The Aix-en-Provence PATA Days are fast approaching and the meeting programme looks super-exciting! Unfortunately, I’ll not attend the congress, but my soul will be there in poster form – presenting author is 1st year PhD student Marco Pizza and the topic is the likelihood of primary surface faulting.
Some earthquakes produce surface faulting, others do not. Several factors affect the outcome of this dichotomous variable (faulting YES/NO), including magnitude, depth, earthquake kinematic and local lithology. The probability of having surface rupture for a given magnitude is a key ingredient in Fault Displacement Hazard Assessment (FDHA). This probability is derived from empirical datasets and the state of the art is summarized in Figure 1, taken from the recently published IAEA Tecdoc on probabilistic FDHA.
This is the latest list of papers on paleoseismology and related fields. This time we have a lot of new studies on Eastern and Central Asia – very interesting reads! Enjoy reading and let me know if I have missed something.
Today we have a number of articles on fault physics and some papers that use novel or unconventional ways to address large earthquakes and their proxies. Enjoy reading!
We investigated homogeneous muds, turbidites, and debrites that were preserved in a 457-m deep ICDP drilling (220-0 ka) from the Dead Sea depocenter. Based on previous flash flood measuring, surface plume monitoring, and sediment traps monitoring in the lake center, we link homogeneous muds in the deep core to overflows, and link turbidites and debrites to underflows. The study bridges the gap between our understanding of modern sediment density flow processes and deposits preserved in a long-term geological record in the Dead Sea, a tectonically active subaqueous environment (Dead Sea rift zone).
This time I found a lot of studies on tsunamis, including a whole book on tsunamis that affected the Iberian Peninsula. Then there’s classical paleoseismology of course and tectonic geomorphology, but also some discussion on science communication and news about earthquakes in the European Alps. Enjoy reading!
As Francesca has reported in her latest post, a lot of trenching is currently going on all around the world. Here you can read about previous trenching results that have now made it through review. Enjoy reading and have a great field season!
Our paper list is full of classic paleoseismic trenching studies from all over the world – fascinating to see how quickly the number of trenches is rising. We also have papers on tools & methodology, and on earthquake proxies that open new possibilities to study past large events. Don’t miss Ferrario et al. who compiled 15 years of research on earthquake environmental effects!
Hungary plans to build a new nuclear power plant (NPP) at the banks of the Danube near Paks, where another NPP is already running for several decades. An interesting story is currently unfolding around the geological site conditions, and this story includes paleoseismology. In short, the Austrians and external experts argue the planned NPP Paks II will sit on a capable fault, while the Hungarians say there is a fault, but it can’t rupture the surface. Actually, it’s a bit more complicated…
INQUA’s XXI congress will take place in Rome in 2023. This is the most important gathering for the Quaternary community, taking place every four years only. Active tectonics, paleoseismology and related fields have found their home in INQUA’s TERPRO Commission (Terrestrial Processes, Deposits & History). TERPRO provides support for scientific meetings and networking; they have always been involved in the PATA Days and supported dozens of early career researchers and researchers from developing countries with travel grants for these meetings. If you want to support the earthquake community within INQUA, please join TERPRO here. It’s free and comes without obligations. It only means you’ll receive the INQUA newsletters, you can apply for funding for meetings and workshops (as an organiser), and you can elect the TERPRO officers.
Currently, the organising committee of the INQUA Congress in Rome is accepting session proposals for the 2023 congress. Please make sure your areas of interest are represented at the conference. If in doubt, contact your TERPRO officers. Let’s present some great earthquake science at INQUARoma2023!
These are the latest papers on paleoseismology, active tectonics, and archaeoseismology. Don’t forget to save the date for the Pata Days in France: 26-30 September, 2022. http://pata-days.org/
