On the trail of fluids in the northernmost intracontinental earthquake swarm areas of the Leipzig-Regensburg fault zone, Germany

Abstract

The Leipzig-Regensburg fault zone is documented as a band of seismic activity extending northwards from the earthquake swarm region NW-Bohemia/Vogtland at the Czech-German border area and is intersected by several Hercynian fault zones. Along the fault zone, there are several earthquake swarm areas, the northernmost of which are Schöneck and Werdau. In this study, we investigate the presumably fluid-induced earthquake swarm activity of the Schöneck and Werdau area. For this purpose, we apply two methods: local earthquake tomography and receiver functions to identify the structural composition of the crust, the areas affected by fluids and the origin of the fluids. We detected potential fluid paths characterised by high Vp/Vs ratios and granite intrusions nearby the swarms characterised by low Vp/Vs anomalies. Receiver function analysis yields the Moho at 25 to 33 km depth and two seismic discontinuities at 55 km and 68 km depth.