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Excessive seismicity over a limited source: the August 2019 earthquake swarm near Mt. Salak in West Java (Indonesia)

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Abstract

The triggering mechanism of swarm-like seismicity in the Java Island of Indonesia is generally not well understood. Understanding earthquake swarm phenomena in various tectonic settings can be improved by the detection of micro-earthquakes; however, such a catalog is not available due to various reasons including the existing limited seismic network and using an outdated algorithm for event detection. In this study, we analyze the seismic waveforms and explore the detection capability of small earthquakes during the August 2019 earthquake sequence near Mt. Salak (West Java) by using the known matched filter technique (MFT) and relocated events as templates. We analyze continuous waveforms from seven broadband seismic stations in a 150 km radius around the source center and for a ~ 1 month of data. Our derived complete catalog enables us to analyze the frequency-magnitude distribution of the sequence as well as the spatiotemporal evolution of micro-seismicity. The six largest events were hybrid-like-type volcano-tectonic earthquakes with oblique-thrust mechanisms. The relocation procedure shows that all of the events are located within an area of ~ 2 × 2 km2, probably bounded at 9–12 km of depth. The pattern of seismicity distribution was not clear; however, focal mechanisms might indicate N/NW or E/SE-trending orientation with a steep plane. We detect 280 additional micro-earthquakes to the improved catalog. The b-value of the sequence is close to 1.1, typical for many volcano-tectonic events. We show that the swarm might be initiated by the fluid intrusion into the seismogenic zone while the stress changes from the largest event affected the evolution of swarm.

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Acknowledgments

Earthquake catalog and local/regional waveform data used in this study can be requested from Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG). Frequency Index (FI) is computed by using GISMO toolbox for Matlab (geosciences-community-codes.github.io/GISMO). Earthquake relocation is computed using hypoDD code (Waldhauser and Ellsworth 2000). We thank Xiaofeng Meng and Zhigang Peng for the matched filter code (Meng et al. 2013). Statistics is computed by using the ZMAP package (Wiemer 2001). We thank Yuji Yagi for providing the moment tensor inversion code. Figures are created by using the Generic Mapping Tools v4.5.12 (Wessel et al. 2013). We appreciate the constructive suggestions and comments by Yehezkiel Halauwet, Daryono, and Gatut Daniarsyad (BMKG). The authors thank Associate Editor Thomas Braun, Mohammad Youssof (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology - KAUST) and one anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions that helped to improve the quality of this work.

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  1. Sekolah Tinggi Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (STMKG), Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), South Tangerang, Indonesia

    Dimas Sianipar

  2. Stasiun Geofisika Banjarnegara, Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), Banjarnegara, Indonesia

    Renhard Sipayung

  3. Stasiun Geofisika Denpasar, Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), Denpasar, Indonesia

    Emi Ulfiana

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  1. Dimas Sianipar
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  2. Renhard Sipayung
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Correspondence to Dimas Sianipar.

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Sianipar, D., Sipayung, R. & Ulfiana, E. Excessive seismicity over a limited source: the August 2019 earthquake swarm near Mt. Salak in West Java (Indonesia). J Seismol 24, 1189–1204 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-020-09957-w

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