Active Tectonics

New applications to geology and tectonics. Increased material on Quaternary chronology, including lichen chronology and micro stratigraphy of desert varnish. New studies, including research in the Olympic Mountains, Nepal, Australia, Taiwan, the Himalaya, and the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States. New techniques such as cosmogenic surface-exposure dating, argon and helium geobarometry and geothermometry, regional hyposometric analysis using digital elevation models,

Over 250,000 people were killed in the Tangshan, China earthquake of 1976, and other less active tectonic processes can disrupt river channels or have a grave impact on repositories of radioactive wastes. Since tectonic processes can be critical to many human activities, the Geophysics Study Committee Panel on Active Tectonics has presented an evaluation of the current state of knowledge about tectonic events, which include not only earthquakes but volcanic eruptions and similar events. This book addresses three main topics: the tectonic processes and their rates, methods of identifying and evaluating active tectonics, and the effects of active tectonics on society.

Through lucid, carefully organized exposition, this text makes the study of active tectonics (earthquakes in the present and recent past) easily understandable. Extremely current throughout, this text thoroughly explores the effects of earthquakes and active tectonic systems on humans, geomorphic systems, and Earth's topography. Complete with numerous case studies in a variety of regions, the very latest advances in the field, separate quantitative techniques boxed sections, and a host of pedagogical aids. Reflects the cutting edge of this rapidly evolving field, with completely up-to-date data and the very latest scientific findings and technological breakthroughs, (e.g. new advances in satellite geodetic techniques). Concise presentation of the material makes this text flexible enough to be used as a primary text (active tectonics, neotectonics courses) or a supplemental text (geomorphology, natural hazards courses). Presents broad coverage of a number of regions with case studies of Alaska, Pacific Northwest, California, The basin and range, Midwest, East coast, Many countries around the globe. Special quantitative sections present advanced numerical techniques and exercises to

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 179. This multidisciplinary monograph provides the first modern integrative summary focused on the most spectacular active tectonic systems in North America. Encompassing seismology, tectonics, geology, and geodesy, it includes papers that summarize the state of knowledge, including background material for those unfamiliar with the region; address global hypotheses using data from Alaska; and test important global hypotheses using data from this region. It is organized around four major themes: subduction and great earthquakes at the Aleutian Arc, the transition from strike slip to accretion and subduction of the Yakutat microplate, the Denali fault and related structures and their role in accommodating permanent deformation of the overriding plate, and regional integration and large-scale models and the use of data from Alaska to address important global questions and hypotheses. The book's publication near the beginning of the National Science Foundation's EarthScope project makes it especially timely because Alaska is perhaps the least understood area within the EarthScope footprint, and interest in the region can be expected to rise with time as more EarthScope data become available.

The book contributes to understanding the pattern of strain release and the level of seismic hazard imposed by large-great earthquakes in the frontal fold-thrust belts of Kumaun and Garhwal regions of Uttarakhand. The motivation for active fault studies and their characterization have been emphasized. The book presents the compilation of knowledge garnered in multidisciplinary or proxy studies involved in the understanding of seismic hazard in general and Kumaun–Garhwal Himalaya regions in particular with lucid new maps draped on modern Cartosat or SRTM DEM data. It also discusses satellite image calibration, active faults identifications, and map productions with flowchart. The book discusses window-wise active fault elements with attributes together with the tectonic geomorphic map. It also includes active fault scarp with topographic profile along with field photographs. Finally, it reviews all existing seismotectonic models of the Himalaya, its earthquake hazard, and its vulnerability, specifically for Kumaun and Garhwal regions.