palaeoseismology review of the state of the art abstract historical seismicity provides only a partial indication of the seismotectonic character i e earthquake potential of a given region even in italy where a relatively long historical record exists available catalogues are generally unsatisfactory for this purpose fortunately strong earthquakes often leave geological evidence herein referred to as seismites that are mainly related to surface faulting folding or other deformation and occasionally to secondary ground failures e g landslides liquefaction features etc these features may be preserved and therefore palaeoseismological studies may detect and date them thereby permitting extension of knowledge beyond the local historical threshold up to 2000 years in the most fortunate cases this paper provides a summary of criteria which may aid in the identification of areas suitable for palaeo earthquake investigation historical seismicity and the presence of well developed tectonic geomorphic features are recognized as the most reliable criteria for identifying active faulting however lack of these characteristics cannot be considered conclusive evidence for lack of activity palaeoseismological techniques aim at identifying not only the obvious effects of surface faulting such as offset of young geologic units but also the more subtle tectonic or non tectonic features including liquefaction structures gravity features and coseismic uplift and or subsidence finally we discuss some questions that pertain to palaeoseismicity evaluation techniques among these are the reliability of the quaternary dating techniques the evaluation of the seismic energy released minimum magnitude and principally the unequivocal identification of a seismic origin for the considered geological structures

formation deformation and chertification of systematic clastic dykes in a differentially lithified carbonate multilayer sw iberia algarve basin lower jurassic this work presents original field evidence for tectonically controlled calciclastic dyke injection and subsequent chertification in shelf carbonates during rifting in the south westernmost part of the eurasian continent in the early pliensbachian it is shown by the detailed description of tectonic structures faults and joints stratigraphic discontinuities and by the distribution orientation and morphology of the injected dykes of calciclastic sands into fine grained carbonates that these soft sediment deformation structures were tectonically controlled extensional tectonics developed vertical tensile joints in semi lithified fine grained limestones permitting upward and downward injection of loose calciclastic sands forming clastic dykes the frequency of injection structures along strata was constrained by the thickness of the layer into which the injection was occurring which implies an elastic behaviour however the curvi planar shapes of the dykes and drop like nodules attests the ductile behaviour of the fractured limestones indicating transition from elastic to ductile response to deformation with time the multi layered system consists of just two lithotypes the two display different mechanical behaviours which evolved in time to more brittle conditions as lithification progressed as shown by the cataclastic faulting and jointing of the previously formed soft sediment deformation structures and strata under an analogous stress regime the injection dykes were disrupted by a short lived episode of compression after which tectonic extension resumed still in the lower pliensbachian sometime before the deposition of the upper pliensbachian a pervasive selective event of chertification occurred only the calciclastic sandy layers dykes and nodules were substituted by silica thus enhancing the mechanical contrast between the primary sedimentary structures and the soft sediment deformation structures all the described events occurred during a time interval of approximately 2 myr as constrained by ammonoid stratigraphy

events of sediment deformation and mass failure in upper cretaceous estuarine deposits cameta basin northern brazil as evidence for seismic activity abstract event beds recording late cretaceous synsedimentary seismicity occur in the cameta subbasin northern brazil the deposits consist of nearly 40 m of kaolinized fluvio estuarine deposits the lower fluvial tidal influenced complex which carries a high quality commercial kaolin includes genetically related channel fill floodplain crevasse splay and mud plug deposits the upper estuarine deposits contain trace fossils indicating marine influenced settings thalassinoides ophiomorpha teichichnus diplocraterion skolithos cylindrichnus rhizocorallium and planolites and include heterolithic sandy and bioturbated units interpreted as tidal flat storm overwash and low energy estuarine bay deposits respectively in the upper portion of the estuarine lithosomes four successive events events 1 4 of synsedimentary brittle and ductile deformation and large scale sediment failure anomalous in estuarine settings were recognized and attributed to earthquakes event 1 is recorded by heterolithic and bioturbated deposits with vertical to subvertical fractures that disappear into underlying undeformed deposits event 2 is recorded by thin sharply bounded sections composed of heterolithic mudstone and very fine grained sandstone that shows convolute folds and pillow like structures event 3 is documented by intraformational conglomerate and breccia and minor mudstones and sandstones with abundant trace fossils skolithos and thalassinoides event 4 is characterized by vertical to subvertical fractures and faults with homogenized sandstone intrusions along their planes mostly developed in the upper parts of the deposits corresponding to event 3 a detailed analysis of facies relationships combined with consistent orientations of brittle deformation structures and the regional tectonics of the cameta subbasin suggests earthquakes as the triggering mechanism for sediment deformation and large scale mass failure

sedimentary structures tentatively attributed to seismic events abstract fingerprints of earthquakes in the sedimentary record are as yet difficult to identify this is particularly true for failure phenomena dewatering slumping fault graded and turbidite structures that could have been triggered also by other kinds of energy input other promising candidates are strange biostratinomic features convex down stacking of shells current orientation in wave ripple accumulations as well as certain preservational features found in geosynclinal pelagic limestones but in every case verification of the seismic origin is still needed

clastic dykes in east belgium evidence for upper pleistocene strong earthquakes west of the lower rhine rift segment fissures of seismic origin are described from terrace deposits of the meuse river in the liege maastricht area west of the lower rhine roer rift segment though associated with hydroplastic deformation of the sediments they are not injection structures they are interpreted as tension cracks resulting from local deformation of susceptible layers inferred to be due to cyclic loading by seismic waves the fissures have been tilled afterwards from above by vertically laminated sands and silts the distribution of the fissured areas and the special features of some ground cracks suggest that they could be linked to more than one earthquake between 650 and l00 ka bp by comparison with liquefaction phenomena described in relation to actual earthquakes the failure of the meuse terrace deposits could have been produced by seismic events of m l 6 5

earthquake magnitude frequency epicentral distance and soft sediment deformation in sedimentary basins abstract empirical equations available for earthquake magnitude frequency and the maximum epicentral distance of liquefied sites versus magnitude are combined with the characteristic instantaneous sediment deposition rate at a station in a sedimentary basin to form a model for the local stratigraphic frequency of earthquake induced soft sediment deformation structures both the style of sedimentation and the characteristics of the earthquake source combine to determine the pattern of incidence of the structures in a basin the model is probably most directly applicable to the geodynamic interpretation of fluvial basins in which substantial volumes of readily liquefied sands accumulate at high local short term rates

earthquake induced sediment failures on a 0 25 slope klamath river delta california on november 8 1980 a major earthquake magnitude 6 5 to 7 2 occurred 60 km off the coast of northern california a survey of the area using high resolution seismic reflection and side scan sonar equipment revealed the presence of extensive sediment failure and flows in a zone about 1 km wide and 20 km long that trends parallel to the shelf on the very gently sloping c and a prominent 1 to 2 m high seaward facing toe scarp on the outer margin of the terrace this toe scarp is sinuous appears to be nearly continuous for a distance of 20 km and closely parallels the 60 m isobath evidence indicates that the toe scarp is the terminus of lateral spreads and lobes of sediment flows side scan sonar records show evidence of gas vents and small 10 3 0 5 m high pressure ridges formed seaward of and parallel to the sediment flow scarp indicators of liquefaction sand boils and collapse craters are present on the sediment flow terrace extensive sediment failure occurred on a sea floor slope of less than 0 25 and we can unequivocally pinpoint the cause as an earthquake of known location magnitude and time

abraded sand volcanoes as a tool for recognizing paleo earthquakes with examples from the cisuralian talchir formation near angul orissa eastern india abstract one of the bedding planes of a sandstone unit belonging to the cisuralian talchir formation is well exposed along the nandir jhor river in eastern india it shows a few dozens of circular structures commonly with diameters of a few decimetres a concentration is found in an area of some 50 m 2 where 12 well developed specimens occur the structures are interpreted as abraded sand volcanoes which interpretation is supported by the occurrence on the same bedding plane of a sand volcano with a diameter of over a meter the concentrated structures thus represent a sand volcano field a phenomenon that has not been recognized earlier in the pre holocene geological record but that in recent times seems always to be related to an earthquake the structures described here might therefore help to recognize earthquakes that occurred in the geological past

seismically induced soft sediment deformation structures in an active seismogenic setting the plio pleistocene karewa deposits kashmir basin nw himalaya abstract recent uplift in the nw himalaya has exposed more than 1000 m of the plio pleistocene so called karewa deposits in kashmir these deposits mostly consist of horizontal stratified sand silt clay conglomerates and lignite beds the sedimentary succession belongs to the kashmir basin that is located in a seismically active zone the area was previously affected by large earthquakes the observed soft sediment deformation structures ssds are predominantly developed in the sand silt and clay beds and include load and water escape structures intrusive sedimentary bodies convolute bedding disturbed laminites and slump structures deformation mechanism and driving forces of the ssds were seismic shock waves sediment loading and storm events as driver for the ssds are less likely and the proximity of the ssds to faults underlines the seismic origin of these structures syn and post depositional faults and deformation bands developed in the karewa deposits support the interpretation of neotectonic activity and point to an earthquake of magnitude 5 5 that struck the kashmir basin in the plio pleistocene

mechanical development of vein structures due to the passage of earthquake waves through poorly consolidated sediments abstract vein structures are typically the earliest expression of brittle deformation within sediments these mud filled veins which characteristically occur regularly spaced within bed parallel arrays form in sediments that possess a strong interlocking particle framework downslope creep has been proposed to explain the origins of vein structures however a recent suggestion that they are generated by the passage of earthquake shear waves through sediments explains aspects of their morphology and their dominant occurrence at active convergent margins their coexistence with less disruptive ghost veins in peru margin sediments and their almost normal attitude to bedding however suggests that vein structures were formed by processes more complex than downslope creep or seismically induced shearing alone experimental earthquake simulation was undertaken by laterally shaking a box containing crushed diatomite fractures were induced almost normal to the horizontal shaking direction and to a lesser extent as antithetic riedel shears both of which closely resembled vein structures the fracturing process during shaking may be viewed as a progressive fragmentation of the diatomite in which new fractures form half way between pre existing ones thus fracture spacings are progressively halved shear zones oriented at a low angle to the shaking direction were also generated combining with the high angle fractures to form structures very similar to those observed in peru margin sediments when shaken fines added to the diatomite segregated into planar zones that resembled ghost veins half way between fractures the alternating pattern of fractures and fines indicated that a standing pressure wave had been created within the box during shaking the fractures were created by alternating compression and extension at the antinodes while the fines concentrated in zones of minimum grain movement around the nodal planes this suggests that vein structures are initiated by the combined action of shear and pressure waves within a sediment the strain waves may be seismic in origin or may also form in downslope movement system

geometry and origin of large scale deformation structures in some ancient wind blown sand deposits large scale deformational features that disrupt the cross bedded strata of some ancient wind blown dune sand deposits jurassic aztec and navajo sandstones u s a can betraced laterally for at least tens of metres information from four exposures leads to an idealized deformation style characterized by 1 a head portion marked by collapse features 2 a middle portion marked by a thrust ramp or a large recumbent fold and 3 a toe portion marked by a planar shear zone with small recumbent folds drag folds and possibly small horizontal shear faults an hypothesis involving earthquake induced liquefaction and collapse of the dunes is proposed sands liquefied during earthquakes cannot support an unequal surface load resulting in the collapse of surface dunes above the liquefied substrate compensatory lateral squeezing of liquefied sand and buried strata produces the shear zone in the toe portion engineering studies suggest that buried strata underlying interdunal lows where over burden stress is least will be most susceptible to liquefaction other considerations suggest that it will be the steeper lee sides of advancing surface dunes that collapse squeezing liquefied sand forward or downwind i e away from the lee slope of surface dunes if the liquefied condition persists load structures can be formed when unliquefied layers founder into the liquefied substrate

characterization of various types of deformation and their corresponding deviatoric stress tensors using microfault analysis abstract considering an ideally prefractured material based on mohr s representation and bott s model we define the geometry and the peculiarities of the different theoretical fault domains which are likely to be reactivated under different tectonic regimes the theoretical striations associated with the different types of deformation are also calculated the compressive strike slip extensive strike slip radial extensive and constrictive types of deformation are specified in the second part of this paper using etchecopar s computer aided method a quantitative structural analysis of various types of superficial deformation has been carried out in different study areas southern france greece spain tunisia and nigeria the geometry of the microfault domains as well as the nature of the associated tensors are determined for each type of regional deformation the problem of the spatial homogeneity of the tensors deduced by the microtectonic analysis within the framework of a particular tectonic phase is also discussed

earthquake induced structures in young sediments abstract soft sediment deformational structures have been identified in several plio quaternary horizons near burdur in southwest turkey these horizons satisfy criteria for correlating such structures with seismic events and it is proposed that the structures were formed by earthquake induced liquefaction the deformational structures are thus interpreted to represent seismic events which occurred up to 2 3 ma ago

syndepositional tectonics recorded by soft sediment deformation and liquefaction structures continental lower permian sediments southern alps northern italy stratigraphic significance abstract the lower permian succession of the central southern alps lombardy northern italy was deposited in fault controlled continental basins probably related to transtensional tectonics we focussed our study on the stratigraphic record of the lower permian orobic basin which consists of a 1000 m thick succession of prevailing continental clastics with intercalations of ignimbritic flows and tuffs pizzo del diavolo formation pdv resting on the underlying prevailing pyroclastic flows of the cabianca volcanite the pdv consists of a lower part composed of conglomerates passing laterally to sandstones and distally to silt and shales a middle part pelitic with carbonates and an upper part alternating sandstone silt and volcanic flows syndepositional tectonics during the deposition of the pdv is recorded by facies distribution thickness changes and by the presence of deformation and liquefaction structures interpreted as seismites deformation is recorded by both ductile structures ball and pillow plastic intrusion disturbed lamination convolute stratification and slumps and brittle structures sand dykes and autoclastic breccias both the sedimentological features and the geodynamic setting of the depositional basin confidently support the interpretation of the described deformation features as related to seismic shocks the most significant seismically induced deformation is represented by a slumped horizon about 4 m thick on average which can be followed laterally for more than 5 km the slumped bed consists of playa lake deposits alternating pelites and microbial carbonates associated with mud cracks and vertebrate tracks the lateral continuity and the evidence of deposition on a very low angle surface along with the deformation liquefaction of the sediments suggest that the slump was triggered by a high magnitude earthquake the stratigraphic distribution of the seismites allows us to identify time intervals of intense seismic activity which correspond to rapid and basin wide changes in the stratigraphical architecture of the depositional basin and or to the reprise of the volcanic activity the nature of the structures and their distribution suggest that the magnitude of the earthquakes responsible for the observed structures was likely higher than 5 in order to produce sediment liquefaction and probably reached intensity as high as 7 or more the basin architecture suggests that the foci of these earthquakes were located close to the fault controlled borders of the basin or within the basin itself

seismites in the fluviatile bima sandstones identification of paleoseisms and discussion of their magnitudes in a cretaceous synsedimentary strike slip basin upper benue nigeria abstract the upper benue basin northeastern nigeria is interpreted as a complex strike slip basin which consists of a set of sub basins controlled by synsedimentary n60 c e trending strike slip faults which were active during early cretaceous times the oblique planar cross beds made of the medium to fine grained sandstones of the upper member of the bima sandstone formation are affected by various soft sediment i e early diagenetic but soft sediment deformational structures these are present not only close to the synsedimentary faults but also on a larger regional scale three main types of structures undulated and recumbent folded cross bedded lamination dislocated convolutions and concordant microbreccias discordant fluidised intrusions are described these are related to processes of sediment deformation favored by sand hydroplasticity liquefaction and fluidization the local organization of these soft sediment intrastratal deformational structures their spatial distribution with respect to synsedimentary faults and their independance with respect to marginal paleoslopes suggest that they cannot be explained by slumping or current drag all the deformations are related to pore water expulsion and it is proposed that the required sand reorganization was triggered by seismic waves the spatial and chronologic distribution and intensity of the various types of deformation structures suggest that they were produced around different epicenters repeated by earthquakes of varying magnitudes associated with the synsedimentary strike slip tectonics

controls on space time distribution of soft sediment deformation structures applying palaeomagnetic dating to approach the apparent recurrence period of paleoseisms at the concud fault eastern spain abstract this work describes soft sediment deformation structures clastic dykes load structures diapirs slumps nodulizations or mudcracks identified in three sections concud ramblillas and masada cociero in the iberian range spain these sections were logged from boreholes and outcrops in upper pliocene lower pleistocene deposits of the teruel concud residual basin close to de concud normal fault timing of the succession and hence of seismic and non seismic ssdss covering a time span between 3 6 and 1 9 ma has been constrained from previous biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic information then substantially refined from a new magnetostratigraphic study at masada cociero profile non seismic ssdss are relatively well correlated between sections while seismic ones are poorly correlated except for several clusters of structures between 29 and 35 seismic deformed levels have been computed for the overall stratigraphic succession factors controlling the lateral and vertical distribution of ssdss are their seismic or non seismic origin the distance to the seismogenic source concud fault the sedimentary facies involved in deformation and the observation conditions borehole core vs natural outcrop in the overall stratigraphic section seismites show an apparent recurrence period of 56 to 108 ka clustering of seismic ssdss levels within a 91 ka long interval records a period of high paleoseismic activity with an apparent recurrence time of 4 8 to 6 1 ka associated with increasing sedimentation rate and fault activity such activity pattern of the concud fault for the late pliocene early pliocene with alternating periods of faster and slower slip is similar to that for the most recent quaternary last ca 74 ka bp concerning the research methods time occurrence patterns recognized for peaks of paleoseismic activity from ssdss in boreholes are similar to those inferred from primary evidence in trenches consequently apparent recurrence periods calculated from ssds inventories collected in borehole logs close to seismogenic faults are comparable to actual recurrence times of large paleoearthquakes

seismic characteristics and identification of negative flower structures positive flower structures and positive structural inversion negative and positive flower structures and positive inverted structures imply specific modes of formation and their distinctive characteristics make them important criteria for the identification of certain structural styles a negative flower structure from the andaman sea consists of a shallow synform bounded by upward spreading strands of a wrench fault that have mostly normal separations paralleling monoclines and oblique en echelon normal faults flank the divergent wrench fault a positive flower structure from the ardmore basin oklahoma consists of a shallow antiform displaced by the upward diverging strands of a wrench fault that have mostly reverse separations en echelon folds are present on either side of this convergent wrench fault flower structures may resemble extensional or contractional fault blocks on individual seismic profiles flower structures are identified by their unique internal fault and fold architecture by their association with a straight and throughgoing zone of deformation and by their lack of a consistent sense of separation or regional upthrown side positive structural inversion at the rambutan oil field south sumatra basin has formed a shallow anticlinorium and has partly uplifted the underlying graben deeper fault segments bounding the graben have retained their normal fault profiles but at shallow levels some of these faults have reverse separations similar changes of separation with depth may be produced by strike slip but sets of faults with listric profiles and nearby blocklike trend patterns identify the inversion as a dip slip event where correlation of reflections is uncertain or deep control is unobtainable positive inverted structures may also resemble contrational fault blocks detached normal fault assemblages and certain negative inverted structures

earthquakes and deformational structures seismites in holocene sediments from the himalayan andaman arc india soft sediment deformational structures from the himalayan arc caused by episodic earthquake recurrences during the holocene recent are produced by the ongoing tectonic processes these small scale subtle structures occur along some major thrusts in the garhwal himalaya and vary from normal faults in the lower zone to compressional structures in the middle zone along the main central thrust in the tons valley the latter includes isoclinal angular kink and disharmonic folds with discrete displacements along their axial surfaces thrusts with decollement listric and overstep thrusts in duplex style and load slumping the upper zone is marked by very low angle thrusts with left lateral displacement and associated displacement shears d riedel shears r and thrust shears p as well as small scale sporadic kinks three zones reveal changing tectonic character from gravity tectonics in the lower zone to compression in both the middle and upper zones with the maximum principal stress 1 oriented n60 to n110 respectively along the tons thrust post depositional structures include drag along normal fault zone characterized by d r and p shears and conjugate fractures that provide localized orientation of stresses 1 at 75 n60 2 at 12 n280 and 3 at 12 n290 earthquake induced liquefaction and subtle variations in physiomechanical properties of soft sediments have primarily controlled the deformational pattern due to localized tectonic stresses ground and sediment deformations during two earthquakes in the himalayan andaman arc provide additional support for the seismogenic origin of such structures preserved in loose or consolidated sediments

soft sediment deformation associated with the east patna fault south of the ganga river northern india influence of the himalayan tectonics on the southern ganga plain abstract the geomorphic tectonic and seismic aspects of the ganga plain have been studied by several workers in the recent decades however the northern part of this tectonically active plain has been the prime focus in most of the studies the region to the south of the ganga river requires necessary attention especially regarding the seismic activities the region lying immediately south of the outer himalayas i e the ganga plain responds to the stress regime of the himalayan frontal thrust zone by movement along the existing basement faults extending from the indian peninsula and creating new surface faults within the sediment cover as well as a result several earthquakes have been recorded along these basement faults such as the great earthquakes of 1934 and 1988 associated with the east patna fault large zones of ground failure and liquefaction in north bihar close to the himalayan front have been recorded associated with these earthquakes the present study reports the soft sediment deformation structures from the south bihar associated with the prehistoric earthquakes near the east patna fault for the first time the seismites have been observed in the riverine sand bed of the dardha river close to the east patna fault several types of liquefaction induced deformation structures such as pillar and pocket structure thixotropic wedge liquefaction cusps and other water escape structures have been identified the location of the observed seismites within the deformed zone of the east patna fault clearly indicates their formation due to activities along this fault however the distance of the liquefaction site from the recorded epicenters suggests its dissociation with the recorded earthquakes so far and hence possibly relates to any prehistoric seismic event the occurrence of the earthquakes of a magnitude capable of forming liquefaction structure in the southern ganga plain indicates the transfer of stress regime far from the himalayan front into the peninsular region through these basement faults northward extension of the east patna fault coincides with the region of the himalayan front which corresponds to a less slip potential therefore an association of frequent earthquakes in this region indicates strain release along the east patna fault

earthquake induced soft sediment deformation structures in upper jurassic open marine microbialites neuquen basin argentina penecontemporaneous decimetre scale soft sediment deformation structures are reported from the basal part of the upper jurassic lower cretaceous vaca muerta formation in the malargue las lenas area of the back arc neuquen basin mendoza province central andes the deformed interval amarillas bed is only 0 3 to 0 9 m thick but occurs in a wide area larger than 1500 km2 its age determined by ammonite biostratigraphy is early tithonian the soft sediment deformation structures were generated in finely laminated partially consolidated organicrich carbonate microbialites that were deposited in open marine poorly oxygenated settings apparently devoid of any significant slope those structures include boudins of different sizes and complexity a variety of folds normal listric dm scale faults sub horizontal detachment surfaces and other features which are part of several larger scale complex slump structures deformation was dominantly plastic but near to the ductile brittle field transition on the basis of the observed soft deformation structures their geographic distribution their lateral homogeneity and the geodynamic framework of the basin in which it was generated the amarillas bed can be tentatively attributed to a large intermediate depth earthquake that occurred within the plate that subducted beneath the andean continental margin and the neuquen back arc basin

facies architecture variations and seismogenic structures in the carboniferous permian saar nahe basin sw germany evidence for extension related transfer fault activity abstract sedimentary and volcanic strata in the late orogenic intermontane saar nahe basin preserve a record of sedimentary responses to motion on contemporaneously active faults studies of such deposits can constrain both concepts for lateral and vertical sedimentary facies development and geometric and kinematic models of intrabasinal extension during carboniferous permian syn rift development the saar nahe basin underwent a marked intrabasinal segmentation generated by the offsets of longitudinal normal faults and dextral oblique strike slip faults which were developed perpendicular to the sw ne basin elongation the latter are interpreted as transtensional transfer faults which compartmentalized the basin into segments of differing structural style bed thickness and facies development the fault zones themselves bound an assemblage of variously sized uplifted and downthrown blocks showing variable magnitudes and senses of displacement their activities are recorded by the contrasting depositional histories of tephrostratigraphically constrained sedimentary units occupying footwall and hanging wall block positions during basin filling the influence of faults on the depositional system is seen in their effect as topographic barriers thus restricting free dispersal and mixing of sediment particular sedimentary facies such as coals and biogenic limestones are confined to the immediate vicinity of the fault zones indicating the isolation of sediment starved areas near downthrown hanging walls other fault generated depressions acted as depositional traps favouring considerable accumulations of basaltic lavas volcaniclastic mass flows and fluvial channel deposits in contrast uplifted footwalls are characterized by the formation of unconformities and pedogenic features the abundance of syn tectonic deformation structures such as sediment filled fissures intraformational breccias series of micro faults clastic dykes and other water escape features within syn rift strata and their distinct spatial linkage to fault zones implies considerable seismically triggered processes associated with faulting the combined occurrence of abrupt variations in facies architecture across faults and seismotectonic structures suggests that the basin subsidence history involved a series of events rather than gradual change

sediment deformation structures and the palaeotectonic analysis of sedimentary basins with a case study from the carboniferous of northern england

seismically induced soft sediment deformation structures in the palaeogene deposits of the liaodong bay depression in the bohai bay basin and their spatial stratigraphic distribution abstract soft sediment deformation structures ssds have been identified from well cores in the palaeogene deposits of the liaodong bay depression in the bohai bay basin china these deposits formed as interbedded sand and mud at a delta front or on the slope toe of the prodelta according to criteria proposed by previous research we established that these ssds were induced by earthquakes and that they can be divided into two groups ductile deformation structures plastic intrusions ball and pillow structures flame structures boudinage structures irregular convolute stratifications and synsedimentary faults and folds and brittle deformation structures sand dykes and autoclastic breccias based on their level of deformation size and complexity the ssds were divided into three groups from weak to strong to reflect the intensity of palaeo earthquakes with consideration of the palaeo sedimentary environment we proposed a model to account for the production and preservation of these ssds according to the classification adopted in this study and the spatial stratigraphic distribution of the ssds the tectonic activities of the tan lu faults in the bohai bay basin were investigated the a and b oilfields assumed names are located in the tectonically active zones of the west and east branches of these faults respectively the extension tectonic activities in the a oilfield region exhibit a sharply decreasing trend from e2s3 to e2s1 and increase again in e3d2 whereas the strike slip tectonic activities in the b oilfield region exhibit an increasing trend from e2s3 to e2s1 and finally reach a maximum to e3d3 the results of this study show that the method of analysis of the spatial stratigraphic distribution of ssds is suitable for determining the evolution of tectonic activity and thus it can provide a new perspective for basin analysis

fault rocks of the kaltungo lineament ne nigeria and their relationship with benue trough tectonics in the upper part of the benue trough of nigeria several major ne sw lineaments are essential components in the structure of both the pan african basement and the cretaceous sediments in order to estimate their influence on the geodynamics of the trough detailed structural analyses have been carried out on the fault rocks of one of them the kaltungo lineament it cross cuts a basement inlier emerging from lower to middle cretaceous sediments this inlier of granitic rocks exhibits a wide fault zone trending n50e which displays an anastomosing network of both ductile and brittle shear zones the former are expressed by mylonitic bands generated by a pan african dextral wrenching on a regional scale the latter are represented by fault rocks of the cataclasite series related to a sinistral wrenching which occurred during the mesozoic the fault zone extends into the cover where it is seen as a thin crush zone characterized by conjugate strike slip and reverse faults from a computer dynamic analysis of microfaults an earlier compression n s shortening axis was found only within the basement whereas a second one n140e shortening axis appears in both sediments and basement the first palaeostress field corresponds to cataclasite genesis which preceded or coincided with the formation of pull apart basins along the sinistral kaltungo wrench fault which initiated the upper benue trough during the lower cretaceous sedimentary basins and uplifted zones kaltungo inlier were formed on releasing and restraining oversteps of such a fault the above statement may be extended to other similar faults at the scale of the entire trough the second palaeostress field corresponds to the late cretaceous compression responsible for the large scale folding in the sediments and the formation of fault breccia along the sinistral kaltungo lineament

seismogenic deformation structures in microbialites and mudstones silurian lockport dolomite northwestern ohio u s a syndepositional deformation structures are present at two different stratigraphic levels in the silurian lockport dolomite at a quarry in maumee ohio such structures are absent in this unit at twelve other quarries in northwestern ohio the structures at maumee present within stromatolites thrombolites and variably bedded mudstones include convolute layers homogenization of bedding and breccia clasts clasts of stromatolites boudinage structures normal reverse and thrust faults and discordant and concordant breccias the distribution of deformation structures within beds suggests substantial control from substrate rheology possibly resulting from differences in degrees of lithification and from variations in water content the extensive variety of syndepositional deformation structures juxtaposed evidence for nearly synchronous compression and dilation proximity 4 5 km of the structures to the largest fault in northwestern ohio the bowling green fault and the restricted geographic distribution of the deformation structures suggest seismic shaking as a probable mode of genesis similarities between features produced by seismogenic deformation of siliciclastic sediments and deformation features in the lockport dolomite provide additional evidence that the latter features are seismogenic it is postulated that two earthquakes one with a magnitude 5 caused the formation of the syndepositional deformation structures present in the youngest facies in the lockport dolomite at maumee quarry the bowling green fault 4 5 km west of maumee was a growth fault during formation of the lockport dolomite and is considered to have been the source of earthquakes that created the syndepositonal deformation structures in this unit at maumee quarry evidence from the lockport dolomite in northwestern ohio suggests that seismogenic deformation structures created by two earthquakes along the bowling green fault with magnitudes of 5 did not form in this unit over large areas i e all of northwestern ohio this evidence challenges the suggestion that syndepositional seismogenic deformation structures are always formed over a large area

early cretaceous slumps and turbidites with peculiar soft sediment deformation structures on lingshan island qingdao china indicating a tensional tectonic regime abstract some sections on lingshan island in the yellow sea close to the city of qingdao show the early cretaceous lingshandao formation the exposed succession consists mainly of turbidites some of which show uncommon soft sediment deformation structures and contains well developed large scale slumps that consist of sets of turbidites the sediments were deposited as part of lobes of turbidites and hyperpycnites deposits of flood generated sediment laden bottom currents derived from an estuary in a deep sea environment that formed part of an inter arc basin with a tensional tectonic regime some of the slumps have dimensions of the order of metres to tens of metres they consist of the turbidites that build most of the succession the soft sediment deformation structures in the turbidites represent a wide variety of types most of which are common in subaqueous environments with a high accumulation rate the most interesting are however structures that indicate active tectonic tension these structures are boudins which are present with two subtypes the most common are pinch and swell structures sometimes leading to isolated parts of the affected sandy layer enveloped by shales of the under and overlying shale layers the second type consists of domino boudins which have as far as we are aware of not earlier been described from sediments that were still unlithified during their formation the presence of the boudins and associated structures which indicate synsedimentary stretching related to an extensional tectonic setting form an additional argument in the long lasting debate about the question of whether a compressional or an extensional tectonic regime dominated in the area during the early cretaceous

soft sediment deformation structures in the mio pliocene misaki formation within alternating deep sea clays and volcanic ashes miura peninsula japan abstract the mio pliocene misaki formation of the miura group miura peninsula japan shows an extremely wide variety of soft sediment deformation structures the most common deformation structures are load casts and associated flame structures dish and pillar structures synsedimentary faults multilobated convolutions chaotic deformation structures sedimentary veins and dykes and large scale slides and slump scars the formation which accumulated in a deep sea environment 2000 3000 m is well exposed in and around jogashima it consists of relative thin commonly dm scale alternations of deep marine fine grained sediments and volcanic ejecta that are as a rule coarse grained since the formation represents fore arc deposits of the izu bonin and the honsu arc collision zone it might be expected that tectonic activity also played a role as a trigger of the soft sediment deformation structures that abound in these sediments this is indicated indeed by the abundance of soft sediment deformations over large lateral distances that occur in numerous beds that are sandwiched between undeformed beds on the basis of their characteristics and the geological context these layers can be explained satisfactorily only by assuming deformation triggered by seismicity which must be related to the izu bonin and honsu arc collision the layers thus form deep marine seismites

sedimentary signatures of the entrance of coarse grained volcaniclastic flows into the sea the example of the breccia units of the las palmas detritic formation mio pliocene gran canaria eastern atlantic spain abstract the transformations of volcaniclastic gravity flows entering the sea remain poorly understood they are recorded by sedimentary signatures in the volcaniclastic sedimentation of the mio pliocene las palmas detritic formation lpdf of the volcanic island of gran canaria these gravity flows are contemporaneous with an erosive period on the island succeeding the emplacement of the fataga volcanic group and the beginning of the evolution of the roque nublo stratovolcano the sedimentary section that crops out at the mouth of a paleobarranco at las cuevas del guincho comprises subtidal calcareous and clastic sediments affected by wave and storm action units 1 and 3 beach gravels unit 4 volcaniclastic deposits represented by reworked phonolitic pyroclastic deposits unit 1 breccia deposits that contain juvenile and phonolitic gravels and blocks mainly incorporated at the shoreline unit 2 and a debris avalanche deposit at the top unit 5 the breccia deposits display a reversely graded base which disappears distally as a result of seawater incorporation and liquidization of the volcaniclastic mass and mixing with marine sediment this breccia unit is interpreted as having been emplaced by a granular mass flow after transformation of a block and ash flow deposit that entered the sea in the debris avalanche deposits thermal quenching of juvenile basaltic lava clasts and large inclined clastic intrusions of underlying marine sediments suggest that the debris avalanche entered the sea rapid subaqueous emplacement of the granular mass flow and of the debris avalanche deformed the sedimentary substratum water incorporation reduced the influence of the volcaniclastic flows on the substratum ams data confirm the effect of water ingestion and correlative loss of cohesion and allow also reconstruction of paleoflow directions that were normal to the paleoshoreline of the northern coast of gran canaria all these volcaniclastic gravity flow deposits and their textural characteristics are particularly useful in the reconstruction of processes that occur at the subaerial submarine transition and for the location of ancient shorelines

tsunami backwash deposits with chicxulub impact ejecta and dinosaur remains from the cretaceous palaeogene boundary in the la popa basin mexico the la popa basin in north eastern mexico features outstanding continuous three dimensional exposures of the cretaceous palaeogene boundary event deposit in shallow shelf environments pierced by salt stocks in the area to the south east of the el papalote diapir the cretaceous palaeogene deposit consists of two superimposed sedimentary units and erosively overlies upper maastrichtian sand siltstones with soft sediment deformation and liquefaction structures the basal unit 1 is an up to 8 m thick chaotic carbonate rich bed that discontinuously fills incised gutters and channels besides abundant silicic and carbonate ejecta spherules from the chicxulub impact unit 1 includes large sandstone boulders and abundant shallow water debris for example mud clasts algae bivalve shells gastropod shells and vertebrate remains unit 1 is conformably overlain by unit 2 distal to the diapir unit 2 consists of a centimetre to decimetre thick conglomeratic coarse bioclast and spherule bearing sandstone bed closer to the diapir unit 2 becomes a metre thick series of four to eight conglomeratic to fine grained graded sandstone beds rich in shell debris and ejecta spherules unit 2 is conformably overlain by structureless to parallel laminated sandstone beds that may mark the return to the pre event depositional regime the sedimentary characteristics of the cretaceous palaeogene deposit including its erosive base its sheet like geometry the presence of multiple graded beds evidence for upper flow regime conditions and the absence of bioturbation support an origin by a short term multiphase depositional event the occurrence of soft sediment deformation structures for example liquefaction below the cretaceous palaeogene deposit suggests that earthquakes were the first to occur at la popa then shelf collapse and strong backflow from the first tsunami waves may have triggered erosion and deposition by violent ejecta rich hyperconcentrated density flows unit 1 subsequently a series of concentrated density flows resulting from tsunami backwash surges may have deposited the multiple graded bedding structures of unit 2 the specific depositional sequence and the fe mg rich as well as si k rich composition of the ejecta spherules both provide a critical link to the well known deep marine cretaceous palaeogene boundary sites in the adjacent burgos basin in north eastern mexico moreover the pulse like input of chicxulub ejecta material at the base of the event deposit allows for correlation with other cretaceous palaeogene boundary sites in the gulf of mexico and the atlantic as well as in central and northern america the presence of diverse dinosaur and mosasur bones and teeth in the event deposit is the first observation of such remains together with chicxulub ejecta material these findings indicate that dinosaurs lived in the area during the latest maastrichtian and suggest that the tsunami waves not only eroded deltas and estuaries but the coastal plain as well

soft sediment deformation structures interpreted as seismites in middle late pleistocene aeolian deposits apulian foreland southern italy abstract soft sediment deformation structures in middle late pleistocene deposits of torre san gennaro brindisi southern italy have been analysed from a morphologic point of view the deformational structures are represented by deformed cross bedding and large injection structures they are restricted to aeolian sediments and the mechanism of deformation is related to liquefaction and or fluidization processes the liquefaction and or fluidization processes have been interpreted as seismic induced after consideration of all other possible trigger agents the discussion about the possible source areas of the palaeoseismic event was carried out through the analysis both of the general magnitude distance relations and the main structural features of the study zone in conclusion we consider the key criteria for trigger mechanism interpretation of soft sediment deformation structures in aeolian deposits and the actual feasibility of using aeolian sediments for the palaeoseismic studies

slow advance of the weathering front during deep supply limited saprolite formation in the tropical highlands of sri lanka abstract silicate weathering initiated by major mineralogical transformations at the base of ten meters of clay rich saprolite generates the exceptionally low weathering flux found in streams draining the crystalline rocks of the mountainous and humid tropical highlands of sri lanka this conclusion is reached from a thorough investigation of the mineralogical chemical and sr isotope compositions of samples within a regolith profile extending 10 m from surface soil through the weathering front in charnockite bedrock a high grade metamorphic rock corestones formed at the weathering front as well as from the chemical composition of the dissolved loads in nearby streams weatherable minerals and soluble elements are fully depleted at the top of the profile showing that the system is supply limited such that weathering fluxes are controlled directly by the supply of fresh minerals we determine the weathering rates using two independent means 1 in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides in surface soil and creek sediments in the close vicinity of the regolith combined with immobile element mass balance across the regolith and 2 river dissolved loads silicate weathering rates determined from both approaches range from 16 to 36 t km 2 y 1 corresponding to a weathering front advance rate of 6 14 mm ky 1 these rates agree across the 10 1 to 10 4 y time scales over which our rate metrics integrate suggesting that the weathering system operates at steady state within error these rates are furthermore compatible with those obtained by modeling the advance rate of the weathering front from chemical gradients and mineral dissolution rates the silicate weathering flux out of the weathering profile measured on small creeks amounts to 84 of the profile s export flux the remaining 16 is contributed by non silicate atmospheric derived input the silicate weathering flux as measured by dissolved loads in large catchments amounts to ca 50 of the total dissolved flux the remainder being contributed by dust rain and weathering of local marble bands spheroidal weathering is the key processes of converting the fresh bedrock into saprolite at the weathering front the mineralogical composition of weathering rinds shows that the sequence of mineral decomposition is pyroxene plagioclase biotite k feldspar observable biotite alteration does not appear to initiate spheroidal weathering within corestones therefore we infer that other processes than biotite oxidation like pyroxene oxidation clay formation from pyroxene and plagioclase decomposition the development of secondary porosity by plagioclase dissolution or even microbiologic processes at depth enable the coupling between slow advance of the weathering front and slow erosion at the surface the comparison to tectonically more active tropical landscapes lets us conclude that the combination of hard rock with tightly interlocked mineral grains and slow erosion in the absence of tectonically induced landscape rejuvenation lead to these exceptionally low weathering rates

long term earthquake clustering a 50 000 year paleoseismic record in the dead sea graben the temporal distribution of earthquakes in the dead sea graben is studied through a 50 000 year paleoseismic record recovered in laminated sediments of the late pleistocene lake lisan paleo dead sea the lisan represents more than 10 times the 4000 years of historical earthquake records it is the longest and most complete paleoseismic record along the dead sea transform and possibly the longest continuous record on earth it includes unique exposures of seismite beds earthquake induced structures associated with slip events on syndepositional faults the seismites are layers consisting of mixtures of fragmented and pulverized laminae the places where the seismites abut syndepositional faults are interpreted as evidence for their formation at the sediment water interface during slip events on these faults thicker sediment accumulation above the seismites in the downthrown blocks indicates that a seismite formed at the water sediment interface on both sides of the fault scarps modern analogs and the association with surface ruptures suggest that each seismite formed during a m l 5 5 earthquake the 230 th 234 u ages of a columnar section obtained by thermal ionization mass spectrometry give a mean recurrence time of 1600 years of m l 5 5 earthquakes in the dead sea graben the earthquakes cluster in 10 000 year periods separated by quiet periods of similar length this distribution implies that a long term behavior of the dead sea transform should be represented by a mean recurrence of at least 20 000 year record this observation has ramifications for seismic hazard assessment based on shorter records

late quaternary co seismic sedimentation in the sea of marmara s deep basins the deep northern part of the sea of marmara northwestern turkey is composed of several aligned actively subsiding basins which are the direct structural and morphological expression of the north anatolian fault s northern branch the last 20 kyr of their sedimentary fill lacustrine before 12 kyr bp have been investigated through giant piston coring onboard r v marion dufresne marmacore cruise 2001 and chirp subbottom profiler onboard r v atalante during marmarascarps cruise 2002 especially during the lacustrine stage the infilling of the deep basins tekirda central kumburgaz and cinarcic basins up to 1250 m depth was dominated by turbidites with coarse mixed siliciclastic and bioclastic basal part intercalated in hemipelagic type finegrained calcareous and slightly siliceous clays often especially in the thickest ones the turbidites show strong segregation and a sharp boundary between coarse part and suspendedload part in the central basin 8 m of a unique sedimentary event include a 5 to 8m thick homogenite well imaged on seismic profiles the latter is interpreted as related to a major possibly triggered tsunami effect as described in the eastern mediterranean by kastens and cita 1981 in the marine holocene upper part of the sedimentary fill repeated to and from structures affecting silt or fine sand are evidencing seiche like effects and thus earthquake triggering detailed correlations between two deep coring sites 1250 and 1200 m indicate more than 100 overthickening in the deepest one this implies specific processes of distribution of terrigenous input by dense hyperpycnal currents high kinetic energy seiche effect complex reflections on steep slopes the peculiar sedimentary infilling of the sea of marmara s central basin and by extrapolation of the whole set is tentatively interpreted as a direct consequence of the strong seismic activity the imprint of the latter is more obvious prior to the base of the holocene as environmental conditions favoured marginal accumulation especially on the southern shelf of large amounts of erosion products available for mass wasting

estimation of the paleoepicentral area from the spatial gradient of deformation in lacustrine seismites tierras blancas basin mexico abstract a new methodology is introduced to estimate the most probable epicentral area for a paleoearthquake interpreted from seismites within a quaternary basin seismites were described from various detailed stratigraphic logs within the tierras blancas basin tbb a pleistocene lacustrine area located in the central part of the trans mexican volcanic belt tmvb the lacustrine landscape evolution of tbb has been determined by the recent fault activity of the morelia acambay fault system mafs the tbb is bounded by active normal faults striking e w this fault activity has generated soft sediment deformation structures sand silt and gravel dikes pillows diapirs and decametric slumps disturbing the sedimentary infilling from these seismites and their stratigraphic spatial correlation five strong moderate paleoearthquakes e1 e5 have been established in the basin the spatial distribution of these seismites exhibits a gradient of perturbation defined by the intensity of deformation three different degrees of intensity deformation ddi are associated with the liquefacted grain size sediments i silt liquefaction ii silt and sand liquefaction and iii silt sand and gravel liquefaction this spatial gradient indicates an increase of the energy involved from the seismic activity related with the proximity of the source mapping the boundaries among these zones of deformation and interpolation of each ddi limit for paleoearthquake e4 was used to construct paleoseismic isolines of deformation as a potential indicator of the most probable paleoepicentral zone a 1 5 km 2 elongate zone oriented nnw sse is the potential paleoepicentral area associated with paleoearthquake e4 within the tbb

sedimentological evidence of pleistocene earthquakes in nw poland induced by glacio isostatic rebound abstract soft sediment deformation structures are abundantly present in two levels within warthanian eemian lacustrine sediments at siekierki near the polish german border the two event horizons show intense folding collapse sag and load structures indicative of liquidization and fluidization the structures must have been caused by sudden shocks most probably resulting from earthquakes that were induced by glacio isostatic rebound probably after the warthanian deglaciation such seismites have not been previously recognized in polish quaternary sediments they provide supporting evidence for glacio isostatic movements that were interpreted up till now based on drilling lithostratigraphic geophysical and geodetic data the recognition of seismites in nw poland may help recognize other deformed event horizons in pleistocene sediments as glacio isostatic or neotectonic seismites

sedimentary deformation features as evidence for paleoseismic events in the middle eocene in the dongying depression of the southern bohai bay basin eastern china cores from the middle eocene sediments of the dongying depression of the southern bohai bay basin in east china yield various kinds of sedimentary deformation structures they include microfolds l

soft sediment deformation structures interpreted as seismites in lacustrine sediments of the prebetic zone se spain and their potential use as indicators of earthquake magnitudes during the late miocene lacustrine formations of late miocene age in the prebetic area se spain show several types of deformational structures that are interpreted as seismites they are present in both marginal and deep lacustrine facies seismites formed in marginal lake environments comprise sand dikes pillows and intruded and fractured gravels in deep lacustrine facies the seismites are represented by pseudonodules mushroom like silts protruding into laminites mixed layers disturbed varved lamination and loop bedding the measured orientations of these structures are consistent with the orientations of the main faults limiting the basins showing that their origin is clearly related to the tectonic stress field that prevailed in the region during the late miocene the magnitudes of the earthquakes that deformed the sediments have been estimated after published data from both ancient and recent lake deposits accumulated in tectonic active regions elsewhere a rank of earthquake magnitudes with two end members i e the lowest magnitudes recorded by loop bedding in laminites and the highest magnitudes represented by intruded and fractured gravels is proposed