Geophysical Imaging of the Critical Zone along the Eastern Betic Shear Zone (EBSZ), SE Iberian Peninsula
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Teixidó Ullod, TeresaEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Critical zone (CZ) ERT Faults (Geology) MASW Tomography
Date
2022-03-27Referencia bibliográfica
Handoyo, H.; Alcalde, J.; De Felipe, I.; Palomeras, I.; Martín-Banda, R.; García-Mayordomo, J.; Martí, D.; Martínez-Díaz, J.J.; Insua-Arévalo, J.M.; Teixidó, T.; et al. Geophysical Imaging of the Critical Zone along the Eastern Betic Shear Zone (EBSZ), SE Iberian Peninsula. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 3398. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ app12073398]
Sponsorship
European Institute of Technology SIT4ME; MCIN; Spanish national research program; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 871121, EIT-RawMaterias 17024; European Commission; Generalitat de Catalunya; Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca; Agencia Estatal de Investigación; Universidad de Salamanca 2017SGR1022, BEGAL 18/00090Abstract
The critical zone (CZ) represents the most-shallow subsurface, where the bio-, hydro-, and
geospheres interact with anthropogenic activity. To characterize the thickness and lateral variations
of the CZ, here we focus on the Eastern Betic Shear Zone (EBSZ), one of the most tectonically
active regions in the Iberian Peninsula. Within the EBSZ, the Guadalentín Depression is a highly
populated area with intensive agricultural activity, where the characterization of the CZ would
provide valuable assets for land use management and seismic hazard assessments. To achieve this,
we have conducted an interdisciplinary geophysical study along the eastern border of the Guadalentín
Depression to characterize the CZ and the architecture of the shallow subsurface. The datasets used
include Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), first-arrival travel time seismic tomography, and
multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW). The geophysical datasets combined help to constrain
the high-resolution structure of the subsurface and image active fault systems along four transects.
The resulting geophysical models have allowed us to interpret the first ~150 m of the subsurface
and has revealed: (i) the variable thickness of the CZ; (ii) the CZ relationship between the fault zone
and topographic slope; and (iii) the differences in CZ thickness associated with the geological units.
Our results provide a method for studying the shallow subsurface of active faults, complementing
previous geological models based on paleo-seismological trenches, and can be used to improve the
CZ assessment of tectonically active regions.