Author: Richard Walker

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Research Update

Environmental Hazards in Asia workshop, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

It has been a real pleasure to spend the last two weeks in Mongolia, after a break of 11 years since my last visit. The reason was to attend the 1st Environmental Hazards in Asia meeting, hosted by the Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (IAG) of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and with kind support through the Association Academies and Scientific Societies of Asia (AASSA), Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi, COMET, the Mount Paektu Research Center, and others. I was honoured to be included as part of the organizing committee.

Sunset over Tsagaan Nuur, Tariat, during the post-conference fieldtrip
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Research Update

Active faulting and earthquake hazards in the Toktogul basin. A report from fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, 2024

Active folding along the northern side of the Toktogul basin, viewed across the reservoir that occupies much of the basin interior.

A joint team from Oxford, the Institute of Seismology in Bishkek, and the National Nuclear Center in Almaty undertook several weeks of fieldwork in July and August of 2024, within the framework of our NATO SPS project on environmental security in the Tien Shan. Our particular interest in this field project was to investigate evidences for active faulting and to assess the types and frequency of earthquakes that might occur on faults in the Toktogul basin. The main road connecting North and South Kyrgyzstan passes through this valley, and there are several existing and proposed hydropower plants along the Naryn river. Understanding the distribution of active faults, the styles and magnitudes of earthquakes, and the timing of past events is therefore important for estimating earthquake hazard to the infrastructure, as well as to local populations.

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Research Update

Giant landslides of the Tien shan

Julie Losen describes her recently published article presenting the first results of the analysis of the giant Beshkiol landslide and its associated lakes in Kyrgyzstan. The work is now published in the journal ‘Geomorphology’

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169555X24000710

Panoramic photo of the Beshkiol landslide.
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Research Update

Earthquakes and tectonics of the Kura basin, Azerbaijan

Ian Pierce describes his recent field trip to Azerbaijan, excavating trenches along the southern Caucasus thrusts and looking for evidence of historical earthquakes.

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Research Update

Palaeoseismology and archaeoseismology along the Silk Roads of Uzbekistan

Krzysztof Gaidzik describes his recent experiences searching for past earthquakes and active faults as part of the Earthquakes in Central Asia project.

Bibi-Khanym Mosque strongly damaged during the 1897 earthquake.
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research updates webinar

Mountain building: insights from neotectonics

Dr. Ian Pierce of the Earth Sciences Department, University of Oxford, gives some very nice examples of active faulting in the Himalaya, the Tien Shan, and in the western United States. He combines an accessible introduction to earthquake geology with plenty of nice field photographs and high resolution imagery and digital topography.

The seminar is available here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEoEGwtMO6k

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research updates

Field workshop in paleoseismology – trenching the 1911 Chon Aksu (Mw 7.9) earthquake ruptures, Kyrgyzstan

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research updates

Multiple factors make Afghan communities vulnerable to earthquakes

We consider some of the reasons why earthquakes have such damaging effects in Afghanistan and surrounding parts of Asia in a new article in Temblor Earthquake News …

Multiple factors make Afghan communities vulnerable to earthquakes

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research updates

A month in Azerbaijan: promising new start to a long paleoseismic campaign

In this blog post, Ian Pierce, describes work that he is leading in collaboration with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences as part of the Leverhulme Trust EROICA and NEPTUNE projects.

Trenching on the West Kura fault
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research updates

Workshop report – quaternary dating and hazards at CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France

A number of earthquake specialists assembled in Aix-en-Provence for a four-day workshop hosted at CEREGE. The workshop is one of the flagship activities within the framework of the NATO SPS Multi-year project ‘Geo-environmental security from earthquakes in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan’. This project involves a consortium of researchers and specialists from Asia (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), from the USA, and from Europe (France, Germany, UK). We aim to develop the underpinning geological data that is required for building effective earthquake resilience, and to compile this data in open access formats that are accessible for researchers within the project focus area of central Asia. We combine that aim with the development of capacity through equipment purchases and through the training of early career researchers from both NATO and NATO partner countries.

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