TITLE:
Sediment Deformations Due to Paleoseismic Events
AUTHORS:
Nils-Axel Mörner
KEYWORDS:
Deformations, Paleoseismics, Liquefaction, Turbidites, Varved Clay, Tsunamites
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Earthquake Research,
Vol.8 No.4,
November
25,
2019
ABSTRACT: There are many different processes generating soft-sediment deformation. This paper is confined to deformations generated by paleoseismic events in Sweden. The Paleoseismic Catalogue of Sweden includes 66 events. The structural characteristics and driving forces of liquefaction are discussed in details. “Crypto-deformations” refer to a special type of fluidization not affecting the sedimentary bedding itself, but the internal orientation of the ChRM and AMS carrying particles. Extensive turbidites are formed at some events. They constitute useful “marker-varves”. Out of the 66 paleoseismic events, 31 are dated by varves as to a single year (in one case even to the season of a year). Tsunamites are recorded from 19 of the paleoseismic events; some with wave-heights up to 15 - 20 m.