On 11 April 2012, a Mw8.6 strike-slip earthquake occurred off Sumatra in a kind of intra-plate setting and came as a surprise to the earthquake community. Such a strong strike-slip event was not expected, we always thought that the huge thrust quakes at subduction zones were the only ones to release that much energy. Now a press release by CalTech reports on the latest studies that came to the result that many previously unknown perpendicular faults ruptured at this event. Immediately some journalists suggested that this might also happen at the San Andreas Fault. I do not know of any paleoseismological evidence that this has happened there before. However, how likely is this scenario?
Link to the paper: An earthquake in a maze: compressional rupture branching during the April 11 2012 M8.6 Sumatra earthquake. more
The deadline for the 3rd INQUA-IGCP567 workshop on Active Tectonics, Paleoseismology and Archeoseismology has been extended to 15 August 2012. The meeting will be held from 19-24 November in Morelia, Mexico, in remembrance of the devastating Acambay earthquake form 1912. Registration is between $60 and $250, an additional fieldtrip can be booked for $60. more
The coolest thing I’ve seen this week came from the British Geological Survey. They developed an app (for Android only) called iGeology 3D, which paints the geological map of your position around you. Yes, in 3D. Yes, only in the UK, but hey – great stuff! And it’s free, okay, it’s tax money… On Facebook, students are already stating that they will have a very easy mapping course next year. I can only hope that classical mapping (with compass, a map made up of paper, hammer, hand lens, acid and all that 20th Century stuff) will remain a basic course for all geoscience students. I’ve seen a geological compass app for a smartphone in the field recently, but it worked on very few hardrock surfaces only, because the owner didn’t want to dirty his mobile… more
Annals of Geophysics (former Annali di Geofisica) published a special volume “Geoethics and geological culture. Reflections from the Geoitalia Conference 2011“. This is pretty interesting for us bloggers, topics include:
- Geoethics and geological culture: methods, goals and values able to influence society
- Geoethical implications in risks and geo-resources management
- Communication and education related to geosciences in a geoethical perspective
- Geoheritage and geodiversity as values for sustainability
Even more interesting for me is a special issue yet to come: “The Emilia seismic sequence of May-June, 2012: preliminary data and results”. Paper submission deadline: July 22, 2012. more
Callan Bentley from Mountain Beltway had the idea to list the 101 American Geo-Sites mentioned in Albert B. Dickas’ book and to mark those he has already visited. The whole thing became kind of popular in the geoblogosphere, and this KMZ by one of Callan’s readers allows to explore the 101 outcrops one definitely has to visit in the US. So now here’s my list, in bold the places I’ve visited (as you will see, there are far much still to be seen than I’ve already visited!):
- Wetumpka Crater, Alabama
- Exit Glacier, Alaska
- Antelope Canyon, Arizona
- Meteor Crater, Arizona
- Monument Valley, Arizona
- Prairie Creek Pipe, Arkansas
- Wallace Creek, California
- Racetrack Playa, California
- Devils Postpile, California
- Rancho La Brea, California more
A paleoseismological trench has been opened at San Carlo – Sant’Agostino. At this place, liquefaction features and other environmental earthquake effects were recognized after the Finale Emilia earthquake of 2 May 2012, magnitude MW6.1. The trench reveals normal fault features close to the surface. Our colleague Alex Chatzipetros from Earthquake Geology of Greece posted a great article on the trench work and has all the interesting photos. more
Angela Landgraf (Uni Potsdam), Simon Kübler (LMU Munich), Seth Stein (NW University, IL) and myself would like to draw your attention to our session about “Controls on Seismicity and Fault Rupture in Low-Strain Intraplate Regions” (T010) at the 2012 AGU Fall Meeting 2012 (3 – 7 Dec). We are looking for a variety of contributions from intraplate regions that have experienced earthquakes during Quaternary times and hope for good and interesting discussions with you during the meeting. The submission deadline is quite soon, at 8 August 23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT.
Looking forward to see many of you there – Angela, Simon, Seth and Esther more
The Journal of Iberian Geology has now published a Special Issue “Active Faults in Iberia“, with J.J. Martínez-Diaz, E. Masana, and M.A. Rodríguez-Pascua as guest editors: J Iber Geol, 38 (1), 201. This volume comprises a great collection of new data on active faults, paleoseismology, intraplate earthquakes, and seismic hazard. One article also introduces the Quaternary Active Faults Database of Iberia. And the best thing is – all articles are open access and available for download! more
The early bird registration for the Acambay2012 workshop ends on 1 July. Until then, you pay max $190, later it will be up to $250. The 3rd INQUA-IGCP567 International Workshop on Active Tectonics, Paleoseismology and Archaeoseismology takes place in Morelia, Mexico, from 19 – 24 November 2012. It is held due to the 100th anniversary of the Acambay earthquake (1912). Check the workshop website for more information, this will be a great meeting, I am sure, so I will go there. more
Our colleagues from the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Geological Institute “Strashimir Dimitrov“, have published a report on the coseismic and secondary effects of the May 22, 2012 Pernik earthquake, Western Bulgaria. The earthquake had a magnitude of MW5.6, see this special website of EMSC. Radulov et al. report intensities of up to VII (MSK) and various coseismic and secondary earthquake effects. more
