The seismicity of the Carpathians in 2024

Authors

  • R.S. Pronyshyn Department of Seismicity of the Carpathian Region, S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • B.E. Kuplovskyi Department of Seismicity of the Carpathian Region, S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • V.I. Prokopyshyn Department of Seismicity of the Carpathian Region of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • O.T. Stetskiv Department of Seismicity of the Carpathian Region of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • I.M. Nischimenko Carpathian Branch of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • I.M. Keleman Carpathian Branch of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • H.A. Gerasymenyuk Carpathian Branch of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine
  • A.Ya. Batiuk Department of Seismicity of the Carpathian Region of the S. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24028/gj.v47i5.335308

Keywords:

earthquake, epicenter, origin, seismicity, seismic activity, seismic energy, energy class, magnitude, earthquake intensity, seismic station, seismically active area, Carpathian region, deep fault

Abstract

According to the observations at the seismic stations of the Carpathian region of Ukraine in 2024, the main parameters of 55 earthquakes in the range of energy classes KR=5.5÷12.4 were obtained. The parameters of seismometric equipment at active seismic stations are given. A catalog of earthquakes, their distribution by regions and energy classes, a map of epicenters, graphs of seismic energy release, and the number of earthquakes in the region by month are presented. A brief description of the seismicity of certain seismically active areas of the Carpathian region is given. The total energy allocated to the region was ΣЕ=4.09·1012 J, which is an order of magnitude lower than last year’s ΣЕ=9.06·1013 J. This year, increased seismic activity was observed in three seismically active areas. Thus, 16 earthquakes of energy class KR=5.5÷9.8 were recorded in the North-Western region. Their total seismic energy was ΣЕ=1.53·1010 J. In this area, the strongest earthquake occurred on February 22 at 12h54m on the territory of Slovakia, near the town of Humenné, with KR=9.8 at a depth of h=12.9 km and epicenter intensity of I0=3 points. In the Vrancea region, as in the previous year, 19 events with magnitudes of 8.4—12.4 were registered, with the total seismic energy of ΣE=2.97·1012 J, which is higher than last year’s ΣE=6.41·1011 J. This year, there has been an increase in seismic activity in Bukovina compared to 2023. 10 earthquakes of an energy class of KR=5.7÷8.9 and a total seismic energy of ΣE=1.72·109 J were registered here. The earthquake foci were located in the crust at depths of h=1.0÷15.0 km. In the Southern Carpathians, there was a decrease in activity compared to 2023. In total, 2 earthquakes with KR=8.7 and 10.3 were registered here at depths of 5 and 7.7 km with a total seismic energy of ΣE=2.05·1010 J. A decrease in activity is also observed in the Crișan region. Only one event with KR=9.2 was registered here. This year, the Banat region has become more active. During the year, 3 earthquakes of KR=9.4÷12.0 were registered here, with the total seismic energy of ΣE=1.02·1012 J. In the Bacău region in 2024, only two earthquakes with KR=9.5 and 10.4 were registered, and none were registered in the Transylvania region. Two more earthquakes were registered in the region, but outside the seismic areas. The regional Carpathian hodograph was used to determine the main parameters of earthquakes in Transcarpathia, and the Jeffreys-Bullen hodograph was used for earthquakes in the Vrancea zone and other six districts.

References

The instruction about the order of making and processing observations of the USSR. (1982). Moscow: Nauka, 273 p. (in Russian).

Kutas, V.V., Rudenskaya, I.M., & Kalitova, I.A. (1999). Carpathian locus of P- and S-waves and inhomogeneity of the litosphere. Geofizicheskiy Zhurnal, 21(3), 45—54 (in Russian).

Kutas, V.V., Pronishin, R.S. & Rudenskaya, I.M. (2004). Thuse of macrosejsmic data in the calculation of the Transcarpsthian locus of P and S-waves. In Seismological Bulletin of Ukraine for 2002 (pp. 119—126). Simferopol: IG NASU, KES (in Russian).Malamud, A.S. (1974). The use of the duration of vibrations for energy classification of earthquakes. In Magnitude and energy classification of earthquakes (Vol. 2, pp. 180—194). Moscow: Publ. House of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in Russian).

Medvedev, S.V., Shponhojer, V., & Karnik, V. (1965). The scale MSK-64 seismic intensity. Moscow: IGC AS USSR, 11 p. (in Russian).

Pronyshyn, R.S., Kuplovskyi, B.E, Prokopyshyn, V.I., Stetskiv, O.T., Nischimenko, I.M., Keleman, I.M., Gerasymenyuk, G.A., & Batіuk, A.Ya. (2024). Seismicity of the Carpathians in 2023. Geofizychnyy Zhurnal, 46(5), 82—92. https://doi.org/10.24028/gj.v46i5.309221 (in Ukrainian).

Rautian, T.G. (1960). The energy of earthquakes. In Methods of detailed study of seismicity (pp. 75—114). Moscow: Publ. House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, (in Russian).

Rautian, T.G. (1964). On the determination of energy of earthquakes at distancesup to 3000 km. In Experimental seismicity (pp. 88—93). Moscow: Publ. House of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in Russian).

Richter, Ch. (1961). Instrumental scale for earthquake magnitudes. In Weak earthquakes (pp. 13—44). Moscow: Inostrlit (in Russian).

Herrmann, R.B. (1979). FASTHYPO — a hypocenter location program. Earthquake Notes, 50(2), 25—37. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.50.2.25.

Jeffreys, H., & Bullen, R. (1940). Seismological Tables. London: British Association for the Advancement of Science, Burlington House, 84 p.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake_information/.

Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.igf.edu.pl/en/science/departments/department-of-seismology/plsn/.

National Institute for Earth Physics. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.infp.ro/.

HUN-REN EPSS Kövesligethy Radó Seismological Observatorium. (2025). Retrieved from http://www.seismology.hu/index.php/en.

Geophysical Institute, Seismology Division, Slovak Academy of Sciences. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.seismology.sk/

Downloads

Published

2025-10-21

How to Cite

Pronyshyn , R., Kuplovskyi, B., Prokopyshyn, V., Stetskiv, O., Nischimenko, I., Keleman, I., Gerasymenyuk, H., & Batiuk, A. (2025). The seismicity of the Carpathians in 2024. Geofizicheskiy Zhurnal, 47(5). https://doi.org/10.24028/gj.v47i5.335308

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 5 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Богдан Купльовський, Roman Pronyshyn , Vasyl Prokopyshyn , Olexandr Stetskiv , Iryna Nischimenko , Iryna Nischimenko , Iryna Keleman , Galyna Gerasymenyuk , Andrii Batiuk

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).