New paleoseismology papers

Besides the two special issues on tsunamis and paleoearthquakes that I’ve already blogged about, some more interesting papers on paleoseismology have recently been published. They deal with paleoseismology of the North Anatolian Fault, with tectonic geomorphology of S Spain, and with the ESI scale applied on a quake in Kashmir.

Avşar et al. – A 3400-year lacustrine paleoseismic record from the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey: Implications for bimodal recurrence behavior

The authors investigated Yeniçağa Lake, which is located in a basin along the North Anatolian Fault Zone. They established a sediment chronology for the last 3,400 years and identified 11 paleoevents by physical, geochemical and sedimentological analyses. From this data they calculated an average recurrence interval of 260 years for this fault segment.

The drilling rig on Yeniçağa Lake. Photo courtesy of Ulaş Avşar.

Ahmad et al. – Macroseismic intensity assessment of 1885 Baramulla Earthquake of northwestern Kashmir Himalaya, using the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale (ESI 2007)

Ahmad and colleagues re-investigated the 1885 Baramulla Earthquake of northwestern Kashmir. They analyzed historical reports and visited the sites where environmental effects have been described. Both primary (surface rupture) and secondary effects were analyzed (landslides, gas eruptions, hydrological changes, ground cracks, liquefaction) and an ESI intensity of X was determined for the epicentral area.

Bellin et al. – Denudation rates and tectonic geomorphology of the Spanish Betic Cordillera

The Betic Cordillera in S Spain is slowly uplifting. Using tectonic geomorphology and ¹⁰Be datings, Bellin et al. investigated the uplift and denudation rates. The authors used the topographic indicators overall channel steepness, channel concavity, catchment-mean hill slope gradients, catchment-mean local relief, hypsometric integral, and valley width-to-height ratio. They conclude that the Cordillera probably approached a topographic steady-state.

References

• Ahmad, B., Sana, H., Alam, A. 2013. – Macroseismic intensity assessment of 1885 Baramulla Earthquake of northwestern Kashmir Himalaya, using the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale (ESI 2007). Quaternary International, DOI:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.043
• Aşar, U., Hubert-Ferrari, A., De Batist, M. & Fagel, N. 2014. A 3400-year lacustrine paleoseismic record from the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey: Implications for bimodal recurrence behavior. Geophysical Research Letters, DOI:10.1002/2013GL058221
• Bellin, N., Vanacker, V., & Kubik, P.W. 2014. Denudation rates and tectonic geomorphology of the Spanish Betic Cordillera. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 390, 19–30, DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2013.12.045

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