Carboneras Fault seismic characterization: new paleoseismic and GPS data integration

Abstract

Carboneras Fault is located on the highest seismicity zone of the Iberian Peninsula. Despite the low instrumental and historical seismicity associated with the fault, it has been defined as seismogenic (7,6 0,3 max Mw) (Moreno, 2011). Works on paleoseismic and geodesic fields have been carried out in order to characterize its seismic potential (e.g. Moreno, 2011; Echeverr a, 2015), but the results are still scarce for complete characterization. This study presents the results of new 3D paleoseismic trenches on the southeastern branch of La Serrata duplex. In total, 7 to 8 paleoearthquakes have been identified during the last 50 ky, three of them can be catalogued as Holocene ruptures, the most recent event most likely to be attributed to the 1522 IEMS98 VIII-IX Almeria earthquake. On the geodetic side, since 2016, 6 new GPS stations have been installed in the vicinity of the fault (4 continuous and 2 survey types). 3 GPS campaigns were carried out in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Due to the short observational period (especially for the campaign sites), the new results are still preliminary but open a path for future studies with better resolution.