The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency for earthquakes. Its activities are integrated in the federal action plan for earthquake mitigation.
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Felt Earthquakes in Switzerland
|
Local Time |
Mag. |
Location |
Felt? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-13 12:36 | 3.3 | Albstadt D | Probably not felt |
Latest Earthquakes
|
Local Time |
Magnitude |
Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-26 23:40 | 1.1 | Bourg-Saint-Pierre VS |
| 2021-09-26 11:14 | 0.9 | Chamonix F |
| 2021-09-26 08:05 | 1.1 | Ebnat-Kappel SG |
| 2021-09-26 07:34 | 1.6 | Ebnat-Kappel SG |
| 2021-09-26 05:08 | 1.5 | Annecy F |
| 2021-09-25 22:32 | 0.0 | Lenk im Simmental BE |
Recent earthquakes magnitude 4.5 or greater
|
Time (UTC) |
Mag. |
Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-21 16:09:45 | 4.5 | CENTRAL TURKEY |
| 2021-09-14 02:32:02 | 4.5 | Svalbard, Norway, region |
| 2021-09-13 06:15:36 | 4.8 | NORWEGIAN SEA |
| 2021-09-08 15:43:01 | 4.5 | Iran-Iraq border region |
| 2021-09-07 11:15:00 | 4.5 | Turkey |
| 2021-09-06 15:04:39 | 4.6 | Dodecanese Islands, Greece |
| 2021-09-03 03:34:49 | 4.8 | CAUCASUS REGION, RUSSIA |
| 2021-08-31 11:04:27 | 5.1 | Turkey |
| 2021-08-28 11:20:50 | 5.1 | STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR |
| 2021-08-27 10:41:10 | 4.6 | North of Svalbard |
| 2021-08-22 13:42:57 | 4.5 | Greenland Sea |
| 2021-08-19 11:26:33 | 4.7 | Dodecanese Islands, Greece |
| 2021-08-16 23:58:56 | 4.6 | Northwestern Balkan Peninsula |
Recent earthquakes magnitude 6 or greater
|
UTC Time |
Magnitude |
Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-24 11:52:31 | 6.1 | Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, United States |
| 2021-09-22 09:57:08 | 6.5 | Near coast of Nicaragua |
| 2021-09-21 13:14:32 | 6.4 | Near coast of central Chile |
| 2021-09-20 20:25:25 | 6.0 | Kuril Islands, Russia |
| 2021-09-13 05:18:13 | 6.2 | Chile-Argentina border region |
| 2021-09-08 01:47:47 | 7.0 | Near coast of Guerrero, Mexico |
| 2021-09-07 09:49:57 | 6.0 | Fiji Islands region |
| 2021-08-31 02:52:50 | 6.3 | Kermadec Islands, New Zealand |
2021-09-15
Fieldwork in Iceland for geothermal energy
Ten researchers from the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich went to Iceland in June and August 2021 to support two projects with a seismic measurement campaign. In a collaborative effort with the German Research Centre for Geoscience (GFZ) and Reykjavik Energy (ON Power), the team set up a network of 500 seismic nodes across the Hengill geothermal field. It is the largest and densest network of measuring stations installed in the country so far.
This fieldwork in Iceland was part of a seismic measurement campaign for a geothermal project in Iceland and "DEEPEN" (DErisking Exploration for geothermal Plays in magmatic ENvironments), a European research project in the field of geothermal energy. DEEPEN aims at establishing an approach to minimise the risk of field exploration in deep geothermal energy and at contributing to a higher probability of success when drilling for geothermal fluids in magmatic systems.
The seismic nodes that were used are 5Hz geophones with integrated battery and digitiser (SOLOS provided by the University of Geneva) and 5Hz geophones with external digitiser and batteries (provided by the Geophysical Instrument Pool of the GFZ). Data from such dense seismic node deployments allow the researchers to gain a better understanding of the sub-surface. Thanks to the small size of the nodes, the research team finished the deployment within two weeks in June, despite the tough weather condition, steep terrain and long hikes to reach each dedicated site.
With the network, a special focus was given to the Northern region around Nesjavellir and the Southern Hverahlid, where the most productive boreholes of the geothermal field are located. A vehicle called vibrotruck (see fig. 2) passed through the Northern array and provided an additional source signal during the deployment time. Typically used in seismic exploration, the vibrotruck pressed a vibrating plate onto the earth’s surface. The low-frequency vibrations propagate underground and are reflected by the rock strata. These seismic waves were recorded by the installed geophones and gave further insights into the geological sub-surface.
After the deployment, the network was running successfully for two months and overlapped with another seismic network (COSEISMIQ), which is also operated by the SED. In August 2021, the research group travelled again to Iceland to dismantle both networks. The researchers expect that the high-density seismic imaging will allow them to illuminate the sub-surface in unprecedented detail.
2021-08-05
A better understanding of slow slips offers insights into earthquakes
Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of stress along faults in the Earth's crust. The resulting seismic waves of this fast ruptures of the Earth crust propagate through the ground, causing the shaking we perceive as earthquakes. But there are also more gentle processes, non-shaky versions of seismic fractures. These so-called "slow slips" attracted the attention of a research team from the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, the University of Geneva in Switzerland, the German Research Centre for Geoscience (GFZ) and the University of Bologna in Italy.
Slow slip events are fractures of the Earth's crust that propagate very slowly without generating considerable ground shaking. This fracture process can last from less than a day to more than a year. Yet, slow slips have the potential of triggering earthquakes or earthquakes swarms – a process that is not fully understood so far.
Slow slips are most common in regions where tectonic plates slide over each other (in subduction zones), especially all around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, including Japan, New Zealand, North and Central America or near volcanoes such as Mt. Etna in Italy or Kilauea in Hawaii.
The team analysed the correlation between the characteristics of each slow event and the triggered seismic activity. The results show that shallower slow slips are more likely to generate larger seismicity compared to deeper slow slip processes. This information can now be used to improve a model to predict the changes and hazards associated with these specific types of events. The researchers hope that the database and modelling can be developed further to build a better understanding of those complex processes.
The research was recently published in the scientific journal “Science Advances” and is accessible under the following link: https://advances.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg9718
2021-07-07
[Available in DE / FR] Verspürtes Beben bei Eglisau
![[Available in DE / FR] Verspürtes Beben bei Eglisau](/export/sites/sedsite/home/.galleries/img_news_2021/20210707_Epicenter_Eglisau.JPG_2063069299.jpg "[Available in DE / FR] Verspürtes Beben bei Eglisau")
Ein Beben der Magnitude 2.0 ereignete sich am Mittwoch, 7. Juli 2021, um 10:25 Uhr (Ortszeit) bei Eglisau (ZH) in einer sehr geringen Tiefe, innerhalb der obersten Kilometer der Erde. Weil sich das Beben so nahe der Erdoberfläche ereignet hat, war es trotz seiner kleinen Magnitude in Eglisau deutlich zu verspüren. Dies belegen die ungefähr 50 Verspürtmeldungen, die in den ersten beiden Stunden nach dem Beben beim Schweizerischen Erdbebendienst (SED) an der ETH Zürich eingegangen sind. Auch typisch für solch schwache, untiefe Beben ist, dass sie teilweise als Knall und weniger als Bodenerschütterung wahrgenommen werden. Bei einem Erdbeben dieser Stärke sind keine Schäden zu erwarten.
Das Gebiet von Eglisau ist seit 1984 für seine seismische Aktivität bekannt, die durch sehr schwache und selten spürbare Beben in geringer Tiefe charakterisiert ist. Das letzte etwas stärkere Beben bei Eglisau, mit einer Magnitude von 3.1, ereignete sich am 12. September 1999. Das aktuelle Beben ist das stärkste Ereignis seit diesem Datum; in den Jahren 2004 und 2015 gab es jeweils ein Ereignis mit einer Magnitude von knapp 2. Die Charakterisierung der tektonischen Strukturen, die für diese Erdbeben verantwortlich sind, ist Gegenstand von laufenden wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen.
2021-07-01
Earthquake near Furkapass
On Thursday, 1 July 2021 at 13:11 local time an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 has hit the region north of the Furkapass. The hypocenter was at a depth of about 7 km. The event was mostly felt in the north-south extent up to Zurich and Schaffhausen as evidenced by the more than 500 felt reports handed in up to now. We have received only few felt reports from Western Switzerland and the cantons of Grisons. No damage is reported up to now. Notable damage is not expected for an event of this magnitude, even less as its epicenter is in a scarcely populated region.
The area from the Valais over Central Switzerland to the Grisons is known for higher-than average earthquake activity. However, for the greater Furka region no damaging earthquakes are known for the past centuries.
Knowledge
Earthquake Country Switzerland
Switzerland experiences between 1'000 and 1'500 earthquakes a year. Swiss citizens actually feel somewhere between 10 and 20 quakes a year, usually those with a magnitude of 2.5 or above. Based on the long-term average, 23 quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or above occur every year. Find out more about the natural hazards with the greatest damage-causing potential in Switzerland.
Knowledge
Earthquake Hazard
In Switzerland, earthquakes are the natural hazard with the greatest potential for causing damage. They cannot currently be prevented or reliably predicted. But, thanks to extensive research, much is now known about how often and how intensely the earth could shake at a given location in the future. Consult a variety of different maps using our interactive web tool to find out how likely certain earthquakes are in Switzerland.
About Us
Swiss Seismological Service (SED)
The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes in Switzerland and its neighboring countries and for assessing Switzerland’s seismic hazard. When an earthquake happens, the SED informs the public, authorities, and the media about the earthquake’s location, magnitude, and possible consequences. The activities of the SED are integrated in the federal action plan for earthquake mitigation.
Earthquakes
Earthquake Monitoring
Around 10 to 20 times a year you will hear or read about an earthquake occurring in Switzerland. However, the vast majority of quakes recorded by the SED go unnoticed by the general public because they fall below the threshold of human perception and can only be detected by sensitive measuring devices. The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) operates a network of more than 200 seismic stations across Switzerland.
