Seismogeographical Regionalisation of Germany

In 1954, the Earth was divided into 50 seismic regions. These regions were subdivided in 1965 into a total of 728 regions, the Flinn-Engdahl-Regions. The boundaries were drawn along latitudes and longitudes in order to automatically assign an epicenter to a named region. The result was a very rough subdivision providing little information. For example, region 543, named "Germany", extended from eastern France to eastern Poland.

Therefore, on behalf of IASPEI (International Association for Seismology and Physics of the Earth Interior), as a prime example Germany has been subdivided into smaller units on the basis of the seismotectonic conditions. This process is called seismogeographical regionalisation. Taking geological history and the tectonic conditions into consideration, even areas with a very low seismicity could be subdivided. This subdivision has been implemented in agreement with all German seismological observatories (LEYDECKER & AICHELE 1998).

This regionalization was upgraded by LEYDECKER (2011). The Upper Rhine Graben was subdivided in a northern and a southern part. The region Vogtland was modified considering the current knowledge on geological faults and seismicity.

The regions along the national borders were defined with the neighboring countries. Details and the coordinates of all regions are available in a separate file.

Seismogeographical Regionalisation of Germany (2011) Source: BGR

Sources:

• LEYDECKER, G. (2011): Erdbebenkatalog für Deutschland mit Randgebieten für die Jahre 800 bis 2008. [Catalog of earthquakes in Germany and adjacent areas between 800 AD and 2008]. Geologisches Jahrbuch, E 59, 1-198; Hannover
• LEYDECKER, G. & AICHELE, H. (1998): The Seismogeographical Regionalisation for Germany: The Prime Example of Third-Level Regionalisation. - Geologisches Jahrbuch, E 55, 85-98; Hannover