TY - JOUR A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Sugan, Monica A1 - Rudzinski, Lukasz A1 - Vajedian, Sanaz A1 - Niemz, Peter A1 - Plank, Simon A1 - Petersen, Gesa A1 - Deng, Zhiguo A1 - Rivalta, Eleonora A1 - Vuan, Alessandro A1 - Linares, Milton Percy Plasencia A1 - Heimann, Sebastian A1 - Dahm, Torsten T1 - Massive earthquake swarm driven by magmatic intrusion at the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica JF - Communications earth and environment N2 - An earthquake swarm affected the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica, a unique rift basin in transition from intra-arc rifting to ocean spreading. The swarm, counting similar to 85,000 volcano-tectonic earthquakes since August 2020, is located close to the Orca submarine volcano, previously considered inactive. Simultaneously, geodetic data reported up to similar to 11 cm north-westward displacement over King George Island. We use a broad variety of geophysical data and methods to reveal the complex migration of seismicity, accompanying the intrusion of 0.26-0.56 km(3) of magma. Strike-slip earthquakes mark the intrusion at depth, while shallower normal faulting the similar to 20 km long lateral growth of a dike. Seismicity abruptly decreased after a Mw 6.0 earthquake, suggesting the magmatic dike lost pressure with the slipping of a large fault. A seafloor eruption is likely, but not confirmed by sea surface temperature anomalies. The unrest documents episodic magmatic intrusion in the Bransfield Strait, providing unique insights into active continental rifting. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00418-5 SN - 2662-4435 VL - 3 IS - 1 PB - Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - López-Comino, José Ángel A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Niemz, Peter A1 - Dahm, Torsten A1 - Zang, Arno T1 - Rupture directivity in 3D inferred from acoustic emissions events in a mine-scale hydraulic fracturing experiment JF - Frontiers in Earth Science N2 - Rupture directivity, implying a predominant earthquake rupture propagation direction, is typically inferred upon the identification of 2D azimuthal patterns of seismic observations for weak to large earthquakes using surface-monitoring networks. However, the recent increase of 3D monitoring networks deployed in the shallow subsurface and underground laboratories toward the monitoring of microseismicity allows to extend the directivity analysis to 3D modeling, beyond the usual range of magnitudes. The high-quality full waveforms recorded for the largest, decimeter-scale acoustic emission (AE) events during a meter-scale hydraulic fracturing experiment in granites at similar to 410 m depth allow us to resolve the apparent durations observed at each AE sensor to analyze 3D-directivity effects. Unilateral and (asymmetric) bilateral ruptures are then characterized by the introduction of a parameter kappa, representing the angle between the directivity vector and the station vector. While the cloud of AE activity indicates the planes of the hydrofractures, the resolved directivity vectors show off-plane orientations, indicating that rupture planes of microfractures on a scale of centimeters have different geometries. Our results reveal a general alignment of the rupture directivity with the orientation of the minimum horizontal stress, implying that not only the slip direction but also the fracture growth produced by the fluid injections is controlled by the local stress conditions. KW - directivity KW - earthquake source KW - induced seismicity KW - hydraulic KW - fracturing KW - acoustic emissions Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.670757 SN - 2296-6463 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jamalreyhani, Mohammadreza A1 - Rezapour, Mehdi A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Dahm, Torsten A1 - Heimann, Sebastian A1 - Sudhaus, Henriette A1 - Isken, Marius Paul T1 - Insight into the 2017-2019 Lurestan arc seismic sequence (Zagros, Iran); complex earthquake interaction in the basement and sediments JF - Geophysical journal international N2 - Despite its high-seismogenic potential, the details of the seismogenic processes of Zagros Simply Folded Belt (SFB) remains debated. Three large earthquakes (M-w 7.3, 5.9 and 6.3) struck in the Lurestan arc of the Zagros SFB in 2017 and 2018. The sequence was recorded by seismic stations at regional, and teleseismic distances. Coseismic surface displacements, measured by Sentinel-1A/B satellites, provide additional data and a unique opportunity to study these earthquakes in detail. Here, we complement previous studies of the coseismic slip distribution of the 12 November 2017 M-w 7.3 Ezgeleh earthquake by a detailed analysis of its aftershocks, and we analysed the rupture process of the two interrelated earthquakes (25 August 2018 M-w 5.9 Tazehabad and the 25 November 2018 M-w 6.3 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquakes). We model the surface displacements obtained from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements and seismic records. We conduct non-linear probabilistic optimizations based on joint InSAR and seismic data to obtain finite-fault rupture of these earthquakes. The Lurestan arc earthquakes were followed by a sustained aftershock activity, with 133 aftershocks exceeding M-n 4.0 until 30 December 2019. We rely on the permanent seismic networks of Iran and Iraq to relocate similar to 700 M-n 3 + events and estimate moment tensor solutions for 85 aftershocks down to M-w 4.0. The 2017 Ezgeleh earthquake has been considered to activate a low-angle (similar to 17 degrees) dextral-thrust fault at the depth of 10-20 km. However, most of its aftershocks have shallow centroid depths (8-12 km). The joint interpretation of finite source models, moment tensor and hypocentral location indicate that the 2018 Tazehabad and Sarpol-e Zahab earthquakes ruptured different strike-slip structures, providing evidence for the activation of the sinistral and dextral strike-slip faults, respectively. The deformation in the Lurestan arc is seismically accommodated by a complex fault system involving both thrust and strike-slip faults. Knowledge about the deformation characteristics is important for the understanding of crustal shortening, faulting and hazard and risk assessment in this region. KW - Joint Inversion KW - Waveform inversion KW - Earthquake source observations KW - Seismicity and tectonics Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac057 SN - 0956-540X SN - 1365-246X VL - 230 IS - 1 SP - 114 EP - 130 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Valenzuela-Malebran, Carla A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Lopez-Comino, José Ángel A1 - Zeckra, Martin A1 - Krüger, F. A1 - Dahm, Torsten T1 - Source mechanisms and rupture processes of the Jujuy seismic nest, Chile-Argentina border JF - Journal of South American earth sciences N2 - The Altiplano-Puna plateau, in Central Andes, is the second-largest continental plateau on Earth, extending between 22 degrees and 27 degrees S at an average altitude of 4400 m. The Puna plateau has been formed in consequence of the subduction of the oceanic Nazca Plate beneath the continental South American plate, which has an average crustal thickness of 50 km at this location. A large seismicity cluster, the Jujuy cluster, is observed at depth of 150-250 km beneath the central region of the Puna plateau. The cluster is seismically very active, with hundreds of earthquakes reported and a peak magnitude MW 6.6 on 25th August 2006. The cluster is situated in one of three band of intermediate-depth focus seismicity, which extend parallel to the trench roughly North to South. It has been hypothesized that the Jujuy cluster could be a seismic nest, a compact seismogenic region characterized by a high stationary activity relative to its surroundings. In this study, we collected more than 40 years of data from different catalogs and proof that the cluster meets the three conditions of a seismic nest. Compared to other known intermediate depth nests at Hindu Kush (Afganisthan) or Bucaramanga (Colombia), the Jujuy nest presents an outstanding seismicity rate, with more than 100 M4+ earthquakes per year. We additionally performed a detailed analysis of the rupture process of some of the largest earthquakes in the nest, by means of moment tensor inversion and directivity analysis. We focused on the time period 2017-2018, where the seismic monitoring was the most extended. Our results show that earthquakes in the nest take place within the eastward subducting oceanic plate, but rupture along sub-horizontal planes dipping westward. We suggest that seismicity at Jujuy nest is controlled by dehydration processes, which are also responsible for the generation of fluids ascending to the crust beneath the Puna volcanic region. We use the rupture plane and nest geometry to provide a constraint to maximal expected magnitude, which we estimate as MW -6.7. KW - Seismic nest KW - Intermediate-deep earthquakes KW - Cluster analysis moment KW - tensor inversion KW - directivity analysis Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2022.103887 SN - 0895-9811 SN - 1873-0647 VL - 117 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niemz, Peter A1 - Dahm, Torsten A1 - Milkereit, Claus A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Petersen, Gesa Maria A1 - Zang, Arno T1 - Insights into hydraulic fracture growth gained from a joint analysis of seismometer-derived tilt signals and scoustic emissions JF - Journal of geophysical research : Solid earth N2 - Hydraulic fracturing is performed to enhance rock permeability, for example, in the frame of geothermal energy production or shale gas exploitation, and can potentially trigger induced seismicity. The tracking of increased permeabilities and the fracturing extent is often based on the microseismic event distribution within the stimulated rock volume, but it is debated whether the microseismic activity adequately depicts the fracture formation. We are able to record tilt signals that appear as long-period transients (<180 s) on two broadband seismometers installed close (17-72 m) to newly formed, meter-scale hydraulic fractures. With this observation, we can overcome the limitations of the microseismic monitoring alone and verify the fracture mapping. Our analysis for the first time combines a catalog of previously analyzed acoustic emissions ([AEs] durations of 20 ms), indirectly mapping the fractures, with unique tilt signals, that provide independent, direct insights into the deformation of the rock. The analysis allows to identify different phases of the fracturing process including the (re)opening, growth, and aftergrowth of fractures. Further, it helps to differentiate between the formation of complex fracture networks and single macrofractures, and it validates the AE fracture mapping. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the fracturing processes, which may help to reduce fluid-injection-induced seismicity and validate efficient fracture formation.
Plain Language Summary Hydraulic fracturing (HF) describes the opening of fractures in rocks by injecting fluids under high pressure. The new fractures not only can facilitate the extraction of shale gas but can also be used to heat up water in the subsurface in enhanced geothermal systems, a corner stone of renewable energy production. The fracture formation is inherently accompanied by small, nonfelt earthquakes (microseismic events). Occasionally, larger events felt by the population can be induced by the subsurface operations. Avoiding such events is important for the acceptance of HF operations and requires a detailed knowledge about the fracture formation. We jointly analyze two very different data sets recorded during mine-scale HF experiments: (a) the tilting of the ground caused by the opening of the fractures, as recorded by broadband seismometers-usually deployed for earthquake monitoring-installed close to the experiments and (b) a catalog of acoustic emissions, seismic signals of few milliseconds emitted by tiny cracks around the forming hydraulic fracture. The novel joint analysis allows to characterize the fracturing processes in greater detail, contributing to the understanding of the physical processes, which may help to understand fluid-injection-induced seismicity and validate the formation of hydraulic fractures. KW - hydraulic fracturing KW - fracture growth KW - tilt KW - acoustic emissions KW - injections KW - broadband seismometer Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB023057 SN - 2169-9313 SN - 2169-9356 VL - 126 IS - 12 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niemz, Peter A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Heimann, Sebastian A1 - Grigoli, Francesco A1 - von Specht, Sebastian A1 - Hammer, Conny A1 - Zang, Arno A1 - Dahm, Torsten T1 - Full-waveform-based characterization of acoustic emission activity in a mine-scale experiment BT - a comparison of conventional and advanced hydraulic fracturing schemes JF - Geophysical journal international / the Royal Astronomical Society, the Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft and the European Geophysical Society N2 - Understanding fracturing processes and the hydromechanical relation to induced seismicity is a key question for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Commonly massive fluid injection, predominately causing hydroshearing, are used in large-scale EGS but also hydraulic fracturing approaches were discussed. To evaluate the applicability of hydraulic fracturing techniques in EGS, six in situ, multistage hydraulic fracturing experiments with three different injection schemes were performed under controlled conditions in crystalline rock at the Aspo Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden). During the experiments the near-field ground motion was continuously recorded by 11 piezoelectric borehole sensors with a sampling rate of 1 MHz. The sensor network covered a volume of 30x30x30 m around a horizontal, 28-m-long injection borehole at a depth of 410 m. To extract and characterize massive, induced, high-frequency acoustic emission (AE) activity from continuous recordings, a semi-automated workflow was developed relying on full waveform based detection, classification and location procedures. The approach extended the AE catalogue from 196 triggered events in previous studies to more than 19600 located AEs. The enhanced catalogue, for the first time, allows a detailed analysis of induced seismicity during single hydraulic fracturing experiments, including the individual fracturing stages and the comparison between injection schemes. Beside the detailed study of the spatio-temporal patterns, event clusters and the growth of seismic clouds, we estimate relative magnitudes and b-values of AEs for conventional, cyclic progressive and dynamic pulse injection schemes, the latter two being fatigue hydraulic fracturing techniques. While the conventional fracturing leads to AE patterns clustered in planar regions, indicating the generation of a single main fracture plane, the cyclic progressive injection scheme results in a more diffuse, cloud-like AE distribution, indicating the activation of a more complex fracture network. For a given amount of hydraulic energy (pressure multiplied by injected volume) pumped into the system, the cyclic progressive scheme is characterized by a lower rate of seismicity, lower maximum magnitudes and significantly larger b-values, implying an increased number of small events relative to the large ones. To our knowledge, this is the first direct comparison of high resolution seismicity in a mine-scale experiment induced by different hydraulic fracturing schemes. KW - Fracture and flow KW - Spatial analysis KW - Statistical methods KW - Time-series analysis KW - Induced seismicity Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggaa127 SN - 0955-419X SN - 1365-246X VL - 222 IS - 1 SP - 189 EP - 206 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Heimann, Sebastian A1 - Kriegerowski, Marius A1 - Saul, Joachim A1 - Dahm, Torsten T1 - Moment tensor inversion for nuclear explosions BT - what can we learn from the 6 January and 9 September 2016 Nuclear Tests, North Korea? JF - Seismological research letters N2 - Two nuclear explosions were carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea in January and September 2016. Epicenters were located close to those of the 2006, 2009, and 2013 previous explosions. We perform a seismological analysis of the 2016 events combining the analysis of full waveforms at regional distances and seismic array beams at teleseismic distances. We estimate the most relevant source parameters, such as source depth, moment release, and full moment tensor (MT). The best MT solution can be decomposed into an isotropic source, directly related with the explosion and an additional deviatoric term, likely due to near‐source interactions with topographic and/or underground facilities features. We additionally perform an accurate resolution test to assess source parameters uncertainties and trade‐offs. This analysis sheds light on source parameters inconsistencies among studies on previous shallow explosive sources. The resolution of the true MT is hindered by strong source parameters trade‐offs, so that a broad range of well‐fitting MT solutions can be found, spanning from a dominant positive isotropic term to a dominant negative vertical compensated linear vector dipole. The true mechanism can be discriminated by additionally modeling first‐motion polarities at seismic arrays at teleseismic distances. A comparative assessment of the 2016 explosion with earlier nuclear tests documents similar vertical waveforms but a significant increase of amplitude for the 2016 explosions, which proves that the 9 September 2016 was the largest nuclear explosion ever performed in North Korea with a magnitude Mw 4.9 and a shallow depth of less than 2 km, although there are no proofs of a fusion explosion. Modeling transversal component waveforms suggests variable size and orientation of the double‐couple components of the 2009, 2013, and 2016 sources. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1785/0220160139 SN - 0895-0695 SN - 1938-2057 VL - 88 IS - 2A SP - 300 EP - 310 PB - Seismological Society of America CY - Albany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grigoli, Francesco A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Rinaldi, Antonio Pio A1 - Manconi, Andrea A1 - Lopez-Comino, José Ángel A1 - Clinton, John F. A1 - Westaway, Rob A1 - Cauzzi, Carlo A1 - Dahm, Torsten A1 - Wiemer, Stefan T1 - The November 2017 M-w 5.5 Pohang earthquake BT - a possible case of induced seismicity in South Korea JF - Science N2 - 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. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat2010 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 360 IS - 6392 SP - 1003 EP - 1006 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karamzadeh, Nasim Toularoud A1 - Kühn, Daniela A1 - Kriegerowski, Marius A1 - López-Comino, José Ángel A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Dahm, Torsten T1 - Small-aperture array as a tool to monitor fluid injection- and extraction-induced microseismicity BT - applications and recommendations JF - Acta Geophysica N2 - The monitoring of microseismicity during temporary human activities such as fluid injections for hydrofracturing, hydrothermal stimulations or wastewater disposal is a difficult task. The seismic stations often cannot be installed on hard rock, and at quiet places, noise is strongly increased during the operation itself and the installation of sensors in deep wells is costly and often not feasible. The combination of small-aperture seismic arrays with shallow borehole sensors offers a solution. We tested this monitoring approach at two different sites: (1) accompanying a fracking experiment in sedimentary shale at 4km depth and (2) above a gas field under depletion. The small-aperture arrays were planned according to theoretical wavenumber studies combined with simulations considering the local noise conditions. We compared array recordings with recordings available from shallow borehole sensors and give examples of detection and location performance. Although the high-frequency noise on the 50-m-deep borehole sensors was smaller compared to the surface noise before the injection experiment, the signals were highly contaminated during injection by the pumping activities. Therefore, a set of three small-aperture arrays at different azimuths was more suited to detect small events, since noise recorded on these arrays is uncorrelated with each other. Further, we developed recommendations for the adaptation of the monitoring concept to other sites experiencing induced seismicity. KW - Microseismic monitoring KW - Induced seismicity KW - Array seismology KW - Shallow borehole sensors Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-018-0231-1 SN - 1895-6572 SN - 1895-7455 VL - 67 IS - 1 SP - 311 EP - 326 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Petersen, Gesa Maria A1 - Cesca, Simone A1 - Kriegerowski, Marius T1 - Automated quality control for large seismic networks BT - implementation and application to the AlpArray seismic network JF - Seismological research letters N2 - As a consequence of the rapid growing worldwide seismic data set, a huge variety of automatized data-processing methods have been developed. To perform automatized waveform-based seismological studies aiming for magnitudes or source process inversion, it is crucial to identify network stations with erroneous transfer functions, gain factors, or component orientations. We developed a new tool dedicated to automated station quality control of dense seismic networks and arrays. The python-based AutoStatsQ toolbox uses the pyrocko seismic data-processing environment. The toolbox automatically downloads data and metadata for selected teleseismic events and performs different tests. As a result, relative gain factors, sensor orientation corrections, and reliable frequency bands are computed for all stations in a chosen time period. Relative gain factors are calculated for all stations and events in a time domain based on maximum P-phase amplitudes. A Rayleigh-wave polarization analysis is used to identify deviating sensor orientations. The power spectra of all stations in a given frequency range are compared with synthetic ones, accessing Global Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) solutions. Frequency ranges of coinciding synthetic and recorded power spectral densities (PSDs) may serve as guidelines for choosing band-pass filters for moment tensor (MT) inversion and help confirm the corner frequency of the instrument. The toolbox was applied to the permanent and temporary AlpArray networks as well as to the denser SWATH-D network, a total of over 750 stations. Stations with significantly deviating gain factors were identified, as well as stations with inverse polarity and misorientations of the horizontal components. The tool can be used to quickly access network quality and to omit or correct stations before MT inversion. Electronic Supplement: List of teleseismic events and tables of median, mean, and standard deviation of relative gain factors, and figures of relative gain factors of all event-station pairs, waveform example showing inverse polarity of horizontal components on ZS.D125, histograms of median, mean, and standard deviation of the correction angles, examples of synthetic and recorded frequency spectra of ZS.D046 and NI.VINO. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1785/0220180342 SN - 0895-0695 SN - 1938-2057 VL - 90 IS - 3 SP - 1177 EP - 1190 PB - Seismological Society of America CY - Albany ER -