Imbricated Aseismic Slip And Fluid Diffusion Drive A Seismic Swarm In The Corinth Gulf, Greece.

Description

The primary processes driving seismic swarms are still under debate. Here, we study the temporal evolution of a seismic swarm that occurred over a 10-day period in October 2015 in the extensional rift of the Corinth Gulf (Greece) using high-resolution earthquakes relocations. The seismicity radially migrates on a normal fault at a fluid diffusion velocity (~125 m/day). However, this migration occurs intermittently, with periods of fast expansion (2-to-10 km/day) during short seismic bursts alternating with quiescent periods. Moreover, the growing phases of the swarm illuminates a high number of repeaters. The swarm migration is likely the results of a combination of multiple driving processes. Fluid up flow in the fault may induce aseismic slip episodes, separated by phases of fluid pressure build-up. The stress perturbation due to aseismic slip may activate small asperities that produce bursts of seismicity during the most intense phase of the swarm.

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