Paleoseismology is the scientific discipline that investigates prehistoric and pre-instrumental earthquakes through geological records, primarily using stratigraphic, geomorphic, and structural evidence preserved in sediments and rocks. It relies on trenching across active or suspected faults, dating displaced or deformed strata (e.g., by radiocarbon, luminescence, or dendrochronology), and analyzing offset geomorphic markers to reconstruct the timing, location, magnitude, and recurrence intervals of past seismic events. These data constrain long-term fault slip rates, characterize earthquake recurrence behavior, improve seismic hazard assessments, and test models of fault interaction and earthquake cycle processes beyond the limited span of historical and instrumental records.
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have analyzed signals generated by the vibrations of traffic along the Federal Highway to learn more about the seismic nature of Lake George, situated north-east of ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 21, 2025
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On Mars, the past is written in stone—but the present is written in sand. Last week, Perseverance explored inactive megaripples to learn more about the wind-driven processes that are reshaping the Martian landscape every ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 22, 2025
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New research led by the University of Victoria (UVic) has illuminated a significant and previously unrecognized source of seismic hazard for the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada.
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2025
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In 1638, an earthquake in what is now New Hampshire and Plymouth, Massachusetts, left colonists stumbling from the strong shaking and water sloshing out of the pots used by Native Americans to cook a midday meal along the ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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Sediment cores drawn from four lakes in Guatemala record the distinct direction that ground shaking traveled during a 1976 magnitude 7.5 earthquake that devastated the country, according to researchers at the Seismological ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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Identifying long-term seismic activity patterns is crucial for understanding how fault systems evolve, as well as for estimating the probability of future earthquakes. But seismic records date back only hundreds of years—1,000 ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 17, 2025
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