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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2016-01-11
    Description: We investigate the relationship between subduction processes and related seismicity for the Lesser Antilles Arc using the Gutenberg–Richter law. This power law describes the earthquake-magnitude distribution, with the gradient of the cumulative magnitude distribution being commonly known as the b -value. The Lesser Antilles Arc was chosen because of its along-strike variability in sediment subduction and the transition from subduction to strike-slip movement towards its northern and southern ends. The data are derived from the seismicity catalogues from the Seismic Research Centre of The University of the West Indies and the Observatoires Volcanologiques et Sismologiques of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and consist of subcrustal events primarily from the slab interface. The b -value is found using a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for a maximum-likelihood straight line-fitting routine. We investigate spatial variations in b -values using a grid-search with circular cells as well as an along-arc projection. Tests with different algorithms and the two independent earthquake cataloges provide confidence in the robustness of our results. We observe a strong spatial variability of the b -value that cannot be explained by the uncertainties. Rather than obtaining a simple north–south b -value distribution suggestive of the dominant control on earthquake triggering being water released from the sedimentary cover on the incoming American Plates, or a b -value distribution that correlates with on the obliquity of subduction, we obtain a series of discrete, high b -value ‘bull's-eyes’ along strike. These bull's-eyes, which indicate stress release through a higher fraction of small earthquakes, coincide with the locations of known incoming oceanic fracture zones on the American Plates. We interpret the results in terms of water being delivered to the Lesser Antilles subduction zone in the vicinity of fracture zones providing lubrication and thus changing the character of the related seismicity. Our results suggest serpentinization around mid-ocean ridge transform faults, which go on to become fracture zones on the incoming plate, plays a significant role in the delivery of water into the mantle at subduction zones.
    Keywords: Seismology
    Print ISSN: 0956-540X
    Electronic ISSN: 1365-246X
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft (DGG) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2015-02-05
    Description: Scotland is a relatively aseismic region for the use of local earthquake tomography, but 40 yr of earthquakes recorded by a good and growing network make it possible. A careful selection is made from the earthquakes located by the British Geological Survey (BGS) over the last four decades to provide a data set maximising arrival time accuracy and ray path coverage of Scotland. A large number of 1-D velocity models with different layer geometries are considered and differentiated by employing quarry blasts as ground-truth events. Then, SIMULPS14 is used to produce a robust 3-D tomographic P -wave velocity model for Scotland. In areas of high resolution the model shows good agreement with previously published interpretations of seismic refraction and reflection experiments. However, the model shows relatively little lateral variation in seismic velocity except at shallow depths, where sedimentary basins such as the Midland Valley are apparent. At greater depths, higher velocities in the northwest parts of the model suggest that the thickness of crust increases towards the south and east. This observation is also in agreement with previous studies. Quarry blasts used as ground truth events and relocated with the preferred 3-D model are shown to be markedly more accurate than when located with the existing BGS 1-D velocity model.
    Keywords: Seismology
    Print ISSN: 0956-540X
    Electronic ISSN: 1365-246X
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft (DGG) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2018-08-03
    Description: Detecting ocean-floor seismic activity is crucial for our understanding of the interior structure and dynamic behavior of Earth. However, 70% of the planet’s surface is covered by water, and seismometer coverage is limited to a handful of permanent ocean bottom stations. We show that existing telecommunication optical fiber cables can detect seismic events when combined with state-of-the-art frequency metrology techniques by using the fiber itself as the sensing element. We detected earthquakes over terrestrial and submarine links with lengths ranging from 75 to 535 kilometers and a geographical distance from the earthquake’s epicenter ranging from 25 to 18,500 kilometers. Implementing a global seismic network for real-time detection of underwater earthquakes requires applying the proposed technique to the existing extensive submarine optical fiber network.
    Keywords: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Physics
    Print ISSN: 0036-8075
    Electronic ISSN: 1095-9203
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Geosciences , Computer Science , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General , Physics
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2017-05-03
    Description: A novel source location method based on coda wave interferometry (CWI) was applied to a microseismic data set of mining-induced events recorded in Nottinghamshire, England. CWI uses scattered waves in the coda of seismograms to estimate the differences between two seismic states. We used CWI to estimate the distances between pairs of earthquake locations, which are then used jointly to determine the relative location of a cluster of events using a probabilistic framework. We evaluated two improvements to this location technique: These account for the impact of a large difference in the dominant wavelength of a recording made on different instruments, and they standardize the selection of parameters to be used when implementing the method. Although the method has been shown to produce reasonable estimates on larger earthquakes, we tested the method for microseismic events with shorter distinguishable codas in recorded waveforms, and hence, fewer recorded scattered waves. The earthquake location results are highly consistent when using different individual seismometer channels, showing that it is possible to locate event clusters with a single-channel seismometer. We thus extend the potential applications of this cost-effective method to seismic events over a wider range of magnitudes.
    Print ISSN: 0016-8033
    Electronic ISSN: 1942-2156
    Topics: Geosciences , Physics
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2014-06-22
    Description: We present the first Rayleigh wave group speed maps of the British Isles constructed from ambient seismic noise. The maps also constitute the first surface wave tomography study of the crust under the British Isles at a relatively high resolution. We computed interferometric, interstation Rayleigh waves from vertical component records of ambient seismic noise recorded on 63 broad-band and short-period stations across the UK and Ireland. Group velocity measurements were made from the resulting surface wave dispersion curves between 5 and 25 s using a multiple phase-matched filter method. Uncertainties in the group velocities were computed by calculating the standard deviation of four dispersion curves constructed by stacking a random selection of daily cross-correlations. Where an uncertainty could not be obtained for a ray path using this method, we estimated it as a function of the interreceiver distance. Group velocity maps were computed for 5–25-s period using the Fast Marching forward solution of the eikonal equation and iterative, linearized inversion. At short and intermediate periods, the maps show remarkable agreement with the major geological features of the British Isles including: terrane boundaries in Scotland; regions of late Palaeozoic basement uplift; areas of exposed late Proterozoic/early Palaeozoic rocks in southwest Scotland, northern England and northwest Wales and, sedimentary basins formed during the Mesozoic such as the Irish Sea Basin, the Chester Basin, the Worcester Graben and the Wessex Basin. The maps also show a consistent low-velocity anomaly in the region of the Midlands Platform, a Proterozoic crustal block in the English Midlands. At longer periods, which are sensitive velocities in the lower crustal/upper mantle, the maps suggest that the depth of Moho beneath the British Isles decreases towards the north and west. Areas of fast velocity in the lower crust also coincide with areas thought to be associated with underplating of the lower crust such as Northern Ireland, the eastern Irish Sea and northwest Wales.
    Keywords: Seismology
    Print ISSN: 0956-540X
    Electronic ISSN: 1365-246X
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft (DGG) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2019
    Description: 〈span〉〈div〉ABSTRACT〈/div〉Earthquakes induced by subsurface industrial activities are a globally emotive issue, with a growing catalog of induced earthquake sequences. However, attempts at discriminating between natural and induced causes, particularly for anomalously shallow seismicity, can be challenging. An earthquake swarm during 2018–2019 in southeast England with a maximum magnitude of ML 3.2 received great public and media attention because of its proximity to operating oilfields. It is therefore vital and timely to provide a detailed characterization of the earthquake sequence at present, and to decide based on current evidence, whether the earthquakes were likely natural or induced. We detected 168 low‐magnitude earthquakes and computed detailed source parameters of these events. Most earthquakes occurred at a shallow depth of 2.3 km, 〉1  km deeper than the geological formations targeted by the oilfields, and laterally 〉3  km away from the drill sites. We combine the east–west‐trending cluster of the seismicity with 2D seismic reflection profiles to find the causative fault system for the earthquakes. A b‐value close to unity and strike‐slip faulting mechanisms are consistent with tectonic reactivation along a pre‐existing fault. Overall, we find no indicators in the earthquake parameters that would strongly suggest an induced source. Nor do we find any clear trends between seismicity and drilling activities based on operational logs provided by the operators. Injected volumes are near zero and monthly production amounts are many orders of magnitude smaller than other reported cases of extraction‐induced seismicity. On balance, and based on the available evidence, we find it currently unlikely that nearby industrial activities induced the seismic swarm. Most likely, the Surrey earthquakes offer a uniquely detailed insight into shallow seismicity within sedimentary basins. Nevertheless, self‐reporting of injection and production times and volumes by operators, and the lack of easily and publicly available oilfield operational data continues to be a point of concern for local residents.〈/span〉
    Print ISSN: 0895-0695
    Electronic ISSN: 1938-2057
    Topics: Geosciences
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2016-11-10
    Description: We present the first Love-wave group-velocity and shear-velocity maps of the British Isles obtained from ambient noise interferometry and fully nonlinear inversion. We computed interferometric inter-station Green's functions by cross-correlating the transverse component of ambient noise records retrieved by 61 seismic stations across the UK and Ireland. Group-velocity measurements along each possible inter-station path were obtained using frequency–time analysis and converted into a series of inter-station traveltime data sets between 4 and 15 s period. Traveltime uncertainties estimated from the standard deviation of dispersion curves constructed by stacking randomly selected subsets of daily cross-correlations were observed to be too low to allow reasonable data fits to be obtained during tomography. Data uncertainties were therefore estimated again during the inversion as distance-dependent functionals. We produced Love-wave group-velocity maps within eight different period bands using a fully nonlinear tomography method which combines the transdimensional reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (rj-McMC) algorithm with an eikonal ray tracer. By modelling exact ray paths at each step of the Markov chain we ensured that the nonlinear character of the inverse problem was fully and correctly accounted for. Between 4 and 10 s period, the group-velocity maps show remarkable agreement with the known geology of the British Isles and correctly identify a number of low-velocity sedimentary basins and high-velocity features. Longer period maps, in which most sedimentary basins are not visible, are instead mainly representative of basement rocks. In a second stage of our study we used the results of tomography to produce a series of Love-wave group-velocity dispersion curves across a grid of geographical points focussed around the East Irish Sea sedimentary basin. We then independently inverted each curve using a similar rj-McMC algorithm to obtain a series of 1-D shear-velocity profiles. By merging all 1-D profiles, we created a fully 3-D model of the crust beneath the East Irish Sea. The depth to basement in this model compares well with that averaged from seismic reflection profiles. This result is the first 3-D model in the UK with fully quantified uncertainties: it shows basin depths and basement structures, and their concomitant uncertainties.
    Keywords: Seismology
    Print ISSN: 0956-540X
    Electronic ISSN: 1365-246X
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft (DGG) and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2017-03-23
    Description: Local seismic magnitudes provide a practical and efficient scale for the implementation of regulation designed to manage the risk of induced seismicity, such as Traffic-Light Schemes (TLS). We demonstrate that significant magnitude discrepancies (up to a unit higher) occur between seismic events recorded on nearby stations (〈5 km) compared with those at greater distances. This is due to the influence of sedimentary layers, which are generally lower in velocity and more attenuating than the underlying crystalline basement rocks, and requires a change in the attenuation term of the M L scale. This has a significant impact on the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) hydraulic fracturing TLS, whose red light is set at M L  0.5. Because the nominal detectability of the U.K. network is M L  2, this scheme will require the deployment of monitoring stations in close proximity to well sites. Using data collected from mining events near New Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, we illustrate the effects that proximity has on travel path velocities and attenuation, then perform a damped least-squares inversion to determine appropriate constants within the M L scale. We show that the attenuation term needs to increase from 0.00183 to 0.0514 and demonstrate that this higher value is representative of a ray path within a slower more attenuating sedimentary layer compared with the continental crust. We therefore recommend that the magnitude scale M L =log( A )+1.17log( r )+0.0514 r –3.0 should be used when local monitoring networks are within 5 km of the event epicenters.
    Print ISSN: 0037-1106
    Electronic ISSN: 1943-3573
    Topics: Geosciences , Physics
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2019
    Description: 〈span〉〈div〉ABSTRACT〈/div〉Earthquakes induced by subsurface industrial activities are a globally emotive issue, with a growing catalog of induced earthquake sequences. However, attempts at discriminating between natural and induced causes, particularly for anomalously shallow seismicity, can be challenging. An earthquake swarm during 2018–2019 in southeast England with a maximum magnitude of ML 3.2 received great public and media attention because of its proximity to operating oilfields. It is therefore vital and timely to provide a detailed characterization of the earthquake sequence at present, and to decide based on current evidence, whether the earthquakes were likely natural or induced. We detected 168 low‐magnitude earthquakes and computed detailed source parameters of these events. Most earthquakes occurred at a shallow depth of 2.3 km, 〉1  km deeper than the geological formations targeted by the oilfields, and laterally 〉3  km away from the drill sites. We combine the east–west‐trending cluster of the seismicity with 2D seismic reflection profiles to find the causative fault system for the earthquakes. A b‐value close to unity and strike‐slip faulting mechanisms are consistent with tectonic reactivation along a pre‐existing fault. Overall, we find no indicators in the earthquake parameters that would strongly suggest an induced source. Nor do we find any clear trends between seismicity and drilling activities based on operational logs provided by the operators. Injected volumes are near zero and monthly production amounts are many orders of magnitude smaller than other reported cases of extraction‐induced seismicity. On balance, and based on the available evidence, we find it currently unlikely that nearby industrial activities induced the seismic swarm. Most likely, the Surrey earthquakes offer a uniquely detailed insight into shallow seismicity within sedimentary basins. Nevertheless, self‐reporting of injection and production times and volumes by operators, and the lack of easily and publicly available oilfield operational data continues to be a point of concern for local residents.〈/span〉
    Print ISSN: 0895-0695
    Electronic ISSN: 1938-2057
    Topics: Geosciences
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2000-08-01
    Print ISSN: 0377-0273
    Electronic ISSN: 1872-6097
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Elsevier
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