Publication Date:
2021-01-05
Description:
Destructive earthquakes are rare in France yet pose a sizable seismic hazard, especially when critical infrastructures are concerned. Only a few destructive events have occurred within the instrumental period, the most important being the 11 June 1909, Lambesc (Provence) earthquake. With a magnitude estimated at 6.2 [Rothé, 1942], the event was recorded by 30 observatories and produced intensity IX effects in the epicentral area, ~30 km north of Marseille. We collected 30 seismograms, leveling data and earthquake intensities to assess the magnitude and possibly the focal mechanism of this event. Following this multidisciplinary approach, we propose a source model where all relevant parameters are constrained by at least two of the input datasets. Our reappraisal of the seismological data yielded Mw 5.8-6.1 (6.0 preferred) and Ms 6.0, consistent with the magnitude from intensity data (Me 5.8) and with constraints derived from modeling of coseismic elevation changes. Hence, we found the Lambesc earthquake to have been somewhat smaller than previously reported. Our datasets also constrain the geometry and kinematics of faulting, suggesting that the earthquake was generated by reverse-right lateral slip on a WNW-striking, steeply north-dipping fault beneath the western part of the Trévaresse fold. This result suggests that the fold, located in front of the Lubéron thrust, plays a significant role in the region’s recent tectonic evolution. The sense of slip obtained for the 1909 rupture also agrees with the regional stress field obtained from earthquake focal mechanisms and microtectonic data as well as recent GPS data.
Description:
Published
Description:
2454
Description:
partially_open
Keywords:
Lambesc earthquake
;
France
;
historical seismograms
;
displacement modeling
;
macroseismic data
;
geodetic data
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04. Solid Earth::04.03. Geodesy::04.03.01. Crustal deformations
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04. Solid Earth::04.06. Seismology::04.06.01. Earthquake faults: properties and evolution
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04. Solid Earth::04.06. Seismology::04.06.05. Historical seismology
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04. Solid Earth::04.06. Seismology::04.06.09. Waves and wave analysis
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
Format:
2978 bytes
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4419432 bytes
Format:
text/html
Format:
application/pdf
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