Constraining the earthquake recording threshold of intraslab earthquakes with turbidites in southcentral Alaska’s lakes and fjords

By: , and 
Edited by: Natalia A. RuppertM. Jadamec, and Jeffrey T. Freymueller

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Abstract

Strong ground motion from intraslab earthquakes, which do not produce primary paleoseismic evidence, may initiate gravity-driven turbidity flows in subaqueous basins. The resulting deposits (turbidites) can provide a paleoseismic proxy if the conditions that initiate these flows are known. To better constrain the initiating conditions, we use two recent intraslab earthquakes in southcentral Alaska, the M w 7.1 30 November 2018 Anchorage earthquake and the M w 7.1 24 January 2016 Iniskin earthquake, as calibration events. Through a multilake investigation, we document the occurrence, or the absence, of earthquake-generated turbidity flows from these two events. Both earthquakes are recorded by centimeter-scale turbidites that can be differentiated from climatically generated deposits, as well as other seismic sources based on deposit thickness, sedimentological properties, and deposit age. We show that a Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) of ∼V–V1/2 is the minimum shaking intensity required to generate localized sediment remobilization from deltaic slopes, and an MMI of ∼V1/2 is required to produce a deposit of sufficient thickness that a seismic origin can be confidently assigned. The documentation of seismically generated deposits in quick succession (∼2 years) with diagnostic features highlights the utility of using recent earthquakes as calibration events to investigate the subaqueous response to strong ground motion.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Constraining the earthquake recording threshold of intraslab earthquakes with turbidites in southcentral Alaska’s lakes and fjords
Chapter 14
DOI 10.1002/9781394195947.ch14
Publication Date December 13, 2024
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Alaska Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description 30 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
First page 389
Last page 418
Country United States
State Alaska
Additional publication details