Seismites in Quaternary sediments of southeastern Altai
E.V. Deev a , I.D. Zolnikov b , S.A. Gus'kov a
a Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the RAS, 3 prosp. Akad. Koptyuga, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
b Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the RAS, 3 prosp. Akad. Koptyuga, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Keywords: seismite; Quaternary deposits; seismicity; southeastern Altai
Pages: 538-553
Abstract
We study earthquake-induced soft-sediment deformation (seismites) in reference Quaternary sections of southeastern Altai. Sediments in the sections bear signature of liquefaction and fluidization and deformation is localized in thin (few centimeters to 0.5-1.0 m) continuously striking and frequently repeated layers sandwiched between undeformed sediments. The soft-sediment deformation records coseismic motion of different slip geometries. Seismic origin is also inferred for layers and lenses of coarse colluvium slid into the lake bottom from the slopes, which intrude plane-bedded silt and sand and vary in thickness from a few centimeters to one meter. The occurrence of seismic soft-sediment deformation at different stratigraphic levels of the Quaternary and in the Upper Pliocene Beken Formation confirms the high seismicity of southeastern Altai in Quaternary time.
|
