A recent study investigated seismogenic mass failure deposits that were preserved in a 457-m deep ICDP drilling (220-0 ka) from the Dead Sea depocenter. The study conducted a critical assessment and testing of the links between the occurrence of seismogenic mass failure, changes in water-level, and sedimentation rate driven by a changing climate.

1. Key Points:
• At the orbital- and millennial-scale, variable sedimentation rates are not a preconditioning factor for earthquake-triggered mass failures
• At the centennial- to decadal-scale, earthquake-triggered mass failures are not statistically correlated with lake-level state
• At the orbital- and millennial-scale, the mass failures are more frequent during lake-level high-stands with large-amplitude fluctuations

The Bolivian Amazon is a vast plain with almost zero topography. It hosts a huge and dynamic river system on the east side of the Andes. So far, little was known about the active tectonics of the area. In a new paper, Umberto Lombardo and I show that there are active faults parallel to the Andes, and also perpendicular to the mountain front. We used the TanDEM-X DEM and geomorphological analyses of the fluvial system to investigate the faults and their impact on river dynamics. We show that in such a low-relief setting, dip-slip earthquakes can catastrophically change river courses. If you don’t have the time to read the full paper, here’s a short summary.

Interested in the active tectonics of the Bolivian Amazon? In remote sensing of surface ruptures? In tsunami deposits & turbidites? In archaeoseismology & creeping faults? Then check out the latest papers and find new studies on these topics and much more!

The Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana has published a Special Issue “From the active fault to the seismic hazard in Latin America and the Caribbean“, edited by Laura Perucca and Franck Audemard. The issue includes studies on paleoseismology, earthquake geology, geophysics on active faults, geodesy, landscape evolution, and much more from all across S America and the Caribbean. All articles are open access! Check it out here: http://boletinsgm.igeolcu.unam.mx/bsgm/index.php/siguiente-numero-next-issue

This is an interesting topical session at the GSA 2021 meeting:

‘T11. Recent to Long-Term Slip Histories of Active Faults and Folds in Cascadia’  

at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America. We hope to attract a diverse array of talks that explore the faults and folds in the upper plate of the Cascadia subduction zone that are both active and have protracted histories of fault slip. We welcome submissions summarizing recent tectonic geomorphologic, paleoseismologic, geodetic, seismic reflection, and other data that characterize deformation of Quaternary-active structures and seek contributions from geologic, geophysical, and related research that examines the longer-term history of active faults. We particularly invite studies in the forearc, arc, and backarc of Cascadia that bridge the gap between Quaternary evidence of fault activity with longer records of fault slip that may address the consistency of slip rates over time and the timing of fault/fold initiation. 

Better late than never – here are the latest papers! Enjoy reading and let me know if I have missed anything.

Here we go with a brand new list of papers that deal with past and recent large earthquakes, with tsunamis, and with active tectonics studies. A huge fraction of studies is on (Central) Asia this time. Enjoy reading & stay safe!

Just as last month we have a veeeery long list today. Quite a number of papers deal with new data from Central Asia and S America, but of course there’s also something on the menu for connoisseurs of archaeoseismology, European, N American & African tectonics, and physics-based fault studies. Enjoy reading, stay safe and let me know if I’ve overlooked something.

Project EDITH runs under the umbrella of INQUA’s TERPRO commission and the Int’l Focus Group TPPT (Terrestrial Processes Perturbed by Tectonics). EDITH proposes to organize and facilitate annual meetings with a wide range of experts in earthquake geology, paleoseismology, geodesy and tectonic geomorphology to gain a better understanding of the earthquake cycle with the final aim to provide constraints for future new seismic hazard assessment (SHA) geologically-based models. The kickoff meeting has now been scheduled to 14-16 April, 2021 and will be held via Zoom.

The Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece (BGSG) is inviting papers for a Special Issue on the 2021 Northern Thessaly, Greece, Earthquake Sequence. This sequence included a M6.3 mainshock on March 3, followed 32 hours later by a M6.0 event and a M5.6 event on March 12, and thousands of smaller aftershocks. This was the most significant earthquake sequence in northern Thessaly in 80 years, and the first large events in this area of Greece since the major upgrades of the seismological, strong motion and geodetic networks. Remote-sensing imagery is available from a number of satellites and other platforms. The sequence raises numerous questions related to fault interactions, blind faulting, near- and far-field ground motions, damage distribution, earthquake triggering, liquefaction phenomena and seismic hazard and seismotectonics of the Northern Thessaly.