Hydrological influences on long-term gas flow trends at locations in the Vogtland/NW Bohemian seismic region (German-Czech border)
Main Article Content
Abstract
One of the typical methods for the identification of seismo-hydrological effects is to monitor changes in the free
gas flow throughout springs or mofettes. For several years, the gas flow regime of mineral springs at Bad Brambach
(Germany) and mofettes in the Nature Park Soos (Czech Republic) and its dependence on hydro-/meteorological
parameters have been studied. The mineral spring Wettinquelle, Bad Brambach, is a well-known seismo-
hydrologically sensitive location for swarmquakes at a special epicentral area of NW Bohemia. Since 2000,
a slight upward trend in the gas flow of three Bad Brambach mineral springs has been observed, which became
stronger after the Eisenquelle spring capture reconstruction (winter 2003/2004). Similar behaviour could be detected
at a mofette in Soos. The results correspond to a 3He/4He mantle ratio increase in gases at mofettes in the
Cheb Basin (CZ) traced by other authors for more than 12 years, and could give hints for a higher degassing activity
of the magma body below that area. Common and special properties in the degassing regimes of the Bad
Brambach and Soos locations are discussed. It is demonstrated that the long-term gas flow trend was interrupted
in 2003 because of very low groundwater levels. This effect was amplified by the artificial groundwater lowering
during the Eisenquelle spring capture reconstruction.
gas flow throughout springs or mofettes. For several years, the gas flow regime of mineral springs at Bad Brambach
(Germany) and mofettes in the Nature Park Soos (Czech Republic) and its dependence on hydro-/meteorological
parameters have been studied. The mineral spring Wettinquelle, Bad Brambach, is a well-known seismo-
hydrologically sensitive location for swarmquakes at a special epicentral area of NW Bohemia. Since 2000,
a slight upward trend in the gas flow of three Bad Brambach mineral springs has been observed, which became
stronger after the Eisenquelle spring capture reconstruction (winter 2003/2004). Similar behaviour could be detected
at a mofette in Soos. The results correspond to a 3He/4He mantle ratio increase in gases at mofettes in the
Cheb Basin (CZ) traced by other authors for more than 12 years, and could give hints for a higher degassing activity
of the magma body below that area. Common and special properties in the degassing regimes of the Bad
Brambach and Soos locations are discussed. It is demonstrated that the long-term gas flow trend was interrupted
in 2003 because of very low groundwater levels. This effect was amplified by the artificial groundwater lowering
during the Eisenquelle spring capture reconstruction.
Article Details
How to Cite
Koch, U. and Heinicke, J. (2007) “Hydrological influences on long-term gas flow trends at locations in the Vogtland/NW Bohemian seismic region (German-Czech border)”, Annals of Geophysics, 50(4). doi: 10.4401/ag-3069.
Issue
Section
OLD
Open-Access License
No Permission Required
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCAL) to all works we publish.
Under the CCAL, authors retain ownership of the copyright for their article, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, so long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.
In most cases, appropriate attribution can be provided by simply citing the original article.
If the item you plan to reuse is not part of a published article (e.g., a featured issue image), then please indicate the originator of the work, and the volume, issue, and date of the journal in which the item appeared. For any reuse or redistribution of a work, you must also make clear the license terms under which the work was published.
This broad license was developed to facilitate open access to, and free use of, original works of all types. Applying this standard license to your own work will ensure your right to make your work freely and openly available. For queries about the license, please contact ann.geophys@ingv.it.