Name
Unravelling Complex Seismic Swarm activities in NorthWest Namibia
Date & Time
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Description
Continuous advances in earthquake detection and source parameter inversion are essential for improving our understanding of earthquake physics and seismic hazard, particularly in regions where permanent seismic networks remain sparse. A three-month temporary deployment of seismic stations in northwestern Namibia, recorded over 9,000 swarm-type events in 2018 following catalog enhancement. Focal mechanism solutions and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations revealed surface deformation consistent with a previously unrecognized NW–SE-trending, NE-dipping normal fault (Angombe et al., 2025). To further investigate the ongoing seismicity, a temporary seismic network operated continuously from November 2021 to October 2022. We extended the catalog-enhancement workflow including machine-learning–based phase picking, phase association, earthquake location, double-difference relocation, magnitude estimation, and moment tensor inversion. The resulting catalog reveals a swarm-like seismic main sequence comprising approximately 40,000 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from −1 to 3.5 in one year, accompanied by the sudden occurrence of an M 5 sequence in April 2022, located ~30 km from the swarm. The spatial distribution of the swarm, together with its back-and-forth migration on hourly timescales and its proximity to a geothermal hot spring, suggests a potential influence of geofluids and modulation by Earth tides. We further conduct cluster analysis, migration characterization, statistical tests of tidal influence, and stress-drop estimation. Our results indicate a complex, fluid-influenced seismic swarm evolving within a complex fault system, with possible migration between clusters and tidal modulation across branching faults. This study highlights that seismic swarms in intraplate regions can provide new constraints on seismic hazard assessment in Namibia.
Location Name
Marion McCaine-Ondaatje Hall
Full Address
Dalhousie University
Halifax NS
Canada
Halifax NS
Canada
Session Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract ID
208
Speaker Organization
McGill University
Session Name
S4 (2 of 2)
Co-authors
Yajing Liu. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
Presenting Author
Justin Chien. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canada