Refine
Language
- English (16)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (16)
Keywords
- TerraceM (5)
- Bay of Biscay (2)
- LiDAR (2)
- Marine terraces (2)
- digital bathymetric model (2)
- marine terrace (2)
- marine terraces (2)
- numerical modeling (2)
- submerged sequence (2)
- 2010 M8.8 maule (1)
The segmentation of major fault systems in subduction zones controls earthquake magnitude and location, but the causes for the existence of segment boundaries and the relationships between long-term deformation and the extent of earthquake rupture, are poorly understood. We compare permanent and seismic-cycle deformation patterns along the rupture zone of the 2010 Maule earthquake (M8.8), which ruptured 500 km of the Chile subduction margin. We analyzed the morphology of MIS-5 marine terraces using LiDAR topography and established their chronology and coeval origin with twelve luminescence ages, stratigraphy and geomorphic correlation, obtaining a virtually continuous distribution of uplift rates along the entire rupture zone. The mean uplift rate for these terraces is 0.5 m/ka. This value is exceeded in three areas, which have experienced rapid emergence of up to 1.6 m/ka; they are located at the northern, central, and southern sectors of the rupture zone, referred to as Topocalma, Carranza and Arauco, respectively. The three sectors correlate with boundaries of eight great earthquakes dating back to 1730. The Topocalma and Arauco sectors, located at the boundaries of the 2010 rupture, consist of broad zones of crustal warping with wavelengths of 60 and 90 km, respectively. These two regions coincide with the axes of oroclinal bending of the entire Andean margin and correlate with changes in curvature of the plate interface. Rapid uplift at Carranza, in turn, is of shorter wavelength and associated with footwall flexure of three crustal-scale normal faults. The uplift rate at Carranza is inversely correlated with plate coupling as well as with coseismic slip, suggesting permanent deformation may accumulate interseismically. We propose that the zones of upwarping at Arauco and Topocalma reflect changes in frictional properties of the megathrust resulting in barriers to the propagation of great earthquakes. Slip during the 1960 (M9.5) and 2010 events overlapped with the similar to 90-km-long zone of rapid uplift at Arauco; similarly, slip in 2010 and 1906 extended across the similar to 60-km-long section of the megathrust at Topocalma, but this area was completely breached by the 1730 (M similar to 9) event, which propagated southward until Carranza. Both Arauco and Topocalma show evidence of sustained rapid uplift since at least the middle Pleistocene. These two sectors might thus constitute discrete seismotectonic boundaries restraining most, but not all great earthquake ruptures. Based on our observations, such barriers might be breached during multi-segment super-cycle events. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The first step towards assessing hazards in seismically active regions involves mapping capable faults and estimating their recurrence times. While the mapping of active faults is commonly based on distinct geologic and geomorphic features evident at the surface, mapping blind seismogenic faults is complicated by the absence of on-fault diagnostic features. Here we investigated the Pichilemu Fault in coastal Chile, unknown until it generated a Mw 7.0 earthquake in 2010. The lack of evident surface faulting suggests activity along a partly-hidden blind fault. We used off-fault deformed marine terraces to estimate a fault-slip rate of 0.52 ± 0.04 m/ka, which, when integrated with satellite geodesy suggests a 2.12 ± 0.2 ka recurrence time for Mw~7.0 normal-faulting earthquakes. We propose that extension in the Pichilemu region is associated with stress changes during megathrust earthquakes and accommodated by sporadic slip during upper-plate earthquakes, which has implications for assessing the seismic potential of cryptic faults along convergent margins and elsewhere.
Tectonically active coasts are dynamic environments characterized by the presence of multiple marine terraces formed by the combined effects of wave erosion, tectonic uplift, and sea-level oscillations at glacialcycle timescales. Well-preserved erosional terraces from the last interglacial sea-level highstand are ideal marker horizons for reconstructing past sea-level positions and calculating vertical displacement rates. We carried out an almost continuous mapping of the last interglacial marine terrace along similar to 5000 km of the western coast of South America between 1 degrees N and 40 degrees S. We used quantitatively replicable approaches constrained by published terrace-age estimates to ultimately compare elevations and patterns of uplifted terraces with tectonic and climatic parameters in order to evaluate the controlling mechanisms for the formation and preservation of marine terraces and crustal deformation. Uncertainties were estimated on the basis of measurement errors and the distance from referencing points. Overall, our results indicate a median elevation of 30.1 m, which would imply a median uplift rate of 0.22 m kyr(-1) averaged over the past similar to 125 kyr. The patterns of terrace elevation and uplift rate display high-amplitude (similar to 100-200 m) and long-wavelength (similar to 10(2) km) structures at the Manta Peninsula (Ecuador), the San Juan de Marcona area (central Peru), and the Arauco Peninsula (south-central Chile). Medium-wavelength structures occur at the Mejillones Peninsula and Topocalma in Chile, while short-wavelength (< 10 km) features are for instance located near Los Vilos, Valparaiso, and Carranza, Chile. We interpret the long-wavelength deformation to be controlled by deep-seated processes at the plate interface such as the subduction of major bathymetric anomalies like the Nazca and Carnegie ridges. In contrast, short-wavelength deformation may be primarily controlled by sources in the upper plate such as crustal faulting, which, however, may also be associated with the subduction of topographically less pronounced bathymetric anomalies. Latitudinal differences in climate additionally control the formation and preservation of marine terraces. Based on our synopsis we propose that increasing wave height and tidal range result in enhanced erosion and morphologically well-defined marine terraces in south-central Chile. Our study emphasizes the importance of using systematic measurements and uniform, quantitative methodologies to characterize and correctly interpret marine terraces at regional scales, especially if they are used to unravel the tectonic and climatic forcing mechanisms of their formation. This database is an integral part of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS), published online at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4309748 (Freisleben et al., 2020).
Most of the deformation associated with the seismic cycle in subduction zones occurs offshore and has been therefore difficult to quantify with direct observations at millennial timescales. Here we study millennial deformation associated with an active splay-fault system in the Arauco Bay area off south central Chile. We describe hitherto unrecognized drowned shorelines using high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, geomorphic, sedimentologic, and paleontologic observations and quantify uplift rates using a Landscape Evolution Model. Along a margin-normal profile, uplift rates are 1.3m/ka near the edge of the continental shelf, 1.5m/ka at the emerged Santa Maria Island, -0.1m/ka at the center of the Arauco Bay, and 0.3m/ka in the mainland. The bathymetry images a complex pattern of folds and faults representing the surface expression of the crustal-scale Santa Maria splay-fault system. We modeled surface deformation using two different structural scenarios: deep-reaching normal faults and deep-reaching reverse faults with shallow extensional structures. Our preferred model comprises a blind reverse fault extending from 3km depth down to the plate interface at 16km that slips at a rate between 3.0 and 3.7m/ka. If all the splay-fault slip occurs during every great megathrust earthquake, with a recurrence of similar to 150-200years, the fault would slip similar to 0.5m per event, equivalent to a magnitude similar to 6.4 earthquake. However, if the splay-fault slips only with a megathrust earthquake every similar to 1000years, the fault would slip similar to 3.7m per event, equivalent to a magnitude similar to 7.5 earthquake.
The first step towards assessing hazards in seismically active regions involves mapping capable faults and estimating their recurrence times. While the mapping of active faults is commonly based on distinct geologic and geomorphic features evident at the surface, mapping blind seismogenic faults is complicated by the absence of on-fault diagnostic features. Here we investigated the Pichilemu Fault in coastal Chile, unknown until it generated a Mw 7.0 earthquake in 2010. The lack of evident surface faulting suggests activity along a partly-hidden blind fault. We used off-fault deformed marine terraces to estimate a fault-slip rate of 0.52 ± 0.04 m/ka, which, when integrated with satellite geodesy suggests a 2.12 ± 0.2 ka recurrence time for Mw~7.0 normal-faulting earthquakes. We propose that extension in the Pichilemu region is associated with stress changes during megathrust earthquakes and accommodated by sporadic slip during upper-plate earthquakes, which has implications for assessing the seismic potential of cryptic faults along convergent margins and elsewhere.
High-resolution topographic data greatly facilitate the remote identification of geomorphic features, furnishing valuable information concerning surface processes and characterization of reference markers for quantifying tectonic deformation. Marine terraces have been used as long baseline geodetic markers of relative past sea-level positions, reflecting the interplay between vertical crustal movements and sea-level oscillations. Uplift rates may be determined from the terrace age and the elevation of its shoreline angle, a geomorphic feature that can be correlated with past sea-levels positions. A precise definition of the shoreline angle in time and space is essential to obtain reliable uplift rates with coherent spatial correlation. To improve our ability to rapidly assess and map shoreline angles at regional and local scales, we have developed TerraceM, a MATLAB (R) graphical user interface that allows the shoreline angle and its associated error to be estimated using high-resolution topography. TerraceM uses topographic swath profiles oriented orthogonally to the terrace riser. Four functions are included to analyze the swath profiles and extract the shoreline angle, from both staircase sequences of multiple terraces and rough coasts characterized by eroded remnants of emerged terrace surfaces. The former are measured by outlining the paleocliffs and paieo-platforms and finding their intersection by extrapolating linear regressions, whereas the latter are assessed by automatically detecting peaks of sea-stack tops and back-projecting them to the modern sea cliff. In the absence of rigorous absolute age determinations of marine terraces, their geomorphic age may be estimated using previously published diffusion models. Postprocessing functions are included to obtain first-order statistics of shoreline-angle elevations and their spatial distribution. TerraceM has the ability to process series of profiles from several sites in an efficient and structured workflow. Results may be exported in Google Earth and ESRI shapefile formats. The precision and accuracy of the method have been estimated from a case study at Santa Cruz, California, by comparing TerraceM results with published field measurements. The repeatability was evaluated using multiple measurements made by inexperienced users. TerraceM will improve the efficiency and precision of estimating shoreline-angle elevations in wave-cut terraces in both marine and lacustrine environments.