The catalogue of 1987–2023 earthquakes in the western (French) Alps north of 43.5°N

Abstract

Abstract The western Alpine belt is the focal point of moderate but constant seismic activity. Numerous geodynamic and seismological studies underline the many scientific questions linked to Alpine dynamic processes and the associated rate of deformation resulting from late continental collision phases, and the assessment of seismic hazard and its associated risks. Seismic monitoring in the northern French Alps was launched in 1987 with the installation of the first seismological network, hosted by the Earth Science Observatory at Grenoble Alpes University. Since then, the network has been updated over the years, keeping pace with technical developments in seismic instrumentation, monitoring and data management. The homogenization of information described in this scientific data paper is motivated by the need for a single instrumental seismic catalogue, consisting in arrival times picks and hypocenters using the same velocity model. The final catalogue SISMalp-1987–2023 (CC-BY-4.0) contains 50,822 weak-to-moderate earthquakes with local magnitude between −1.8 and 5.0; it can serve as a basis for all general seismotectonic and risk assessment studies in the region.