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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.

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.

In 2018, back then when we didn’t even knew about Covid-19, I was sitting in a little restaurant in Slovenia with my happy field team. We were exhausted from another long day of geophysical surveys for our active tectonics project and quite thirsty. A colleague of mine, Philipp Balling, had just finished his field work in Croatia and was on his way north to join us for a few days before he would continue to Jena. He arrived late that evening and we had a great time catching up with each others stories from the field. He showed me a few photos, one of them displaying a huge, flat area at the Croatian coast. I was immediately alerted and asked if the Croatian coast was uplifting, because this thing looked like a marine abrasion platform to me. We chatted about uplifted marine terraces until long after midnight, and this is how the story of this paper began.

An interesting PhD position is open at GFZ Potsdam in the framework of the CRC1211- “Earth: evolution at the dry limit”. CRC1211 has the objective to study the mutual evolutionary relationships between earth surface processes and biota in arid to hyperarid conditions. Within the framework of project C05 “Adaptation of drainage to tectonic forcing”, the history of the macro‐scale drainages of the Atacama Desert will be examined using cosmogenic nuclide and amphipod speciation chronologies, combined with topographic analysis and kinematic modelling. Findings will be compared to the established broad‐scale tectonic and climatic context. More information and the link to the ad can be found here. Deadline for application is 15^th October 2020. For further queries relating to the role’s responsibilities you can contact Dr. Pia Victor by email (pia.victor@gfz-potsdam.de).

Continental strike-slip faults are complex structures on which the deformation is commonly distributed among a number of parallel to subparallel fault strands, making them in places significantly different in behaviour from their oceanic counterparts. Thus, the goal of this issue is to publish a collection of high-quality papers on active tectonics of continental strike-slip faults around the globe using various disciplines, including but not limited to, tectonic geomorphology, palaeoseismology, structural geology, crustal deformation, tectonic geodesy and seismology of continental strike-slip faults.

Time is flying, it feels as if I had posted the last paper updated just yesterday. However, a quick glance at the list shows that there are quite a few new studies that cover paleoseismology, seismic hazard, earthquake geology, etc. Let me know if I’ve missed something cool. Stay safe!

The INQUA Summer School on Active Tectonics and Tectonic Geomorphology was held in Prague from 24-27 September, 2019. This summer school was run by INQUA‘s IFG EGSHaz as part of the TERPRO commission. The event was hosted by the Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dpt. Neotectonics and Thermochronology. Main organizer was IFG co-leader Petra Štěpančíková. We would also like to thank MSc. Jakub Stemberk, Monika Hladká, Jana Šreinová, the deputy director Dr. Filip Hartvich, and all the staff involved for their professionalism and warm hospitality. Overall, 50 participants and 14 lecturers from 25 countries participated in the summer school.

Register here for the INQUA International Summer School on Tectonics and Tectonic Geomorphology, 24-27 Sep 2019, Prague:

https://www.irsm.cas.cz/summer-school/ 

ECR & DCR travel grants are also available! Note that no accommodation will be organised in Prague, but one night is included during the field trip.

This time we have an impressive variety of earthquake study sites: Turkey, China, USA, Tadjik Basin, Italy, Japan, Sumatra, Himalayas, Spain, Mexico, Balkans, Mars, laboratory. Who could possibly ask for more? Plus some interesting work on fault physics. Check out the latest papers on earthquakes, active tectonics, and paleoseismicity:

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I hope you’ve had a great start into the new year. A lot of new and exciting papers have been published at the end of the old one, including work on New Zealand and Europe. Enjoy reading and have fantastic new year 2018!

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