Earthquake swarm explained

In seismology, an earthquake swarm is a sequence of seismic events occurring in a local area within a relatively short period. The time span used to define a swarm varies, but may be days, months, or years. Such an energy release is different from the situation when a major earthquake (main shock) is followed by a series of aftershocks: in earthquake swarms, no single earthquake in the sequence is obviously the main shock. In particular, a cluster of aftershocks occurring after a mainshock is not a swarm.[1]

History and generalities

The Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge), which form the border between the Czech Republic and Germany, western Bohemia and the Vogtland region, have been known since the 16th century as being prone to frequent earthquake swarms, which typically last a few weeks to a few months. In 1899, Austrian geologist Josef Knett, while studying a swarm of about a hundred events felt in western Bohemia/Vogtland between January and February 1824, coined the noun Schwarmbeben, i.e. "swarm [earth]quake".[2] The term "swarm" comes from the fact that hypocentres give the impression of agglutinating like a bee swarm when plotted onto a map, a cross-section or a 3D model.

One of the best-documented swarms occurred near Matsushiro, a suburb of Nagano, to the north-west of Tokyo. The Matsushiro swarm lasted from 1965 to 1967 and generated about 1 million earthquakes. This swarm had the peculiarity of being sited just under a seismological observatory installed in 1947 in a decommissioned military tunnel. It began in August 1965 with three earthquakes too weak to be felt, but three months later, a hundred earthquakes could be felt daily. On 17 April 1966, the observatory counted 6,780 earthquakes, with 585 of them having a magnitude great enough to be felt, which means that an earthquake could be felt, on average, every two and a half minutes.[3] The phenomenon was clearly identified as linked to a magma uplift, perhaps initiated by the 1964 Niigata earthquake, which occurred the previous year.[4]

Earthquake swarms are common in volcanic regions such as Japan, Central Italy, the Afar depression or Iceland, where they occur before and during eruptions, but they are also observed in zones of Quaternary volcanism or of hydrothermal circulation, such as Vogtland/western Bohemia and the Vosges massif, and less frequently far from tectonic plate boundaries in locations such as Nevada, Oklahoma or Scotland. In all cases, high-pressure fluid migration in the Earth's crust seems to be the trigger mechanism and the driving process that govern the evolution of the swarm in space and time.[5] [6] The Hochstaufen earthquake swarm in Bavaria, with 2-km-deep foci, is one of the rare examples where an indisputable relationship between seismic activity and precipitation could be established.[7]

Earthquake swarms raise public-safety issues: first, because the end of seismic activity cannot be predicted; second, because it is uncertain whether another earthquake with a magnitude larger than those of previous shocks in the sequence will occur (the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake in Italy illustrates this, with an MW 6.3 shock following a swarm activity with magnitudes between 1 and 3). Even though swarms usually generate moderate shocks, the persistence of felt earthquakes can be disruptive and cause distress to the population.

Examples

The following examples were chosen for peculiarities of certain swarms (for instance: large number of events, complex interaction with larger shocks, long period of time, ultra-shallow focal depth), or because of their geographical region, some swarms occurring in otherwise aseismic regions. It is not intended to be a list of all the swarms happening worldwide.

Asia

India

Philippines

Europe

Iceland

Czech Republic / Germany

France

Central America

El Salvador

North America

United States

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Horálek . Josef . Fischer . Tomáš . Einarsson . Páll . Jakobsdótir . Steinunn . 2015 . Earthquake swarms . Beer . Michael . Kougioumtzoglou . Ioannis . Patelli . Eduardo . Au . Siu-Kui . Encyclopedia of Earthquake Engineering . Berlin . Springer . 871–885 . 978-3-642-35343-7 . 10.1007/978-3-642-35344-4.
  2. de . Knett . Josef . 1899 . Das Erzgebirgische Schwarmbeben zu Hartenberg vom 1. Jänner bis Feber 1824 . Sitzungsber. Deutsch. Naturwiss.-Med. Ver. Böhmen . 19 . 167–191 .
  3. Web site: Matsushiro earthquake swarm. data.jma.go.jp. 2017-10-31.
  4. Mogi . Kiyoo . 1989 . The mechanics of the occurrence of the Matsushiro earthquake swarm in central Japan and its relation to the 1964 Niigata earthquake . Tectonophysics . 159 . 1–2 . 109–119 . 10.1016/0040-1951(89)90173-X . 1989Tectp.159..109M .
  5. Thouvenot . François . Jenatton . Liliane . Scafidi . Davide . Turino . Chiara . Potin . Bertrand . Ferretti . Gabriele . 2016 . Encore Ubaye: Earthquake swarms, foreshocks, and aftershocks in the southern French Alps . Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. . 106 . 5 . 2244–2257 . 10.1785/0120150249 . 2016BuSSA.106.2244T .
  6. Špičák . Aleš . 2000 . Earthquake swarms and accompanying phenomena in intraplate regions: a review . Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica . 44 . 2 . 89–106 . 10.1023/A:1022146422444 . 126768561 .
  7. Kraft . Toni . Wassermann . Joachim . Schmedes . Eberhard . Igel . Heiner . 2006 . Meteorological triggering of earthquake swarms at Mt. Hochstaufen, SE-Germany . Tectonophysics . 424 . 3 . 245–258 . 10.1016/j.tecto.2006.03.044 . 2006Tectp.424..245K .
  8. Web site: Earthquake leads to roof crash, man killed in Dahanu . 2019-07-26. Nair. Sandhya. The Times of India. 2019-09-04.
  9. Web site: Batangas tremors part of 'earthquake swarm,' says Phivolcs. 2017-04-08. Gamil. Jaymee. newsinfo.inquirer.net. 2019-09-04.
  10. https://www.panaynews.net/quake-swarm-hits-iloilo-antique/ Quake ‘swarm’ hits Iloilo, Antique
  11. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/11/05/magnitude-four-earthquakes-panay-island-iloilo-city.html Series of earthquakes hit parts of Panay island Monday
  12. Web site: Cruz . Divina Nova Joy Dela . 2019-11-01 . Quake 'swarm' hits Mindanao . 2022-09-27 . The Manila Times.
  13. https://earthquake.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/2019_Earthquake_Information/October/2019_1016_1137_B3F.html "Earthquake Information – 16 Oct 2019 – 07:37:04 PM"
  14. Web site: . 2 November 2019 . NDRRMC Update: SitRep No. 08 regarding Magnitude 6.6 and 6.5 Earthquakes in Tulunan, Nurth Cotabato . 2 November 2019.
  15. 1. "Earthquake Information – 29 Oct 2019 – 09:04:43 AM". PHIVOLCS. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  16. Web site: . November 20, 2019 . NDRRMC Update: SitRep No. 30 regarding Magnitude 6.6 and 6.5 Earthquakes in Tulunan, North Cotabato . November 20, 2019.
  17. News: October 31, 2019 . Kidapawan hotel nearly collapses after magnitude 6.5 quake, several injured . ABS-CBN News . November 4, 2019.
  18. Web site: 2021-10-18 . Series of tremors in CamSur considered as 'earthquake swarm' -- Phivolcs . 2022-09-16 . Manila Bulletin.
  19. Fischer . Tomáš . Horálek . Josef . Michálek . Jan . Boušková . Alena . 2010 . The 2008 West Bohemia earthquake swarm in the light of the WEBNET network . J. Seismol. . 14 . 4 . 662–682 . 10.1007/s10950-010-9189-4 . 2010JSeis..14..665F . 140621431 .
  20. Thouvenot . François . Jenatton . Liliane . Gratier . Jean-Pierre . 2009 . 200-m-deep earthquake swarm in Tricastin (lower Rhône Valley, France) accounts for noisy seismicity over past centuries . Terra Nova . 21 . 3 . 203–210 . 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2009.00875.x . 2009TeNov..21..203T . 129836213 . free .
  21. Book: Thouvenot . François . Bouchon . Michel . What is the Lowest Magnitude Threshold at Which an Earthquake can be Felt or Heard, or Objects Thrown into the Air? . 2008 . Fréchet . Julien . Meghraoui . Mustapha . Stucchi . Massimiliano . Historical Seismology: Interdisciplinary Studies of Past and Recent Earthquakes . Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences . 2 . Dordrecht . Springer . 313–326 . 978-1-4020-8221-4 . 10.1007/978-1-4020-8222-1_15.
  22. fr . Rothé . Jean-Pierre . 1941 . La séismicité des Alpes occidentales . Ann. Inst. Phys. Globe . III . 26–105 .
  23. Web site: Un séisme de faible magnitude enregistré en Maurienne. ledauphine.com. 2017-11-15.
  24. News: Powerful earthquake swarm under Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, El Salvador. Blašković. Teo. 2017-04-11. watchers.news. 2019-09-04.
  25. Web site: Complex Behavior of a Nevada Earthquake Swarm. earthquakes.berkeley.edu. 2019-09-03.
  26. Web site: Rapid Energetic Swarms near West Thumb Lake, Yellowstone. monitorseis.net. 2019-09-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617184321/https://www.monitorseis.net/west-thumb-yellowstone-energetic-swarms.html. 2019-06-17. dead.
  27. News: Permanent injection well moratorium proposed. Short. Louis. 2011-06-24. The Sun Times. 2011-07-03. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110630081046/http://www.thesuntimes.com/features/x438671110/Permanent-injection-well-moratorium-proposed. 2011-06-30.
  28. Web site: M5.3 2017 Soda Springs, Idaho Sequence. earthquake.usgs.gov. 2019-09-03.
  29. Web site: Natural Fluid Injections Triggered Cahuilla Earthquake Swarm . caltech.edu . 20 June 2020 . June 18, 2020.
  30. Ross . Zachary E. . Cochran . Elizabeth S. . Trugman . Daniel T. . Smith . Jonathan D. . 3D fault architecture controls the dynamism of earthquake swarms . Science . 19 June 2020 . 368 . 6497 . 1357–1361 . 10.1126/science.abb0779 . 32554593 . 2020Sci...368.1357R . 1739984 . 219843436 .
  31. News: La erupción volcánica submarina de El Hierro libera magma y gases en el océano. es. Bernardo Marin. R. Mendez. 2011-10-11. El País. 2012-05-07.
  32. Web site: Essaim de séismes à Mayotte : points de situation . brgm.fr . fr . 2019-09-05.
  33. Web site: Volcan sous-marin au large de Mayotte, retour sur une découverte exceptionnelle . ipgp.fr . fr . 2019-09-05.
  34. Lemoine . Anne . Briole . Pierre . Bertil . Didier . Roullé . Agathe . Foumelis . Michael . Thinon . Isabelle . Raucoules . Daniel . de Michele . Marcello . Valty . Pierre . Hoste Colomer . Roser. The 2018–2019 seismo-volcanic crisis east of Mayotte, Comoros islands: seismicity and ground deformation markers of an exceptional submarine eruption . Geophysical Journal International . 2020 . 223 . 1 . 22–44 . 10.1093/gji/ggaa273. free .
  35. Cesca . Simone . Letort . Jean . Razafindrakoto . Hoby N. T. . Heimann . Sebastian . Rivalta . Eleonora . Isken . Marius P. . Nikkhoo . Mehdi . Passarelli . Luigi . Petersen . Gesa M. . Cotton. Fabrice . Dahm . Torsten . 2020 . Drainage of a deep magma reservoir near Mayotte inferred from seismicity and deformation. Nature Geoscience . 13 . 1 . 87–93 . 10.1038/s41561-019-0505-5 . 2020NatGe..13...87C . 10754/661261 . 209897160 . free .
  36. Strange waves rippled around the world, and nobody knows why. https://web.archive.org/web/20181128151627/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/11/strange-earthquake-waves-rippled-around-world-earth-geology/. dead. November 28, 2018. National Geographic. Maya Wei-Haas. 2018-11-28. 2018-11-30.
  37. Web site: Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 in the Santa Cruz Islands on 6 February 2013. 2019-09-05. CEA/DAM.