Application of geomorphic analysis and ground-penetrating radar to characterization of paleoseismic sites in dynamic alluvial environments: an example from southern California

Selecting paleoseismic sites in dynamic, range-front environments can be difficult, because they are sites of rapid deposition and poor preservation of coarse-grained, channelized alluvium. The most obvious tectonic landforms, tall scarps, are often too old to constrain sequences of specific rupture events. The faulted deposits that do provide maximum and minimum earthquake ages, however, are often buried or masked by erosion in active drainage channels. Subsurface images of stratigraphic and structural relationships at multiple sites are useful prior to excavation. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is an effective tool for locating sites suitable for trenching studies. We illustrate the utility of GPR with a case study of a thrust fault in southern California.