Technical Committee Earth Sciences

A Synthesis Study on the Occurrence of Seismicity in NW-Germany Based on Results from DGMK Projects 761, 773,776 and 806

This synthesis study provides an overview on the potential causes of seismicity within the NW German basin with a focus on the region hosting the gas fields in the Bremen- Hamburg-Hannover triangle. The synthesis is based on the current state-of-the-art in both seismological and geomechanical process understanding pertinent to the occurrence of (induced) seismicity. It considers and summarizes the previous relevant DGMK projects 761, 773, 776 and 806 that covered different aspects of potential causes for seismicity in the study region. A particular focus of the study is the 2004 Mw4.4 Rotenburg event.
While substantial effort has been undertaken over the previous years and the epicentral coordinates for the Rotenburg earthquake can now be narrowed to a few km, the hypocentral depth of the event cannot be determined better than ±5 km based on the existing data.