Quaternary faulting in the central Paris basin: Evidence for coseismic rupture and liquefaction

International audienceWe describe new evidence of Quaternary faulting observable in large outcrop exposures (trenches and carries) near Romilly-sur-Seine in the centre of Paris basin. Coeval normal or reverse faults affect sand, marl and gravel units that also expose liquefaction features. Quaternary units with thicknesses ranging from decimetre to metre are sealed by non-deformed deposits. The coexistence of soft and brittle tectonics with ~1 m vertical offset in a single cross-section, affecting different stratigraphic levels, reflects their diachronic nature and attest for their coseismic origin. The faulting of young deposits visible in the paleoseismic sites belong to the major regional tectonic structures, i.e. the Omey and Vittel fault system that affects the late Quaternary units of the east Paris basin. Their activity known locally as Ypresian polyphased seismites, seems to have continued until the late Quaternary. The Quaternary ruptures and coseismic nature of the fault system call for a realistic seismic hazard assessment in this intraplate tectonic environment

Seismic slip on the west flank of the Upper Rhine Graben (France-Germany) : evidence from tectonic morphology and cataclastic deformation bands

Intraplate large and moderate earthquakes have occurred along the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) in the past but no coseismic surface faulting has been reported so far. We investigate the 25-km-long linear Riedseltz-Landau normal fault scarp affecting late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of the western edge of the northern URG. The fault zone with cataclastic deformation textures is exposed in the Riedseltz quarry where it affects Pliocene and late Pleistocene (Wurm) units. Cataclasis is demonstrated by spalling and transgranular fractures in quartz grains concentrated in deformation bands with reduced grain size. The observed microstructures suggest multiple phases of deformation with cataclasis followed by emplacement of Fe-oxide matrix into deformation bands, and later emplacement of a clay-rick matrix into fractures. Previous studies along the fault show late Pleistocene (Wurm) loess deposits and early Holocene sand-silty deposits with 1.5 m and 0.7 m surface slip, respectively. New and previous results provide a minimum 0.15 mm/yr slip rate. A dislocation model suggests a minimum Mw 6.6 earthquake as a plausible scenario in the western edge of northern URG. Surface faulting in young sediments associated with cataclasis provides new evidence for assessing the occurrence of large earthquakes and seismic hazard assessment in the northern URG

Evidence for Holocene palaeoseismicity along the Basel—Reinach active normal fault (Switzerland): a seismic source for the 1356 earthquake in the Upper Rhine graben

We conducted a palaeoseismic study with geomorphologic mapping, geophysical prospecting and trenching along an 8-km-long NNE—SSW trending fault scarp south of Basel. The city as well as 40 castles within a 20-km radius were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 1356 October 18 (Io = IX-X), the largest historical seismic event in central Europe. Active river incisions as well as late Quaternary alluvial terraces are uplifted along the linear Basel—Reinach (BR) fault scarp. The active normal fault is comprised of at least two main branches reaching the surface as evident by resistivity profiles, reflection seismic data and direct observations in six trenches. In trenches, the normal fault rupture affects three colluvial wedge deposits up to the base of the modern soil. Radiocarbon as well as thermoluminescence (TL) age determinations from other trenches helped to reconstruct the Holocene event chronology. We identified three seismic events with an average coseismic movement of 0.5—0.8 m and a total vertical displacement of 1.8 m in the last 7800 yr and five events in the last 13 200 yr. The most recent event occurred in the interval ad 500—1450 (2σ) and may correspond to the 1356 earthquake. Furthermore, the morphology suggests both a southern and northern fault extensions that may reach 20 km across the Jura mountains and across the Rhine valley. Taking this fault length and a 10-km-thick seismogenic layer suggests a Mw 6.5 or greater event as a possible scenario for the seismic hazard assessment of the Basel regio

12 May 2008 M = 7.9 Wenchuan, China, earthquake calculated to increase failure stress and seismicity rate on three major fault systems

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 35 (2008): L17305, doi:10.1029/2008GL034903.The Wenchuan earthquake on the Longmen Shan fault zone devastated cities of Sichuan, claiming at least 69,000 lives. We calculate that the earthquake also brought the Xianshuihe, Kunlun and Min Jiang faults 150–400 km from the mainshock rupture in the eastern Tibetan Plateau 0.2–0.5 bars closer to Coulomb failure. Because some portions of these stressed faults have not ruptured in more than a century, the earthquake could trigger or hasten additional M > 7 earthquakes, potentially subjecting regions from Kangding to Daofu and Maqin to Rangtag to strong shaking. We use the calculated stress changes and the observed background seismicity to forecast the rate and distribution of damaging shocks. The earthquake probability in the region is estimated to be 57–71% for M ≥ 6 shocks during the next decade, and 8–12% for M ≥ 7 shocks. These are up to twice the probabilities for the decade before the Wenchuan earthquake struck.S. T. and R. S. are grateful for research fellowships at EOST- Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, France. J. L. was supported by the Charles D. Hollister Endowed Fund for Support of Innovative Research at WHOI

Seven years of postseismic deformation following the 2003 Mw = 6.8 Zemmouri earthquake (Algeria) from InSAR time series

International audience[1] We study the postseismic surface deformation of the Mw 6.8, 2003 Zemmouri earthquake (northern Algeria) using the Multi-Temporal Small Baseline InSAR technique. InSAR time series obtained from 31 Envisat ASAR images from 2003 to 2010 reveal sub-cm coastline ground movements between Cap Matifou and Dellys. Two regions display subsidence at a maximum rate of 2 mm/yr in Cap Djenet and 3.5 mm/yr in Boumerdes. These regions correlate well with areas of maximum coseismic uplifts, and their association with two rupture segments. Inverse modeling suggest that subsidence in the areas of high coseismic uplift can be explained by afterslip on shallow sections (<5 km) of the fault above the areas of coseismic slip, in agreement with previous GPS observations. The earthquake impact on soft sediments and the ground water table southwest of the earthquake area, characterizes ground deformation of non-tectonic origin. The cumulative postseismic moment due to 7 years afterslip is equivalent to an Mw 6.3 earthquake. Therefore, the postseismic deformation and stress buildup has significant implications on the earthquake cycle models and recurrence intervals of large earthquakes in the Algiers area

InSAR velocity field across the North Anatolian Fault (eastern Turkey): Implications for the loading and release of interseismic strain accumulation

International audienceWe use the Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR) technique with the European Space Agency's Envisat and ERS SAR data acquired on three neighboring descending tracks (T350, T078, and T307) to map the interseismic strain accumulation along a ~225 km long, NW-SE trending section of the North Anatolian Fault that ruptured during the 1939, 1942, and 1943 earthquakes in eastern Turkey. We derive a line-of-sight velocity map of the region with a high spatial resolution and accuracy which, together with the maps of earthquake surface ruptures, shed light on the style of continental deformation and the relationships between the loading and release of interseismic strain along segmented continental strike-slip faults. In contrast with the geometric complexities at the ground surface that appear to control rupture propagation of the 1939 event, modeling of the high-resolution PS-InSAR velocity field reveals a fairly linear and narrow throughgoing shear zone with an overall 20 ± 3 mm/yr slip rate above an unexpectedly shallow 7 ± 2 km locking depth. Such a shallow locking depth may result from the postseismic effects following recent earthquakes or from a simplified model that assumes a uniform degree of locking with depth on the fault. A narrow throughgoing shear zone supports the thick lithosphere model in which continental strike-slip faults are thought to extend as discrete shear zones through the entire crust. Fault segmentation previously reported from coseismic surface ruptures is thus likely inherited from heterogeneities in the upper crust that either preexist and/or develop during coseismic rupture propagation. The geometrical complexities that apparently persist for long periods may guide the dynamic rupture propagation surviving thousands of earthquake cycles

Paleoseismology of the North Anatolian Fault at Güzelköy (Ganos segment, Turkey): Size and recurrence time of earthquake ruptures west of the Sea of Marmara

International audienceThe Ganos fault is the westernmost segment of the North Anatolian Fault that experienced the Mw = 7.4 earthquake of 9 August 1912. The earthquake revealed 45-km-long of surface ruptures inland, trending N70 E, and 5.5 m of maximum right lateral offset near Güzelköy. The long-term deformation of the fault is clearly expressed by several pull-apart basins and sag ponds, pressure and shutter ridges and offset streams. In parallel with detailed geomorphologic investigations, we measured co-seismic and cumulative displacements along the fault, and selected the Güzelköy site for paleoseismology. A microtopographic survey at the site yields 10.5 AE 0.5 m and 35.4 AE 1.5 m cumulative lateral offsets of stream channels and geomorphologic features. Seven paleoseismic parallel and cross-fault trenches document successive faulting events and provide the timing of past earthquakes on the Ganos fault segment. Radiocarbon dating of successive colluvial wedges in trench T1, and the fresh scarplet above (probably 1912 surface rupture) indicate the occurrence of three faulting events since the 14th century. Parallel trenches (3, 5, 6 and 7) expose paleo-channels and show a cumulative right-lateral offset of 16.5 AE 1.5 m next to the fault, and 21.3 AE 1.5 m total channel deflection. Radiocarbon dating of past channel units and fault scarp-related colluvial deposits imply an average 17 +/À 5 mm/year slip rate and 323 AE 142 years recurrence interval of large earthquakes during the last 1000 years on the Ganos fault. The succession of past faulting events and inferred slip rate west of the Marmara Sea provide more constraint on the long-term faulting behavior in the seismic gap of the North Anatolian Fault and may contribute to a better seismic hazard assessment in the Istanbul region

The usage of historical seismograms: The 1912 earthquake records

Modern sismolojik y&ouml;ntemlerle ger&ccedil;ekleştirilen deprem kayıtları son 40 yıllık d&ouml;nemi kapsamaktadır, ancak aletsel sismolojik g&ouml;zlemlerin başlangıcı 1880&rsquo;lere dayanmaktadır. 1960&rsquo;larda d&uuml;nya standart sismograf ağının (WWSSN) kurulumuna kadar ge&ccedil;en s&uuml;re i&ccedil;inde depremler ilksel mekanik sismograflar tarafından kaydedilmiştir. Bu deprem kayıtlarının modern metotlarla yeniden incelenmesi sismolojinin aletsel d&ouml;nemini belirgin bir oranda genişletecektir. Bu &ccedil;alışmada Ganos Fayı &uuml;zerinde meydana gelen 9 Ağustos (Ms = 7.4), 10 Ağustos (Ms = 6.2 ve 5.3) ve 13 Eyl&uuml;l 1912 (Ms = 6.9) ve &ccedil;alışılmıştır. O tarihte 143 deprem istasyonun faal olduğu tespit edilmiş ve araştırmalar sonucunda bu depremlere ait 73 adet tarihsel sismogram elde edilmiştir. Sismogramlardan Bergen, Ebro ve Taranto istasyonlarına ait kayıtlar TESEO2 yazılımıyla sayısallaştırılmış, geometrik d&uuml;zeltmeye tabii tutulmuş ve SAC (sismik analiz kodu) formatına d&ouml;n&uuml;şt&uuml;r&uuml;lm&uuml;şt&uuml;r. Toplamda 15 adet deprem kaydı, cihaz parametrelerine ihtiya&ccedil; duymayan Green Fonksiyonu hesabı y&ouml;ntemiyle incelenmiştir. Taranto istasyonu kaydından elde edilen g&ouml;receli kaynak-zaman fonksiyonu 9 Ağustos depremi i&ccedil;in 40 saniyelik bir kaynak s&uuml;resi vermiştir ki bu s&uuml;re 3 km/sn&rsquo;lik ortalama kırılma hızıyla yaklaşık 120 km&rsquo;lik bir kırık uzunluğu ifade eder. Bununla birlikte, d&uuml;şey bileşen kaydı yapan G&ouml;ttingen Toledo Ebro Pulkovo ve Hongo istasyonlarının P dalgası ilk varışları incelenmiş ve saha g&ouml;zlemleriyle birleştirilerek 9 Ağustos 1912 şoku i&ccedil;in bir fay mekanizması &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m&uuml; verilmiştir. Bu &ccedil;alışmada tarihsel deprem kayıtları ve saha g&ouml;zlemlerinin birleştirilmesi sonucunda 1912 depremleri i&ccedil;in toplamda 150 km&rsquo;lik bir fay kırığı hesaplanmıştır. Bu kırık boyu Marmara denizindeki sismik boşluğun boyutunun belirlenmesinde &ouml;nemli bir sınır teşkil etmektedir. 9 Ağustos 1912 ve Kuzey Anadolu fayı &uuml;zerinde meydana gelen tarihsel depremlere ait tarihsel sismogramların yeniden incelenmesi bu depremler hakkında yeni parametreler sağlayacak ve deprem olgusunun anlaşılmasına yardımcı olacaktır.&nbsp;Anahtar Kelimeler: Sismoloji, tarihsel sismogram, 1912 depremi, Ganos Fayı, Kuzey Anadolu Fayı.&nbsp;Large earthquakes (M>7) occur with intervals more than hundreds of years. Quantitative data of large earthquakes are available through recordings of modern (digital) seismographs since the last 40 years. However historical (analog) seismograms encompass nearly 100 years of seismicity and document significant large earthquakes of the world. Contemporary analyses of old seismograms predate fundamental developments in quantitative seismology, while present techniques and methods in modern seismology allow comprehensive analysis of the earthquake phenomena (Kanamori and Brodsky, 2004). A reanalysis of old seismograms, integrated with modern methods will expand considerably the instrumental period of earthquake seismology and may provide key information for regional tectonics, kinematics of faults, earthquake parameters, recurrence intervals and seismic hazard (Batllo et al., 2008). In this work, it is here provided a short guideline how to collect and process historical seismograms by presenting a case study of the 1912 earthquake sequence along the North Anatolian Fault. The 9 August 1912 Mürefte earthquake (Ms=7.4) occurred at an early stage of seismological research. At that time, at least one primitive seismograph was active at 143 stations. 73 seismic records have been collected for the 9 August, 10 August and 13 September 1912 shocks, which occurred along the Ganos Fault. The majority of the records are from European stations located northwest and west of the epicentre. However, other recordings from Japan, Australia and Russia were also obtained. The SISMOS online database was the major source of the collected seismograms. The TESEO software has been used to vectorize and correct the waveforms and to convert them to SAC files. Signals were processed using the Empirical Green Function approach proposed by Vallee (2004), which avoids complexities due to unknown instrument parameters. The method uses the signal of a smaller event to model the Green function of the main earthquake. Comparable signal pairs 9 August and 13 September shocks from the Bergen, Ebro, and Taranto stations were digitized and corrected. 15 digital seismic signals have been modelled with the related method. Due to limitations by the applied method and majorly because of inadequate signal corrections our modelling revealed reliable results only for the Taranto station. The modelling of the 9 August and 13 September shocks provide a relative source time function and indicate that the moment ratio between the two shocks is about 30 which corresponds to 1 degree difference in magnitude and infer 40 second source duration for the 9 August. In addition to the modelling, we use the P-wave polarities at 5 stations to construct a focal mechanism. The vertical component seismograms from Göttingen, Toledo, Ebro, Pulkovo and Hongo and field based N68°E fault strike allow us to construct the focal mechanism solution for the 9 August 1912. The pure strike slip solution we obtained is in agreement with the known fault kinematics and slip measurements. The 40 second source duration implies ~ 120 km coseismic rupture length if a unilateral rupture propagation at 3 km/sec is attributed to the 9 August earthquake. On the other hand, the size of the 9 August shock corresponds to 1.5 x 1027 dyn*cm seismic moment which also suggests a 120 ± 20 km rupture length, assuming an average slip of 2.5 m and a fault width of 15 km. The size of the 13 September shock (Ms=6.9) implies 30 ± 10 km of surface rupture with similar fault parameters. As a result, the combined analysis of seismology, field observation and historical data suggest that the 1912 sequence caused a 150 km of surface faulting. This length is equal to the distance of the two major geometrical complexities of the Ganos Fault on its east and west; the Central Marmara Basin and the Saros Trough respectively. Therefore, it may be concluded that the eastern rupture end of 9 August 1912 Mürefte earthquake is located in the Central Marmara Basin and defines the western limit of the seismic gap in the Sea of Marmara. The comprehensive reanalysis of historical seismograms for the large earthquakes along the North Anatolian Fault will considerably extend our knowledge of the characteristics each earthquake and will provide new constraints to understand the earthquake behaviour along this large continental strike slip fault. Keywords: Seismology, historical seismogram, 1912 earthquake, Ganos Fault, North Anatolian Fault

Tectonosedimentary evidence in the Tunisian Atlas, Bou Arada Trough: insights for the geodynamic evolution and Africa-Eurasia plate convergence

International audienceThe Bou Arada Trough is an east-west-oriented structure located 80 km SW of Tunis, characterizing the central Tunisian Atlas. This trough is filled by a thick Quaternary sand and clay series and is bordered by complex systems of folds generally trending NE-SW. Contacts between the Bou Arada Trough and the neighbouring folds are accommodated by NE-SW- and NW-SE-oriented faults. In contrast to the other troughs of the Tunisian Atlas, which are related to the Pliocene-Quaternary orogenic period, the geodynamic evolution of the Bou Arada Trough began in the Maastrichtian and has continued until the present day. Structural, tectonosedimentary and seismic data analyses are undertaken in the study area to better understand the evolutionary scenario of this trough. The results obtained show that the Bou Arada Trough is fragmented into three NW-SE-oriented sub-basins and records a continuous history of downthrow. Indeed, during extensional to transtensional regimes, this trough has evolved in response to the two networks of perpendicular fractures whereas during compressive to transpressive periods, the collapse of the Bou Arada Trough has been induced by a pull-apart mechanism using the same network of faults but with a strike-slip movement. The Bou Arada Trough thus preserves a record of the convergence between the European and African plates since the Maastrichtian