Presented in this thesis are some basic concepts and applications of seismic hazard analysis and the elements that influence the amplitude and geometric attenuation of earthquake ground motion. This thesis centers on the identification of the styles of failure, focal mechanisms, and the state of regional stress in the study area. Seismic hazard is a complex problem often involving considerable uncertainties. Therefore it is reasonable to consider different seismic hazard analysis approaches in order to as robustly as possible define zones of different levels of hazard. With the aim of characterizing and quantifying hazard in the east African region of Eritrea and its surroundings, a study is included in the thesis presenting hazard maps constructed using two non-parametric probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) approaches. Peak ground acceleration (PGA) values for 10% probability of exceedence in 50 years are computed at given grid points for the whole selected area and results from both methods are compared. Other aspects addressed in the thesis include the determination of source parameters of selected earthquakes that occur in the Afar region. The styles of faulting, the mechanisms involved during the rupture process and the states of stress along the major tectonic features are also highlighted. Source parameters for selected events in the region were re-evaluated and improved solutions obtained. An aftershock sequence in the Hengill volcanic area in SW Iceland, following the major event that occurred on June 4, 1998, was used to investigate improved methodologies for moment tensor using a relative approach. The sensitive and spatially dense seismic network in this area reveals large sets of clustered events allowing the power of the new methodology to be demonstrated and providing greater insight into the tectonic implications of the activity in the area.

Les séismes de type longue période (LP) sont aujourd’hui enregistrés sur la plupart des volcans dans le monde entier. Malgré cela, le mécanisme à leur source n’est encore que très peu compris. A l’heure actuelle les modèles proposés pour expliquer leur origine sont : 1) la résonance d’une fracture remplie de gaz ou de fluides excités par des instabilités dans l’écoulement des fluides ou par la rupture fragile du magma ; 2) la fracturation lente des sédiments peu consolidés à la surface des volcans, dans des conditions de transition entre le ductile et le fragile. L’outil le plus utilisé pour comprendre leur nature est aujourd’hui l’inversion du tenseur des moments. Au cours des dernières années, les inversions du tenseur des moments se concentraient principalement sur la compréhension du mécanisme physique à l’origine des séismes LP qui souvent supposaient des milieux géologiques très simples, voire homogènes. Des études récentes ont montré l’influence des sédiments peu consolidés à la surface des volcans sur la propagation des ondes à basse fréquence et en conséquence, sur l’inversion du tenseur des moments quand ils ne sont pas pris en compte dans le processus d’inversion. Le but de cette thèse est de mieux comprendre les processus physiques qui génèrent les séismes LP et de quantifier les incertitudes liées à leur interprétation. / Long-period (LP) seismic events are abundantly recorded during rest and unrest periods at many volcanoes worldwide. However, their source mechanism is still poorly understood. Models which have been proposed so far to explain their origin are: 1) the resonance of a fluid-filled cavity triggered by fluid instabilities or the brittle failure of magma; 2) slow-rupture earthquakes occurring in the low consolidated materials composing the shallow portion of the volcanic edifice. Nowadays the main tool used to get insights into their nature is moment tensor (MT) inversion. MT inversions carried out in the past years focused mainly on the understanding of the physical origin of LP events and often supposed a relative simple geological structure of the medium. Recent studies highlighted the strong influence of shallow unconsolidated materials on the retrieved MT solutions and the importance of considering geological inhomogeneity in the inversion process. The principal aim of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the source processes that generate LP events and to quantify the uncertainties related to the MT inversion process.