Global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures

Human activity causes vibrations that propagate into the ground as high-frequency seismic waves. Measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread changes in human activity, leading to a months-long reduction in seismic noise of up to 50%. The 2020 seismic noise quiet period is the longest and most prominent global anthropogenic seismic noise reduction on record. While the reduction is strongest at surface seismometers in populated areas, this seismic quiescence extends for many kilometers radially and hundreds of meters in depth. This provides an opportunity to detect subtle signals from subsurface seismic sources that would have been concealed in noisier times and to benchmark sources of anthropogenic noise. A strong correlation between seismic noise and independent measurements of human mobility suggests that seismology provides an absolute, real-time estimate of population dynamics

Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale

Human-induced direct mortality affects huge numbers of birds each year, threatening hundreds of species worldwide. Tracking technologies can be an important tool to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of bird mortality as well as their drivers. We compiled 1704 mortality records from tracking studies across the African-Eurasian flyway for 45 species, including raptors, storks, and cranes, covering the period from 2003 to 2021. Our results show a higher frequency of human-induced causes of mortality than natural causes across taxonomic groups, geographical areas, and age classes. Moreover, we found that the frequency of human-induced mortality remained stable over the study period. From the human-induced mortality events with a known cause (n = 637), three main causes were identified: electrocution (40.5 %), illegal killing (21.7 %), and poisoning (16.3 %). Additionally, combined energy infrastructure-related mortality (i.e., electrocution, power line collision, and wind-farm collision) represented 49 % of all human-induced mortality events. Using a random forest model, the main predictors of human-induced mortality were found to be taxonomic group, geographic location (latitude and longitude), and human footprint index value at the location of mortality. Despite conservation efforts, human drivers of bird mortality in the African-Eurasian flyway do not appear to have declined over the last 15 years for the studied group of species. Results suggest that stronger conservation actions to address these threats across the flyway can reduce their impacts on species. In particular, projected future development of energy infrastructure is a representative example where application of planning, operation, and mitigation measures can enhance bird conservation

Imaging the Western Edge of the Aegean Shear Zone: The South Evia 2022-2023 Seismic Sequence

This report presents the 2022-2023 South Evia island seismic sequence, in the western Aegean sea. An automated workflow, undergoing testing for efficient observatory monitoring in the wake of dense aftershock sequences, was employed to enhance the seismic catalog. It includes a deep-learning phase picker, absolute and relative hypocenter relocation, and moment tensor automatic calculations. The relocated catalog reveals a concentration of earthquake epicenters in a narrow NW-SE zone, with sinistral strike-slip fault movement. The findings of the study indicate the occurrence of an asymmetric rupture within conjugate fault structures in the western Aegean region. These fault structures, although not necessarily both active, play a significant role in marking the transition from dextral (SW-NE) to sinistral (NW-SE) strike-slip ruptures, connecting the Aegean shear zone with normal faulting in mainland Greece. The South Evia 2022-2023 seismic sequence has revealed the activation of this NW-SE strike-slip structure, contrary to previous assumptions of low seismicity in the region. The study highlights the importance of reassessing seismic hazard maps and considering the potential activation of similar zones further south in the future. It also emphasizes the need for the expansion and the densification of seismic networks within the Aegean

Pushed by increasing air temperature and tailwind speed: weather selectivity of raptors migrating across the Aegean Sea

A vast number of raptors migrates between the Western Palearctic and Africa every autumn. Species and/or populations ofmigratory raptors that choose to cross theMediterranean Sea need to overcome an extended ecological barrier,which is particularly extensive in the area of east–central and eastMediterranean.We tested the selectivity of two raptor species to weather and phenology analyzing the data collected on a small Greek island throughout four different years.Weather selectivity of the two species shows both similarities and differences. The intensity of migration of both studied species is positively correlated with air temperature. The European Honey Buzzard selects days with strong tailwind assistance that helps to reduce flight time over sea thus decreasingmortality risk and energy consumption during this sea crossing. On the other hand, theWesternMarsh Harrier seems to be less wind selective reaching the island in good numbers also with headwinds, probably because of its higher ability in using powered-flapping flight

High-frequency ground motion scaling in the Gulf of Corinth (Greece)

The evaluation of the expected peak ground motion caused by an earthquake is of great importance in seismicity and earthquake engineering studies. In the present study, weak-motion data related to small earthquakes are used, in order to extrapolate peak ground motion parameters beyond the magnitude range of the weak-motion dataset, on which they are calculated. A complete description of the seismic ground-motion characteristics in the Gulf of Corinth region in Greece is provided, with parameterization of the attenuation of seismic ground motions with distance and their variability in excitation with earthquake magnitude. We use over 1000 earthquakes recorded at the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network (HUSN) with magnitudes larger than 2.5 ML. Following a regression analysis of this large number of weak-motion data, we determine a frequency-dependent crustal quality factor, a geometrical spreading function and the absolute source scaling. In order to calibrate sufficiently the source scaling, it is necessary to use the available moment magnitude values of events from the selected dataset. The National Observatory of Athens Moment Tensor Database (NOA-MTs) is used, which includes 52 events in the range 3.3 to 5.4 MW for the time period in analysis. Complementary, we calculate moment tensor solutions with high-quality for small events not included in the NOA-MTs catalogue, using the 'Cut And Paste' technique. Results on region-specific crustal attenuation and source scaling, together with the effective duration of seismic ground motion in the region, are used to estimate the peak ground motion parameters, such as PGA, PGV, and SA at different frequencies. Using stochastic ground motion simulations, we predict the absolute level of ground shaking and compare them with strong motion data in the region. The attenuation of simulated ground motion is compared with recent global and regional ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). The performance of the stochastic model is also tested against moderate sized earthquakes (~5-6 MW) recorded by HUSN in the area under study.peer-reviewe

Co-Movement Analysis of Italian and Greek Electricity Market Wholesale Prices by Using a Wavelet Approach

We study the co-evolution of the dynamics or co-movement of two electricity markets, the Italian and Greek, by studying the dynamics of their wholesale day-ahead prices, simultaneously in the time-frequency domain. Co-movement is alternatively referred as market integration in financial economics and markets are internationally integrated if the reward for risk is identical regardless the market one trades in. The innovation of this work is the application of wavelet analysis and more specifically the wavelet coherence to estimate the dynamic interaction between these two prices. Our method is compared to other generic econometric tools used in Economics and Finance namely the dynamic correlation and coherence analysis, to study the co-movement of variables of the type related to these two fields. Our study reveals valuable information that we believe will be extremely useful to the authorities as well as other agents participating in these markets to better prepare the national markets towards the European target model, a framework in which the two markets will be coupled

The 2018 M-w 6.8 Zakynthos, Greece, earthquake: Dominant strike-slip faulting near subducting slab

With different styles of faulting, the eastern Ionian Sea is an ideal natural laboratory to investigate interactions between adjacent faults during strong earthquakes. The 2018 M-w 6.8 Zakynthos earthquake, well recorded by broadband and strong-motion networks, provides an opportunity to resolve such faulting complexity. Here, we focus on waveform inversion and backprojection of strong-motion data, partly checked by coseismic Global Navigation Satellite System data. We show that the region is under subhorizontal southwest-northeast compression, enabling mixed thrust faulting and strike-slip (SS) faulting. The 2018 mainshock consisted of two fault segments: a low-dip thrust, and a dominant, moderate-dip, right-lateral SS, both in the crust. Slip vectors, oriented to southwest, are consistent with plate motion. The sequence can be explained in terms of trench-orthogonal fractures in the subducting plate and reactivated faults in the upper plate. The 2018 event, and an M-w 6.6 event of 1997, occurred near three localized swarms of 2016 and 2017. Future numerical models of the slab deformation and ocean-bottom seismometer observations may illuminate possible relations among earthquakes, swarms, and fluid paths in the region.Web of Science91273272

EPOS-S: Integrated access to seismological waveforms

The main challenges of the EPOS TCS Seismology are to improve and to extend existing services to access earthquake waveforms (ORFEUS), parameters (EMSC) and hazard data and products (EFEHR), and producing a single framework that is technically integrated within the EPOS architecture. Technical developments in the services for seismological waveforms and associated data, including the compilation of station metadata and installing common data archival and sharing policies are within ORFEUS and its Working Groups. The focus is on 1) the development of the next generation software architecture for the European Integrated (seismological) Data Archive EIDA based on standardized webservices, the implementation of a data quality service and the realisation of a mediator service; 2) the development of EIDA-compliant services for strong motion data and acceleration data and the extension of the station metadata model; 3) the integration of data from mobile networks and OBS waveforms into EIDA by implementing mechanisms for coordination of transnational access and multinational experiments at available pools of OBS and mobile seismic stations; 4) achieve close integration with other EPOS TCS and the ICS with regard to interoperability and common use of tools & services, common and coordinated data models and metadata formats, and common computational platforms and IT solution implementations. This presentation will present the status of and current developments towards the above objectivesPeer Reviewe