COURBOULEX , F.

In regions where only small- to moderate-size events have been recorded, it is important to be able to anticipate the effects of a large event by simulating the ground motion it may generate. Using the very good records of two small earthquakes that occurred in the central French Pyrenees (2007 November 15, Mw= 3.6; and 2006 November 17, Mw=...

A key step in probabilistic seismic-hazard assessment is the prediction of expected ground motions produced by the seismic sources. Most probabilistic studies use a ground-motion prediction model to perform this estimation. The present study aims at testing the use of simulations in the probabilistic analysis instead of ground-motion models....

The magnitude 5 Epagny-Annecy earthquake of 1996 July 15 is the largest seismic event to have occurred in the Alps since the introduction of modern digital instrumentation. This strike-slip event was located on the Vuache Fault, near the town of Annecy, in the northern French Alps.  The aim of our work was to retrieve the main parameters of the...

he two main earthquakes that occurred in 2012 (May 20 and 29) in the Reggio-Emiliano region (Northern Italy) were relatively small (Mw 6.1 and Mw 5.9) but they generated unexpected damages in a large area around the epicenter. On some stations, the observed seismic levels exceeded design levels recommended by the EC8 seismic code for buildings...

The validity and the stability of a ground-motion simulation method based on the recordings of a single small event as an empirical Green's function (EGF) is tested on a seismic crisis that occurred 25 km offshore of the Guadeloupe Islands (Caribbean arc). We aim to determine if (1) the method enables us to reproduce the observed ground motion,...

We use the new global database of source time functions (STFs) and focal mechanisms proposed by Vallée (2013) using the automatic SCARDEC method (Vallée et al., 2011) to constrain earthquake rupture duration and variability. This database has the advantage of being very consistent since all the events with moment magnitudes Mw>5.8 that have...

Slip distributions of the moderate magnitude (Mw 5.9), 1999 Athens earthquake, inverted from surface waves and interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, show very different characteristics. The robustness analysis proposed in this study, confirms the discrepancy between the well-constrained features of each individual solution....

We study the physical causes of the magnitude dependence of ground‐motion decay with distance that is observed on real data. Using stochastic simulations, we analyze the role played by anelastic attenuation Q (f), path duration, site effect (κ0), finite‐fault effect, and stress drop for a magnitude range between 4 and 7. We systematically look...

We present a two-stage method to simulate the ground motions produced by an earthquake by using stochastic summation of small earthquakes. In this method, identical small earthquakes are multiplied by a scaling factor and summed together with time delays randomly distributed, during the two stages, over the source duration. The summation scheme...

Geophysical Research Letters, v. 30, n. 15, p. 1782, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017171

We studied the kinematic rupture process of the moderate magnitude (Mw 5.9), 1999 Athens earthquake using broadband seismic recordings at regional distances. The Apparent Source Time Functions (ASTF), obtained by retrieving the wave propagation and site effects from the seismic recordings using an empirical Green's function method, indicate a...

Temporary seismic networks installed in urban areas provide a powerful tool for investigating the shal-low geological structure and assess the seismic hazard using seismic interferometry. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is located in a high seismic zone, placed at 200 km from the Pacific sub-duction zone and surrounded by crustal-faults prone to...

Plusieurs failles actives sont identifiées à la jonction Alpes – Bassin Ligure : des failles dont la longueur est de l'ordre de la dizaine de kilomètres à terre (Faille de Blausasc, Faille de Donareo, Faille de Saorge-Taggia) et en mer le système de faille nord Ligure dont la longueur totale atteint 80 km. La géométrie et la cinématique de ces...

Earthquakes are both troubling and fascinating because of their suddenness, the terrible destruction they can wreak and because they still remain unpredictable. This is why emphasis must be placed on preparation, especially in the school system where causes and effects of these hazards are studied. But trying to explain earthquakes,...

International audience

International audience

A new seismically active zone is found in the southern part of the Ligurian basin, 80-km west of Corsica (western Mediterranean). The activity began in February 2011 with a foreshock (ML 4) and a mainshock (ML 5.3) 5 days later, followed by numerous aftershocks. We first analyze the fore- and mainshock in detail. We compare the results obtained...

Le séisme de Peille (Mw=3,4) s'est produit le 1er novembre 1999, à 15 km au nord des villes de Nice, Monaco et Menton. Ce petit séisme a été très bien enregistré par 20 stations sismologiques, situées entre 6 et 50 km de l'épicentre. Nous avons utilisé une méthode de localisation non linéaire, qui montre que ce séisme a eu lieu à faible...

We document a moderate earthquake in the French Alps (26 February 2012 Mw 4.1) that has been much more distinctly felt south of the event than north of it. This discrepancy was especially clear in the two large cities of Nice and Grenoble, both situated at 100 km from the epicenter. This observation was confirmed by ground-motion measurements...

We document a moderate earthquake in the French Alps (26 February 2012 Mw 4.1) that has been much more distinctly felt south of the event than north of it. This discrepancy was especially clear in the two large cities of Nice and Grenoble, both situated at 100 km from the epicenter. This observation was confirmed by ground-motion measurements...

Using earthquakes and seismic noise recordings on a broad-band station installed in October 2016 on the slope of the Nice airport at 17 m depth, we find a strong site amplification of the seismic waves (factor 10 around a frequency of 1Hz).The effects of superficial layers on the amplitude, frequency and duration of seismic waves (often called...

We analyse the source process and the aftershock distribution of the April 21, 1995, Ventimiglia, ML=4.7 earthquake using the records of permanent high dynamic broad-band seismic stations and a temporary network deployed on land and at sea few hours after the earthquake. This event occurred on the western Mediterranean coast, near the border...