Active tectonics, seismicity and geomorphology with special reference to Normandy (France).

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01/10/2000

Lagarde, JL; Baize, S; Amorese, D; Delcaillau, B; Font, M; Volant, P. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, 15: (7) 745-758.

Type de document > *Article de revue
Mots clés publication scientifique > séismes , faille/fracture , séismes
Unité de recherche > IRSN/DEI/SARG/BERSSIN
Auteurs > BAIZE Stéphane , VOLANT Philippe

Integrated studies based on tectonic, seismotectonic and geomorphological analyses indicate that Normandy (northwest France) has been an active area during the Quaternary. Topography and landform discontinuities reflect the dislocation and differential uplift of a late Cenozoic platform. The tectonic activity is represented by (i) active faults, indicated by linear scarps and seismic activity, (ii) offsetting of pre-existing surfaces, (iii) Plio-Pleistocene sedimentation restricted within narrow subsiding zones, and (iv) morphometric properties of drainage basins that indicate zones of differential uplift. The inferred strain pattern involves: i) a shortening direction that strikes NW-SE as expected in the European context of Alpine compression, and ii) a NE-SW trending extension accommodated by NW-SE normal faults. The geomorphological systems encountered in Normandy preferentially record differential vertical displacements.

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