In questa pagina troverete una selezione di progetti attualmente in corso, che i collaboratori del Servizio Sismico Svizzero (SED) gestiscono in veste di capofila o ai quali collaborano rivestendo un ruolo centrale. Non si tratta di una lista esaustiva, ma solo di una selezione di progetti centrali e di ampia portata. I progetti sono ordinati in base al loro campo di ricerca principale.
Despite intensive research, scientists cannot predict exactly when and where the next major earthquake will occur. The ERC Synergy project "FEAR" aims at a better understanding of the physics of earthquake processes. To this aims, researchers will generate small earthquakes under controlled conditions at a depth of more than one kilometre and on a scale of ten to one hundred metres. They will measure a variety of earthquake parameters using a dense sensor network and then analyse them. The consortium hopes to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of earthquakes. The new findings will also be used to advance experiments on the safe use of geo-energy and to improve the predictability of earthquakes. The experiments will take at the "Bedretto Lab", a rock laboratory in the Swiss Alps, built by ETH Zurich and the Werner Siemens Foundation. It offers FEAR a unique research environment. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
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Involved Institutions | Seismology and Geodynamics group at ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen University, Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia |
Funding Source | |
Duration | 6 years |
Key Words | earthquake prediction, earthquake dynamics, safe use of geo-energy |
Research Field | earthquake prediction, earthquake dynamics, |
Link To Project Website |
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The "Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe" (SERA) aims to reduce the risk posed by natural and anthropogenic earthquakes. SERA will significantly improve the access to data, services and research infrastructures, and deliver solutions based on innovative research and development projects in seismology and earthquake engineering. SERA is a Horizon 2020-supported programme responding to the priorities identified in the call INFRAIA-01-2016-2017 “Research Infrastructure for Earthquake Hazard”. SERA involves 31 partners and 8 linked third parties in Europe. To reach its objectives, SERA will…
These efforts will lead to a revised European Seismic Hazard reference model for consideration in the ongoing revision of the Eurocode 8 and to a first, comprehensive framework for seismic risk modeling at European scale. SERA will further develop new standards for future experimental observations in earthquake engineering, for the design of instruments and networks for observational seismology, and reliable methodologies for real-time assessment of shaking and damage. By expanding the access to seismological observations and assisting in connecting infrastructures and communities in the fields of deep seismic sounding, experimental earthquake engineering and site characterization SERA facilities collaboration and innovations in the respective areas. SERA will also contribute meaningfully to the construction and validation of EPOS and effectively communicate its activities and achievements to the relevant stakeholders. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
SED Project Members | Dr. Florian Haslinger, Dr. Laurentiu Danciu, Michèle Marti, Stephanie Schnydrig, Dr. Francesco Grigoli |
Funding Source | SBFI |
Duration | 2017 - 2020 |
Key Words | seismology, earthquake engineering, seismic hazard and risk, anthropogenic seismicity, deep underground, earth structure, georesources, geohazards |
Research Field | Seismic Hazard and Risk, Earthquake Engineering, Operational Earthquake Forecasting, Induced Seismicity |
Link To Project Website |
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Over the last decade induced seismicity has become an important topic of discussion, especially owing to the concern that industrial activities could cause damaging earthquakes. Large magnitude induced seismic events are a risk for the population and structures, as well as an obstacle for the development of new techniques for the exploitation of underground georesources. The problem of induced seismicity is particularly important for the future development of geothermal energy in Europe, in fact deep geothermal energy exploitation projects such as Basel (2006) and St Gallen (2013) have been aborted due to the felt induced earthquakes they created and an increasing risk aversion of the general population. Induced seismicity is thus an unwanted product of such industrial operations but, at the same time, induced earthquakes are also a required mechanism to increase the permeability of rocks, enhancing reservoir performances. Analysis of induced microseismicity allows to obtain the spatial distribution of fractures within the reservoir, which can help, not only to identify active faults that may trigger large induced seismic events, but also to optimize hydraulic stimulation operations and to locate the regions with higher permeability, enhancing energy production. The project COSEISMIQ integrates seismic monitoring and imaging techniques, geomechanical models and risk analysis methods with the ultimate goal of implementing innovative tools for the management of the risks posed by induced seismicity and demonstrate their usefulness in a commercial scale application in Iceland. Seismic stations of the COSEISMIQ project (PDF, 0.13 MB) |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
SED Project Members | John Clinton, Francesco Grigoli, Florian Haslinger, Lukas Heiniger, Philipp Kaestli, Raphael Moser, Anne Obermann, Roman Racine, Antonio Pio Rinaldi, Vanille Ritz, Luca Scarabello. |
Funding Source | |
Duration | 3 years (start in May 2018) |
Key Words | Induced Seismicity |
Research Field | Induced Seismicity, Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Real-time microseismic monitoring |
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One of the unsolved challenges for deep geothermal projects is how to mitigate unacceptably large, induced earthquakes. Unfortunately, the processes and conditions underpinning induced seismicity are still not sufficiently well understood to make useful predictions of the likely seismic response to geothermal reservoir development and exploitation. This predictability is further reduced by the sparse knowledge of the hydro-mechanical and geological conditions in the deep underground, and our lacking ability to map them well enough with current technologies. The seismic response to deep geothermal operations can, however, be monitored in real-time by seismological methods. These methods are, therefore, the core element of any traffic light system (TLS) for induced seismicity that was proposed in recent years. In this project SIAMIS-GT (Improvement of SeIsmological Analysis Methods to better support cantonal authorities in questions related to Induced Seismicity in deep GeoThermal projects), we want to improve seismological analysis methods for monitoring induced seismicity by taking advantage of the waveform similarity observed in these earthquake sequences. The goal is to enable the SED to inform authorities, project developers and the population faster and more accurately about induced earthquakes that may occur during geotechnical projects (e.g., geothermal, mining, tunneling, etc.). We plan to apply similarity and repeating earthquake analysis to induced seismicity to improve the understanding of the source mechanics (i.e., distinction of natural versus induced seismicity, improved detection, localization and characterization). With these methods we also hope to be able to resolve aseismic changes in the subsurface that cannot be resolved using classical methods in real-time. Figure on the left: Illustration of the basic principles of similarity location. Upper left: waveforms of 7 template earthquakes used for template matching of the Diemtigen swarm. Upper right: Epicenter map of 306 relocated earthquakes color-coded by highest similarity to the 7 templates. Red diamonds indicate the location of the templates. Notice that earthquakes cluster closely around the template they are associated to by waveform similarity. Bottom: Relationship between inter-event distance and waveform similarity for each template with respect to the 306 relocated earthquakes. Color indicates the reference template. It can be clearly seen that similarity decreases strongly with inter-event distance and that individual relationships can be derived for every reference template. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Toni Kraft |
Funding Source | Swiss Federal Office of Energy |
Duration | 2016-2020 |
Key Words | Induced Seismicity, Induced Earthquake Hazard and Risk, Real-time monitoring, Support and consultancy |
Research Field | Induced Seismicity |
Publications |
Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Diehl, T. Tormann, M. Herrmann & S. Wiemer (2019). High-Resolution Imaging of Foreshock Patterns in Microearthquake Sequences in Switzerland. AGU Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 8.-12. Dec. 2019. Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Diehl & M. Herrmann (2019). Analysis of seasonality in microseismic sequences. Hydro-Seismo-Tectonics Workshop, UNIFR, Fribourg, 18. Oct. 2019.. Simon, V., T. Kraft, & T. Diehl (2019). High-resolution Analysis of Seismicity Patterns in Swiss Microearthquake Sequences. SISM@lp-Swarm Workshop, ISTerre Grenoble, 21 May 2019. Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Diehl & S. Wiemer (High-resolution Analysis of Seismicity Patterns in Swiss Microearthquake Sequences). Repeating Earthquake Workshop, ENS Paris, 3-4 July, 2019.. Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Diehl & S. Wiemer (2019). Systematic classification of seismicity patterns in microearthquake sequences in Switzerland. EGU Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria, 7–12 April 2019.. Kraft, T., Herrmann, M., Simon, V., & Diehl, T. (2019). What drove the Basel sequence? Inferences from a consistent relocated catalog of the last 12 years. AGUFM T33A-02. Kraft, T. (2019). SIAMIS-GT - 4st Annual Report. Report of the Swiss Seismological Service to Federal Office of Energy 25 Nov 2019, 8. Herrmann, M., Kraft, T., Tormann, T., Scarabello, L., & Wiemer, S. (2019). A Consistent High Resolution Catalog of Induced Seismicity in Basel Based on Matched Filter Detection and Tailored Post Processing. JGR 2019JB017468. doi: 10.1029/2019JB017468 Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Tormann, T. Diehl, M. Herrmann, L. Scarabello (2018). Possible precursory signals in foreshocks to ML ≤ 3.2 earthquakes in Diemtigen, Switzerland. International School of physics «EnricoFermi», Coures 202, Mechannics of Faulting, 2.-7. Jul. 2018, Varenna, Italy.. Simon, V., T. Kraft, T. Tormann, T. Diehl, M. Herrmann, L. Scarabello (2018). The Swiss-army-knife approach to nearly automatic microearthquake analyis for natural and induced sequences. EGU Annual Meeting, 8–13. Apr. 2018, Vienna, Austria.. Kraft, T. (2018). SIAMIS-GT - 3st Annual Report. Report of the Swiss Seismological Service to Federal Office of Energy 28 Nov 2018, 7. Kraft, T. (2018). SIAMIS-GT - Interim Report. Report of the Swiss Seismological Service to Federal Office of Energy 13 Jul 2018, 7. Vouillamoz, N., T. Kraft, M. Abednego and T. Diehl (2017). Lowering microseismic detection threshold in Northeastern Switzerland using sonogram analysis and template matching. NAGRA Arbeitsbereicht, NAB 16-72, Wettingen, November 2016, unpublished, 53. Simon, V., T.Kraft, T. Tormann, T. Diehl, M. Herrmann, L. Scarabello (2017). The Swissarmy-knife approach to nearly automatic microearthquake analyis for natural and induced sequences. Swiss Geoscience Meeting, 17.-18. Nov. 2017, Davos, Switzerland. Simon, V. (2017). High precision analysis of natural earthquake sequences in Switzerland. Master Thesis, IDEA League Joint Masters Program, ETH Zurich, 11 August 2017. Kraft, T. (2017). SIAMIS-GT - 2nd Annual Report. Report of the Swiss Seismological Service to Federal Office of Energy 14 Nov 2017, 7. Kraft, T., Simon, V.M., Tormann, T., Diehl, T., Herrmann, M. (2017). The Swiss-ArmyKnife Approach to the Nearly Automatic Analysis for Microearthquake Sequences. AGU Fall Meeting, 11. - 15. Dec. 2017, New Orleans, USA. Kraft, T., M. Herrmann and T. Diehl (2017). Analysis of induced microseismicity at the geothermal project Schlattingen, Thurgau. Nagra Projektbericht NPB 16-12, Wettingen, 18. Link Kraft, T., T. Diehl, T. Tormann, M. Herrmann, B. Frieg (2017). Induced Seismicity at the geothermal project Schlattingen, CH. 2nd Schatzalp Workshop on Induced Seismicity, 14.-17.3.2017, Davos, Switzerland. Herrmann, M., T. Kraft, T. Tormann, L. Scarabello & S. Wiemer (2017). A consistent high-resolution catalog of the induced earthquakes in Basel based on template matching. 2nd Schatzalp Workshop on Induced Seismicity, 14.-17.3.2017, Davos, Switzerland. Wiemer, S., T. Tormann, M. Herrmann, D. Karvounis & T. Kraft (2016). ) Induced Seismicity at the Basel Deep Heat Mining Site. Investigation of seismicity rate changes after the permanent shut-in of Basel-1 in 2011 and recommendations for hazard mitigation. Report of the Swiss Seismological Service to Canton Basel Stadt Nov. 2016, 38. |
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Negli ultimi anni il SED ha accompagnato con la sua attività di monitoraggio sismico diversi progetti svizzeri di geotermia di profondità, avviando un dialogo costruttivo con i vari gestori e le autorità cantonali. Sulla base dell’esperienza maturata, il SED ha sviluppato le prime raccomandazioni – rivolte alle autorità cantonali di autorizzazione ed esecuzione – su come gestire la problematica delle sismicità indotta nelle varie fasi di un progetto di geotermia di profondità. Finora queste raccomandazioni si basano però sulle esperienze derivanti da solo pochi progetti ben documentati. Oggi in Svizzera manca ancora l’esperienza pratica con la loro attuazione. È quindi difficile valutare se queste esperienze siano applicabili al contesto locale (geologico, politico, culturale) e quali modifiche si rendano eventualmente necessarie. Un’altra questione importante in questo contesto è valutare in che modo direttive e norme provenienti da altri settori tecnici e ufficiali interagiscono e sono compatibili con le raccomandazioni sismologiche per evitare la sismicità indotta. Spesso i possibili conflitti possono essere individuati e risolti solo durante la messa in pratica del progetto e grazie alla stretta collaborazione dei sismologi con le autorità che rilasciano le autorizzazioni, così come con i gestori degli impianti. Altrettanto importante è il controllo e l’adeguamento periodico di tutte le direttive e norme essenziali sulla base dello stato delle conoscenze acquisito. Quando possibile, ciò dovrebbe avvenire con il consenso di tutti i gruppi di interessati. Nel corso del progetto Geobest, il SED continuerà quindi a raccogliere, valutare e interpretare gli insiemi di dati di alta qualità e risoluzione sull’origine della sismicità indotta durante i progetti di geotermia di profondità. In questo modo, il SED potrà inoltre offrire un servizio di consulenza e supporto sismologico alle autorità cantonali e federali durante le loro attività di autorizzazione e monitoraggio in tutte le fasi di un progetto di geotermia di profondità. Il SED intende in questo modo contribuire a creare criteri di valutazione standard per l’impatto ambientale che vadano al di là dei limiti cantonali, permettendo così un’uniformazione a breve e a medio termine e quindi un notevole snellimento e accelerazione di questo processo. Un sito web centrale farà in modo che l’opinione pubblica venga informata in modo indipendente, attuale e competente sul tema della sismicità indotta al fine di favorire una discussione oggettiva tra tutti gli interessati. |
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Project Leader at SED | Toni Kraft |
SED Project Members | Philippe Roth, Stefan Wiemer |
Funding Source | |
Duration | 2015-2019 |
Key Words | Induced Seismicity, Induced Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Real-time monitoring, Support and consultancy |
Research Field | Induced Seismicity, Induced Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Real-time monitoring, Support and consultancy |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications | |
Reports / Deliverables |
Zbinden, D., Rinaldi, A. P., Diehl, T., & Wiemer, S. (2020). Potential influence of overpressurized gas on the induced seismicity in the St. Gallen deep geothermal project (Switzerland). Solid Earth 11(3), 909-933. doi: 10.5194/se-11-909-2020 Zbinden, D., Rinaldi, A. P., Diehl, T., & Wiemer, S. (2020). Hydromechanical Modeling of Fault Reactivation in the St. Gallen Deep Geothermal Project (Switzerland): Poroelasticity or Hydraulic Connection?. Geophysical Research Letters 47(3), e2019GL085201. doi: 10.1029/2019GL085201 Király‐Proag, E., Satriano, C., Bernard, P., & Wiemer, S. (2019). Rupture Process of the M w 3.3 Earthquake in the St. Gallen 2013 Geothermal Reservoir, Switzerland. Geophysical Research Letters 46(14), 7990-7999. doi: 10.1029/2019GL082911 Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2019). GEOBEST-CH2 - Abschlussbereicht. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, November 2019. Link Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2018). GEOBEST-CH2 - Zwischenbericht II. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, November 2018. Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2017). GEOBEST-CH2 - Zwischenbericht I. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Dezember 2017. Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2017). GEOBEST-CH - Abschlussbereicht. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Oktober 2017. Link Wiemer, S., Kraft, T., Trutnevyte, E. and Philippe Roth (2017). “Good Practice” Guide for Managing Induced Seismicity in Deep Geothermal Energy Projects in Switzerland. Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich. doi: 10.12686/a5 Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2016). GEOBEST-CH - Zwischenbericht II. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Dezember 2016. Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2015). GEOBEST-CH - Zwischenbericht I. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Dezember 2015. Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2015). Abschlussbericht, Projekt GEOBEST, Berichtszeitraum Okt. 2011 – Nov. 2015. Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Dezember 2015. Link Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2015). Zwischenbericht IV, Projekt GEOBEST, Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, Dezember 2015. Kraft, T. & S. Wiemer (2014). Zwischenbericht III, Projekt GEOBEST, Bericht des Schweizerischen Erdbebendienstes zu Händen des Bundesamtes für Energie, November 2014. |
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Nel quadro del progetto di ricerca GeoBest, dalla primavera del 2012 il Servizio Sismico Svizzero (SED) con sede all’ETH di Zurigo si occupa del monitoraggio sismico del progetto di geotermia della città di San Gallo. A tal fine, in collaborazione con la Sankt Galler Stadtwerke, l’azienda elettrica di San Gallo, il SED ha installato sei nuove stazioni sismiche nella regione di San Gallo. L’obiettivo del monitoraggio è rilevare possibili piccoli terremoti – i cosiddetti microterremoti – nelle vicinanze dei siti dove si svolgono i lavori di trivellazione, per chiarire se questi vengono causati dal progetto di geotermia o se hanno un’origine naturale. Inoltre, il progetto permette non solo di raccogliere importanti dati di base per comprendere meglio la geotermia di profondità, ma di utilizzarli come indispensabile patrimonio di esperienze per garantire alle autorità cantonali e alle imprese di gestione la sicurezza pianificatoria in vista dei futuri progetti di geotermia. Dopo l’interruzione del progetto di geotermia nella primavera del 2014, il SED svolgerà l’attività di monitoraggio in forma ridotta sino almeno al settembre 2020. La Sankt Galler Stadtwerke supporta il monitoraggio nel quadro del progetto UE "Science for Clean Energy (S4CE)". |
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Project Leader at SED | Toni Kraft |
SED Project Members | INDU group |
Funding Source | Bundesamt für Energie, Sankt Galler Stadtwerke |
Duration | 2012-2020 |
Key Words | |
Research Field | Induced Seismicity, Real-time monitoring |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications |
Diehl, T., Kraft, T., Kissling, E. and Wiemer, S. (2017). The induced earthquake sequence related to the St. Gallen deep geothermal project (Switzerland): Fault reactivation and fluid interactions imaged by microseismicity. Journal of Geophysical Research 122(9), 1-19. doi: 10.1002/2017JB014473 Edwards, B., Kraft, T., Cauzzi, C., Kastli, P., Wiemer, S. (2015). Seismic monitoring and analysis of deep geothermal projects in St Gallen and Basel, Switzerland. Geophys. J. Int. 201, 1020–1037. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggv059 Obermann, A., Kraft, T., Larose, E., Wiemer, S. (2015). Potential of ambient seismic noise techniques to monitor the St. Gallen geothermal site (Switzerland). J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 120, 4301-4316. doi: 10.1002/2014JB011817 Kraft, T., et al. (2015). Lessons learned from the 2013 ML3.5 induced earthquake sequence at the St. Gallen geothermal site. Schatzalp Workshop on Induced Seismicity, Davos, Switzerland. |
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The exploitation of underground energy resources as well as the use and expansion of hydropower are, like any other energy technology, not risk free. To address this risk, we develop upon the holistic concept of risk governance and community resilience, advocating a broad picture of risk: In addition to risk analysis and risk management, we also investigate how risk-related decision-making unfolds when a range of actors is involved. This requires coordination and possibly reconciliation between a profusion of roles, perspectives, goals and activities. Developments include: a rigorous common methodology and a consistent modelling approach to hazard, vulnerability, risk, resilience and societal acceptance assessment of energy technologies; a stress test framework and its application to assess the vulnerability and resilience of individual critical energy infrastructures, as well as the first level of interdependencies among these infrastructures; standardized protocols, operational guidelines and/or softwares for monitoring strategies, hazard and risk assessment during all project phases (including real-time procedures), and finally for mitigation and related communication strategies. In phase II, the main activities of the group are in continuation with phase I but with increased interactions with Swiss P&D projects, including industrial ones and research underground labs. New applications are being developed and tested for induced seismicity risk mitigation. Those are also refined based on P&D project feedback. The main innovations in phase II are the testing of more sophisticated traffic-light systems and the inclusion of seismic risk models in economic models (including energy modelling, cost-benefit analyses and decision making under uncertainty). For the latter, interactions with SCCER CREST via a joint activity will help move forward with some legislative recommendations. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
SED Project Members | Dr. Arnaud Mignan, Marcus Herrmann |
Involved Institutions | ETH IfG, ETH D-BAUG, ETH D-USYS, ETH CRYOS |
Funding Source | SCCER-SoE |
Duration | 2014-2017 (1st phase), 2018-2012 (2nd phase) |
Key Words | Geo-energy, induced seismicity risk, risk governance, software |
Research Field | Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Link To Project Website | |
Reports / Deliverables |
Mignan, A., Herrmann, M., Kraft, T., Diehl, T. and Wiemer, S. (2015). SCCER-SoE Science Report (Task 4.1). Link |
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The exploitation of underground energy resources as well as the use and expansion of hydropower, are, like all energy technologies, not risk free. The risks identified in the domain of deep geothermal are induced seismicity and other risks (e.g. borehole blowout, environmental risks). The hazard factors for hydropower are those classically affecting large arch or gravity dams, aggravated by the pronounced topography of the Alpine region and by the rapidly changing climatic conditions in the Alps. How these risks potentially impact our society, is, of course dependent on the vulnerabilities of our buildings, our infrastructure and our communities. Moving towards a safe and more resilient energy sector requires tools for hazard and risk assessment, particularly in the low probability-high consequence event settings. Furthermore, the tools have to be closely integrated with related communication and public engagement strategies, as perceived risks actually do impact energy source design and mitigation strategies. A comprehensive risk governance framework is necessary, but not yet existing. This project aims to develop such a framework by integrating risk assessment and related risk perception models and tools. This should lead to a communication strategy for future projects. We develop a holistic concept of risk governance from a truly multi-disciplinary perspective, advocating a broad picture of risk: not only does it include risk assessment and assessment of ability to recover, but it also looks at how risk perception and risk-related communication can be organized. This work is divided into 6 PhDs (attached to SCCER-SoE T4.1): Induced seismic risk (led by SED); Renewable energy risk management & optimization; Accident risks at dams; Vulnerability of the Swiss built environment; Multi-risks and interdependencies; Assessing and monitoring risk perception.
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
SED Project Members | Dr. Arnaud Mignan, Marcus Herrmann |
Involved Institutions | ETH IfG, ETH D-BAUG, ETH D-USYS, ETH CRYOS |
Funding Source | SNF |
Duration | 2014 - October 2018 |
Key Words | Geo-energy, induced seismicity risk, risk governance |
Research Field | Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Reports / Deliverables |
Mignan, A., Herrmann, M., Kraft, T., Diehl, T. and Wiemer, S. (2015). SCCER-SoE Science Report (Task 4.1). Link |
Novel unconventional geothermal technologies that require hydraulic stimulation through induced seismicity, also require Forecasting and Assessing Seismicity and Thermal Evolution in geothermal Reservoirs (FASTER). This task needs to be performed in real time and both regulators and operators wish to know the probability of a future undesired large induced event in time for risk mitigation measurements to be employed. Fundamental and applied research with the ultimate goal to develop strategies and tools for managing and limiting induced seismicity is a major international focus of current research in geophysics and reservoir engineering. Moreover, predictive assessment of seismic risk in near‐real time is considered the most crucial aspect for proactive operational management of stimulation, exploitation or storage to minimize risk, avoid unacceptable seismic hazard and enhance the societal acceptance. In the FASTER project, the software framework that is currently used by SED for fundamental research on seismic risk predictions and it performs complicated 3D Monte Carlo simulations is improved, extended, and adapted to current and upcoming generations of supercomputers. The software is customized to the needs of the Adaptive Traffic Light Systems through accelerated algorithms, numerical solvers, probabilistic models and Monte Carlo integrations, and computational bottlenecks due to coding are resolved. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Dimitrios Karvounis |
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SED Project Members | Stefan Wiemer |
Involved Institutions | CSCS, USI, ERDW-ETH |
Funding Source | PASC |
Duration | 10.2017-09.2020 |
Key Words | Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Real-time monitoring, Enhanced Geothermal Systems |
Research Field | Induced Seismicity, Software Development, Probabilistic Methods, Code Optimization |
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The reliable detection of snow avalanches, landslides and rockfall provides the basis for any advanced investigation on triggering mechanisms, risk assessment or the identification of possible precursors. It is well known that such phenomena produce specific seismic signals. Nonetheless, the manual detection on seismic traces is not feasible since it is extremely time consuming and results are influenced by the subjective view of the analyst. Automatic detection is therefore preferred, as unbiased results are obtained in near real-time. In this project, we will take advantage of an automatic classification procedure for continuous seismic signals to detect avalanches, landslides and rockfalls in continuous streams of seismic data. The applied method is independent of previously acquired data and classification schemes, offering the opportunity to detect very rare and highly variable events. The goal of this project is to improve the detection across the entire Swiss Alps and to better understand possible triggering mechanisms. In addition accurate information on the number and release time of avalanches will provide an important contribution to the avalanche warning service at the SLF. This research is highly relevant since large scale avalanche and landslide monitoring will provide reliable data for further research, the development of near real-time products and improved risk assessment and warning systems. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Conny Hammer |
Involved Institutions | SLF |
Funding Source | SED, WSL |
Duration | since 2015 |
Key Words | snow avalanches, landslides, rockfalls, automatic detection, monitoring |
Research Field | real-time monitoring, avalanche and landslide detection |
Publications |
Hammer C., Faeh D. & Ohrnberger M. (2017). Natural Hazards. doi: 10.1007/s11069-016-2707-0 Heck M., Hammer C., van Herwijnen A. Schweizer J. & Faeh D. (2018). Natural Hazard and Earth System Science. doi: 10.5194/nhess-18-383-2018 |
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Scientists from the SED are exploring the potential of Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) in Central America. This is a multi-phase project funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). In Phase 1 (2016-2017), SED worked with colleagues at INETER (a government agency in Nicaragua responsible for Natural Hazards, who operate the national seismic network), to build and implement a prototype EEW system in Nicaragua. In Phase 2 (2018-2020), this prototype system will be extended to other countries in Central America with the collaboration of local scientists, and we will explore how a public EEW could be implemented. The region suffers from large tsunamigenic earthquakes generated along the subduction zone, and also moderate crustal earthquakes that have in the recent past produced heavy damage, such as the M6.2 1972 earthquake that devastated Managua. The subduction zone events are often characterized by slow rupture velocity (most recently a M7.7 1992 earthquake - the first slow earthquake ever documented - and a M7.3 in 2014) Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) is a tool that can rapidly characterize on-going earthquakes, and potentially provide seconds to 10s of seconds notification of impending strong shaking in advance of its occurrence. EEW can play an important role as part of a seismic risk reduction program, which is critical in the Central American region that has such a high seismic hazard. Additionally, making a seismic network capable of operating and maintaining an EEW system requires the network to achieve the highest standards in network performance - including station quality, speed and reliability of data communications, and robustness of the seismic network hub that runs the EEW software. Optimal network performance is also critical for other applications such as tsunami warning, volcano monitoring, and enables downstream scientific studies, eg on local Earth structure. On 9 June 2016, just weeks after the first software was installed and before efforts to optimise had begun, a shallow M6.3 event occurred on the border with El Salvador that was detected by our system after 29s. Though far from the delay time required for operational EEW, this does demonstrate the promise of the existing infrastructure. With an ideal seismic network (all stations fully operational, recording strong motion and with minimal data delay) the existing network density can provide first EEW alerts within 8-12s for shallow on-shore earthquakes. This corresponds to a blind zone on the order of 20-30km around the epicenter where no advanced warning will be available. Outside the blind zone, for large earthquakes, this type of EEW can provide warning in advance of the strongest shaking for areas that will experience shaking of intensity VI on the Modified Mercalli Scale. Transfer of EEW capacity from SED to Central American Institutes is feasible because we all use the same basic software for seismic network monitoring - SeisComP3 - that the SED has used to develop EEW. SED use 2 standard algorithms to provide EEW - the Virtual Seismologist and the Finite Fault Detector. We use the EEW Display (EEWD) to deliver desktop alerts to early adopters and testers. EEW can work in Central America because the seismic networks are already relatively dense and data sharing is well-established and effective - necessary as earthquakes can have impacts beyond a single country. Currently, EEW alerts in the region are delayed or initially incorrect primarily because the seismic networks are relatively unreliable and not yet optimised for EEW. By adopting a long term strategy that focuses on enabling EEW, including adding additional strong motion stations, this will improve. The Phase 2 project objectives are to 1) review the performance of, and propose improvements to the seismic network in the region, in an effort to optimise their capacity for EEW; 2) to develop EEW algorithms tailored to the seismicity of Central America, with implementation in standard open source software, and transfer know-how and operation to local monitoring institutions; 3) head towards public EEW by engaging with potential key end-users, civil defence and governments, exploring technical means by which EEW can be provided to public and private users, and communicating with social scientists on what is the most effective EEW message provide to the public, and how to communicate this to the public. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. John Clinton |
SED Project Members | Frédérick Massin, Roman Racine, Maren Böse |
Involved Institutions | |
Funding Source | Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DEZA / SDC) |
Duration | Phase 2: May 2018 - April 2021; Phase 1: January 2016 - January 2018 |
Key Words | Earthquake Early Warning, Seismic Networks, Nicaragua, Central America, INETER, DEZA/SDC |
Research Field | Earthquake Early Warning, Real-time monitoring, Network Seismology |
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Chile has been struck by a number of very large earthquakes (magnitude 7.5 and greater) and tsunamis in the past. There is a clear need for building a system to provide rapid situational awareness, as well as earthquake and tsunami early warning. Since scientific instruments are expensive, we are exploring the use of dense networks of seismic and geodetic low-cost sensors. The Earthquake Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently started to deploy a prototype network of dedicated smartphone units along the Chilean coast (Brooks et al., 2016). Each sensor box contains a smartphone with integrated MEMS accelerometer, and an external consumer-quality GPS chip and antenna to determine real-time positioning data. The total cost of each box is on the order of a few hundred dollars, nearly two orders of magnitude lower than scientific-grade installations. We invert seismic and geodetic real-time data from the smartphone units to obtain finite-fault models of large earthquakes by joint application of the seismic FinDer algorithm developed at the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) (Böse et al., 2012; Böse et al., 2015; Böse et al., 2018) and the geodetic BEFORES algorithm developed by Minson et al. (2014). The SED collaborates in this project with partners at the USGS, the University of Chile, Chilean National Seismological Center, University of Houston, and GISMatters Inc. Furthermore, we collaborate with the Centro Seismologico National (CSN) at the University of Chile, Santiago, to rapidly identify large subduction-zone and crustal earthquakes using real-time streams of CSN stations (Carrasco et al., 2017). |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Maren Böse |
SED Project Members | John Clinton |
Involved Institutions | US Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Menlo Park, CA, United States of America; Centro Sismologico Nacional, Departamento de Geofísica, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; GISMatters, Amherst, Mass., United States of America; US Geological Survey, Pasadena, CA, United States of America; NCALM, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States of America |
Funding Source | United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). |
Duration | Since 2015 |
Key Words | Earthquake Early Warning, low-cost sensors, smartphones,seismic networks, geodetic networks, Chile, subduction-zone earthquakes, tsunamic warning |
Research Field | Earthquake Early Warning, real-time monitoring, network seismology |
Publications |
Böse, M., D.E. Smith, C. Felizardo, M.-A. Meier, T.H. Heaton, J.F. Clinton (2018). FinDer v.2: Improved Real-time Ground-Motion Predictions for M2-M9 with Seismic Finite-Source Characterization. Geophys. J. Int. 212, 725-742. Minson, S. E., B. A. Brooks, C. L. Glennie, J. R. Murray, J. O. Langbein, S. E. Owen, T. H. Heaton, R. A. Ian-nucci, and D. L. Hauser (2015). Crowdsourced earthquake early warning. Sci. Adv. 1 (3), e1500036. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500036 Böse, M., C. Felizardo, & T.H. Heaton (2015). Finite-Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer): Going Real-Time in Californian ShakeAlert Warning System. Seismol. Res. Lett. 86 (6), 1692-1704. Minson, S. E., J. R. Murray, J. O. Langbein, and J. S. Gomberg (2014). Real-time inversions for finite fault slip models and rupture geometry based on high-rate GPS data. J. Geophys. Res. 119 (4), 3201–3231. doi: 10.1002/2013JB010622 |
Presentations |
Böse, M., B. Brooks, S. Barrientos, S. Minson, J.C. Baez, T. Ericksen, C. Guillemot, C. Duncan, R. Sanchez, D. Smith, E. Cochran, J. Murray, C. Glennie, J. Langbein, J. Dueitt, & J. Clinton (2016). Smartphone-Network for Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning in Chile. 35rd General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission (GA ESC), 4-11 Sept, 2016 in Trieste, Italy. |
EPOS IP is part of the long term EPOS integration plan to build an operational and sustainable platform of Earth Science services. The project is funded through the European Union. In WP 9 (Near fault Observatories) of EPOS IP, we work with our colleagues at the University of Naples / AMRA, to build a testing center where a variety of scientific algorithms for real-time monitoring can be operated side-by-side and their performance independently evaluated. The initial demonstrations software for this testing center are 2 EEW approaches, the Virtual Seismologist (VS) software maintained by ETH, and PresTo from University of Naples / AMRA. The testing platform is the Irpinia seismic network near Naples. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. John Clinton |
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SED Project Members | Frederick Massin, Philipp Kästli, Enrico Ballarin |
Involved Institutions | University of Naples, AMRA |
Funding Source | EU |
Duration | 2017-2020 |
Key Words | Earthquake Early Warning, Testing Center |
Research Field | Real-Time Seismology, Earthquake Engineering |
Link To Project Website |
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California, Oregon, and Washington are currently implementing a public earthquake early warning (EEW) system, called ShakeAlert. The SED collaborates with the ShakeAlert team (US Geological Survey, Caltech, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, and University of Oregon) in the development, implementation, and testing of the Finite-Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer) algorithm (Böse et al., 2012; Böse et al., 2015; Böse et al., 2018). To detect earthquakes and to generate alerts, ShakeAlert feeds data from the seismic and geodetic networks operated along the US west coast into two algorithms: the point-source EPIC (formerly known as ElarmS and Onsite), and the finite-source FinDer algorithm. Alert messages from EPIC and FinDer are aggregated into a single alert feed. ShakeAlert started in 2012 as a demonstration system for EEW and provided warnings of imminent strong ground shaking to a selected group of test users. At that stage, also the Virtual Seismologist (VS; Cua and Heaton, 2009), another algorithm implemented and tested by the SED, was part of the system. In 2013, California passed legislation to implement a public warning system. After the US Congress approved the funding in 2014, the transition to a full public system started. A limited public roll-out of ShakeAlert is planned for fall 2018. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Maren Böse (current), Dr. Georgia Cua (Phase I + II), Dr. John Clinton (Phase III) |
SED Project Members | Frederick Massin, Michael Fischer (former member), Marta Caprio (former member), Men-Andrin Meier (former member), Yannik Behr (former member) |
Involved Institutions | United States Geological Survey (USGS), California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Geological Survey, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), University of California Berkeley, University of Washington, University of Oregon, ETH Zurich |
Funding Source | United States Geological Survey, SED currently not funded |
Duration | Since 2012 |
Key Words | Earthquake Early Warning system for California and the Pacific Northwest of the United States |
Research Field | Earthquake Early Warning |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications |
Böse, M., T.H. Heaton, & E. Hauksson (2012). Real-time Finite Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer) for Large Earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int. 191 (2), 803-812. Behr, Y., J. F. Clinton, P. Kästli, C. Cauzzi, and M.-A. Meier (2015). Anatomy of an Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) Alert : Predicting Time Delays for an End-to-End EEW System. Seismol. Res. Lett. 86 (3), 1-11. doi: 10.1785/0220140179 Böse, M., C. Felizardo, & T.H. Heaton (2015). Finite-Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer): Going Real-Time in Californian ShakeAlert Warning System. Seismol. Res. Lett. 86 (6), 1692-1704. Böse, M., D.E. Smith, C. Felizardo, M.-A. Meier, T.H. Heaton, J.F. Clinton (2018). FinDer v.2: Improved Real-time Ground-Motion Predictions for M2-M9 with Seismic Finite-Source Characterization. Geophys. J. Int. 212, 725-742. Böse, M., R. Graves, D. Gill, S. Callaghan, and P. Maechling (2014). CyberShake-Derived Ground-Motion Prediction Models for the Los Angeles Region with Applica-tion to EEW. Geophys. J. Int. 198 (3), 1438-1457. Böse, M., R. Allen, H. Brown, C. Cua, M. Fischer, E. Hauksson, T. Heaton, M. Hellweg, M. Liukis, D. Neu-hauser, P. Maechling, P. and CISN EEW Group (2013). CISN ShakeAlert – An Earthquake Early Warning Demonstration System for California. In: F. Wenzel and J. Zschau: Early Warning for Geological Disasters - Scientific Methods and Current Practice (ISBN: 978-3-642-12232-3). Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York: Böse, M., T. Heaton and E. Hauksson (2012). Rapid estimation of earthquake source and ground-motion parameters for earthquake early warning using data from single three-component broadband or strong-motion sensor. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 102 (2), 738-750. doi: 10.1785/0120110152 Böse, M. & T.H. Heaton (2010). Probabilistic Prediction of Rupture Length, Slip and Seismic Ground Motions for an Ongoing Rupture: implications for Early Warning for Large Earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int. 183 (2), 1014-1030. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04774.x Cua, G. B., M. Fischer, T. H. Heaton, and S. Wiemer (2009). Real-time Performance of the Virtual Seismologist Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm in Southern California. Seismol. Res. Lett. 80 (5), 740-747. doi: 10.1785/gssrl.80.5.740 Given, D.D., Cochran, E.S., Heaton, T., Hauksson, E., Allen, R., Hellweg, P., Vidale, J., and Bodin, P. (2014). Technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert production system—An Earthquake Early Warning system for the West Coast of the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1097, 25. doi: 10.3133/ofr20141097 Meier, M.-A., T. Heaton, and J. Clinton (2015). The Gutenberg Algorithm: Evolutionary Bayesian Magnitude Estimates for Earthquake Early Warning with a Filter Bank. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 105 (5), 2774-2786. doi: 10.1785/0120150098 |
Presentations |
Earthquakes are controlled by the properties of the underlying fault or fault system, along which rupture is occurring. For example,
In the FAULTS_R_GEMS (Properties of FAULTS, a key to Realistic Generic Earthquake Modeling and hazard Simulation) project, we collaborate with scientists at Géoazur (Université Côte d'Azur), IFSTTAR Paris, Géosciences in Montpellier, Inria Sophia, LJAD in Nice, IPGP in Paris, IRSN, ENS Paris, the University of Arizona, and the University of Pisa, with the goal to better understand the interactions between seismic faults and earthquakes, and to use these findings to improve seismic hazard simulations and earthquake early warning (EEW) in terms of prior probabilities. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Maren Böse |
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SED Project Members | Alexandra Hutchison, John Clinton, Frederick Massin |
Involved Institutions | Géoazur, Nice; Géosciences Montpellier; IFSTTAR, ETH Zurich Inria Sophia; LJAD, Nice; IPGP Paris; IRSN; ENS Paris; University of Arizona, University of Pisa |
Funding Source | French ANR |
Duration | 2017-2021 |
Key Words | fault properties, rupture simulations, ground-motions, earthquake early warning, prior probability, Bayesian statistics |
Research Field | Earthquake Early Warning |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications |
Böse, M., T.H. Heaton, & E. Hauksson (2012). Real-time Finite Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer) for Large Earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int. 191 (2), 803-812. Böse, M., R. Graves, D. Gill, S. Callaghan, P. Maechling (2014). CyberShake-Derived Ground-Motion Prediction Models for the Los Angeles Region with Applica-tion to Earthquake Early Warning. Geophys. J. Int. 198 (3), 1438-1457. Böse, M. and T.H. Heaton (2010). Probabilistic Prediction of Rupture Length, Slip and Seismic Ground Motions for an Ongoing Rupture: implications for Early Warning for Large Earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int. 183 (2), 1014-1030. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04774.x Manighetti I., Zigone D., Campillo M., and Cotton F. (2009). Self-similarity of the largest-scale segmentation of the faults; Implications on earthquake be-havior. Earth. Planet. Sc. Lett. 288, 370-381. Perrin, C., Manighetti, I., Ampuero, J. P., Cappa, F., Gaudemer, Y. (2016). Location of largest earthquake slip and fast rupture controlled by along-strike change in fault structural maturity due to fault growth. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 121. doi: 10.1002/2015JB012671 |
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SERA (Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance in Europe) has the goal to integrate data, products, infrastructures and know-how in seismology and earthquake engineering. The project is funded through the European Union. In WP 28 (Real-time Earthquake Shaking (JRA 6)) of the SERA project, we work with our colleagues at the University of Naples, GFZ, INCDFP, NOA, EMSC, CNRS, and INGV, to produce rapid shaking forecasts following major earthquakes in Europe or elsewhere: “In the past decade, real-time seismology has moved from providing post-event information within minutes from earthquake occurrence, to issuing event information during the rupture, as soon as data begin to arrive at the network. Reliability and accuracy of the source parameters are limited by the use of automatic procedures applied to data processing and the availability of the earliest snippets of the wavefield reaching only a fraction of the seismic network. As consequence, early estimates of shaking and possible damage are also accompanied by large uncertainties, impacting the ability to organize a rapid and appropriate response. This work package applies forward modelling techniques to provide time-evolving prediction maps of the expected ground shaking from regionalized GMPE and tsunamigenic potential of a seismic rupture. The predicted shaking estimates are further constrained by integration of late arriving seismic, accelerometric or GPS data and felt reports as they become available. These goals require the adoption of flexible approaches capable to complement near source data with regional and teleseismic data. Finally, the possible improvement of automatic impact assessment of global earthquakes due to improved shaking estimates will be evaluated.” (from SERA proposal) We use the 2016-2017 Central Italy earthquake sequence, including the destructive 2016 M6.5 Norcia, M6.0 Amatrice, and M5.9 Visso normal fault earthquakes, for demonstration and testing of our algorithms (e.g. FinDer) and software (e.g. EEWD – Earthquake Early Warning Display). |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Maren Böse (Lead of Task 1) |
SED Project Members | Carlo Cauzzi, John Clinton, Frederick Massin |
Involved Institutions | University of Naples, ETH, GFZ, INCDFP, NOA, EMSC, CNRS and INGV |
Funding Source | EU |
Duration | 2017-2020 |
Key Words | Rapid Earthquake Information in Europe |
Research Field | Real-Time Seismology, Earthquake Engineering |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications |
Böse, M., T.H. Heaton, & E. Hauksson (2012). Real-time Finite Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer) for Large Earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int. 191 (2), 803-812. Böse, M., C. Felizardo, & T.H. Heaton (2015). Finite-Fault Rupture Detector (FinDer): Going Real-Time in Californian ShakeAlert Warning Sys-tem. Seismol. Res. Lett. 86 (6), 1692-1704. Böse, M., D.E. Smith, C. Felizardo, M.-A. Meier, T.H. Heaton, J.F. Clinton (2018). FinDer v.2: Improved Real-time Ground-Motion Predictions for M2-M9 with Seismic Finite-Source Characterization. Geophys. J. Int. 212, 725-742. Cauzzi, C., Y. Behr, J. Clinton, P. Kästli, L. Elia, and A. Zollo (2015). An Open‐Source Earthquake Early Warning Display. Seismol. Res. Lett. 87 (3), 737–742. doi: 10.1785/0220150284 |
Presentations |
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InSight (Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that will deploy a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. This is the first comprehensive surface-based geophysical investigation of Mars. The overarching mission goals are to illuminate the fundamentals of formation and evolution of terrestrial (Earth-like) planets by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars, and more specifically to determine the thickness, structure and composition of the crust, mantle and core, and to measure the rate and distribution of seismic activity and the rate of meteorite impacts. The Mission should land in November 2018 and have a lifetime of about two Earth years. A set of 3-component broadband and short period seismometers (collectively known as SEIS) will be deployed beside the lander. In additional, InSight will also deploy a heat flow probe (HP3), a geodetic experiment (RISE), a magnetometer, and meteorological sensors. Seismological investigations of Mars have so far been based on modeling and synthetic data; starting in 2018, waveform data will be returned from Mars and the era of 'Seismology on Mars' will begin. Building on our expertise and infrastructure for earthquake monitoring and seismic data processing on Earth, the SED will take the lead role in the building a catalogue of seismic events recorded by SEIS (the 'Marsquake Service’). This service will comprise automatic and reviewed event detection and characterization of local and teleseismic events, as well as meteor impacts. The goal of this service is to provide a comprehensive high-quality event catalogue for Mars that is critical to the SEIS project, in particular as input to the development of Martian crustal and deep structure models. We are adapting advanced single-seismometer analysis techniques developed on the Earth to provide locations for Martian seismicity. Creating the Marsquake Service is a collaboration between the SED and the SEG groups at the ETH Zurich. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Domenico Giardini (InSight Co-I) |
SED Project Members | Dr. John Clinton (Seismic Network Manager, InSight Co-I) Dr. Amir Khan (Affiliated Scientist) Dr. Martin van Driel (PostDoc) Dr. Maren Böse (Project Scientist) Dr. Fabian Euchner (PostDoc) Dr. Savas Ceylan (IT Specialist) |
Funding Source | SNF / SSO |
Duration | 2015 - 2018 |
Key Words | Planetary seismology, Mars, InSight, single-station approaches, seismic monitoring |
Research Field | |
Link To Project Website |
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Um in Zukunft die Gefahren von natürlichen und induzierten Erdbeben besser abschätzen zu können, braucht es ein genaueres Verständnis von Verwerfungszonen in tektonisch aktiven Gebieten wie der Schweiz. Mit Hilfe geophysikalischer Abbildungsverfahren und geologischen Kartierungen wurden in den letzten Jahren zahlreiche Verwerfungen in den schweizerischen Alpen und im nördlichen Alpenvorland identifiziert. Allerdings treten in vielen Fällen Erdbeben abseits dieser kartierten Verwerfungen auf, was die Frage nach den tektonischen Prozessen und Mechanismen aufwirft, die diesen Erdbeben zugrunde liegen. Ziel dieses Projektes ist es, durch verbesserte geophysikalische Inversionsverfahren die Strukturen von Verwerfungszonen hochauflösend abzubilden und daraus Erkenntnisse über mechanische Eigenschaften der Bruchsysteme abzuleiten. Dazu werden unter anderem Verfahren der seismischen Tomografie mit hochauflösender Erdbebenlokalisierung kombiniert. Die Anwendung konzentriert sich auf zwei Regionen in der Schweiz: (i) einer äußerst aktiven Erdbebenzone nördlich des Rhônetals im Kanton Wallis, (ii) einer Verwerfungszone nahe St. Gallen, die während Stimulationsmaßnahmen für ein geplantes Geothermiekraftwerk aktiviert wurde. Durch die Anwendung verbesserter Abbildungsverfahren erwarten wir zum einen neue Erkenntnisse über den Zusammenhang zwischen existierenden Verwerfungen und dem Auftreten von Erdbeben. Zudem sind die beiden Untersuchungsgebiete von hoher gesellschaftlicher Relevanz. Das Wallis ist die Region mit der größten seismischen Gefährdung der Schweiz und ein Großteil der gegenwärtigen Seismizität in diesem Gebiet steht in Verbindung mit der Erdbebenzone nördlich des Rhônetals. Die St. Gallen Verwerfungszone bietet Gelegenheit zur Untersuchung der Erdbebengefährdung im dicht besiedelten Molasse Becken, welches potentieller Standort zukünftiger Geothermieprojekte und atomarer Endlager ist. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Tobias Diehl |
SED Project Members | Edi Kissling, Stefan Wiemer |
Funding Source | SNF |
Duration | 2016-2019 |
Key Words | seismicity, seismotectonic, earthquake location, seismic tomography, reflection seismics, induced seismicity, geothermal energy, fault zone, Rawil, St. Gallen, Valais, seismic hazard, Molasse basin |
Research Field | Seismotectonics (main), but also: Induced Seismicity, Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Statistics |
Proposal |
Diehl, Kissling, Wiemer SAMSFAULTZ: Structure And Mechanics of Seismogenic Fault Zones: Insights from advanced passive and active seismic imaging. PDF |
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This project is carried out under a contract with the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). It provides an independent monitoring of the earthquake activity in the area of the proposed nuclear waste repositories in northern Switzerland. Detailed microseismic analysis will help to identify active fault zones and provide insights into the underlying seismotectonic processes in the vicinity of proposed sites, which has direct implications on the seismic hazard assessment. The SED provides results of this project in a transparent manner and all data acquired are made available for public access (see SED declaration on transparency [link]). Within this project, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) constructed ten new seismic stations in northeastern Switzerland and southern Germany to improve monitoring capabilities for very small earthquakes. Monitoring of weak seismic events in this region is challenging, because the study region is densely populated and sediments of the Molasse basin dominate the surface geology. A novel step-wise optimization approach was developed to ensure an optimum configuration of the new stations. To reduce the seismic background noise, three of the ten new sites were equipped with borehole-sensors, located at depths of 120–150 m below the surface. The new stations are fully operational since December 2013 and will observe the local seismicity in northern Switzerland for a minimum of ten years. The newly installed stations complement the five stations installed in 2003 under a first agreement with Nagra. With these ‘Nagra’ stations, together with stations of the Swiss National Seismic Network and stations of neighboring networks in Germany, the project aims to monitor earthquakes down to magnitudes of 1.0 and smaller in the study area. We intend to achieve an overall catalog completeness of Mc 1.3 throughout northeastern Switzerland and location errors less than 0.5 km in epicenter and less than 2 km in focal depth within the study region. Accurate earthquake locations are essential for seismotectonic interpretations. Within this project we therefore aim to improve location accuracy, especially for focal depths, of past and future earthquakes in the region. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Tobias Diehl |
SED Project Members | Florian Haslinger, Stefan Wiemer, Donat Faeh, Toni Kraft, John Clinton |
Involved Institutions | Nagra |
Funding Source | Nagra |
Duration | 2013-2019 |
Key Words | seismicity, seismotectonic, earthquake location, seismic hazard, Molasse basin, nuclear waste repositories |
Research Field | Seismotectonics (main), but also: Swiss Seismicity, Real-time monitoring, Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Publications |
Kraft, T., Mignan, A., Giardini, D. (2013). Optimization of a large-scale microseismic monitoring network in northern Switzerland. Geophys. J. Int. 19, 474-490. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggt225 |
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Um in Zukunft die Gefahren von natürlichen und induzierten Erdbeben besser abschätzen zu können, braucht es ein genaueres Verständnis von Verwerfungszonen in tektonisch aktiven Gebieten wie der Schweiz. Mit Hilfe geophysikalischer Abbildungsverfahren und geologischen Kartierungen wurden in den letzten Jahren zahlreiche Verwerfungen in den schweizerischen Alpen und im nördlichen Alpenvorland identifiziert. Allerdings treten in vielen Fällen Erdbeben abseits dieser kartierten Verwerfungen auf, was die Frage nach den tektonischen Prozessen und Mechanismen aufwirft, die diesen Erdbeben zugrunde liegen. Ziel dieses Projektes ist es, durch verbesserte geophysikalische Inversionsverfahren die Strukturen von Verwerfungszonen hochauflösend abzubilden und daraus Erkenntnisse über mechanische Eigenschaften der Bruchsysteme abzuleiten. Dazu werden unter anderem Verfahren der seismischen Tomografie mit hochauflösender Erdbebenlokalisierung kombiniert. Die Anwendung konzentriert sich auf zwei Regionen in der Schweiz: (i) einer äußerst aktiven Erdbebenzone nördlich des Rhônetals im Kanton Wallis, (ii) einer Verwerfungszone nahe St. Gallen, die während Stimulationsmaßnahmen für ein geplantes Geothermiekraftwerk aktiviert wurde. Durch die Anwendung verbesserter Abbildungsverfahren erwarten wir zum einen neue Erkenntnisse über den Zusammenhang zwischen existierenden Verwerfungen und dem Auftreten von Erdbeben. Zudem sind die beiden Untersuchungsgebiete von hoher gesellschaftlicher Relevanz. Das Wallis ist die Region mit der größten seismischen Gefährdung der Schweiz und ein Großteil der gegenwärtigen Seismizität in diesem Gebiet steht in Verbindung mit der Erdbebenzone nördlich des Rhônetals. Die St. Gallen Verwerfungszone bietet Gelegenheit zur Untersuchung der Erdbebengefährdung im dicht besiedelten Molasse Becken, welches potentieller Standort zukünftiger Geothermieprojekte und atomarer Endlager ist. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Tobias Diehl |
SED Project Members | Edi Kissling, Stefan Wiemer |
Funding Source | SNF |
Duration | 2016-2019 |
Key Words | seismicity, seismotectonic, earthquake location, seismic tomography, reflection seismics, induced seismicity, geothermal energy, fault zone, Rawil, St. Gallen, Valais, seismic hazard, Molasse basin |
Research Field | Seismotectonics (main), but also: Induced Seismicity, Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Statistics |
Proposal |
Diehl, Kissling, Wiemer SAMSFAULTZ: Structure And Mechanics of Seismogenic Fault Zones: Insights from advanced passive and active seismic imaging. PDF |
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This project is carried out under a contract with the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). It provides an independent monitoring of the earthquake activity in the area of the proposed nuclear waste repositories in northern Switzerland. Detailed microseismic analysis will help to identify active fault zones and provide insights into the underlying seismotectonic processes in the vicinity of proposed sites, which has direct implications on the seismic hazard assessment. The SED provides results of this project in a transparent manner and all data acquired are made available for public access (see SED declaration on transparency [link]). Within this project, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) constructed ten new seismic stations in northeastern Switzerland and southern Germany to improve monitoring capabilities for very small earthquakes. Monitoring of weak seismic events in this region is challenging, because the study region is densely populated and sediments of the Molasse basin dominate the surface geology. A novel step-wise optimization approach was developed to ensure an optimum configuration of the new stations. To reduce the seismic background noise, three of the ten new sites were equipped with borehole-sensors, located at depths of 120–150 m below the surface. The new stations are fully operational since December 2013 and will observe the local seismicity in northern Switzerland for a minimum of ten years. The newly installed stations complement the five stations installed in 2003 under a first agreement with Nagra. With these ‘Nagra’ stations, together with stations of the Swiss National Seismic Network and stations of neighboring networks in Germany, the project aims to monitor earthquakes down to magnitudes of 1.0 and smaller in the study area. We intend to achieve an overall catalog completeness of Mc 1.3 throughout northeastern Switzerland and location errors less than 0.5 km in epicenter and less than 2 km in focal depth within the study region. Accurate earthquake locations are essential for seismotectonic interpretations. Within this project we therefore aim to improve location accuracy, especially for focal depths, of past and future earthquakes in the region. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Tobias Diehl |
SED Project Members | Florian Haslinger, Stefan Wiemer, Donat Faeh, Toni Kraft, John Clinton |
Involved Institutions | Nagra |
Funding Source | Nagra |
Duration | 2013-2019 |
Key Words | seismicity, seismotectonic, earthquake location, seismic hazard, Molasse basin, nuclear waste repositories |
Research Field | Seismotectonics (main), but also: Swiss Seismicity, Real-time monitoring, Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Publications |
Kraft, T., Mignan, A., Giardini, D. (2013). Optimization of a large-scale microseismic monitoring network in northern Switzerland. Geophys. J. Int. 19, 474-490. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggt225 |
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Since 2009, the Swiss Seismological Service is renewing and expanding its strong motion network. During the first phase, a total of 30 new accelerometer stations have been installed between 2009 and 2013, both replacing existing strong motion dial-up stations and installing new stations. During the ongoing second phase, 70 more stations are planned to be installed by 2020, including four borehole installations. The renewal project of the Swiss Strong Motion Network was approved by the Swiss Federal Council in February 2009. The project is monitored and supervised by a steering committee headed by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). The goals of the enlargement of the Swiss strong motion network are a better spatial coverage of earthquake-prone regions, a better understanding of site effects and thus the verification and improvement of hazard models. The epicentral areas of relevant past earthquakes have been instrumented in the first phase, namely Aigle (1584), Glarus (1971), Sarnen (1964), Sion-Sierre (1946), Yverdon (1929), Visp (1855), St. Gallen Rhine Valley (1796/96), Altdorf (1774), Brig (1755), Basel (1356), Churwalden/Vaz (1295/1991), etc. Furthermore, the city areas of Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Sion, Solothurn, Locarno, Chur, Sierre are relevant sites for free-field installation. In the second phase, additional epicentral areas of past earthquakes are targeted: Churwalden (1295), Ardez (1504), Ardon (1524), Arbon (1720), Kreuzlingen (1911), and Moudon (1933), among others. Further urban areas are instrumented as well, e.g. Biel, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Thun and Winterthur. Another aspect of phase 2 is the densification of the network, especially in earthquake-prone areas such as the Valais. The site selection is always a trade-off between the scientific objectives and the level of vibration disturbances. Modern stations are sensitive enough to record also small earthquakes, but the signal-to-noise ratio may be too low due to traffic and industries. At all sites, geophysical measurements are performed to characterize the site response. Recorded signals can then be interpreted, and sites classified according to the amplification at the site, which is basic information for improved site-specific seismic hazard studies. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Manuel Hobiger, Eric Zimmermann, Clotaire Michel, Franz Weber, Lukas Heiniger, John Clinton, Carlo Cauzzi |
Involved Institutions | BAFU |
Funding Source | BAFU |
Duration | 2013-2020 |
Key Words | SSMNet, strong motion, site characterization |
Research Field | Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Publications |
Michel C., Edwards B., Poggi V., Burjánek J., Roten D., Cauzzi C. & Fäh D. (2014). Assessment of Site Effects in Alpine Regions through Systematic Site Characterization of Seismic Stations. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 104(6). Link doi: 10.1785/0120140097 Hobiger M., Fäh D., Michel C., Burjánek J., Maranò S., Pilz M., Imperatori W., Bergamo P. (2016). Site Characterization in the Framework of the Renewal of the Swiss Strong Motion Network (SSMNet). Proceedings of the 5th IASPEI/IAEE International Symposium: Effects of Surface Geology on Seismic Motion, August 15-17, 2016. |
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The assessment of seismic hazard in regions such as Switzerland are mainly based on historical documents due to the long return periods of medium to large earthquakes. During the last 20 years, seismologists, historians and database experts at the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich have been working together on a number of successful interdisciplinary projects. Within the framework of projects supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, a wealth of data has been compiled covering information for the pre- and early instrumental period of scientific earthquake monitoring (1880-1963) . The compiled material consists of information collected using very different methods and covers both descriptive and early instrumental data. Due to the wealth of data and the challenges involved in recording and digitizing the very different types of sources, the potential of this data stock has not yet been exploited beyond the basic documentation and interpretation. This follow-up project, funded by the cogito foundation, serves to maintain the sustainability of the interdisciplinary historical research at the SED through in-depth and systematic analysis, documentation and publication activities. In the seismological domain, the improvement and interconnection of the macroseismic and instrumental data play an important role for the next revision of the earthquake catalogue of Switzerland. In the field of history of knowledge, the development of the SED in the first half of the 20th century can also be used as a data-supported historical case study on the conceptual, organizational and technological development of a scientific institution and its practices |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Remo Grolimund |
Funding Source | |
Duration | 2020 - 2021 |
Key Words | Historical Seismology, Interdisciplinary, Historical Seismogram Analysis, Macroseismics, History of Science and Technology |
Research Field | Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Historical Seismicity |
The project Earthquake Risk Model Basel-Stadt (ERM-BS) 2019 to 2023 aims at developing a site specific seismic hazard and risk framework for the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt. It is a follow-up of the projects Microzonation (2003 - 2009) and Basel Erdbebenvorsorge (2013 - 2016) funded by the canton of Basel-Stadt in its effort to set an earthquake risk mitigation and crisis management strategy for the canton. This project makes a step forward by attempting to develop a 3D integrated geological-seismological model of Basel, which will explicitly account for the complex geological conditions at the surface and at depth. Ground motion amplification models will be developed and validated with earthquake recordings from the permanent and temporary seismic network in the region. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
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SED Project Members | Afifa Imtiaz, Francesco Panzera |
Involved Institutions | Kantonales Laboratorium Basel-Stadt, Department of Applied and Environmental Geology (AUG) of University of Basel, Résonance Ingénieurs Conseil, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) |
Funding Source | Kanton Basel-Stadt |
Duration | 2019-2023 |
Key Words | 3D model, Basel city, ground motion amplification, seismic network, site effects, cantonal building database, seismic vulnerability, seismic risk |
Research Field | Engineering Seismology, Seismic Hazard & Risk |
Quali danni potrebbero provocare i terremoti in Svizzera? Per il momento a questa importante domanda è possibile rispondere solo parzialmente. Grazie al modello nazionale di pericolosità sismica del Servizio Sismico Svizzero (SED) presso il ETH di Zurigo, sappiamo dove e con quale frequenza possono avvenire determinati terremoti e quali scosse provocano in un’area, rimane ancora ampiamente incomprensibile quali danni possono provocare i terremoti a edifici. Il Consiglio federale ha ora incaricato il SED, in collaborazione con l’Ufficio federale dell'ambiente (UFAM) e l’Ufficio federale della protezione della popolazione (UFPP), di colmare questa lacuna e di elaborare entro il 2022 un modello di rischio sismico. Sulla base della pericolosità sismica, tale modello considererà gli effetti esercitati dalle caratteristiche locali del sottosuolo e della vulnerabilità e valore degli edifici. In futuro, questo modello permetterà alle autorità cantonali e nazionali di compilare migliori rapporti sui rischi e, sulla base di questi ultimi, di ottimizzare le proprie attività di pianificazione. Grazie al modello di rischio sismico, sarà possibile avere scenari dettagliati per diversi tipi di terremoti e fare stime di costi-benefici per la mitigazione delle loro conseguenze. Oltre alla prevenzione, in caso di evento il modello consentirà di valutare rapidamente il luogo e l’entità dei possibili danni. L’elaborazione del modello verrà finanziata con i contributi dell’UFAM, dell’UFPP e del Politecnico federale di Zurigo. |
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Project Leader at SED | Stefan Wiemer |
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SED Project Members | D. Fäh, F. Haslinger, M. Marti, P. Kästli, L. Danciu, P. Roth, P. Bergamo |
Funding Source | UFAM, UFPP e ETH |
Duration | 2017 - 2022 |
Key Words | Pericolosità sismica, rischio sismico, amplificazione del sottosuolo, vulnerabilità, modello di perdite finanziarie, banche dati degli edifici, tipologia, fragilità, gestione del rischio, sviluppo di software |
Research Field | Rischio sismico, ingegneria sismica |
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The third phase of this project is split into 3 subtasks with the main goal to improve regional and local seismic hazard assessment in Switzerland; with particular focus to the sites of potential regions of nuclear repositories. These sub-projects are: Subproject 1 aims to improve models and develop methods for the prediction of strong ground motion in Switzerland at the surface and at depth. Two main approaches are investigated: ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) and stochastic simulation models. Both approaches require calibration to the local seismicity and careful consideration of their extrapolation to large magnitude events which have, as yet, not been instrumentally recorded in Switzerland. In this context, we study the effect of source- and site-related parameters, as stress drop and kappa. Subproject 2 is focused on earthquake scenario modeling for Switzerland and exploration of the physical limits on ground motion. Our modeling combines realistic rupture along irregular fault surfaces and wave propagation in complex heterogeneous media at high frequency, with focus on underground repositories. Moreover we investigate the plastic and non-linear behavior of soft sediments when subject to high-amplitude Mach waves, conducting CPT measurements to calibrate our numerical models. Subproject 3 focuses on numerical modeling the induced seismicity during tunnel excavation. Simulations will be performed using both thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled model and statistical model. We will adapt existing models for induced earthquakes to the conditions typically met in deep geological repositories. Available geomechanical faulting models will be used during the validation and calibration stage. Finally, the results will be used as input for Subproject 1 and 2. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh
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SED Project Members | Walter Imperatori, Sanjay Bora, Antonio Rinaldi, Luca Urpi |
Funding Source | Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate - ENSI |
Duration | 2010-2014 (1st phase), 2014-2018 (2nd phase), 2018-2022 (3rd phase) |
Key Words | Ground motion prediction equations, ground motion modelling, induced seismicity |
Research Field | Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Reports / Deliverables |
D. Fäh, S. Wiemer, D. Roten, B. Edwards, V. Poggi, C. Cauzzi, J. Burjanek, M. Spada, R. Grolimund, M. Gisler, G. Schwarz-Zanetti, P. Kästli (2012). Expertengruppe Starkbeben. ENSI Erfahrungs- und Forschungsbericht 2011, 173-182. Eidgenösisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat ENSI. PDF D. Fäh, S. Wiemer, B. Edwards, V. Poggi, D. Roten, R. Grolimund, M. Spada, J. Wössner (2013). Expertengruppe Starkbeben. ENSI Erfahrungs- und Forschungsbericht 2012, 173-181. Eidgenösisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat ENSI. PDF D. Fäh, S. Wiemer, B. Edwards, V. Poggi, D. Roten, R. Grolimund, M. Spada, B. Schechinger, J. Woessner (2014). Expertengruppe Starkebeben. ENSI Erfahrungs- und Forschungsbericht 2013, 161-170. Eidgenösisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat ENSI. PDF D. Fäh, S. Wiemer, B. Edwards, V. Poggi, D. Roten, R. Grolimund, M. Spada, B. Schechinger , T. Tormann, J. Woessner (2015). Earthquake Strong Motion Research. ENSI Erfahrungs- und Forschungsbericht 2014, 171-180. Eidgenösisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat ENSI. PDF |
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This group gathers the researchers with competences in site characterization in order to discuss and improve the work performed for different projects involving site characterization, especially for sites with new seismic stations. The available tools for processing, archiving and disseminating are shared within the group. The group is responsible for setting up and filling the SED database for site characterization. A process of review has been established in order to validate the work done before it is made public. The group reviewed the 30 sites of the SSMNet Renewal phase 1, 6 sites of SSMNet stations in Basel installed in the frame of the Basel Erdbebenvorsorge project, the 10 sites of the NAGRA Network, the installation site of stations in the area of the Mont Terri rock laboratory, 2 sites of SSMNet stations in Liechtenstein and the currently installed sites of the SSMNet Renewal Phase 2. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Clotaire Michel, Manuel Hobiger, Paolo Bergamo, Walter Imperatori, Ulrike Kleinbrod, Carlo Cauzzi |
Funding Source | Site characterization projects (SSMNet reneval project (BAFU), NAGRA, Canton BS and others) |
Duration | 2010 - present |
Key Words | Site characterization, strong motion stations, broadband stations, site response, site effects, site amplification, field |
Research Field | Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Engineering Seismology |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications |
Michel, C., Fäh, D., Edwards, B., & Cauzzi, C. (2017). Site amplification at the city scale in Basel (Switzerland) from geophysical site characterization and spectral modelling of recorded earthquakes. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 98, 27-40. doi: 10.1016/j.pce.2016.07.005 Poggi, V., Burjanek, J., Michel, C., & Fäh, D. (2017). Seismic site-response characterization of high-velocity sites using advanced geophysical techniques: application to the NAGRA-Net. Geophysical Journal International 210(2), 645–659. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggx192 Michel, C., Edwards, B., Poggi, V., Burjanek, J., Roten, D., Cauzzi, C. and Fäh, D. (2014). Assessment of site effects in Alpine regions through systematic site characterization of seismic stations. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 104(6), 2809-2826. doi: 10.1785/0120140097 Burjánek, J., Edwards, B. and Fäh, D. (2014). Empirical evidence of local seismic effects at sites with pronounced topography: a systematic approach. Geophysical Journal International 197(1), 608-619. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggu014 Edwards, B., Michel, C., Poggi, V. and Fäh D. (2013). Determination of Site Amplification from Regional Seismicity: Application to the Swiss National Seismic Networks. Seismological Research Letters 84(4), 611-621. doi: 10.1785/0220120176 |
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Within this project, new signal processing techniques for the analysis of ambient vibrations are developed. The focus is on the development of single-station methods and the adaptation of existing techniques to large arrays. Single-station methods represent an extremely valuable tool. The use of a single station further simplifies the measurement procedure thus enabling a more time and cost effective survey. Assumptions on the wavefield used when processing small arrays may be no longer valid when analyzing large arrays. For this reason, we investigate adaptations of existing techniques to large arrays. Target applications of the methods developed within this project include microzonation studies in Switzerland and investigation of the characteristics of the Swiss Molasse Basin. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh
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SED Project Members | Stefano Maranò, Dario Chieppa (PhD) |
Funding Source | SNF |
Duration | Since 2014 |
Key Words | Ambient vibrations, surface waves |
Research Field | Earthquake Hazard & Risk, Signal Processing |
Publications |
Maranò, S., Fäh, D. and Loeliger, H.-A. (2015). A state-space approach for the analysis of wave and diffusion fields. Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 2564-2568. IEEE Int. Conf. . doi: 10.1109/ICASSP.2015.7178434 |
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SERA (Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance in Europe) has the goal to integrate data, products, infrastructures and know-how in seismology and earthquake engineering. The project is funded through the European Union. In the framework of WP7 (networking of databases of site and station characterization), task 7.4 addresses the topic of site characterization indicators, or proxies, and their relation to site amplification. For our work, we resort to a joint database of site condition indicators and local amplification data from about 1000 instrumented sites in Switzerland and Japan. |
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Project Leader at SED | Professor Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Professor Donat Fäh, Dr. Paolo Bergamo |
Involved Institutions | ISTerre Grenoble, Istituto Nazional Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, ETH Zürich |
Funding Source | European Union |
Duration | 2017-2020 |
Key Words | Site condition parameters, proxies, local seismic response, site characterization |
Research Field | Engineering Seismology |
Link To Project Website | |
Publications | |
Presentations |
In this ETHZ-funded project we analyze ambient vibrations and earthquake recordings to characterize and investigate the dynamic response of unstable rock slopes. We perform systematic measurements and interpretation of ambient vibrations at known unstable rock slopes, both with single stations and array-configurations. The eigenfrequencies, eigenmodes, directivity, and amplification of ambient vibrations are identified and compared to geotechnical investigations. The interpretation of recordings targets the estimation of the potential landslide volume and is supported by numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation in fractured media. A classification scheme based on the seismic response has been introduced, in which each class indicates specific properties of a rock instability. The two main classes found are volume-controlled sites and depth-controlled sites. The extensive database will be extended with instabilities on high-alpine permafrost locations. Moreover, both short-term and long-term monitoring is undertaken to understand the time evolution of the slope structure. Temporary monitoring stations are installed at the rock slope instabilities of Preonzo (Ticino) and Brienz (Grisons) and on a high-alpine permafrost ridge close to Gemsstock (Uri). A main goal of this monitoring is to understand the effect of weather and climate on the dynamic behavior of the rock and its stability, and to measure the slopes’ seismic response to earthquake ground motion. In a later stage of the project, the effect of earthquakes on the rock slope stability will be evaluated using numerical modelling. It will be evaluated, if ambient noise measurements can provide a direct proxy for the seismic vulnerability of rock slope instabilities. The expected results have the potential to be applied directly in hazard analysis and risk reduction measures. |
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Project Leader at SED | Donat Fäh |
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SED Project Members | Mauro Häusler |
Funding Source | ETHZ |
Duration | 2013–2021 |
Key Words | Unstable rock slopes, ambient vibrations, ground motion modelling, landslides |
Research Field | Seismic hazard, earthquake induced effects, engineering seismology, slope stability |
Publications |
Burjánek, J., Gischig, V., Moore, J. R., & Fäh, D. (2017). Ambient vibration characterization and monitoring of a rock slope close to collapse. Geophysical Journal International 212(1), 297-310. Burjánek, J., Kleinbrod, U., & Fäh, D. (2019). Modeling the Seismic Response of Unstable Rock Mass With Deep Compliant Fractures. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 124. doi: 10.1029/2019JB018607 Häusler, M., Michel, C., Burjánek, J., & Fäh, D. (2019). Fracture Network Imaging on Rock Slope Instabilities Using Resonance Mode Analysis. Geophysical Research Letters 46, 6497–6506. doi: 10.1029/2019GL083201 Kleinbrod, U., Burjánek, J., & Fäh, D. (2017). On the seismic response of instable rock slopes based on ambient vibration recordings. Earth, Planets and Space 69(1), 126. Kleinbrod, U., Burjánek, J., Hugentobler, M., Amann, F., & Fäh, D. (2017). A comparative study on seismic response of two unstable rock slopes within same tectonic setting but different activity level. Geophysical Journal International 211(3), 1428-1448. Kleinbrod, U., Burjánek J., & Fäh, D. (2019). Ambient vibration classification of unstable rock slopes: A systematic approach. Engineering Geology 249, 198-217. doi: 10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.12.012 |
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Our present knowledge about earthquakes does not yet allow us to reliably forecast earthquakes. Therefore, the study of precursors is an essential step in the direction of earthquake forecasting. Precursors can be anomalous seismic patterns or other phenomena such as peculiar animal behavior, or electromagnetic anomalies etc., which indicate the incidence of a large event. We focus in our studies on seismic precursors, namely quiescence, which is expressed through reduced seismic activity, accelerated seismicity (ASR) and short term foreshocks. The mentioned precursors are observed in many selected earthquake sequences in the past. However, there is skepticism if these precursors happen systematically; some studies explain their occurrence rather as a random temporary perturbation of normal seismicity which is accidentally followed by a large earthquake. We believe that systematic investigations on the occurrence of precursors give essential evidence for or against their existence. We chose to perform these investigations with statistical tools, hence by evaluating location, time and magnitudes of earthquakes from several regional earthquake catalogs of the world, to obtain representative precursor statistics. We find that small earthquakes, as they occur more frequently, could facilitate the detection of precursory patterns (Mignan, 2014). We study statistical models used to describe earthquake occurrence and the impact of the choice of the lowest magnitude on them (Seif et al, 2016, submitted). Using these models we evaluate if foreshock occurrence differs from normal seismicity. We also want to specify how often foreshock patterns are followed by large events or not (true/false alarm rate). In the future remaining precursory patterns, quiescence and accelerated seismicity, will be investigated in the same way. We hope that the statistical analysis will allow us to better understand the physical processes which lead to the occurrence of precursors. |
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Project Leader at SED | Dr. Arnaud Mignan |
SED Project Members | Stefanie Seif, Dr. Jeremy Zechar, Prof. Stefan Wiemer |
Funding Source | ETH Grants |
Duration | 2013 - August 2018 |
Key Words | Precursors, foreshocks, cut-off magnitude, ETAS |
Research Field | Earthquake Statistics, Earthquake Forecasting |
Publications |
Mignan, A. (2014). The debate on the prognostic value of earthquake foreshocks: A meta-analysis. Scientific reports, 4:4099. doi: 10.1038/srep04099 |
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This is the 1st subproject of the „ENSI – SED-Erdbebenforschung zu Schweizer Kernanlagen“ project. This subproject aims to improve source-scaling and attenuation models and to develop methods for the prediction of strong ground motion in Switzerland both at the surface as well as at depth. Two main approaches are investigated: ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) and stochastic simulation models. Both approaches require adaptions to the local seismicity and careful consideration of their calibration to Swiss conditions. The Fourier spectral and stochastic models correspond to the current state of research and have some advantages over the empirical attenuation relationships, as it is possible to adjust the model to specific local site conditions. The complete understanding in terms of physical parameterization of such models is crucial in order to decouple different effects, which allow building robust predictive models that scale appropriately to large magnitude events. In this regard, variability in source parameter such as stress drop is crucial. Similarly, variability in site-related attenuation parameter kappa is also need to be well understood. Fourier and duration models from Japanese data are now being developed that will allow the review of the Swiss model for large magnitudes in the different distance ranges and at various rock sites which have, as yet, not been instrumentally recorded in Switzerland. Moreover, we will use recordings of local seismicity in addition to numerical modeling results of related projects to calibrate the predictive models. The long-term goal is to develop an improved stochastic simulation model for Switzerland allowing existing uncertainties to be reduced. In future, such models will also allow an assessment of ground motion caused by induced seismicity due to the activation of existing fractures and/or the generation of new fractures. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Sanjay Bora |
Involved Institutions | Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool |
Funding Source | Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate - ENSI |
Duration | 2014-2022 |
Key Words | Ground motion prediction equations, Fourier spectral models, stochastic ground motion models, ground motion duration models. |
Research Field | Swiss Seismicity, Earthquake Hazard & Risk |
Publications |
Edwards, B. & Fäh, D. (2014). Ground motion prediction equations. Link doi: 10.3929/ethz-a-010232326 Edwards, B., Ktenidou, O.-J., Cotton, F., Abrahamson, N., Van Houtte, C. and Fäh, D (2014). Epistemic Uncertainty and Limitations of the Kappa0 model for Near-surface Attenuation at Hard Rock Sites. Geophysical Journal International 202(3). doi: 10.1093/gji/ggv222 Edwards, B. and Fäh D. (2013). A Stochastic Ground‐Motion Model for Switzerland. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 103, 78-98. doi: 10.1785/0120110331 Edwards, B., Michel, C., Poggi, V. and Fäh, D. (2013). Determination of Site Amplification from Regional Seismicity: Application to the Swiss National Seismic Networks. Seism. Res. Lett. 84(4), 611-621. doi: 10.1785/0220120176 Poggi, V., Edwards, B. and Fäh, D (2013). Reference S-wave velocity profile and attenuation models for ground-motion prediction equations: application to Japan. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 103(5), 2645-2656. doi: 10.1785/0120120362 Poggi, V., Edwards, B. and Fäh, D. (2012). Characterizing the vertical to horizontal ratio of ground-motion at soft sediment sites. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 102(6), 2741-2756. doi: 10.1785/0120120039 Poggi, V., Edwards, B. and Fäh, D. (2011). Derivation of a Reference Shear-Wave Velocity Model from Empirical Site Amplification. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 101(1), 258-274. doi: 10.1785/0120100060 |
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This is the 2nd subproject of the „ENSI – SED-Erdbebenforschung zu Schweizer Kernanlagen“ project. Realistic modeling of earthquake ground motions can be achieved only if the causative fault and the medium where waves propagate are described accurately. To efficiently simulate high-frequency earthquake scenario in Switzerland, we develop a hybrid broadband simulation technique combining state-of-the-art rupture models along irregular fault surfaces and wave propagation in complex heterogeneous media taking into account station-specific scattering parameters. Significant efforts are made to extend the validity of our technique to model ground motion at depth for possible applications at underground repositories. A thorough validation and calibration of sensitive parameters is based on Japanese and Swiss datasets. Along with source and path effects, near-surface site conditions represent an important factor controlling ground motions since soft sediments can significantly amplify the shaking observed during an earthquake. Depending on the level of input ground motion, liquefiable soils have the potential to generate excess water pressure resulting in high-frequency acceleration pulses. Advanced constitutive models of liquefiable soils require the knowledge of so-called dilatancy parameters that describe the potential to generate excess water pressure. These parameters can be determined from field observations by analyzing cone penetration test (CPT) measurements. Accurate modeling of liquefiable soils subject to high-amplitude Mach waves is essential to explore the physical limits of ground motion. |
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Project Leader at SED | Prof. Donat Fäh |
SED Project Members | Walter Imperatori |
Involved Institutions | |
Funding Source | Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate – ENSI |
Duration | 2010-2014 (1st phase), 2014-2018 (2nd phase), 2018-2022 (3rd phase) |
Key Words | Ground motion, scattering, hybrid broadband, non-linearity, site effects, CPT |
Research Field | Engineering Seismology |
Publications |
Imperatori, W. and Mai, M. (2015). The role of topography and lateral velocity heterogeneities on near-source scattering and ground-motion variability. Geophys. J. Int. 202(3), 2163-2181. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggv281 Gallovic, F., Imperatori, W. and Mai, M. (2015). Effects of three-dimensional crustal structure and smoothing constraint on earthquake slip inversions: Case study of the Mw6.3 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth. 120(1), 428–449. doi: 10.1002/2014JB011650 Roten, D., Olsen, K.B., Day, S.M. and Fäh, D. (2014). Expected seismic shaking in Los Angeles reduced by San Andreas fault zone plasticity. Geopys. Res. Lett. 41(8), 2769-2777. doi: 10.1002/2014GL059411 Roten, D., Fäh, D. and Bonilla, L.F. (2014). Quantification of cyclic mobility parameters in liquefiable soils from inversion of vertical array records. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 104(6), 3115-3138. doi: 10.1785/0120130329 |