Earthquake Monitoring

The monitoring network newly installed at the beginning of 2018 consists of two surface stations and one borehole station. The two surface stations (ILLEZ and FULLY) were placed within approximately 5 kilometres of the deep borehole to optimally complement the SED's existing network. The borehole station (LAVEY) was installed in an existing 170-metre-deep hole near the deep borehole at the Lavey-les-Bains spa. A strong motion sensor was also installed on the surface at the same location.

Since December 2021, the SED is additionally included the data of three operator stations in its monitoring system. These short-period surface stations (MEXWH, EVIOB, and MORCL) were installed near the AGEPP drill site by AGEPP. Whenever possible, the SED uses this data to improve earthquake location precision.

The current seismic monitoring enables the rapid detection of even small changes in natural seismicity. It allows assessing whether there may be a connection with geotechnical activities in the context of the geothermal project. The SED informs AGEPP and the public in real-time about such changes.

Seismometers near Lavey-les-Bains