Tag: field work

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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.

Continue reading “Active faulting and earthquake hazards in the Toktogul basin. A report from fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, 2024“
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research updates

Video: Space Race interviews Richard Walker on satellite data and geophysics

In a 20 mins interview with Space Race, Richard Walker talks about our work on large earthquakes and active faults in Central Asia, tectonic geomorphology, our use of satellite data, DEMs, and much more.

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webinar

Online webinar by Ramon Arrowsmith on 30 May, 2022: Seismotectonics and surface rupture of large intraplate earthquakes: an example from the M7.8 1911 Kebin (Chon Kemin) Earthquake, Northern Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan

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. Ramon Arrowsmith from Arizona State University will talk about Seismotectonics and surface rupture of large intraplate earthquakes: an example from the M7.8 1911 Kebin (Chon Kemin) Earthquake, Northern Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan.

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: 30 May, 2022

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

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webinar

Video: Talk by Jeff Ritz on “Unprecedented surface rupture and shallow fault reactivation during the 2019 Mw 4.9 Le Teil earthquake, France”

On 26 April, 2022, Jean-Francois Ritz from Géosciences Montpellier talked about Unprecedented surface rupture and shallow fault reactivation during the 2019 Mw 4.9 Le Teil earthquake, France: What does paleoseismology reveal? in the framework of our NATO-funded project SPS G5690 – “Earthquake Hazard and Environmental Security in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”. In case you missed Jeff’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

Categories
webinar

Online webinar by Jeff Ritz on 26 April, 2022: Unprecedented surface rupture and shallow fault reactivation during the 2019 Mw 4.9 Le Teil earthquake, France: What does paleoseismology reveal?

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. Jean-Francois Ritz from Géosciences Montpellier will talk about Unprecedented surface rupture and shallow fault reactivation during the 2019 Mw 4.9 Le Teil earthquake, France: What does paleoseismology reveal? 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: 26 April, 2022

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

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Research Update

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.

Continue reading “Combining palaeoseismic and archaeological records along the Silk Roads of Uzbekistan”
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research updates

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.
Continue reading “Journey to the Roof of the World: how fast does the Pamir Frontal Thrust move?”
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research updates

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:

Continue reading “New paper: Slip-Rate of the Main Kopeh Dagh Fault and active tectonics of the South Caspian”
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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.

Continue reading “Active faulting and earthquake hazard in Azerbaijan – a collaboration between Oxford University and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences”
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research updates

The COMET Central Asia Fault Database: Progress Report

The COMET Central Asia Fault Database integrates decades of fault mapping and field-studies by researchers from the UK NERC Centre for Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET), and global collaborators.

Central Asia is home to one of the world’s great mountain ranges–the Tien Shan–which is formed by vigorous crustal convergence across a multitude of tectonic faults. Here we describe the motivation to assemble the database and the choices that we have made in its structure, which are based on utility, necessity, and limitations in available information. We are working towards a full public release of the dataset, so keep an eye out!

Continue reading “The COMET Central Asia Fault Database: Progress Report”