Edi Kissling

ETH Zurich | ETH Zürich · Department of Earth Sciences

The Mediterranean region denotes a special plate tectonic environment as the two big plates, Africa and Eurasia, primarily provide the main frame while the dominant players are the small oceanic basins and the continental micro plates (MP) that for the past 80 Ma was the Adria MP. In this environment slab rollback subduction, orogenic arc formation...

The Pannonian Basin, situated in Central Europe, is surrounded by the Alpine, Carpathian and Dinaric orogens. To understand its tectonic characteristics and evolution, we determine a shear wave velocity model of its crust, mantle lithosphere and asthenosphere consistently by jointly inverting Rayleigh wave phase velocities measured consistently fro...

The North Alpine foreland basin or the Molasse basin that is situated on the northern side of the Alps has experienced a long history of research on its stratigraphic architecture, chronological framework, facies relationships, paleontological records and the provenance of its clastic material. Among these efforts, the most emphasis has been placed...

This work summarizes the results of an interdisciplinary project where we aimed to explore the origin of overdeepenings or tunnel valleys through a combination of a gravimetry survey, drillings, dating and a synthesis of previously published work. To this end, we focused on the Bern area, Switzerland, situated on the northern margin of the European...

We investigated the mechanisms leading to the formation of tunnel valleys in the Swiss foreland near Bern. We proceeded through producing 3D maps of the bedrock topography based on drillhole information and a new gravimetric survey combined with modelling. In this context, the combination of information about the densities of the sedimentary fill a...

In geophysical inverse problems, the distribution of physical properties in an Earth model is inferred from a set of measured data. A necessary step is to select data that are best suited to the problem at hand. This step is performed ahead of solving the inverse problem, generally on the basis of expert knowledge. However, expert‐opinion can intro...

Review an the evolution of the External Crystalline Massifs of the European Alps.

Hormuz salt formation is considered the origin of the evaporated salt deposits in the Zagros and its ductile behavior has been known as the reason for the inhomogeneous deformation in the Zagros. However, our knowledge about this formation has been limited to the salt domes on the surface. In our study, local earthquakes recorded by a temporary den...

In geophysical inverse problems, the distribution of physical properties in an Earth model is inferred from a set of measured data. A necessary step is to select data that are best suited to the problem at hand. This step is performed ahead of solving the inverse problem, generally on the basis of expert knowledge. However, expert-opinion can intro...

Seismotectonic interpretations in regions characterized by low to moderate seismicity require consistent earthquake catalogues covering periods of several decades. Inevitable changes in network configuration and analysing procedures, however, introduce significant bias to the hypocentre parameters and uncertainty estimates reported in such catalogu...

Turkish seismicity is routinely recorded by two broadband seismic networks: the Turkish National Seismic Network (AFAD ‘TU’ network) and the Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory And Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI ‘KO’ network). Each of them has over 200 seismic stations distributed across the country. We obtain a new uniform and consisten...

We take advantage of the new large AlpArray Seismic Network (AASN) as part of the AlpArray research initiative (www.alparray.ethz.ch), to establish a consistent seismicity catalogue for the greater Alpine region (GAR) for the time-period January 1st, 2016–December 31st, 2019. We use data from 1103 stations including the AASN backbone composed of 35...

Ideally, the three‐dime nsional (3D) representation of the subsurface relies on both underground and surface data. Commonly, the former is scarcely available or entirely lacking and, therefore, the latter has to be used when projecting surface information to depth. We present an approach to investigate the large‐scale 3D deformation pattern in the...

Ideally, the three-dimensional (3D) representation of the subsurface relies on both underground and surface data. Commonly, the former is scarcely available or entirely lacking and, therefore, the latter has to be used when projecting surface information to depth. We present an approach to investigate the large-scale 3D deformation pattern in the C...

The stratigraphic development of foreland basins has mainly been related to surface loading in the adjacent orogens, whereas the control of slab loads on these basins has received much less attention. This has also been the case for interpreting the relationships between the Oligocene to Micoene evolution of the European Alps and the North Alpine f...

The geometry of glacial overdeepenings on the Swiss Plateau close to Bern was inferred through a combination of gravity data with a 3D gravity modelling software. The target overdeepenings have depths between 155 and > 270 m and widths between 860 and 2400 m. The models show incisions characterized by U-shaped cross-sectional geometries and steep t...

Accuracy of hypocenter location, in particular focal depth, is a precondition for high‐resolution seismotectonic analysis of natural and induced seismicity. For instance, linking seismicity with mapped fault segments requires hypocenter accuracy at the sub‐kilometer scale. In this study, we demonstrate that inaccurate velocity models and improper p...

The AlpArray experiment and the deployment of Swath-D together with the dense permanent network in Italy allow for detailed imaging of the spatio-temporal imaging complexity of seismic wave-fields within the greater Alpine region. The distance of any point within the area to the nearest station is less than 30 km, resulting in an average inter-stat...

Ambient-noise records from the AlpArray network are used to measure Rayleigh wave phase velocities between more than 150,000 station pairs. From these, azimuthally anisotropic phase-velocity maps are obtained by applying the Eikonal tomography method. Several synthetic tests are shown to study the bias in the Ψ2 anisotropy. There are two main group...

In this work we present the application of the global-phase seismic interferometry (GloPSI) technique to a dataset recorded across the Eastern Alps with the EASI (Eastern Alpine Seismic Investigation) temporary seismic network. GloPSI aims at rendering an image of the lithosphere from the waves that travel across the core before reaching the seismi...

The AlpArray Gravity Research Group (AAGRG), as part of the European AlpArray program, focuses on the compilation of a homogeneous surface-based gravity data set across the Alpine area. In 2017 10 European countries in the Alpine realm agreed to contribute with gravity data for a new compilation of the Alpine gravity field in an area spanning from...

Crustal earthquakes in low-strain-rate regions are rare in the human life span but can generate disastrous consequences when they occur. Such was the case in the Canterbury earthquake sequence that began in 2010 and eventually led to almost 200 fatalities. Our study explores this earthquake sequence’s origins by producing an enhanced earthquake cat...

The Swiss Atlas of Physical Properties of Rocks (SAPHYR) project aims at centralize, uniform, and digitize dispersed and often hardly accessible laboratory data on physical properties of rocks from Switzerland and surrounding regions. The goal of SAPHYR is to make the quality-controlled and homogenized data digitally accessible to an open public, i...

The AlpArray Gravity Research Group (AAGRG), as part of the European AlpArray program, focuses on the compilation of a homogeneous surface-based gravity dataset across the Alpine area. From this data set, Bouguer- and Free Air anomalies are calculated and presented here. In 2016/17 ten European countries in the Alpine realm have agreed to contribut...

We describe the process of pairing M4 + earthquakes reported in the routine catalogues of two seismic networks in Turkey and present the resulting products: (i) hypocentre locations and magnitudes; (ii) minimum 1D velocity model with station delays for the combined station network. The two networks are the Kandilli Observatory (KOERI) and the Natio...

Along the southwestern offshore Hellenic subduction zone, the overriding Aegean upper plate above the Mediterranean oceanic lithosphere generates uncommon large earthquakes on the offshore megathrust fault. The largest subduction thrust event, for half a century, has been the 14 February 2008 Methoni earthquake (Mw = 6.8) that occurred offshore of...

The tectonic evolution of the European Eastern Alps within the Alpine orogeny is still under debate. Open questions include: the link between surface, crustal and mantle structures; the nature of the Moho gap between the two plates; the relationship between the Alps, the adjacent foreland basin and the Bohemian Massif lithospheric blocks. We collec...

In this work we present the application of the Global-Phase Seismic Interferometry (GloPSI) technique to a data-set recorded across the Eastern Alps with the EASI temporary seismic network (Eastern Alpine Seismic Investigation). GloPSI aims at rendering an image of the lithosphere from the waves that travel across the core before reaching the seism...

Buoyancy forces associated with subducting lithosphere control the dynamics of convergent margins. In the post‐collisional stage these forces are significantly reduced, yet mountain building and seismicity are ongoing, albeit at lower rates. We leverage advances of a newly developed seismo‐thermo‐mechanical modeling approach to simulate tectonic an...

The 3-D P-wave velocity structure of the northern half of Iran crust has been determined from the local earthquake tomography using a high-quality data set of semi-automatically re-picked arrival-times. The quality and quantity of these re-picked phase data allows the 3-D imaging of large parts of the northern half of Iran lithosphere between 0 and...

The modern-day coverage and availability of broad-band stations in the greater Alpine area offered by AlpArray, Swath-D and the European seismological networks allows for imaging seismic wave-fields at yet unprecedented resolution. In the AlpArray area and in Italy, the distance of any point to the nearest station is less than 30 km, resulting in a...

The densely populated Po Plain, a very deep sedimentary basin in northern Italy, is prone to heavy shaking during earthquakes. Seismic hazard assessment must account for local variation in wave amplification. Standard ground motion prediction equations may fail to picture the complexity of strong lateral gradients in seismic response, due to sharp...

Understanding how long-term subduction dynamics relates to the short-term seismicity and crustal tec tonics is a challenging but crucial topic in seismotectonics. We attempt to address this issue by linking long-term geodynamic evolution with short-term seismogenic deformation in the Northern Apennines. This retreating subduction orogen displays te...

The Alpine front’s External Crystalline Massifs represent exhumation of mid-crustal basement during late-stage continent-continent collision. We unravel the geo- dynamic evolution of the Northalpine front (Aar Massif) by combining structural and low-T thermochronometric data. A crustal-scale tectonic restoration (Neogene- present) and estimation of...

The Larderello-Travale Geothermal Field in South-West Tuscany (Italy) is the oldest and among the most productive geothermal fields in the world. A new 3D model of seismic P-wave velocity (VP) of the upper crust beneath the geothermal field is derived by inverting a set of highly consistent travel-times from local-earthquakes. Results document a ma...

The contact between the Caribbean and North American plates is a tectonically complicated boundary where the deformation is accommodated in north and south of Hispaniola by the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden and Septentrional–Oriente Fault Zones (EPGFZ and SOFZ). We present a crustal and tectonic study of the Northeastern Caribbean Plate Boundary from...

The role of mantle-lithosphere interactions in shaping mountain belts has long been debated. Several conceptual models implicate a key role for horizontal kinematic forces in sustaining mountain building processes. For the central European Alps, however, recent stratigraphic, palaeo-altimetry and lithosphere structural evidence suggest that dynamic...

Moho map for Alpine and central Mediterranean region (Spada et al. 2013) showing European, Adria, and Tyrrhenia-Corsica Moho surfaces References: Spada, M., I. Bianchi, E. Kissling, N. Piana Agostinetti and S. Wiemer (2013): Combining controlled-source seismology and receiver function information to derive 3-D Moho topography for Italy. Geophys...

PROFESSOR SAMANTHA HETTIARACHCHI MEMORIAL ORATION 29-11-2018 To be delivered by Professor Eduard Kissling, PhD Hazard Assessment and Risk Reduction for Earthquakes and Tsunamis Abstract Earthquakes and possibly subsequent tsunamis occur as consequences of the slow movements of thick solid-rock plates (the so-called lithosphere) that float atop the...

For faster and more robust ray tracing in 1-D velocity models and also due to the lack of reliable 3-D models, most seismological centers use 1-D models for routine earthquake locations. In this study, as solution to the coupled hypocenter-velocity problem we compute a regional P-wave velocity model for southern Iran that can be used for routine ea...

This catalogue is a supplement to the publication: "Regional minimum 1-D P-wave velocity model for a new seismicity catalogue with precise and consistent earthquake locations in southern Iran" by Hossein Kianimehr, Edi Kissling, Farzam Yaminifard, and Mohammad Tatar, Journal of seismology, 2018. In Iran, two separate and independent seismic netwo...

Seismic anisotropy provides a unique constraint on the past and present dynamics of the lithosphere and sublithospheric mantle. To contribute to studies of large-scale tectonic fabric, we have developed code AniTomo for regional anisotropic tomography. AniTomo allows us to invert simultaneously relative traveltime residuals of teleseismic Pwaves fo...

The AlpArray programme is a multinational, European consortium to advance our understanding of orogenesis and its relationship to mantle dynamics, plate reorganizations, surface processes and seismic hazard in the Alps–Apennines–Carpathians–Dinarides orogenic system. The AlpArray Seismic Network has been deployed with contributions from 36 institut...

Considering only isotropic wave propagation and neglecting anisotropy in teleseismic tomography studies is a simplification obviously incongruous with current understanding of the mantle–lithosphere plate dynamics. Therefore, we have developed a code for anisotropic–teleseismic tomography (AniTomo), which allows to invert relative traveltime residu...

The Iranian plateau is one of the seismically active areas of the world and frequently suffers destructive and catastrophic earthquakes. A precise and consistent local earthquake catalogue is a prerequisite not only for traditional seismic hazard assessment but also in the understanding of correlation of seismicity with the lithosphere structure an...

Content: the AA program, organization, funding, collaborative research, AA Seismic Network, operation, data sharing why the European Alps, overview of Alpine structure-tectonics-geologic record, orogeny in general, from kinematics to dynamics, rollback subduction-collision-postcollisional rollback

The construction of the European Alps and the Himalayas has been related to the convergence and subsequent collision of two continental plates. Nearly all models of orogeny build on this concept, and all of them relate the stacking of nappes and the buildup of topography to compressional forces at work in response to the collision between two conti...

The presentation provides a summary of the procedure to evaluate for quality and combine all available data from controlled-source seismology (Waldhauser et al. 1998), local earthquake tomography (Wagner et al. 2012) and receiver functions that were used to establish the Moho map published by Spada et al. 2013.

This ascii - file contains the Moho map for greater Alpine region and Italy compiled and published by Spada et al. 2013, Geophys. J. Int. based on controlled source seismology data (see Waldhauser et al. 1998 and 2002), local earthquake tomography information (see Wagner et al. 2012) and receiver function data.

The tectonics of the Adriatic microplate is not well constrained and remains controversial, especially at its contact with the Dinarides, where it acts as the lower plate. While the northern part of the Adriatic microplate will be accurately imaged within the AlpArray project, its central and southern parts deserve detailed studies to obtain a comp...

In July 2013, a sequence of more than 340 earthquakes was induced by reservoir stimulations and well-control procedures following a gas kick at a deep geothermal drilling project close to the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The sequence culminated in an ML3.5 earthquake, which was felt within 10-15 km from the epicenter. High-quality earthquake lo...

Earthquake catalogs are fundamental cornerstones in the study of earthquake phenomena. They provide the origin time, location, and magnitude information that constitutes the basis for earthquake interaction analysis, as well as physics-and statistics-based earthquake forecasting models. In this article, we locate the southern California seismicity...

oral presentation at workshop

The instrumental record of Bhutan is characterized by a lower seismicity compared to other parts of the Himalayan arc. To understand this low activity and its impact on the seismic hazard, a seismic network was installed in Bhutan for 22 months between 2013 and 2014. Recorded seismicity, earthquake moment tensors and local earthquake tomography rev...

This presentations summarizes the seismic structure of the geophysical Ivrea-Body from past active and passive experiments. We propose an experiment to image the shallow structure of the Ivrea-Verbano Zone with passive seismic methods.

The construction of five crustal-scale profiles across the Western Alps and the Ivrea mantle wedge integrates up-to-date geological and geophysical information and reveals important along strike changes in the overall structure of the crust of the Western Alpine arc (Schmid et al. 2017). The 3D crustal model of the Western Alps represented by these...

Earthquake catalogs derived from several decades of observations are often biased by network geometries, location procedures, and data quality changing with time. To study the long-term spatio-temporal behavior of seismogenic fault zones at high-resolution, a consistent homogenization and improvement of earthquake catalogs is required. Assuming tha...

The geological units and tectonic structure exposed in the Bhutan Himalaya document significant regional variations, expressed primarily as tectonic windows and klippen. The along-strike variations of these structures and their metamorphic grade is usually associated with the formation of local duplexes in the underlying tectonic units. To investig...

The construction of five crustal-scale profiles across the Western Alps and the Ivrea mantle wedge integrates up-to-date geological and geophysical information and reveals important along strike changes in the overall structure of the crust of the Western Alpine arc. Tectonic analysis of the profiles, together with a review of the existing literatu...