TY - JOUR
T1 - Lateral slip rate of Alhama de Murcia fault (SE Iberian Peninsula) based on a morphotectonic analysis
T2 - Comparison with paleoseismological data
AU - Ferrater, Marta
AU - Ortuño, Maria
AU - Masana, Eulàlia
AU - Martínez-Díaz, José J.
AU - Pallàs, Raimon
AU - Perea, Hector
AU - Baize, Stephane
AU - García-Meléndez, Eduardo
AU - Echeverria, Anna
AU - Rockwell, Thomas
AU - Sharp, Warren D.
AU - Arrowsmith, Ramon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA
PY - 2017/9/7
Y1 - 2017/9/7
N2 - To define the seismic potential of the left-lateral strike-slip Alhama de Murcia fault (SE Iberian Peninsula), we calculated its slip rate by measuring offset linear features of known age using a morphotectonic analysis. The Lorca-Totana section of the fault yielded a minimum slip rate of 1.0 ± 0.2 mm/a for the past 30 ka, based on a channel whose age is estimated by OSL technique. The minimum left-lateral slip rate of the Goñar-Lorca section is 1.6–1.7 mm/a for the past 200 ka, based on eight offset surface channels, previously mapped alluvial fans dated by TL, and by new U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate. The U-series technique was used here for first time in the Iberian Peninsula to date small amounts (mg) of pedogenic carbonate. According to the newly estimated slip rate values, the Alhama de Murcia fault is one of the most active faults in the Eastern Betics Shear Zone. These values are larger and have fewer uncertainties in comparison with previous slip rates estimations. In the Lorca-Totana section, the new lateral slip rate is compared with a slip rate calculated by means of a paleoseismic study showing good agreement between the values obtained with the two approaches. We encourage the combination of paleoseismology and morphotectonic analysis to obtain reliable slip rates for faults with scarce evidence of late Holocene slip.
AB - To define the seismic potential of the left-lateral strike-slip Alhama de Murcia fault (SE Iberian Peninsula), we calculated its slip rate by measuring offset linear features of known age using a morphotectonic analysis. The Lorca-Totana section of the fault yielded a minimum slip rate of 1.0 ± 0.2 mm/a for the past 30 ka, based on a channel whose age is estimated by OSL technique. The minimum left-lateral slip rate of the Goñar-Lorca section is 1.6–1.7 mm/a for the past 200 ka, based on eight offset surface channels, previously mapped alluvial fans dated by TL, and by new U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate. The U-series technique was used here for first time in the Iberian Peninsula to date small amounts (mg) of pedogenic carbonate. According to the newly estimated slip rate values, the Alhama de Murcia fault is one of the most active faults in the Eastern Betics Shear Zone. These values are larger and have fewer uncertainties in comparison with previous slip rates estimations. In the Lorca-Totana section, the new lateral slip rate is compared with a slip rate calculated by means of a paleoseismic study showing good agreement between the values obtained with the two approaches. We encourage the combination of paleoseismology and morphotectonic analysis to obtain reliable slip rates for faults with scarce evidence of late Holocene slip.
KW - Eastern Betics Shear Zone
KW - Offset channels
KW - Strike-slip fault
KW - Tectonic geomorphology
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U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2017.02.018
DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2017.02.018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85013899174
SN - 1040-6182
VL - 451
SP - 87
EP - 100
JO - Quaternary International
JF - Quaternary International
ER -