Abstract

We present the results of the first application of the newly developed concept «Nanoseismic Monitoring» on active<br />faults in the region close to Murcia, Spain. The aim of this microseismic feasibility study is to test if it is possible<br />to record small magnitude events (ML<0.0) within a short period of time with surface installations and to investigate<br />if these events are related to the regional catalog in terms of amount of events. The seismic monitoring<br />was performed with one small array called the Seismic Navigating System. It consists of one central three component<br />and three one component seismometers arranged tripartitely around the central station. In the measurement<br />period of two nights at two different sites we were able to detect 19 microearthquakes down to ML = -2.6. The results<br />correlate well with the frequency-magnitude distribution of the regional bulletin. This in turn will allow for<br />estimation of monitoring rates before actual field measurements just from bulletin data. Given an activity rate of<br />5 to 10 events per night one may map active fault zones within just a few weeks of field campaign.

Highlights

  • Characterizing recent seismicity and mapping active fault segments must be based on the compilation of seismological bulletins

  • The concept of Nanoseismic Monitoring (Joswig, 2008), a technique developed to detect and characterize small magnitude sources, is tested as a short-term alternative for semi-permanent seismic networks to reduce network recording time. It is successfully tested for OnSite-Inspections of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and was applied to detect and characterize small magnitude events triggered by material impacts in sinkholes along the western Dead Sea shores (Wust-Bloch and Joswig, 2006)

  • The Betic Cordillera, which is situated in the southern part of Spain, is a collision zone generated by the nearby African-Eurasian plate boundary

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Characterizing recent seismicity and mapping active fault segments must be based on the compilation of seismological bulletins. The concept of Nanoseismic Monitoring (Joswig, 2008), a technique developed to detect and characterize small magnitude sources, is tested as a short-term alternative for semi-permanent seismic networks to reduce network recording time. It is successfully tested for OnSite-Inspections of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and was applied to detect and characterize small magnitude events triggered by material impacts in sinkholes along the western Dead Sea shores (Wust-Bloch and Joswig, 2006). The small magnitude seismicity detected and partly localized by the single, smallaperture tripartite array within two successive monitoring nights, at two different sites, is compared with the regional 1984-2003 bulletin of the Instituto Geográfico National, Madrid (IGN). Brune and Allen (1967) have shown along the San Andreas Fault system that usually a two-day measurement of seismic activity is sufficient to make an approximate estimation about the local rate of microseismicity

Geological and tectonic setting
Data acquisition and processing
Characterization of regional seismicity
Conclusions

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.