TY - JOUR A1 - Hiemer, Stefan A1 - Rößler, Dirk A1 - Scherbaum, Frank T1 - Monitoring the West Bohemian earthquake swarm in 2008/2009 by a temporary small-aperture seismic array JF - Journal of seismology N2 - 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. KW - Swarm earthquakes KW - West Bohemia KW - Array seismology KW - Frequency-magnitude distribution Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-011-9256-5 SN - 1383-4649 VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 169 EP - 182 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - THES A1 - Rößler, Dirk T1 - Retrieval of earthquake source parameters in inhomogeneous anisotropic mediawith application to swarm events in West Bohemia in 2000 T1 - Bestimmung von Erdbebenparametern in inhomogenen anisotropen Medien mit Anwendung auf Schwarmbeben im Vogtland im Jahr 2000 N2 - Earthquakes form by sudden brittle failure of rock mostly as shear ruptures along a rupture plane. Beside this, mechanisms other than pure shearing have been observed for some earthquakes mainly in volcanic areas. Possible explanations include complex rupture geometries and tensile earthquakes. Tensile earthquakes occur by opening or closure of cracks during rupturing. They are likely to be often connected with fluids that cause pressure changes in the pore space of rocks leading to earthquake triggering. Tensile components have been reported for swarm earthquakes in West Bohemia in 2000. The aim and subject of this work is an assessment and the accurate determination of such tensile components for earthquakes in anisotropic media. Currently used standard techniques for the retrieval of earthquake source mechanisms assume isotropic rock properties. By means of moment tensors, equivalent forces acting at the source are used to explain the radiated wavefield. Conversely, seismic anisotropy, i.e. directional dependence of elastic properties, has been observed in the earth's crust and mantle such as in West Bohemia. In comparison to isotropy, anisotropy causes modifications in wave amplitudes and shear-wave splitting. In this work, effects of seismic anisotropy on true or apparent tensile source components of earthquakes are investigated. In addition, earthquake source parameters are determined considering anisotropy. It is shown that moment tensors and radiation patterns due to shear sources in anisotropic media may be similar to those of tensile sources in isotropic media. In contrast, similarities between tensile earthquakes in anisotropic rocks and shear sources in isotropic media may exist. As a consequence, the interpretation of tensile source components is ambiguous. The effects that are due to anisotropy depend on the orientation of the earthquake source and the degree of anisotropy. The moment of an earthquake is also influenced by anisotropy. The orientation of fault planes can be reliably determined even if isotropy instead of anisotropy is assumed and if the spectra of the compressional waves are used. Greater difficulties may arise when the spectra of split shear waves are additionally included. Retrieved moment tensors show systematic artefacts. Observed tensile source components determined for events in West Bohemia in 1997 can only partly be attributed to the effects of moderate anisotropy. Furthermore, moment tensors determined earlier for earthquakes induced at the German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB), Bavaria, were reinterpreted under assumptions of anisotropic rock properties near the borehole. The events can be consistently identified as shear sources, although their moment tensors comprise tensile components that are considered to be apparent. These results emphasise the necessity to consider anisotropy to uniquely determine tensile source parameters. Therefore, a new inversion algorithm has been developed, tested, and successfully applied to 112 earthquakes that occurred during the most recent intense swarm episode in West Bohemia in 2000 at the German-Czech border. Their source mechanisms have been retrieved using isotropic and anisotropic velocity models. Determined local magnitudes are in the range between 1.6 and 3.2. Fault-plane solutions are similar to each other and characterised by left-lateral faulting on steeply dipping, roughly North-South oriented rupture planes. Their dip angles decrease above a depth of about 8.4km. Tensile source components indicating positive volume changes are found for more than 60% of the considered earthquakes. Their size depends on source time and location. They are significant at the beginning of the swarm and at depths below 8.4km but they decrease in importance later in the course of the swarm. Determined principle stress axes include P axes striking Northeast and Taxes striking Southeast. They resemble those found earlier in Central Europe. However, depth-dependence in plunge is observed. Plunge angles of the P axes decrease gradually from 50° towards shallow angles with increasing depth. In contrast, the plunge angles of the T axes change rapidly from about 8° above a depth of 8.4km to 21° below this depth. By this thesis, spatial and temporal variations in tensile source components and stress conditions have been reported for the first time for swarm earthquakes in West Bohemia in 2000. They also persist, when anisotropy is assumed and can be explained by intrusion of fluids into the opened cracks during tensile faulting. N2 - Erdbeben entstehen durch plötzlichen Sprödbruch des Gesteins, meist als Scherbruch entlang einer Bruchfläche. Daneben werden für einige Beben v.a. in vulkanischen Gebieten auch Mechanismen beobachtet, die scheinbar vom Modell des Scherbruches abweichen. Ursachen dafür beinhalten komplexe Bruchgeometrien und tensile Erdbeben. Bei tensilen Erdbeben kommt es während des Bruchs zum Öffnen oder Schließen der Bruchfläche und damit zu Volumenänderungen. Erdbeben mit tensilen Anteilen stehen wahrscheinlich oft im Zusammenhang mit Fluiden, welche zur Durckänderung im Porenraum von Gesteinen und damit zum Auslösen des Bebens führen. Sie wurden auch im Vogtland während eines Erdbebenschwarms im Jahr 1997 beobachtet. Die Beurteilung und sichere Bestimmung tensiler Anteile von Erdbeben sind Ziel und Gegenstand dieser Arbeit. Bei Standardverfahren zur Bestimmung von Erdbebenmechanismen werden isotrope Gesteinseigenschaften angenommen. Momententensoren beschreiben dabei Kräfte, die das abgestrahlte Wellenfeld erklären. Allerdings wird seismische Anisotropie, d.h. Richtungsabhängigkeit elastischer Eigenschaften, in der Erdkruste und im Mantel wie z.B. im Vogtland beobachtet. Anisotropie bewirkt im Vergleich zu isotropen Medien Veränderungen der Wellenamplituden und -polariserungen sowie das Aufspalten von Scherwellen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden daher der Einfluss seismischer Anisotropie auf wahre oder scheinbar auftretende tensile Quellanteile untersucht und Erdbebenmechanismen unter Berücksichtigung seismischer Anisotropie bestimmt. Es wird gezeigt, dass Momententensoren und Abstrahlmuster von Scherbrüchen in anisotropen Medien denen von tensilen Brüchen in isotropen Medien ähneln können. Umgekehrt treten Ähnlichkeiten tensiler Beben in anisotropen Gesteinen mit Scherbrüchen in isotropen Medien auf. Damit existieren Mehrdeutigkeiten beobachteter tensiler Quellanteile. Die Effekte von Anisotropie hängen von der Orientierung des Bruches und vom Grad der Anisotropie ab. Außerdem beeinflusst Anisotropie das Moment eines Bebens. Herdflächenorientierungen können auch dann verlässlich bestimmt werden, wenn man Isotropie statt Anisotropie annimmt und die Spektren von Kompressionswellen verwendet. Bei Hinzunahme der Spektren von Scherwellen können Uneindeutigkeiten auftreten. Abgeleitete Momententensoren zeigen systematische Artefakte. Beobachtungen tensiler Quellanteile von Beben im Vogtland im Jahr 1997 können nicht allein durch moderate Anisotropie erklärt werden. Weiterhin wurden früher bestimmte Momententensoren induzierter Beben nahe der Kontinentalen Tiefbohrung, Bayern, unter Annahme anisotroper Parameter reinterpretiert. Die Beben werden einheitlich als Scherbrüche charakterisiert, obwohl deren Momententensoren tensile Bestandteile enthalten, die als scheinbar angesehen werden. Die Resultate unterstreichen die Notwendigkeit, seismische Anisotropie zu berücksichtigen, um tensile Komponenten von Erdbeben eindeutig zu bestimmen. Ein daher neu entwickelter Inversionsalgorithmus wurde getestet und erfolgreich auf 112 Erdbeben der letzten intensiven Schwarmepisode im Jahr 2000 im Vogtland an der deutsch-tschechischen Grenze angewandt. Die Herdparameter wurden unter Verwendung isotroper und anisotroper Geschwindigkeitsmodelle ermittelt. Die Beben zeigen Lokalmagnituden zwischen 1,6 und 3,2. Sie weisen zueinander ähnliche Herdflächenlösungen mit linkslateralem Versatz auf steil einfallenden, etwa Nord-Süd orientierten Bruchflächen auf. Die Fallwinkel nehmen oberhalb 8,4km Tiefe ab. Für über 60% der betrachteten Erdbeben werden tensile Quellanteile mit Volumenvergrößerung beobachtet. Die tensilen Komponenten zeigen Abhängigkeiten von Herdzeit und -ort. Sie sind zu Beginn des Schwarms sowie in Tiefen unterhalb 8,4km besonders signifikant und nehmen später an Bedeutung ab. Abgeleitete Hauptspannungsachsen enthalten P Achsen mit nordwestlicher und T Achsen mit südwestlicher Streichrichtung. Sie ähneln denen in Mitteleuropa. Es werden tiefenabhängige Fallwinkel beobachtet. Die Änderungen erfolgen für die P Achsen graduell von 50° hin zu flacheren Fallwinkeln bei tieferen Beben. Sie erfolgen jedoch abrupt für die T Achsen von etwa 8° oberhalb einer Tiefe von etwa 8,4km zu 21° einfallend unterhalb dessen. Mit dieser Arbeit werden erstmals zeitliche und räumliche Veränderungen tensiler Quellanteile und Spannungszustände im Vogtland für Erdbeben im Jahr 2000 beobachtet. Diese haben auch dann Bestand, wenn seismische Anisotropie berücksichtigt wird. Sie können durch Fluide erklärt werden, die in die Bruchflächen eindringen. KW - Seismologie KW - Momententensor KW - Anisotropie KW - Erdbeben KW - Wellenausbreitung KW - Vogtland KW - Schwarmbeben KW - tensile Anteile KW - Hauptspannungsachse KW - earthquake swarm KW - anisotropy KW - tensile earthquakes KW - moment tensor KW - West Bohemia Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-7758 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rößler, Dirk A1 - Hiemer, Stephan A1 - Bach, Christoph A1 - Delavaud, Elise A1 - Krüger, Frank A1 - Ohrnberger, Matthias A1 - Sauer, David A1 - Scherbaum, Frank A1 - Vollmer, Daniel T1 - Small-aperture seismic array monitors Vogtland earthquake swarm in 2008/09 N2 - The most recent intense earthquake swarm in the Vogtland lasted from 6 October 2008 until January 2009. Greatest magnitudes exceeded M3.5 several times in October making it the greatest swarm since 1985/86. In contrast to the swarms in 1985 and 2000, seismic moment release was concentrated near swarm onset. Focal area and temporal evolution are similar to the swarm in 2000. Work hypothysis: uprising upper-mantle fluids trigger swarm earthquakes at low stress level. To monitor the seismicity, the University of Potsdam operated a small aperture seismic array at 10 km epicentral distance between 18 October 2008 and 18 March 2009. Consisting of 12 seismic stations and 3 additional microphones, the array is capable of detecting earthquakes from larger to very low magnitudes (M<-1) as well as associated air waves. We use array techniques to determine properties of the incoming wavefield: noise, direct P and S waves, and converted phases. KW - Vogtland KW - Erdbebenschwarm 2008 KW - Arrayseismologie KW - Vogtland KW - West Bohemia KW - earthquake swarm KW - array seismology Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-29185 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rößler, Dirk A1 - Krüger, Frank A1 - Rümpker, Georg A1 - Psencik, Ivan T1 - Tensile source components of swarm events in West Bohemia in 2000 by considering seismic anisotropy N2 - 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. KW - Seismologie KW - Erbeben KW - Momententensor KW - Anisotropie KW - Vogtland KW - Seismology KW - tensile earthquake KW - moment tensor KW - anisotropy KW - West Bohemia Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-12975 ER -