Scientific goals and methods

We aim to understand the relation between active deformation - expressed by recent earthquake activity - and landslide occurrence. The interplay of active faulting, induced ground motion and slope failure will be illuminated through the timing and location of both earthquakes and landslides. We will identify active seismic structures at the kilometre scale and correlate them with mapped faults or morphologic features. We will build a 3D tectonic fault model from high resolution earthquake locations and 3D tomographic seismic velocity structure that will, together with long-term deformation rates, allow estimating slip rates on individual faults. This sub-project sets the tectonic framework for the other work-packages to build upon and allows constraining a promising target region for the localized studies.

We will analyze regional seismological data from a temporary 21 station network that was installed in September 2009 and is foreseen to run for at least one year. After event detection, multi-event relocation will produce high-resolution inventory of seismicity. The arrival times in the produced earthquake bulletin will be used for the seismic tomography. Additional constraints will come from surface waves recovered from noise cross correlation. For suitable events we will calculate earthquake source mechanisms through waveform inversion to constrain the type of deformation.

Publications:

Feld, C., C. Haberland, B. Schurr, C. Sippl, H.-U. Wetzel, S. Roessner, M. Ickrath, U. Abdybachaev, and S. Orunbaev (2015), Seismotectonic study of the Fergana Region (Southern Kyrgyzstan): distribution and kinematics of local seismicity, Earth, Planets and Space, 67(1), 1–13, doi:10.1186/s40623-015-0195-1.

Haberland, C., U. Abdybachaev, B. Schurr, H.-U. Wetzel, S. Roessner, A. Sarnagoev, and S. Orunbaev (2011), Landslides in southern Kyrgyzstan: Understanding tectonic controls, Eos, Transactions, AGU, 92(20), 169–176, doi:10.1029/2011EO200001. 

PIs: Christian Haberland (sec 2.2), Bernd Schurr (sec 4.1)

Partner: Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Publikationen:

Feld, C., C. Haberland, B. Schurr, C. Sippl, H.-U. Wetzel, S. Roessner, M. Ickrath, U. Abdybachaev, and S. Orunbaev (2015), Seismotectonic study of the Fergana Region (Southern Kyrgyzstan): distribution and kinematics of local seismicity, Earth, Planets and Space, 67(1), 1–13, doi:10.1186/s40623-015-0195-1.

Haberland, C., U. Abdybachaev, B. Schurr, H.-U. Wetzel, S. Roessner, A. Sarnagoev, and S. Orunbaev (2011), Landslides in southern Kyrgyzstan: Understanding tectonic controls, Eos, Transactions, AGU, 92(20), 169–176, doi:10.1029/2011EO200001.