Christoph Grützner

Geomorphic indices can tell us about the tectonic activity of an area. The idea is that the landscape records the signal of active tectonics, for example in its river network, in its erosion pattern, or in its roughness. Geomorphic indices allow us to quantify this, that is, we can use standard algorithms to calculate numbers from a DEM that say ‘active’ or ‘inactive’. This is very attractive because essentially, all that is needed is a DEM and a GIS (and perhaps MATLAB). The number of papers on geomorphic indices is currently exploding, and I guess the fact that the method is so cheap and easy to apply plays a major role in that. No expensive field work, still meaningful results. But is this always true? In a new open access paper, we argue that without ground checking, probably not, at least in many cases.

This month’s paper list has an usually large number of studies on active tectonics of the Balkans and southern Europe. Is this a sampling bias? Perhaps. Don’t hesitate to send recommendations if you publish something cool that you’d like to see included. Enjoy reading!

I’m a bit late this month, so the list is a bit longer. This time we have lots of coastal and offshore studies, even a seafloor earthquake rupture! Enjoy reading.

AGU has lots of interesting sessions to offer for paleoseismologists. Our colleague Pia Victor invites contributions to her session with Shreya Arora, Laurence Audin, Christie D Rowe, Alba Mar Rodriguez Padilla: Field observations, instrumental and high-resolution satellite imaging: A vision of improved active tectonics/paleoseismology hazard assessment.

The second circular for the TERPRO INQUA summer school on Active Faults and Volcano-Tectonics, 25-28 Sept., 2023, in Naples, Italy has been published.

For many geologists the field season is up ahead or has already started, but perhaps you will find some time to read through the latest literature? Or you can use the winter season in the southern hemisphere to enjoy a good read? It would be a pity to miss some of these really interesting studies. Enjoy!

INQUA TERPRO’s project TPPT had decided to not organise PATA Days in the years with an INQUA congress, but instead to run a much smaller summer school for ECRs and DCRs. The summer school on Active Faults and Volcano-Tectonics will be held from 25-28 September in Naples (Italy). The event will be hosted by DiSTAR (Department of Earth Sciences, Enviroment and Resources , University of Naples «Federico II»).

The first two days will include lectures by researchers who will present state of the art studies on active faults. The second part includes two field trips in areas crucial for understanding active faults and the interplay between tectonics and volcanic activity. Download the circular (PDF) here.

This month’s list of papers includes the first few studies on the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye in February, 2023. Apart from that, we also have important work in archaeoseismology and great studies from New Zealand, an interesting shallow earthquake in the Tarim Basin, updates on surface displacement hazard and strain rate estimations, and papers on the Med and East Africa. Enjoy reading!

The first papers related to the 6 Feb, 2023, Türkiye Earthquakes are already published, but this month’s list has also interesting studies on Asian tectonics, the Med, and the Americas. Enjoy reading!

A new special issue has been published in Quaternary International. Earthquake Geology and Seismic Hazards: From Earthquake Mapping of Historical and Prehistoric Earthquakes to Paleoseismology contains contributions from the PATA Days in Greece, 2018, and the INQUA Congress in Dublin in 2019. The SI collects an editorial and six research papers:

• Grützner, C., Baize, S., & Papanikolaou, I. (2023): Earthquake Geology and Seismic Hazards: From Earthquake Mapping of Historical and Prehistoric Earthquakes to Paleoseismology. Quat. Int. 651, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2023.02.011.
• Silva, P.G., Elez, J., Pérez-López, R., Giner-Robles, J.L., Gómez-Diego, P.V., Roquero, E., Rodríguez-Pascua, M. A., & Bardají, T. (2023). The AD 1755 Lisbon Earthquake-Tsunami: seismic source modelling from the analysis of ESI-07 environmental data. Quat. Int. 651, 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.11.006.
• Tringali, G., Bella, D., Livio, F., Ferrario, M.F., Groppelli, G., Blumetti, A.M., Di Manna, P., Vittori, E., Guerrieri, L., Porfido, S., Boso, D., Pettinato, R., Paradiso, G., & Michetti, A. M. (2023). Fault rupture and aseismic creep accompanying the December 26, 2018, Mw 4.9 Fleri earthquake (Mt. Etna, Italy): factors affecting the surface faulting in a volcano-tectonic environment. Quat. Int. 651, 25–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.12.019.
• Abbas, W., Zhang, J., Tsukamoto, S., Ali, S., Frechen, M., & Reicherter, K. (2023). Pleistocene-Holocene deformation and seismic history of the Kalabagh Fault in Pakistan using OSL and post-IR IRSL dating. Quat. Int. 651, 42–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2022.01.007.
• Velazquez-Bucio, M.M., Ferrario, M.F., Muccignato, E., Porfido, S., Sridharan, A., Chunga, K., Livio, F., Gopalan, S., & Michetti, A. M. (2023). Environmental effects caused by the Mw 8.2, September 8, 2017, and Mw 7.4, June 23, 2020, Chiapas-Oaxaca (Mexico) subduction events: comparison of large intraslab and interface earthquakes. Quat. Int. 651, 62–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.11.028.
• Mechernich, S., Reicherter, K., Deligiannakis, G., & Papanikolaou, I. (2023). Tectonic geomorphology
  of active faults in Eastern Crete (Greece) with slip rates and earthquake history from cosmogenic 36Cl dating of the Lastros and Orno faults. Quat. Int. 651, 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2022.04.007.
• Papanikolaou, I., Dafnis, P., Deligiannakis, G., Hengesh, J., & Panagopoulos, A. (2023). Active faults, Paleoseismological trenching and seismic hazard assessment in the Northern Mygdonia Basin, Northern Greece: the Assiros-Krithia fault and the Drimos fault zone. Quat. Int. 651, 92–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2022.02.001.