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Sketch of trench wallSandsheet thought to have resulted from the tsunami caused by an earthquake on January 26, 1700, river bank OregonSeismite formed by liquefaction of sediments during a Late Ordovician earthquake (northern Kentucky, USA)
Paleoseismology looks at geologic sediments and rocks, for signs of ancient earthquakes. It is used to supplement seismic monitoring, for the calculation of seismic hazard. Paleoseismology is usually restricted to geologic regimes that have undergone continuous sediment creation for the last few thousand years, such as swamps, lakes, river beds and shorelines.
In this typical example, a trench is dug in an active sedimentation regime. Evidence of thrust faulting can be seen in the walls of the trench. It becomes a matter of deducting the relative age of each fault, by cross-cutting patterns. The faults can be dated in absolute terms, if there is dateable carbon, or human artifacts.
Many notable discoveries have been made using the techniques of paleoseismology. For example, there is a common misconception that having many smaller earthquakes can somehow 'relieve' a major fault such as the San Andreas Fault, and reduce the chance of a major earthquake.[1] It is now known (using paleoseismology) that nearly all the movement of the fault takes place with extremely large earthquakes. All of these seismic events (with a moment magnitude of over 8), leave some sort of trace in the sedimentation record.
Another famous example involves the megathrust earthquakes of the Pacific Northwest. It was thought for some time that there was low seismic hazard in the region because relatively few modern earthquakes have been recorded. It was thought that the Cascadia subduction zone was merely sliding in a benign manner.
All of these comforting notions were shattered by paleoseismology studies showing evidence of extremely large earthquakes (the most recent being in 1700),[2] along with historical tsunami records. In effect, the subduction zone under British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and far northern California, is perfectly normal, being extremely hazardous in the long term, with the capability of generating coastal tsunamis of several hundred feet in height at the coast. These are caused by the interface between the subducted sea floor stressing the overlaying coastal soils in compression. Periodically a slip will occur which causes the coastal portion to reduce in elevation and thrust toward the west, leading to tsunamis in the central and eastern north Pacific Ocean (with several hours of warning) and a reflux of water toward the coastal shore, with little time for residents to escape.
^"Caltech Press Release, 7/21/2004, Dr. Kerry Sieh". pr.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2004-10-30.
^"Geological Society of America Penrose Conference on "Great Cascadia Earthquake Tricentennial"". usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
Paleoseismology looks at geologic sediments and rocks, for signs of ancient earthquakes. It is used to supplement seismic monitoring, for the calculation...
infrastructure developed in the framework of the INQUA TERPRO Commission on Paleoseismology and Active Tectonics. Earthquake light Electromagnetic field Richter...
pose favorable environmental conditions for the studying of turbidite paleoseismology. During an exploration to the Japan Trench on January 1, 1999, a sample...
Earthquakes: Review of Quaternary Geochronology and its Application to Paleoseismology. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG/CR 5562. Innes, J. L. (1985)...
features left by prehistoric earthquakes, called paleoliquefaction or paleoseismology, can reveal information about earthquakes that occurred before records...
around 1988; a 5.8 earthquake on 8 June 1934; geologist Kerry Sieh and paleoseismology; if an earthquake took place, coordination would be from the Joint...
& Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-68812-0. McCalpin, James P. (2 July 2009). Paleoseismology. Academic Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-08-091998-0. Hilley, George E....
Serdar Akyüz; Matthieu Ferry; Aynur Dikbaş; Erhan Altunel (2012). "Paleoseismology of the North Anatolian Fault at Güzelköy (Ganos segment, Turkey): Size...
on one another, paleosol sequences are also useful in the field of paleoseismology. Paleopedology Paleopedological record Pedogenesis Pedology (soil study)...
that uses geology to infer information regarding past earthquakes is paleoseismology. A recording of Earth motion as a function of time, created by a seismograph...
time frame. A longer-term seismic history can be obtained through paleoseismology. The results may be in the form of a ground response spectrum for use...
Phuntsho Remo Grolimund (2016). "Joint approach combining damage and paleoseismology observations constrains the 1714 A.D. Bhutan earthquake at magnitude...
Archived from the original on 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2017-10-16. "Paleoseismology of Crack-in-the-Ground Fault, Central Oregon". December 2011. Retrieved...
Parsons, B.; Rizza, M.A.; Walker, R.T. (2020). "Geomorphology and Paleoseismology of the Weinan Fault, Shaanxi, Central China, and the Source of the...
Parsons, B.; Rizza, M.A.; Walker, R.T. (2020). "Geomorphology and Paleoseismology of the Weinan Fault, Shaanxi, Central China, and the Source of the...
Jews 361–363 CE". Fordham University. Sources Niemi, Tina M. (2009), Paleoseismology and archaeoseismology of sites in Aqaba and Petra, Jordan: Field guidebook...
OF TURBIDITE SANDS IN THE MARMARA SEA, TURKEY: A TOOL FOR SUBMARINE PALEOSEISMOLOGY". Geological Society of America. Archived from the original on 8 June...
earthquakes happen infrequently. This is a subset of the broader field of paleoseismology. Paleoliquefaction studies in areas like the New Madrid Seismic Zone...
attributed to the Hurricane Fault. Amoroso, L. (1 October 2004). "Paleoseismology and Neotectonics of the Shivwits Section of the Hurricane Fault, Northwestern...
Margin: Tectonics, v. 9, p. 569–584. Goldfinger, C., 2011, Submarine Paleoseismology Based on Turbidite Records: Annual Review of Marine Science, v. 3,...
section of the Yilan-Yitong Fault Zone in Shangzhi, China, through paleoseismology. The Yilan-Yitong Fault Zone is the northern branch of the larger Tanlu...
Wang, Chengyang; Deng, Miao; Lan, Weiguang (2021). "Active tectonics, paleoseismology and seismic hazards of the piedmont Xizhoushan Fault Zone in the Shanxi...
H. Serdar; Ferry, Matthieu; Dikbaş, Aynur; Altunel, Erhan (2012). "Paleoseismology of the North Anatolian Fault at Güzelköy (Ganos segment, Turkey): Size...
study of earthquakes and propagation of elastic waves through a planet Paleoseismology – The study of earthquakes that happened in the past Stratigraphy –...
Sandro D'Amati 1960 Il prosciugamento del Fucino, Avezzano October 1996 Paleoseismology related to deformed archaeological remains in the Fucino plain Implications...
segment is characterized by a series of north-dipping thrust faults. Paleoseismology in the region indicate large earthquakes of up to Mw 7.5 have occurred...
Jeffrey S. Perez; Hiroyuki Tsutsumi (2017). "Tectonic geomorphology and paleoseismology of the Surigao segment of the Philippine fault in northeastern Mindanao...
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