This image shows the reverse fault and associated fold in the Molat Albox (Almería). Its progressive development follows from the geometry and age of deformed sediments. (Credit: Antonio Pedrera.)

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2009) — A team of Spanish scientists, studying recent, active deformations in the Baetic mountain range, have shown that the activity of smaller tectonic structures close to larger faults in the south east of the Iberian Peninsula partially offsets the risk of earthquakes.

"There are large faults in the eastern part of the Baetic mountain range, which are active and occasionally cause moderate, low magnitude earthquakes (measuring less than 5 on the Richter scale)," Antonio Pedrera, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Geodynamics at the University of Granada (UGR), said.

The team's research, published recently in the Journal of Quaternary Science, involved studying the La Molata sector, near Albox, in Almeria, near the southern end of the active Alhama de Murcia fault. The authors say this sector has been deformed by small faults and folds that are growing progressively.

"Although we can't exclude the possibility that these direction faults could cause earthquakes of greater magnitude, we have shown that the formation of small tectonic structures helps to partially relax the energy associated with the convergence of plates, and reduces seismic activity in these larger faults," says Pedrera.

 

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