Thin-section analysis as a tool to aid identification of palaeoearthquakes on the “slow”, active Geleen Fault, Roer Valley Graben

We analyzed thin sections from two palaeoseismic trenches across the low-slip-rate Geleen Fault in the Belgian Maas River valley to help identifying the most recent large palaeoearthquake on this fault segment. In the first trench we sampled silty sediment below and above a prehistoric stone pavement that was supposedly at or near the surface at the time of the event, and subsequently thrown down. The samples below show a well-developed in situ argillic Bt soil horizon in parent sediment containing remnants of stratification, whereas the sediment above is a structureless colluvium reworked at least partly from Bt-horizon material. Below the stone pavement, we also found evidence of contorted stratification, which is in agreement with macroscopic observations of both the sediment and the stone pavement itself, and which is attributed to co-seismic soft-sediment deformation. In the second trench, we sampled a sequence of vaguely discernible soil horizons in the hanging-wall, interpreted as a buried soil profile (Bt, E, and possibly A horizons), overlain by a featureless deposit. Thin-section analysis supports the colluvial nature of the latter, and also provides evidence that both the base of this layer and the top of the poorly developed A horizon below have occupied a shallow position in a soil profile. A sample from the same depth in the footwall is composed of very different material. Instead of colluvium, we find patches of Bt soil, most likely representing the same pedogenic level as the in situ Bt horizon at larger depth in the hanging-wall, but displaced and subsequently degraded. Furthermore, thin sections confirm that vertical structures cutting this Bt horizon are sand dykes. These dykes could be traced macroscopically upward to the base of the colluvium. In both trenches, we have thus identified a stratigraphic boundary in the hanging-wall, close to the surface, separating an in situ soil below from colluvium above. We interpret this limit and the overlying colluvium as the event horizon and the colluvial wedge, respectively, of a surface-rupturing palaeoearthquake. In addition, in both cases we found evidence of soft-sediment deformation (related to liquefaction) contemporaneous with the event within the stratigraphic resolution.     

A multidisciplinary study of a slow-slipping fault for seismic hazard assessment: the example of the Middle Durance Fault (SE France)

Assessing seismic hazard in continental interiors is difficult because these regions are characterized by low strain rates and may be struck by infrequent destructive earthquakes. In this paper, we provide an example showing that interpretations of seismic cross sections combined with other kinds of studies such as analysis of microseismicity allow the whole seismogenic source area to be imaged in this type of region. The Middle Durance Fault (MDF) is an 80-km-long fault system located southeastern France that has a moderate but regular seismicity and some palaeoseismic evidence for larger events. It behaves as an oblique ramp with a left-lateral-reverse fault slip and has a low strain rate. MDF is one of the rare slow active fault system monitored by a dedicated dense velocimetric short period network. This study showed a fault system segmented in map and cross section views which consists of staircase basement faults topped by listric faults ramping off Triassic evaporitic beds. Seismic sections allowed the construction of a 3-D structural model used for accurate location of microseismicity. Southern part of MDF is mainly active in the sedimentary cover. In its northern part and in Alpine foreland, seismicity deeper than 8 km was also recorded meaning active faults within the crust cannot be excluded. Seismogenic potential of MDF was roughly assessed. Resulting source sizes and estimated slip rates imply that the magnitude upper limit ranges from 6.0 to 6.5 with a return period of a few thousand years. The present study shows that the coupling between 3-D fault geometry imaging and accurate location of microseismicity provides a robust approach to analyse active fault sources and consequently a more refined seismic hazard assessment.     

The Yenice–Gönen active fault (NW Turkey): Active tectonics and palaeoseismology

The Yenice–Gönen Fault (YGF) is one of the most important active tectonic structures in the Biga peninsula. On March 18, 1953, a destructive earthquake (M_w = 7.2) occurred on the YGF, which is considered to be a part of the southern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). A 70 km-long dextral surface rupture formed during the Yenice–Gönen Earthquake (YGE).In this study, structural and palaeoseismological features of the YGF have been investigated. The YGF surface ruptures have been mapped and three trenches were excavated at Muratlar, Karaköy and Seyvan sites.According to the palaeoseismic interpretation and the results of ¹⁴C AMS dating, Seyvan trench shows that an earthquake of palaeoseismic age ca. 620 AD ruptured a different strand of the 1953 fault, producing rather significant surface rupture displacement, while there are indications that at least two older events occurred during the past millennia. Another set of trenches excavated near Gönen town (Muratlar village) revealed extensive liquefaction not only during the 1953 event, but also during a previous earthquake, dated at 1440 AD. The Karaköy trench shows no indications of recent reactivations.Based on the trenching results, we estimate a recurrence interval of 660 ± 160 years for large morphogenic earthquakes, creating linear surface ruptures. The maximum reported displacement during the 1953 earthquake was 4.2 m. Taking into account the palaeoseismologically determined earthquake recurrence interval and maximum displacement, slip-rate of the YGF has been calculated to be 6.3 mm/a, which is consistent with present-day velocities determined by GPS measurements. According to the geological investigations, cumulative displacement of the YGF is 2.3 km. This palaeoseismological study contributes to model the behaviour of large seismogenic faults in the Biga Peninsula.     

Historical earthquake activity of the northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone, southern Turkey

The northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone is one of the major active neotectonic structures of Turkey. The main trace of the fault zone (called Hacıpaşa fault) is mapped in detail in Turkey on the basis of morphological and geological evidence such as offset creeks, fault surfaces, shutter ridges and linear escarpments. Three trenches were opened on the investigated part of the fault zone. Trench studies provided evidence for 3 historical earthquakes and comparing trench data with historical earthquake records showed that these earthquakes occurred in 859 AD, 1408 and 1872. Field evidence, palaeoseismological studies and historical earthquake records indicate that the Hacıpaşa fault takes the significant amount of slip in the northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone in Turkey. On the basis of palaeoseismological evidence, it is suggested that the recurrence interval for surface faulting event is 506 ± 42 years on the Hacıpaşa fault.     

Optical dating of liquefaction features to constrain prehistoric earthquakes in Upper Assam, NE India—some preliminary results

Optical dating of liquefied sand structures formed during major earthquakes in Upper Assam, northeast of India, has been carried out to constrain the timing of prehistoric earthquakes in this seismically active region. The bleaching of source material and of the same material during the creation of a liquefaction feature was tested using quartz extracted from 21 samples associated with two different liquefaction structures in Upper Assam. Due to the poor sensitivity of quartz from this region, a sensitisation procedure was used in our SAR protocol to reduce the scatter in optical ages. Various internal consistency tests of the measurement protocol and the excellent reproducibility of the OSL ages indicate that the dose estimates from the quartz are accurate and the optical ages reliable. The preliminary OSL ages indicate that the liquefaction features were formed between 1430 AD and 1630 AD. This study demonstrates that using OSL, ‘direct dating’ of prehistoric earthquakes may be possible, if sand blows from liquefied dykes are preserved.     

Dating recent colluvial sequences with Pb and Cs along an active fault scarp, the Eliki Fault, Gulf of Corinth, Greece

Reliable dating is an essential element of palaeoseismological studies, yet whilst a suite of geochronological methods can now provide late Quaternary age control it remains very difficult to date modern events (i.e., those occurring within the last 150 years). This is significant because the starting point for many palaeoseismological investigations is a modern surface-rupturing event, whose geological effects need to be disentangled in trench stratigraphies from palaeoseismic ruptures. Two dating methods which, in combination, can provide robust dating control in recently deposited sediments are the ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating methods. Here, we test the applicability of using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs to date colluvial sediments exposed in three trenches excavated across an earthquake fault—the Eliki fault, Gulf of Corinth, Greece—which ruptured in an earthquake in 1861. The ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs profiles observed in these colluvial sequences are relatively erratic due to the mixed nature of the sediments, i.e., their deposition in an environment where the supply of slope sediments is driven by seasonal rainfall, causing non-uniform sediment accretion and sediment reworking. In one trench, however, ²¹⁰Pb dating, corroborated by ¹³⁷Cs dating, indicates that a proposed post-1861 surface colluvial unit has been deposited over the period 1950 AD–present (at a rate of ca. 9 mm/year), and overlies a significantly older unit (>120 years old). The dating control provided here by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating corroborates the published interpretation of the trench stratigraphy, and refines the ¹⁴C-based estimated dates for the upper unit. At two other trenches ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating only provided minimum ages (based on the presence or absence of ²¹⁰Pb_excess and ¹³⁷Cs). Such approximate ages, however, may still useful in corroborating interpretations made using the trench stratigraphy, or, at sites which have long earthquake recurrence intervals, determining which earthquake event was responsible for a particular bed offset.     

The use of distinct disciplines to investigate past earthquakes

The investigation of past earthquakes can be approached in many different ways with a large variety of methods and techniques. This is mainly due to the complexity of this natural phenomenon in both its genetic aspects and consequential ones. In the present note, we briefly analyse the peculiarities of Instrumental Seismology, Historical Seismology, Archaeoseismology and Earthquake Geology, but especially we emphasise the major differences among these four distinct approaches. In order to better define and clearly separate these disciplines, in terms of appropriate tools to be applied and possible outcomes to be expected, an alternative point of view is proposed based on the source of information and not on a chronological distribution as commonly accepted in the literature. Although multidisciplinarity is a common approach for investigating past earthquakes, each one of the discussed disciplines has its own peculiarities, advantages and limitations, and researchers should be aware of this.     

Trenching studies of active faults in Kamchatka, eastern Russia: Palaeoseismic, tectonic and hazard implications

The central part of the Kamchatka Peninsula is characterized by a well defined depression associated with active volcanism, aligned NE–SW. On the east, the depression is bounded by a prominent system of active faults known as the East Kamchatka Fault Zone (EKFZ). In order to improve understanding of the behaviour and kinematic role of this fault zone a fieldwork programme, including study of trenches, was conducted in the north-central part of this system. Aerial photograph analysis, ground-truthed, indicates a westward fault dip with predominantly normal slip, while lateral offsets of river terraces and stream channels demonstrate a combined dextral component. Over 20 excavated pits and natural exposures were examined to confirm a detailed tephra succession extending from the early Holocene to recent historic eruptions. This chronological framework then provided age control on five past faulting events recognised in three trenches. These events took place at about 10.5, 6.0, 4.5 and, in a two-event succession within a short time span, at 3.3–3.2 ka BP. Event clustering may be characteristic and fault length–displacement values suggest earthquakes of M6.5, thus representing a significant new element in regional seismic hazard evaluations; additional to events generated at the subduction interface. The relatively long gap in faulting since the two most recent events may also be significant for hazard scenarios and there is a possible link between the faulting and volcanic activity in the depression. Overall, the EKFZ, together with the Nachiki Transverse Zone farther south, is thought to define a regional-scale block that is extending eastwards independently from the rest of Kamchatka.