Focal mechanisms and slip models of moderate size earthquakes in Albania and adjacent countries

Anastasia Kiratzi(*) & Efthimios Dimakis
(*) Department of Geophysics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Corresponding author: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Geophysics, 54124. Thessaloniki, Greece, E-mail: Kiratzi@geo.auth.gr, Tel: 0030 2310998496; Fax: 00302310 998528.

The available data set of focal mechanisms in Albania and adjacent countries is enriched with the determination of source parameters for 27 earthquakes of moderate-size. The broad band waveforms recorded by the regional networks were used to do time-domain moment tensor inversion and also to invert for the slip distribution onto the fault plane for two events: one (11 February 2010) in the proximity of Lake Scutari (Albania-Montenegro borders) and the other (10 March 2010) in Serbia. Forward modelling is additionally applied, which incorporates synthetic Green's functions calculated for a 1D velocity model, to get a first-order evaluation of the distribution of strong ground shaking around the hypocenters. Forward modeling of strong ground shaking based on event-specific moment tensor and slip distribution indicates low levels of expected ground motion in accordance with observations. The new data confirm previous knowledge for the active tectonics of the region as for example the thrust/reverse faulting, along the low elevation areas of the foreland, and the sub-parallel normal faulting along the high elevation areas in the mountains.

Earthquake, slip model, focal mechanism, moment tensor, Albania.