The Basel 1356 earthquake: which fault produced it?

Meyer, Bertrand; Lacassin, Robin; Brulhet, Jacques; Mouroux, Bernard

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3121.1994.tb00633.x

Cited by 61 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Our evidence for dextral transpression along the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone west and southwest of Basel, together with the fault plane solution of the Rigney 2004 earthquake, rather suggests a combination of strike slip and thrusting for the present-day stress field in the area west of Basel, a stress field that might also have triggered the 1356 Basel earthquake. In view of the relatively larger strain accumulation we detected above faults related to the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone system regarding latest Pliocene to recent deformations, we favour the hypothesis that it is this fault system, which was activated, in agreement with the ideas proposed by Meyer et al (1994) and Laubscher (2006). The most probable mode of reactivation is dextral transpression (Fig.…”

Section: N Nsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…This decoupling has been used as an argument for still ongoing dé-collement tectonics. However, stress decoupling between basement and cover does not necessarily imply ongoing thinskinned tectonics, a postulate, which contrasts with recent work providing arguments for currently ongoing thick-skinned reactivation of basement faults (Meyer et al 1994;Lopes Cardozo & Granet 2003;Giamboni et al 2004a;Ustaszewski et al 2005a).…”

Section: Seismicity and Recent Displacement Ratescontrasting

confidence: 63%

“…The coeval latest Pliocene to recent dextrally transpressive reactivation of the ENE-trending faults of the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone, as inferred from the present work, however, is hitherto supported almost exclusively by geological evidence (Meyer et al 1994;Giamboni et al 2004a;Ustaszewski et al 2005a). The seismotectonic evidence supporting the reactivation of such ENE-trending faults is scarce in the area west of Basel, at least partly due to the lack of a dense network of permanent stations on French territory.…”

Section: Kinematic Framework Of Neotectonic Activity In the Southern Urgsupporting

confidence: 43%

“…However, despite dedicated research (Meyer et al 1994;Nivière & Winter 2000;Meghraoui et al 2001;Ferry et al 2005;Lambert et al 2005) the seismic source of the 1356 AD Basel earthquake (strike slip, thrust/reverse or normal fault? )…”

Section: Research Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both fault systems have been proposed as having provoked the 1356 Basel earthquake. Meyer et al (1994) and Laubscher (2006) favour the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone, mainly based on the E-W elongated shape of the zones of equal damage (Mayer-Rosa & Cadiot 1979). They left it open as to whether this fault system was reactivated in dextral strike slip or thrust mode.…”

Section: N Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Latest Pliocene to recent thick-skinned tectonics at the Upper Rhine Graben – Jura Mountains junction

2007

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The southernmost Upper Rhine Graben and adjacent Jura experienced basement-rooted shortening that occurred after the deposition of the Pliocene fluvial "Sundgau gravels". Folds affecting the base of these gravels systematically trend NE to ENE. Combined evidence from reflection seismic lines and contour maps of the base-Tertiary and base-Pliocene levels indicates that these folds probably formed by thick-skinned reactivation of both NNE-SSW and WSW-ENE-striking faults. This thick-skinned shortening is NW-SE oriented, i.e. parallel to the maximum horizontal stresses inferred from seismotectonics. NNE-SSW-striking faults (paralleling the Upper Rhine Graben) have been reactivated in sinistral strike-slip mode. However, dextrally transpressive reactivation of the WSW-ENE-trending faults that belong to the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone is interpreted to predominate.Deflections of recent river courses around the crests of en-échelon-aligned surface anticlines suggest that the deformation is ongoing at present.Retro-deformation of the folds affecting the base of the Sundgau gravels indicates horizontal displacement rates of about 0.05 mm/a. This corresponds to a minimum strain rate in the order of 2·10 -16 s -1 , given the maximum time span of 2.9 Ma for this deformation, i.e. the biostratigraphically determined minimum age of the gravels. A change from thin-skinned tectonics, that prevailed during the main phase of Jura folding, to very probably still ongoing thick-skinned tectonics is inferred to have occurred in the Late Pliocene. We speculate that this change might be linked to the incipient inversion of Permo-Carboniferous troughs within the Alpine foreland in general. This inversion in dextrally transpressive or purely compressive mode along a WNW-ESE-trending basement fault, that is part of the Rhine-Bresse Transfer Zone, which in turn was prestructured during the formation of the Permo-Carboniferous troughs, could have triggered the 1356 Basel earthquake.

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Section: N Nsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Seismicity and Recent Displacement Ratescontrasting

confidence: 63%

Section: Kinematic Framework Of Neotectonic Activity In the Southern Urgsupporting

confidence: 43%

Section: Research Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: N Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Latest Pliocene to recent thick-skinned tectonics at the Upper Rhine Graben – Jura Mountains junction

2007

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Tectonics of the central Swiss Molasse Basin: Post‐Miocene transition to incipient thick‐skinned tectonics?

Mock

Herwegh

2017

Tectonics

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In this paper we investigate the tectonics of the central Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB), situated between the central European Alps and the Jura fold‐and‐thrust belt. Based on (re)interpreted 2‐D reflection seismic data and geological 3‐D modeling, we present new insights into the structural configuration and evolution of the central SMB. During the thin‐skinned, main deformation phase of the Jura fold‐and‐thrust belt (~12–4 Ma), the central SMB was riding passively above a major detachment horizon within Triassic evaporites, which roots beneath the External Crystalline Massifs of the Central Alps. In the SMB, low‐amplitude detachment folds and detachment‐rooted WSW‐ENE striking thrust and reverse faults are related to this event. Younger, major NNE‐SSW and NNW‐SSE trending strike‐slip fault zones cross the basin over a length of several kilometers, affecting the Cenozoic and Mesozoic cover units and extending into the pre‐Mesozoic crystalline basement. In cases, the fault zones apparently reactivate inherited, Permo‐Carboniferous trough (PCT) bounding, Paleozoic normal faults. Seismic data further reveal mild inversion of WSW‐ENE striking PCTs. These structures clearly cut the basement‐cover contact, thus postdating the main deformation phase of the Jura fold‐and‐thrust belt. Present‐day earthquake focal mechanisms and epicenter distribution show strike‐slip faulting and basement‐seated seismicity, respectively, thus corroborating our observations from seismic interpretation. Our data suggest a change from late Miocene thin‐skinned to Pliocene to present‐day incipient thick‐skinned tectonics. This major change reflects the establishment of a midcrustal detachment and may be related to changes in slab dynamics of the subducting European lithosphere.

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Near-Fault Broadband Ground Motion Simulations Using Empirical Green’s Functions: Application to the Upper Rhine Graben (France–Germany) Case Study

Gaudio

Hok

Festa

et al. 2017

Pageoph Topical Volumes

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Seismic hazard estimation relies classically on data based ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) giving the expected motion level as a function of several parameters characterizing the source and the sites of interest. However, records of moderate to large earthquakes at short distances from the faults are still rare. For this reason, it is difficult to obtain a reliable ground motion prediction for such a class of events and distances where also the largest amount of damage is usually observed. A possible strategy to fill this lack of information is to generate synthetic accelerograms based on an accurate modeling of both extended fault rupture and wave propagation process.The development of such modelling strategies is essential for estimating seismic hazard close to faults in moderate seismic activity zones, where data are even scarcer. For that we reason we selected a target site in Upper Rhine Graben (URG), at the French-German border. URG is a region where faults producing micro-seismic activity are very close to the sites of interest (e.g. critical infrastructures like supply lines, nuclear power plants, etc.) needing a careful investigation of seismic hazard.In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of performing near-fault broadband ground motion numerical simulations in a moderate seismic activity region such as Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and discuss some of the challenges related to such an application. The modelling strategy is to couple the multi-Empirical Green's Function technique (multi-EGFt) with a k -2 kinematic source model. One of the advantages of the multi-EGFt is that it does not require a detailed knowledge of the propagation medium since the records of small events are used as the medium transfer function, if, at the target site, records of small earthquakes located on the target fault are available. 3The selection of suitable events to be used as multi-EGF is detailed and discussed in our specific situation where little number of events are available. We then showed the impact that each source parameter characterizing the k -2 model has on ground motion amplitude. Finally we performed ground motion simulations showing results for different probable earthquake scenarios in the URG.Dependency of ground motions and of their variability are analyzed at different frequencies in respect of rupture velocity, roughness degree of slip distribution (stress drop), and hypocenter location. In near source conditions, ground motion variability is shown to be mostly governed by the uncertainty on source parameters. In our specific configuration (magnitude, distance), the directivity effect is only observed in a limited frequency range. Rather, broad-band ground motions are shown to be sensitive to both average rupture velocity and its possible variability, and to slip roughness. Ending up with a comparison of simulation results and GMPEs, we conclude that source parameters and their variability should be set up carefully in order to obtain reliable broadband ground motion estimations. In particula...

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The Basel 1356 earthquake: which fault produced it?

Cited by 61 publications

References 22 publications

Latest Pliocene to recent thick-skinned tectonics at the Upper Rhine Graben – Jura Mountains junction

Latest Pliocene to recent thick-skinned tectonics at the Upper Rhine Graben – Jura Mountains junction

Tectonics of the central Swiss Molasse Basin: Post‐Miocene transition to incipient thick‐skinned tectonics?

Near-Fault Broadband Ground Motion Simulations Using Empirical Green’s Functions: Application to the Upper Rhine Graben (France–Germany) Case Study

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