Padgett, Jason S., Engelhart, Simon E., Kelsey, Harvey M., Witter, Robert C., Cahill, Niamh and Hemphill-Haley, Eileen (2021) Timing and amount of southern Cascadia earthquake subsidence over the past 1700 years at northern Humboldt Bay, California, USA. GSA Bulletin, 133 (9-10). pp. 2137-2156. ISSN 0016-7606
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Abstract
Stratigraphic, lithologic, foraminiferal,
and radiocarbon analyses indicate that at
least four abrupt mud-over-peat contacts are
recorded across three sites (Jacoby Creek,
McDaniel Creek, and Mad River Slough) in
northern Humboldt Bay, California, USA
(∼44.8°N, −124.2°W). The stratigraphy re-
cords subsidence during past megathrust
earthquakes at the southern Cascadia sub-
duction zone ∼40 km north of the Mendocino
Triple Junction. Maximum and minimum
radiocarbon ages on plant macrofossils from
above and below laterally extensive (>6 km)
contacts suggest regional synchroneity of
subsidence. The shallowest contact has ra-
diocarbon ages that are consistent with the
most recent great earthquake at Cascadia,
which occurred at 250 cal yr B.P. (1700 CE).
Using Bchron and OxCal software, we model
ages for the three older contacts of ca. 875
cal yr B.P., ca. 1120 cal yr B.P., and ca. 1620
cal yr B.P.
For each of the four earthquakes, we ana-
lyze foraminifera across representative mud-
over-peat contacts selected from McDaniel
Creek. Changes in fossil foraminiferal as-
semblages across all four contacts reveal sud-
den relative sea-level (RSL) rise (land subsid-
ence) with submergence lasting from decades
to centuries. To estimate subsidence during
each earthquake, we reconstructed RSL rise
across the contacts using the fossil foraminif-
eral assemblages in a Bayesian transfer func-
tion. The coseismic subsidence estimates are
0.85 ± 0.46 m for the 1700 CE earthquake,
0.42 ± 0.37 m for the ca. 875 cal yr B.P. earth-
quake, 0.79 ± 0.47 m for the ca. 1120 cal yr
B.P. earthquake, and ≥0.93 m for the ca. 1620
cal yr B.P. earthquake. The subsidence esti-
mate for the ca. 1620 cal yr B.P. earthquake
is a minimum because the pre-subsidence
paleoenvironment likely was above the upper
limit of foraminiferal habitation. The subsid-
ence estimate for the ca. 875 cal yr B.P. earth-
quake is less than (<50%) the subsidence es-
timates for other contacts and suggests that
subsidence magnitude varied over the past
four earthquake cycles in southern Cascadia.
Item Type: | Article |
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Keywords: | southern Cascadia; earthquake subsidence; 1700 years; northern Humboldt Bay California USA; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Mathematics and Statistics |
Item ID: | 16956 |
Identification Number: | 10.1130/B35701.1 |
Depositing User: | Niamh Cahill |
Date Deposited: | 21 Feb 2023 12:13 |
Journal or Publication Title: | GSA Bulletin |
Publisher: | The Geological Society of America |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://mu.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/16956 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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