On 12 June, 2017, an earthquake with a magnitude of Mw6.3 occurred south of the island of Lesvos in Greece, damaged hundreds of buildings and claimed one life. The event ruptured a NW-SE trending normal fault and had a focal depth of 13 km. Our colleagues from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens mapped the earthquake damage and the environmental effects that accompanied the earthquake. They found mass movements, secondary cracks, and report on a small tsunami. Their report can be downloaded here (PDF, 6 mb). For a higher-resolution file (33 mb), follow this link. Many thanks to Efthymios Lekkas for sending the report. more
It’s just a few months after the Kaikoura earthquake and now the first papers have been published already. Today’s paper round-up also includes studies on dating tsunami boulders, turbidite paleoseismology, paleoseismology in the Tien Shan, the recent Italy and New Zealand earthquakes, and earthquakes and social media. Enjoy reading! more
The FAULT2SHA Working Group has been formally approved by the European Seismological Commission, at the 35th General Assembly in Sept 2016. The WG core supporters are pleased to announce a new initiative, open to all researchers interested in contributing to discussions on topics that could improve the assessment of seismic hazard. more
While the attention is still on the seismic sequence in Italy, a number of new papers have been published on paleoseismology, tsunamis, and active tectonics. Enjoy reading!
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The CEREGE laboratory in Aix-en-Provence (France) look for a PostDoc in the field of seismic hazard and/or earthquake geology. The position is in the framework of the RISKMED OT MED funded project “ Natural risks in the Mediterranean: Hazard, vulnerability, perception and management”.
Deadline for application is 4 July.
Tasks:
- Organisation and implementation of field surveys in Italy and Turkey in collaboration with local colleagues.
- Review and compile existing data, and acquire new data to better understand the frequency and dynamics of large earthquakes in Central Italy and western Turkey through surface observations and paleoseismological reconstruction over a range of different temporal and spatial scales.
- Convert all data into an open database.
- Analyze and interpret all data with respect to existing scaling laws and in terms of seismic hazard.
- Produce with social scientists engaged in the project (geographers and psychologists) comprehensible scientific information to public and territorial managers as the basis for recommended preparedness and mitigation actions.
- Participate to a participatory process and to focus groups concerning risk mitigation strategies (science communication, risk communication, public outreach) in targeted areas.
See the full details here.
On 16 April an earthquake of magnitude Mw7.0 hit the district of Kumamoto, Kyushu Island, Japan. The quake was preceeded by a Mw6.1 foreshock one day before. It occurred on the ENE striking, right lateral Futagawa-Hinagu fault zone. Our colleague Koji Okumura from Hiroshima University has prepared a short report on this surface-rupturing event. Download the report here (PDF, 612 kb). The report will be continuously revised and corrected, so check for regular updates. Thanks Koji for providing this summary!
From 4-10 September, 2016, the 35th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission (ESC) will be held in Trieste, Italy. Deadline for abstract submission is 30 April, early bird registration ends 31 May. The meeting covers a whole range of interesting topics, such as Earthquakes in regions of slow lithospheric deformation, active faulting and geodynamic data, secondary earthquake effects, regional studies and many more. Two sessions are probably especially interesting for the paleoseismology community:
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Plenty of paleoseismology papers have been published in late 2015 and early 2016 already! Especially those on the Gorkha earthquake made it to the news (Science and NatureGeoscience), but there is much more to discover. Check them out and – as always – tell us what we’ve missed. more
Our colleague Carlos Benavente Escóbar from the Instituto Geologico Minero Metalurgico (Peru) brought a book to my attention which was published in 2013: Neotectonics and seismic hazard of the Cusco Region. The book is in Spanish, but you will find it easy to understand what it’s about, because it is full of fascinating images of faults, fault scarps, seismites, liquefaction features, geological maps, and outcrop sketches. Have a look, it’s great! The book can be viewed online for free and is also available for download. more
A few days ago, SRL published a special issue on the Gorkha earthquakes with lots of interesting papers. I especially like the work of Angster et al. with their impressive photos of the earthquake ground effects. Make sure to download the electronic supplement to this article!
Besides this special issue, a good number of other interesting papers have been published recently on paleoseismicity, active tectonics, seismic hazard, and tsunamis. Among them is Andi’s work on the Ejina basin and Serva et al. with a introduction of using the ESI scale for earthquake hazard assessments. Enjoy reading! more
