Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Solid Earth Geophysics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1487797

Temporal and Spatial Variability of S-Wave and Coda Attenuation in the Central Apennines, Italy

Provisionally accepted
Simona Gabrielli Simona Gabrielli 1*Aybige Akinci Aybige Akinci 1Edoardo Del Pezzo Edoardo Del Pezzo 1,2
  • 1 National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Roma, Italy
  • 2 Instituto Andaluz de Geofisica, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The central Apennines are notoriously subject to important seismic sequences, such as the 2009 and 2016-2017, L’Aquila, Amatrice-Visso-Norcia (AVN) sequences, respectively. Here, we examine the temporal and spatial variation of the S-wave attenuation in Central Italy over a period from 2011 to 2017, including the AVN sequence. First, we computed the S-wave attenuation (Qβ) as a function of frequency Q(f) using the coda normalization method. Then, to visualize the spatial variation of the attenuation over time, we calculated the attenuation of coda waves using a novel 2D kernel-based function over the study area. Our results showed a 13% variation in S-wave attenuation between the pre-sequence (2011-2016) and the sequence phase, with a significant 37% decrease in Q (increase in attenuation) detected during the Visso period. Spatially, a high attenuation anomaly aligns with the Monti Sibillini thrust formation, while in time, we observed a northward migration of this high attenuation during the Norcia phase. Temporal variation in the crustal S-wave attenuation and its frequency dependence may be linked to fluid movement and fracturing developed during the AVN sequence. Coda-Q mapping confirmed an increase in attenuation during the sequence within the fault plane zones. Additionally, the broader area of interest reveals a northward extension of high attenuation, following the NS direction of the Monti Sibillini thrust.

    Keywords: S-wave Attenuation1, Central Italy Seismic Sequence2, Coda Normalization3, Regionalization4, Coda Waves5, Time Variation6, Frequency Dependence7. (Min

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 10 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gabrielli, Akinci and Del Pezzo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Simona Gabrielli, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Roma, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.