Seismic imaging of the geodynamic activity at the western Eger rift in central Europe

• Geodynamic activity in an intra-continental magmatic environment
• Crustal fluid transport path traced by seismic reflectivity at western Eger rift
• Hypothetical triggering mechanism of earthquake swarms at western Eger rift

The western Eger rift at the Czech–German border in central Europe is an important geodynamically active area within the European Cenzoic rift system (ECRS) in the forelands of the Alps. Along with two other active areas of the ECRS, the French Massif Central and the east and west Eifel volcanic fields, it is characterized by numerous CO2-rich fluid emission points and frequent micro-seismicity. Existence of a plume(s) is indicated in the upper mantle which may be responsible for these observations. Here we reprocess a pre-existing deep seismic reflection profile ‘9HR’ and interpret the subsurface structures as mapped by seismic reflectivity with previous findings, mainly from seismological and geochemical studies, to investigate the geodynamic activity in the subsurface. We find prominent hints of pathways which may allow magmatic fluids originating in the upper mantle to rise through the crust and cause the observed fluid emanations and earthquake activity.