Location:

Period:

15 Feb 2011 05:09:02 - 16 Feb 2011 14:04:27 (1 day 8 hours 55 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Colli Albani(87km)

Earthquakes:

21 swarms found nearby.

2009

S20090330.1(5.4km)

30 Mar

98 days 16 hours

6163 earthquakes

S20090407.1(19.7km)

6 Apr

14 days 13 hours

720 earthquakes

S20090409.1(20.8km)

8 Apr

3 days 2 hours

130 earthquakes

S20090412.1(23.5km)

11 Apr

8 days 23 hours

375 earthquakes

S20090421.1(22.3km)

20 Apr

20 days 8 hours

436 earthquakes

S20090429.1(19.8km)

28 Apr

1 day 20 hours

28 earthquakes

S20090501.1(20.4km)

30 Apr

1 day 9 hours

26 earthquakes

S20090510.1(12.1km)

9 May

13 days 16 hours

178 earthquakes

S20090626.1(21.5km)

25 Jun

3 days 7 hours

118 earthquakes

S20090629.1(22.0km)

28 Jun

9 days 0 hours

138 earthquakes

S20090704.2(21.4km)

3 Jul

14 days 1 hours

237 earthquakes

S20090713.1(20.0km)

12 Jul

6 days 5 hours

128 earthquakes

S20090801.1(8.8km)

31 Jul

19 days 15 hours

224 earthquakes

S20090823.1(23.1km)

22 Aug

6 days 9 hours

83 earthquakes

2010

S20100831.1(19.7km)

30 Aug

25 days 22 hours

427 earthquakes

S20101001.1(20.8km)

30 Sep

11 days 3 hours

111 earthquakes

S20101020.1(28.4km)

19 Oct

6 days 18 hours

375 earthquakes

S20101104.1(21.1km)

3 Nov

6 days 0 hours

176 earthquakes

2011

S20110306.1(21.2km)

5 Mar

8 days 1 hours

87 earthquakes

S20111019.2(26.7km)

18 Oct

1 day 4 hours

25 earthquakes

2017

S20170118.1(19.6km)

18 Jan

5 days 9 hours

231 earthquakes

AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20110215.1 in Central Italy: Analysis of the February 2011 Event

Central Italy lies within the Apennine mountain belt, a region shaped by ongoing extensional tectonics resulting from the convergence between the African and Eurasian plates. This geological setting produces frequent seismic activity along normal faults that accommodate crustal stretching. The area's complex fault systems have a documented history of both isolated large earthquakes and episodic earthquake swarms.

SeismoSight recorded Swarm S20110215.1 beginning at 05:09 on 15 February 2011 and concluding at 14:04 on 16 February 2011. Over this 32-hour period, 27 earthquakes were detected. Event magnitudes ranged from 1.1 to 2.8, with the majority occurring at depths between 9 and 13 km. The sequence showed two clusters of higher activity on 15 February, including events at 14:05 (magnitude 2.7) and 17:01 (magnitude 2.8). The final recorded event occurred the following afternoon at magnitude 1.8.

The swarm's temporal pattern featured relatively rapid succession of low-magnitude events without a single dominant mainshock. Depths remained consistent within the upper crust, aligning with the typical seismogenic layer in the central Apennines. Such swarms reflect distributed slip on fault networks rather than rupture along a single plane.

Since 1 January 2000, 18 seismic swarms have been documented in the region. Earlier swarms occurred in 2009 (14 events) and 2010 (4 events). These episodes illustrate the recurrent nature of clustered seismicity in central Italy, where stress accumulation along the Apenninic chain periodically triggers swarm-type sequences.

The February 2011 swarm remained at low energy levels and produced no reported damage. Its characteristics are consistent with background tectonic processes in an area known for both swarm activity and occasional destructive earthquakes driven by the same extensional regime.

References

SeismoSight internal swarm classification data for S20110215.1
Geological framework of the central Apennines from peer-reviewed studies on Italian tectonics (INGV and academic sources)