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Relevance of active faulting and seismicity studies to assessments of long-term earthquake activity and maximum magnitude in intraplate Northwest Europe, between the Lower Rhine Embayment and the North Sea

Thierry Camelbeeck, Kris Vanneste, Pierre Alexandre, Koen Verbeeck, Toon Petermans, Philippe Rosset, Michel Everaerts, Rene Warnant and Michel van Camp
Relevance of active faulting and seismicity studies to assessments of long-term earthquake activity and maximum magnitude in intraplate Northwest Europe, between the Lower Rhine Embayment and the North Sea (in Continental intraplate earthquakes; science, hazard, and policy issues, Seth Stein (editor) and Stephane Mazzotti (editor))
Special Paper - Geological Society of America (2007) 425: 193-224

Abstract

We provide a synthesis of the long-term earthquake activity in the region of northwest Europe between the Lower Rhine Embayment and the southern North Sea. Reevaluated historical earthquake and present-day seismological data indicate that much of the known seismic activity is concentrated in the Roer graben. Nevertheless, the three strongest known earthquakes with estimated magnitude > or =6.0 occurred outside of this active structure, in the northern Ardenne, the southern North Sea, and the Strait of Dover. During the past 700 yr, destructive earthquakes generally have occurred at different locations, indicating a migration of seismicity with time. Because in plate interiors the present seismic activity does not necessarily reflect past and future activity, we discuss the necessity to use the geologic record to infer long-term earthquake activity. Thus, we synthesize and discuss paleoseismic investigations in the Roer graben that provide evidence that large earthquakes with magnitude up to 7.0 have occurred since the late Pleistocene. We also show that tectonic deformation is close to or below the accuracy of current geodetic techniques. Thus, it is necessary to have longer periods of observation to compare present geodetic deformation rates with the observed seismic moment release and the geologic strain rates. Based on these results, we present methods to define seismic zoning and evaluate the maximum credible earthquake and its magnitude relevant for seismic hazard assessment.


ISSN: 0072-1077
EISSN: 2331-219X
Coden: GSAPAZ
Serial Title: Special Paper - Geological Society of America
Serial Volume: 425
Title: Relevance of active faulting and seismicity studies to assessments of long-term earthquake activity and maximum magnitude in intraplate Northwest Europe, between the Lower Rhine Embayment and the North Sea
Title: Continental intraplate earthquakes; science, hazard, and policy issues
Affiliation: Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Affiliation: Northwestern University, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Evanston, IL, United States
Pages: 193-224
Published: 2007
Text Language: English
Publisher: Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States
ISBN: 978-0-5137-2425-6
References: 109
Accession Number: 2008-040026
Categories: Seismology
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. 3 tables, sketch maps
N50°00'00" - N51°00'00", E04°00'00" - E06°00'00"
Secondary Affiliation: Geological Survey of Canada, CAN, Canada
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute.
Update Code: 200812
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