Earthquakes in Switzerland and Surrounding Regions During 2002

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2003

Keywords

earthquakes, focal mechanisms, moment tensors, Switzerland

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/S00015-003-1093-2

Abstract

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2002. During this period, 546 earthquakes and 137 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. The increase in the total number of recorded events relative to previous years is restricted to low magnitudes. It is due to the lower detection threshold of the new station network and to the occurrence of six earthquake swarms, which alone account for 39 % of the total seismic activity in 2002. In fact, with 27 events with M-L greater than or equal to 2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2002 was close to the average over the last 28 years. The strongest event, with M-L = 3.8 and intensity to I-0 = V, occurred near Santa Maria Maggiore, between Valle Vigezzo and Valgrande, just beyond the border with Italy. As in previous years, most of the seismic activity during 2002 was concentrated in the Valais, the southeastern part of Graubunden and in the adjacent regions of northern Italy.

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Citation / Publisher Attribution

Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae, v. 96, issue 2, p. 313-324

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