of focal mechanisms but also show that seismic noise may broaden the scatter of results. We apply the event couple spectral ratio method to northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic, a region characterized by the persistent occurrence of earthquake swarms in a confined source region at mid-crustal depth. Our method indicates a strong anomaly of high attenuation in the source region of the swarm with an averaged attenuation factor of Qp < 100. The application to S phases fails due to scattered P-phase energy interfering with S phases. The Qp anomaly supports the common hypothesis of highly fractured and fluid saturated rocks in the source region of the swarms in northwest Bohemia. However, high temperatures in a small volume around the swarms cannot be excluded to explain our observations.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{AlHalbouniHolohanTaherietal.2018,
  author    = {Al-Halbouni, Djamil and Holohan, Eoghan P. and Taheri, Abbas and Sch{\"o}pfer, Martin P. J. and Emam, Sacha and Dahm, Torsten},
  title     = {Geomechanical modelling of sinkhole development using distinct elements},
  series = {Solid earth},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Solid earth},
  number    = {6},
  publisher = {Copernicus},
  address   = {G{\"o}ttingen},
  issn      = {1869-9510},
  doi       = {10.5194/se-9-1341-2018},
  pages     = {1341 -- 1373},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Mechanical and/or chemical removal of material from the subsurface may generate large subsurface cavities, the destabilisation of which can lead to ground collapse and the formation of sinkholes. Numerical simulation of the interaction of cavity growth, host material deformation and overburden collapse is desirable to better understand the sinkhole hazard but is a challenging task due to the involved high strains and material discontinuities. Here, we present 2-D distinct element method numerical simulations of cavity growth and sinkhole development. Firstly, we simulate cavity formation by quasi-static, stepwise removal of material in a single growing zone of an arbitrary geometry and depth. We benchmark this approach against analytical and boundary element method models of a deep void space in a linear elastic material. Secondly, we explore the effects of properties of different uniform materials on cavity stability and sinkhole development. We perform simulated biaxial tests to calibrate macroscopic geotechnical parameters of three model materials representative of those in which sinkholes develop at the Dead Sea shoreline: mud, alluvium and salt. We show that weak materials do not support large cavities, leading to gradual sagging or suffusion-style subsidence. Strong materials support quasi-stable to stable cavities, the overburdens of which may fail suddenly in a caprock or bedrock collapse style. Thirdly, we examine the consequences of layered arrangements of weak and strong materials. We find that these are more susceptible to sinkhole collapse than uniform materials not only due to a lower integrated strength of the overburden but also due to an inhibition of stabilising stress arching. Finally, we compare our model sinkhole geometries to observations at the Ghor Al-Haditha sinkhole site in Jordan. Sinkhole depth / diameter ratios of 0.15 in mud, 0.37 in alluvium and 0.33 in salt are reproduced successfully in the calibrated model materials. The model results suggest that the observed distribution of sinkhole depth / diameter values in each material type may partly reflect sinkhole growth trends.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{AlHalbouniHolohanTaherietal.2018,
  author    = {Al-Halbouni, Djamil and Holohan, Eoghan P. and Taheri, Abbas and Sch{\"o}pfer, Martin P. J. and Emam, Sacha and Dahm, Torsten},
  title     = {Geomechanical modelling of sinkhole development using distinct elements},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {1061},
  issn      = {1866-8372},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-46843},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-468435},
  pages     = {35},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Mechanical and/or chemical removal of material from the subsurface may generate large subsurface cavities, the destabilisation of which can lead to ground collapse and the formation of sinkholes. Numerical simulation of the interaction of cavity growth, host material deformation and overburden collapse is desirable to better understand the sinkhole hazard but is a challenging task due to the involved high strains and material discontinuities. Here, we present 2-D distinct element method numerical simulations of cavity growth and sinkhole development. Firstly, we simulate cavity formation by quasi-static, stepwise removal of material in a single growing zone of an arbitrary geometry and depth. We benchmark this approach against analytical and boundary element method models of a deep void space in a linear elastic material. Secondly, we explore the effects of properties of different uniform materials on cavity stability and sinkhole development. We perform simulated biaxial tests to calibrate macroscopic geotechnical parameters of three model materials representative of those in which sinkholes develop at the Dead Sea shoreline: mud, alluvium and salt. We show that weak materials do not support large cavities, leading to gradual sagging or suffusion-style subsidence. Strong materials support quasi-stable to stable cavities, the overburdens of which may fail suddenly in a caprock or bedrock collapse style. Thirdly, we examine the consequences of layered arrangements of weak and strong materials. We find that these are more susceptible to sinkhole collapse than uniform materials not only due to a lower integrated strength of the overburden but also due to an inhibition of stabilising stress arching. Finally, we compare our model sinkhole geometries to observations at the Ghor Al-Haditha sinkhole site in Jordan. Sinkhole depth ∕ diameter ratios of 0.15 in mud, 0.37 in alluvium and 0.33 in salt are reproduced successfully in the calibrated model materials. The model results suggest that the observed distribution of sinkhole depth ∕ diameter values in each material type may partly reflect sinkhole growth trends.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PirliHainzlSchweitzeretal.2018,
  author    = {Pirli, Myrto and Hainzl, Sebastian and Schweitzer, Johannes and K{\"o}hler, Andreas and Dahm, Torsten},
  title     = {Localised thickening and grounding of an Antarctic ice shelf from tidal triggering and sizing of cryoseismicity},
  series = {Earth \& planetary science letters},
  volume    = {503},
  journal   = {Earth \& planetary science letters},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0012-821X},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.epsl.2018.09.024},
  pages     = {78 -- 87},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {We observe remarkably periodic patterns of seismicity rates and magnitudes at the Fimbul Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, correlating with the cycles of the ocean tide. Our analysis covers 19 years of continuous seismic recordings from Antarctic broadband stations. Seismicity commences abruptly during austral summer 2011 at a location near the ocean front in a shallow water region. Dozens of highly repetitive events occur in semi-diurnal cycles, with magnitudes and rates fluctuating steadily with the tide. In contrast to the common unpredictability of earthquake magnitudes, the event magnitudes show deterministic trends within single cycles and strong correlations with spring tides and tide height. The events occur quasi-periodically and the highly constrained event sources migrate landwards during rising tide. We show that a simple, mechanical model can explain most of the observations. Our model assumes stick-slip motion on a patch of grounded ice shelf, which is forced by the variations of the ocean-tide height and ice flow. The well fitted observations give new insights into the general process of frictional triggering of earthquakes, while providing independent evidence of variations in ice shelf thickness and grounding.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{WoithPetersenHainzletal.2018,
  author    = {Woith, Heiko and Petersen, Gesa Maria and Hainzl, Sebastian and Dahm, Torsten},
  title     = {Review: Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?},
  series = {Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America},
  volume    = {108},
  journal   = {Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America},
  number    = {3A},
  publisher = {Seismological Society of America},
  address   = {Albany},
  issn      = {0037-1106},
  doi       = {10.1785/0120170313},
  pages     = {1031 -- 1045},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {In public perception, abnormal animal behavior is widely assumed to be a potential earthquake precursor, in strong contrast to the viewpoint in natural sciences. Proponents of earthquake prediction via animals claim that animals feel and react abnormally to small changes in environmental and physico-chemical parameters related to the earthquake preparation process. In seismology, however, observational evidence for changes of physical parameters before earthquakes is very weak. In this study, we reviewed 180 publications regarding abnormal animal behavior before earthquakes and analyze and discuss them with respect to (1) magnitude-distance relations, (2) foreshock activity, and (3) the quality and length of the published observations. More than 700 records of claimed animal precursors related to 160 earthquakes are reviewed with unusual behavior of more than 130 species. The precursor time ranges from months to seconds prior to the earthquakes, and the distances from a few to hundreds of kilometers. However, only 14 time series were published, whereas all other records are single observations. The time series are often short (the longest is 1 yr), or only small excerpts of the full data set are shown. The probability density of foreshocks and the occurrence of animal precursors are strikingly similar, suggesting that at least parts of the reported animal precursors are in fact related to foreshocks. Another major difficulty for a systematic and statistical analysis is the high diversity of data, which are often only anecdotal and retrospective. The study clearly demonstrates strong weaknesses or even deficits in many of the published reports on possible abnormal animal behavior. To improve the research on precursors, we suggest a scheme of yes and no questions to be assessed to ensure the quality of such claims.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DahmHeimannFunkeetal.2018,
  author    = {Dahm, Torsten and Heimann, Sebastian and Funke, Sigward and Wendt, Siegfried and Rappsilber, Ivo and Bindi, Dino and Plenefisch, Thomas and Cotton, Fabrice Pierre},
  title     = {Seismicity in the block mountains between Halle and Leipzig, Central Germany},
  series = {Journal of seismology},
  volume    = {22},
  journal   = {Journal of seismology},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Dordrecht},
  issn      = {1383-4649},
  doi       = {10.1007/s10950-018-9746-9},
  pages     = {985 -- 1003},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {On April 29, 2017 at 0:56 UTC (2:56 local time), an M (W) = 2.8 earthquake struck the metropolitan area between Leipzig and Halle, Germany, near the small town of Markranstadt. The earthquake was felt within 50 km from the epicenter and reached a local intensity of I (0) = IV. Already in 2015 and only 15 km northwest of the epicenter, a M (W) = 3.2 earthquake struck the area with a similar large felt radius and I (0) = IV. More than 1.1 million people live in the region, and the unusual occurrence of the two earthquakes led to public attention, because the tectonic activity is unclear and induced earthquakes have occurred in neighboring regions. Historical earthquakes south of Leipzig had estimated magnitudes up to M (W) ae 5 and coincide with NW-SE striking crustal basement faults. We use different seismological methods to analyze the two recent earthquakes and discuss them in the context of the known tectonic structures and historical seismicity. Novel stochastic full waveform simulation and inversion approaches are adapted for the application to weak, local earthquakes, to analyze mechanisms and ground motions and their relation to observed intensities. We find NW-SE striking normal faulting mechanisms for both earthquakes and centroid depths of 26 and 29 km. The earthquakes are located where faults with large vertical offsets of several hundred meters and Hercynian strike have developed since the Mesozoic. We use a stochastic full waveform simulation to explain the local peak ground velocities and calibrate the method to simulate intensities. Since the area is densely populated and has sensitive infrastructure, we simulate scenarios assuming that a 12-km long fault segment between the two recent earthquakes is ruptured and study the impact of rupture parameters on ground motions and expected damage.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PolomAlrshdanAlHalbounietal.2018,
  author    = {Polom, Ulrich and Alrshdan, Hussam and Al-Halbouni, Djamil and Holohan, Eoghan P. and Dahm, Torsten and Sawarieh, Ali and Atallah, Mohamad Y. and Krawczyk, Charlotte M.},
  title     = {Shear wave reflection seismic yields subsurface dissolution and subrosion patterns},
  series = {Solid earth},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Solid earth},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Copernicus},
  address   = {G{\"o}ttingen},
  issn      = {1869-9510},
  doi       = {10.5194/se-9-1079-2018},
  pages     = {1079 -- 1098},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Near-surface geophysical imaging of alluvial fan settings is a challenging task but crucial for understating geological processes in such settings. The alluvial fan of Ghor Al-Haditha at the southeast shore of the Dead Sea is strongly affected by localized subsidence and destructive sinkhole collapses, with a significantly increasing sinkhole formation rate since ca. 1983. A similar increase is observed also on the western shore of the Dead Sea, in correlation with an ongoing decline in the Dead Sea level. Since different structural models of the upper 50 m of the alluvial fan and varying hypothetical sinkhole processes have been suggested for the Ghor Al-Haditha area in the past, this study aimed to clarify the subsurface characteristics responsible for sinkhole development. For this purpose, high-frequency shear wave reflection vibratory seismic surveys were carried out in the Ghor Al-Haditha area along several crossing and parallel profiles with a total length of 1.8 and 2.1 km in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The sedimentary architecture of the alluvial fan at Ghor Al-Haditha is resolved down to a depth of nearly 200 m at a high resolution and is calibrated with the stratigraphic profiles of two boreholes located inside the survey area. The most surprising result of the survey is the absence of evidence of a thick (>2-10 m) compacted salt layer formerly suggested to lie at ca. 35-40 m depth. Instead, seismic reflection amplitudes and velocities image with good continuity a complex interlocking of alluvial fan deposits and lacustrine sediments of the Dead Sea between 0 and 200 m depth. Furthermore, the underground section of areas affected by sinkholes is characterized by highly scattering wave fields and reduced seismic interval velocities. We propose that the Dead Sea mud layers, which comprise distributed inclusions or lenses of evaporitic chloride, sulfate, and carbonate minerals as well as clay silicates, become increasingly exposed to unsaturated water as the sea level declines and are consequently destabilized and mobilized by both dissolution and physical erosion in the subsurface. This new interpretation of the underlying cause of sinkhole development is supported by surface observations in nearby channel systems. Overall, this study shows that shear wave seismic reflection technique is a promising method for enhanced near-surface imaging in such challenging alluvial fan settings.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{PolomAlrshdanAlHalbounietal.2018,
  author    = {Polom, Ulrich and Alrshdan, Hussam and Al-Halbouni, Djamil and Holohan, Eoghan P. and Dahm, Torsten and Sawarieh, Ali and Atallah, Mohamad Y. and Krawczyk, Charlotte M.},
  title     = {Shear wave reflection seismic yields subsurface dissolution and subrosion patterns},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {979},
  issn      = {1866-8372},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-45913},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459134},
  pages     = {1079 -- 1098},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Near-surface geophysical imaging of alluvial fan settings is a challenging task but crucial for understating geological processes in such settings. The alluvial fan of Ghor Al-Haditha at the southeast shore of the Dead Sea is strongly affected by localized subsidence and destructive sinkhole collapses, with a significantly increasing sinkhole formation rate since ca. 1983. A similar increase is observed also on the western shore of the Dead Sea, in correlation with an ongoing decline in the Dead Sea level. Since different structural models of the upper 50 m of the alluvial fan and varying hypothetical sinkhole processes have been suggested for the Ghor Al-Haditha area in the past, this study aimed to clarify the subsurface characteristics responsible for sinkhole development. For this purpose, high-frequency shear wave reflection vibratory seismic surveys were carried out in the Ghor Al-Haditha area along several crossing and parallel profiles with a total length of 1.8 and 2.1 km in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The sedimentary architecture of the alluvial fan at Ghor Al-Haditha is resolved down to a depth of nearly 200 m at a high resolution and is calibrated with the stratigraphic profiles of two boreholes located inside the survey area. The most surprising result of the survey is the absence of evidence of a thick (> 2-10 m) compacted salt layer formerly suggested to lie at ca. 35-40 m depth. Instead, seismic reflection amplitudes and velocities image with good continuity a complex interlocking of alluvial fan deposits and lacustrine sediments of the Dead Sea between 0 and 200 m depth. Furthermore, the underground section of areas affected by sinkholes is characterized by highly scattering wave fields and reduced seismic interval velocities. We propose that the Dead Sea mud layers, which comprise distributed inclusions or lenses of evaporitic chloride, sulfate, and carbonate minerals as well as clay silicates, become increasingly exposed to unsaturated water as the sea level declines and are consequently destabilized and mobilized by both dissolution and physical erosion in the subsurface. This new interpretation of the underlying cause of sinkhole development is supported by surface observations in nearby channel systems. Overall, this study shows that shear wave seismic reflection technique is a promising method for enhanced near-surface imaging in such challenging alluvial fan settings.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GrigoliCescaRinaldietal.2018,
  author    = {Grigoli, Francesco and Cesca, Simone and Rinaldi, Antonio Pio and Manconi, Andrea and Lopez-Comino, Jos{\´e} {\´A}ngel and Clinton, John F. and Westaway, Rob and Cauzzi, Carlo and Dahm, Torsten and Wiemer, Stefan},
  title     = {The November 2017 M-w 5.5 Pohang earthquake},
  series = {Science},
  volume    = {360},
  journal   = {Science},
  number    = {6392},
  publisher = {American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0036-8075},
  doi       = {10.1126/science.aat2010},
  pages     = {1003 -- 1006},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The moment magnitude (M-w) 5.5 earthquake that struck South Korea in November 2017 was one of the largest and most damaging events in that country over the past century. Its proximity to an enhanced geothermal system site, where high-pressure hydraulic injection had been performed during the previous 2 years, raises the possibility that this earthquake was anthropogenic. We have combined seismological and geodetic analyses to characterize the mainshock and its largest aftershocks, constrain the geometry of this seismic sequence, and shed light on its causal factors. According to our analysis, it seems plausible that the occurrence of this earthquake was influenced by the aforementioned industrial activities. Finally, we found that the earthquake transferred static stress to larger nearby faults, potentially increasing the seismic hazard in the area.},
  language  = {en}
}