Constraining Paleoearthquakes by Combining Faulted Stratigraphy and Microgeomorphology: A Case Study on the Haiyuan Fault, Northwestern China

Author(s):  
Wenjun Zheng ◽  
Haiyun Bi ◽  
Xulong Wang ◽  
Dongli Zhang ◽  
Rong Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Surface-rupturing strong earthquakes will leave evidence distributed along fault zones. The combination of paleoearthquake trench excavation and faulted microgeomorphic analysis at the same site provides more comprehensive knowledge of paleoearthquakes than either method could accomplish alone. In this article, we report on our use of trench excavation and dating, together with a 5-cm resolution digital elevation model obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle based on the structure from motion photogrammetry technology, to investigate the timing and size of strong paleoearthquake events in the Dashagou site near the west end of the Haiyuan fault, which ruptured in the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake. The result reveals that at least four strong paleoearthquake events with the same or even higher magnitude (including the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake) have occurred along the west end of the Haiyuan fault since the mid-Holocene. Event IV occurred shortly before 6.0 ka with a horizontal displacement of 4.27±1.50  m and a vertical displacement of 0.70±0.39  m. Event III occurred at approximately 4.65±0.45  ka with a horizontal displacement of 5.45±1.25  m and a vertical displacement of 0.38±0.23  m. Event II occurred at approximately 1.0 ka with a horizontal displacement of 3.86±0.90  m and a vertical displacement of 0.55±0.27  m. The most recent event was the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake, with a horizontal displacement of 2.15±0.82  m and a vertical displacement of 0.26±0.12  m. From the results of these four events, we can certainly conclude that the fault has mainly maintained the strike-slip kinematic pattern over the past 6 ka. These observations highlight the benefits of combining trench excavation and faulted microgeomorphology to gain a more complete understanding of paleoearthquakes.

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 2935
Author(s):  
Giovana Maranhão Bettiol ◽  
Manuel Eduardo Ferreira ◽  
Luiz Pacheco Motta ◽  
Édipo Henrique Cremon ◽  
Edson Eyji Sano

The Brazilian Cerrado (tropical savanna) is the second largest biome in South America and the main region in the country for agricultural production. Altitude is crucial information for decision-makers and planners since it is directly related to temperature that conditions, for example, the climatic risk of rainfed crop plantations. This study analyzes the conformity of two freely available digital elevation models (DEMs), the NASADEM Merged Digital Elevation Model Global 1 arc second (NASADEM_HGT) version 1 and the Advanced Land Observing Satellite Global Digital Surface Model (ALOS AW3D30), version 3.1, with the altitudes provided by 1695 reference stations of the Brazilian Geodetic System. Both models were evaluated based on the parameters recommended in the Brazilian Cartographic Accuracy Standard for Digital Cartographic Products (PEC-PCD), which defines error tolerances according to eight different scales (from 1:1000 to 1:250,000) and classes A (most strict tolerance, for example, 0.17 m for 1:1000 scale), B, C, and D (least strict tolerance, for example, 50 m for 1:250,000 scale). Considering the class A, the NASADEM_HGT meets 1:250,000 and lower scales, while AW3D30 meets 1:100,000 and lower scales; for class B, NASADEM_HGT meets 1:100,000 scale and AW3D30 meets 1:50,000. AW3D30 presented lower values of root mean square error, standard deviation, and bias, indicating that it presents higher accuracy in relation to the NASADEM_HGT. Within eight of Cerrado’s municipalities with the highest grain production, the differences between average altitudes, measured by the Cohen’s effect size, were statistically insignificant. The results obtained by the PEC-PCD for the Cerrado biome indicate that both models can be employed in different DEM-dependent applications over this biome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Sangay Gyeltshen ◽  
Krisha Kumar Subedi ◽  
Laylo Zaridinova Kamoliddinovna ◽  
Jigme Tenzin

The study assessed the accuracies of globally available Digital Elevation Models (DEM’s) i.e., SRTM v3, ASTER GDEM v2 and ALOS PALSAR DEM with respect to Topo-DEM derived from topographic map of 5m contour interval. 100 ground control points of the elevation data were collected with the help of kinematic hand held GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), randomly distributed over the study area. The widely used RMSE statistic, NCC correlation and sub-pixel-based approach were applied to evaluate the erroneous, correlation, horizontal and vertical displacement in terms of pixels for the individual Digital Elevation Model. Following these evaluations, SRTM DEM was found to be highly accurate in terms of RMSE and displacement compared to other DEMs. This study is intended to provide the researchers, GIS specialists and the government agencies dealing with remote sensing and GIS, a basic clue on accuracy of the DEMs so that the best model can be selected for application on various purposes of the similar region.


1934 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent P. Gianella ◽  
Eugene Callaghan

Summary The Cedar Mountain, Nevada, earthquake took place at about 10h 10m 04s p.m., December 20, 1932. It was preceded by a foreshock noted locally and followed by thousands of aftershocks, which were reported as still continuing in January 1934. No lives were lost and there was very little damage. The earthquake originated in southwest central Nevada, east of Mina. A belt of rifts or faults in echelon lies in the valley between Gabbs Valley Range and Pilot Mountains on the west and Cedar Mountain and Paradise Range on the east. The length of this belt is thirty-eight miles in a northwesterly direction, and the width ranges from four to nine miles. The rifts consist of zones of fissures which commonly reveal vertical displacement and in a number of places show horizontal displacement. The length of the rifts ranges from a few hundred feet to nearly four miles, and the width may be as much as 400 feet. The actual as well as indicated horizontal displacement is represented by a relative southward movement of the east side of each rift. The echelon pattern of the rifts within the rift area indicates that the relative movement of the adjoining mountain masses is the same. The direction of relative horizontal movement corresponds to that along the east front of the Sierra Nevada at Owens Valley and on the San Andreas rift.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasha. Z. Leidman ◽  
Åsa K. Rennermalm ◽  
Richard G. Lathrop ◽  
Matthew. G. Cooper

The presence of shadows in remotely sensed images can reduce the accuracy of land surface classifications. Commonly used methods for removing shadows often use multi-spectral image analysis techniques that perform poorly for dark objects, complex geometric models, or shaded relief methods that do not account for shadows cast on adjacent terrain. Here we present a new method of removing topographic shadows using readily available GIS software. The method corrects for cast shadows, reduces the amount of over-correction, and can be performed on imagery of any spectral resolution. We demonstrate this method using imagery collected with an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) over a supraglacial stream catchment in southwest Greenland. The structure-from-motion digital elevation model showed highly variable topography resulting in substantial shadowing and variable reflectance values for similar surface types. The distribution of bare ice, sediment, and water within the catchment was determined using a supervised classification scheme applied to the corrected and original UAV images. The correction resulted in an insignificant change in overall classification accuracy, however, visual inspection showed that the corrected classification more closely followed the expected distribution of classes indicating that shadow correction can aid in identification of glaciological features hidden within shadowed regions. Shadow correction also caused a substantial decrease in the areal coverage of dark sediment. Sediment cover was highly dependent on the degree of shadow correction (k coefficient), yet, for a correction coefficient optimized to maximize shadow brightness without over-exposing illuminated surfaces, terrain correction resulted in a 49% decrease in the area covered by sediment and a 29% increase in the area covered by water. Shadow correction therefore reduces the overestimation of the dark surface coverage due to shadowing and is a useful tool for investigating supraglacial processes and land cover change over a wide variety of complex terrain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Jaehee Choi ◽  
Namgyun Kim ◽  
Bongjin Choe ◽  
Byonghee Jun

In this study, the risk of rockfall on incision slopes adjacent to roads was evaluated using the RocFall program. The study area was a slope adjacent to the road leading to a university campus in Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do, with an area of 774 m<sup>2</sup> and an average slope of approximately 43°. A rock shed was installed at the lower zone of the slope. A 3D model of the terrain was generated based on point cloud data gathered using a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Fast and accurate orthoimages were captured by UAV and high-resolution digital surface models (DSMs) were produced; these data were used to assess the risk of rockfall. Compared to terrain extraction using a digital elevation model (DEM) generated from an existing digital map, terrain extraction using a UAV was more effective in deriving results close to the actual situation in the field, especially for the analysis of rockfall jump height and kinetic energy. The necessity of constructing 3D topographic data using UAVs to predict rockfall disasters in mountainous regions was confirmed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 963
Author(s):  
E. Kokinou ◽  
C. Belonaki ◽  
D. Sakadakis ◽  
K. Sakadaki

Main scope of the present study is to combine topographic and geological data, magnetic susceptibility and thermomagnetic analysis in order to investigate the magnetic properties of the near surface soils in possible polluted urban areas. For this purpose, a power plant with a dense traffic net around it, located in the NW section of Heraklion city in Crete was selected to be the study area. Surface soil samples have been collected from the area under investigation and they were analyzed in order to estimate the spatial distribution of the magnetic susceptibility. Loci of high values of the magnetic susceptibility within the study area gave rise to further proceed to thermomagnetic analysis of the selected samples. GIS techniques were used for mapping the magnetic measurements on the various topographic and geological features of the area. The digital elevation model was created by the digitization of the topographic map contours (1:5000 scale maps). The combination of the above techniques indicate high values of the magnetic susceptibility especially in the northeastern part of the investigated area, possibly related to pollution due to the presence of heavy metals.


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