Blog – Page 3 – Earthquakes in Central Asia

Combining palaeoseismic and archaeological records along the Silk Roads of Uzbekistan

Post author By Richard Walker
Post date 2022-04-05
No Comments on Combining palaeoseismic and archaeological records along the Silk Roads of Uzbekistan

In March 2022 we spent a week in Uzbekistan discussing projects and undertaking field investigations in collaboration with the Institute of Seismology, National Academy of Sciences.

*Map of the sites visited during our trip along with active faults from the AFEAD database and historical earthquakes from the EMCA database.*

Uzbekistan is sited at the westernmost margin of the Tien Shan ranges, with environments ranging from high mountains along the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through to desert in the west. There is a proven widespread earthquake hazard, with examples of destructive earthquakes including an event in 1966 that caused widespread destruction in the capital city of Tashkent.

Tags field work, geology

webinar

Video: Talk by Kathryn Fitzsimmons on 28 March, 2022: What goes on between the mountains and the deserts?

Post author By Christoph Grützner
Post date 2022-03-28
No Comments on Video: Talk by Kathryn Fitzsimmons on 28 March, 2022: What goes on between the mountains and the deserts?

On 28 March, 2022, Kathryn Fitzsimmons from the University of Tübingen gave a talk about What goes on between the mountains and the deserts? A sedimentary view of past environments along the Tien Shan piedmont in the framework of our NATO-funded project SPS G5690 – “Earthquake Hazard and Environmental Security in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”. In case you missed Kathryn’s presentation, here’s the video.

Watch this space for future talks, always on the last Monday of every month, and follow us on Twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/QuakesCentAsia

Tags aeolian, climate, dust, loess, paleoclimate, sediment, Tien Shan, westerlies

webinar

Online Webinar by Kathryn Fitzsimmons on 28 March, 2022: What goes on between the mountains and the deserts?

Post author By Christoph Grützner
Post date 2022-03-19
No Comments on Online Webinar by Kathryn Fitzsimmons on 28 March, 2022: What goes on between the mountains and the deserts?

In the framework of our NATO-funded project SPS G5690 – “Earthquake Hazard and Environmental Security in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan” we will run an ~1 hr online webinar. Kathryn Fitzsimmons from the University of Tübingen will talk about What goes on between the mountains and the deserts? A sedimentary view of past environments along the Tien Shan piedmont. The webinar is open for everyone interested and will be held via zoom (https://uni-jena-de.zoom.us/j/8941887790 Meeting-ID: 894 188 7790; Password: EQAsia).

Date: 28 March, 2022

Time: 3 pm UK time (3 pm London; 4 pm Berlin & Paris; 10 pm Beijing; 7 am San Francisco)

Tags geology, tectonics, Tien Shan, webinar

webinar

Video: Talk by Victoria Stevens on Strain Rate & Seismicity in the India-Asia Collision Zone for PSHA

Post author By Christoph Grützner
Post date 2022-02-28
No Comments on Video: Talk by Victoria Stevens on Strain Rate & Seismicity in the India-Asia Collision Zone for PSHA

On 28 Feb, 2022, Victoria Stevens from the Earth Observatory of Singapore gave a talk about The Relationship between Strain Rate and Seismicity in the India-Asia Collision Zone: Implications for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard in the framework of our NATO-funded project SPS G5690 – “Earthquake Hazard and Environmental Security in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”. In case you missed Victoria’s presentation, here’s the video.

Watch this space for future talks, always on the last Monday of every second month, and follow us on Twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/QuakesCentAsia

Tags central asia, PSHA, seismicity, tectonics, webinar

webinar

Online Webinar by Victoria Stevens on 28 Feb, 2022: On the Relationship between Strain Rate and Seismicity in the India-Asia Collision Zone: Implications for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard

In the framework of our NATO-funded project SPS G5690 – “Earthquake Hazard and Environmental Security in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan” we will run an ~1 hr online webinar. Victoria Stevens from the Earth Observatory of Singapore will talk about The Relationship between Strain Rate and Seismicity in the India-Asia Collision Zone: Implications for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard. The webinar is open for everyone interested and will be held via zoom (https://uni-jena-de.zoom.us/j/8941887790 Meeting-ID: 894 188 7790; Password: EQAsia).

Date: 28 February, 2022

Time: 3 pm UK time (3 pm London; 4 pm Berlin & Paris; 10 pm Beijing; 7 am San Francisco)

Tags central asia, PSHA, seismicity, tectonics, webinar

research updates

Journey to the Roof of the World: how fast does the Pamir Frontal Thrust move?

Post author By Richard Walker
Post date 2021-12-17
No Comments on Journey to the Roof of the World: how fast does the Pamir Frontal Thrust move?

Ben Johnson, a PhD student from the University of Oxford, describes his experiences from fieldwork over the summer of 2021. Read on to find out more about the Alai valley, glacial histories, and shortening across the northern margin of the Pamir.

The Pamir and Tien Shan are colliding along the Alai valley as part of the wider India-Eurasia continental collision. The Pamir are moving northwards along the Pamir Frontal Thrust (PFT), closing the valley. The rate of shortening across the PFT is contested, with short-term geodetic rates from GPS giving faster rates from those measured from palaeoseismology.

Tags earthquake, field work, kyrgyzstan, Pamir, tectonics, Tien Shan

research updates

New paper: Slip-Rate of the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault and active tectonics of the South Caspian

Post author By Christoph Grützner
Post date 2021-12-14
No Comments on New paper: Slip-Rate of the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault and active tectonics of the South Caspian

The South Caspian Basin (SCB) is an aseismic block that moves independently to its surroundings. Together with the Arabia-Eurasia collision, it controls the active tectonics of Turkmenistan. The directions, rates, and rotation poles of the SCB relative to Iran and Eurasia are not well resolved. In a new paper recently published in TECTONICS, we constrain the motion of the SCB by measuring the slip rate of the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault (MKDF) in Turkmenistan. Here’s what we found:

Tags earthquake, fault, field work, geology, seismic hazard, slip rate, tectonics, turkmenistan

research updates

Active faulting and earthquake hazard in Azerbaijan – a collaboration between Oxford University and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

In November 2021 two of us (Ian Pierce and Richard Walker) were able to travel to Baku to begin a collaborative project between the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the University of Oxford addressing regional tectonics, active faulting, and earthquake hazard. The project was due to begin in early 2020 but was postponed due to travel restrictions.

Tags Azerbaijan, fault, field work, paleoseismology

webinar

Video: Talk by Richard Walker about the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault

Post author By Christoph Grützner
Post date 2021-10-25
No Comments on Video: Talk by Richard Walker about the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault

On 25 October, 2021, Richard Walker from the University of Oxford gave the fourth talk of our lecture series on the tectonics of Central Asia. The topic was “Active Faulting, earthquakes, and geomorphology of the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault, Turkmenistan. The talk was presented on 2021-10-25.” . In case you missed Richard’s presentation, here’s the video.

Watch this space for future talks, always on the last Monday of every second month, and follow us on Twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/QuakesCentAsia