Lacustrine Paleoseismology and Sedimentary Records

Lacustrine paleoseismology exploits the sedimentary archives preserved in lake basins to reconstruct the history, timing and magnitude of past earthquakes. In these settings, seismically induced ground shaking destabilises surrounding slopes and can trigger mass‐wasting events that produce characteristic sedimentary layers, often referred to as event deposits. Such deposits include graded beds, turbidites and debrites whose grain-size distribution, organic‐matter content and geochemical signatures differ markedly from background hemipelagic sediments. Modern approaches combine high‐resolution geophysical surveys (e.g. sub-bottom profiling, chirp seismic reflection) with multiple coring to map basin geometry and identify depositional facies. Detailed sedimentological, geochemical and biotic analyses of cores allow discrimination among triggers such as floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Precise chronologies are established through radiocarbon dating of organic matter, volcanic tephra layers and short-lived radionuclides, enabling correlation of event deposits across multiple sites. This multi‐proxy framework yields robust palaeoseismic records that extend far beyond the reach of instrumental and historical archives, providing estimates of recurrence intervals, magnitudes and spatial patterns of seismicity. Such reconstructions inform seismic hazard models, guide land-use planning in seismically active regions and illuminate the long-term dynamics of fault rupture. By integrating sedimentology, geophysics and geochronology, lacustrine paleoseismology contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of earthquake processes and their broader environmental consequences.

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Lacustrine Paleoseismology and Sedimentary Records publication trend

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Technical terms

Event deposit: A discrete sedimentary layer resulting from a sudden high‐energy event such as an earthquake, flood or landslide.

Turbidite: A sedimentary sequence deposited by a turbidity current, typically graded from coarse at the base to fine upwards, indicative of rapid, gravity‐driven flows.

Hyperpycnal flood: A flood event in which sediment‐laden river water entering a lake has a higher density than the ambient lake water, producing underflows that deposit graded beds.

Hemipelagic sedimentation: Background sediment accumulation in deep water, dominated by fine particles settling slowly through the water column.

Radiocarbon dating: A geochronological method using the decay of carbon‐14 in organic material to determine the age of sediment layers up to ~50,000 years before present.

References

1. A Review of Event Deposits in Lake Sediments. Quaternary (2022).
2. Mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in Lake Ledro, southern Alps, Italy: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards. Climate of the Past (2013).
3. Are great Cascadia earthquakes recorded in the sedimentary records from small forearc lakes?. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science (2013).