On-going
2023- Archeoseismicity of the Montagne Du Vuache Fault
In the Villards d'Héria village (Jura Mountains), remains of a Gallo-roman site are damaged and there is evidence that this could be the consequence of seismic shaking and surface faulting. A PhD thesis student (Théo Lallemand) started in 2023 to investigate this potential archeoseismological evidence and related tectonic background. Besides classical evidence of faulting in recent deposits (trenches), we are exploring the recordings in the Holocene sediments stored in the Lake Antre which bounds a segment of the Vuache fault only 2 km south of the Gallo-roman site.
This year (spring 2025), we start to analyze the lacustrine Holocene sediments that were cored in summer 2023, in the framework of a Master thesis, in cooperation with Charly Massa and Amélie Quiquerez (ARTEHIS, Dijon). The aim is to determine whether the sediments have recorded any evidence of ground shaking during the last 10 ka.
2021- Seismic hazard in Croatia
The objective is to understand the destructive seismic sequence of Petrinja, Croatia (Mw 6.4, December 2020) and improve the quantification of seismic hazard in this poorly instrumented active region.
The SH-CROCO TELLUS (INSU) project has been funded for 3 years (2021-2024). It included among others tectonic geomorphology, paleoseismology and geodesy in which I actively participate. On the French side, Maxime HENRIQUET (CEREGE) conducts the investigations, in close collaboration with L. Benedetti, the teams from Lyon (LGLTPE) (M. Métois, PI of the SH-CROCO project, C. Lasserre) and Grenoble (M. Causse, J. Hollingsworth). An analysis of liquefaction features is also in progress (conducted by D. Moiriat, IRSN). The project is carried out in close collaboration with Croatian colleagues from the HGI (Branko Kordic, Josipa Maslac in particular), Slovenian and Italian (Daniela Pantosti, Francesca Cinti from INGV, Paolo Boncio and Alessio Testa from U. Chieti).
We have already completed three trench surveys in April, October 2022 and June 2023 (Pokupsko-Petrinja Fault), plus one campaign in October 2022 to investigate the 2020 liquefaction features.
Now (2025), the team is still working on the acquired data and we hope to submit an ambitious proposal in the next months.
2021- NSOURCES - New approaches to earthquake source characterization and their effective integration into fault-based seismic hazard models. Case studies in areas of low-to-intermediate activity of eastern Iberia
This large project is led by the Universities of Barcelona (Raimon Pallas and Eulalia Masana), of Madrid Complutense (Juanmi Insua) and IGME (Raquel Martin Banda, Julian Garcia Mayordomo). Field campaigns were conducted in 2023 and 2024 on the Palomares Fault, led by Julia Molins (PhD student).
2021-2026 - Geology off the Cotentin Peninsula shoreline and around the Channel Islands
This area, where the seismicity is diffuse but substantial, is very poorly known geologically. Yet it is an area with high stakes, with important nuclear sites (Flamanville, La Hague).
Since the summer of 2021, I have participated in the discussions in the framework of the Tassadit Kaci's PhD thesis (University of Le Havre, in progress), for the geological and seismological knowledge of this vast area. In collaboration with David Graindorge (University of Brest), I also supervised Léa Lubert’s Master’s work of compiling and analyzing the high-resolution seismic profiles available in East Jersey (Ecrehou basin).
A new geophysical campaign (bathymetry, seismic reflection) has been performed in june-july 2022 (D. Graindorge and collaborators), and a PhD student (Juliette Thomas) was hired to lead the research.
2020-2024 - Paleoseimology of the La Rouvière Fault and the surrounding Cévennes Fault sections, Ardèche (France)
This fault caused the M4.9 surface rupturing Le Teil earthquake (11/11/2019). In cooperation with Géosciences Montpellier (Jeff Ritz, Matthieu Ferry), ISTERRE (Laurence Audin, Estelle Hannouz, Christian Sue), Géoazur (Christophe Larroque), EDF (Kevin Manchuel, Pierre Arroucau), CEA (Laurent Bollinger, Magali Riesner), we IRSN (Hervé Jomard, myself) started to study this fault which was previously unknown to be active (bdfa.irsn.fr) through an extensive trench campaign (>10 sites). We get external funding from INSU TELLUS-ALEA (project led by J.F. Ritz). Pending results...
Nicolas CATHELIN started in 2021, during his Master 2, to analyze the Geomorphology and active tectonics of the La Rouvière Fault and he continues on the same track during his PhD (IRSN funded, and co-supervised by Jeff Ritz and myself), including the surrounding sections of the NE Cévennes fault. Camille THOMASSET started a complementary PhD thesis (funded by EDF, supervised by Jeff Ritz and Kevin Manchuel), characterizing the structural geology of the fault system based on seismic reflection data. Several field and trenching campaigns were performed between 2021 and 2024 in the framework of their thesis, focusing on the Marsanne and Saint-Montan faults. Nicolas and Camille defended successfully their PhD thesis in december and november 2024, respectively.
2021 - 2025 - Quantifying the temporal and spatial slip variability in the earthquake cycle spanning months to million years timescales, in Central Italy (EQTIME)
ANR funded project. PI: Lucilla Benedetti (CEREGE, France)
In this project, I contribute to the earthquake geology characterization of the Liri and Roccapreturo faults (with M. Riesner, L. Benedetti, M. Ferry, S. Pucci, D. Pantosti, F. Cinti etc) and to the study of the Alto Tiberina fault system (Anghiari area) (with Alessio Testa, Paolo Boncio, Francesco Mirabella, Stefano Pucci, etc).
We are currently analyzing the datasets related to the Liri and Roccapreturo Faults. The papers on the Anghiari fault are published (Testa as a first author).
Since 2018 - Improvement of PFDHA methodology and supporting database (SURE 2.0)
The project is performed in the framework of the PhD thesis of Fiia Nurminen (co-funding IRSN and U. Chieti), in close collaboration with the U.S. Fault Displacement Hazard Initiative (FDHI). Supervisors: Paolo Boncio (Chieti) and myself
The activity of the PhD has two main objectives: 1) improve the methodology of PFDH by integrating the present knowledge with data from modern earthquakes/techniques, and 2) apply the method to areas with active faults of potential social impact. The improved PFDH method will have a significant impact for future siting and designing studies for critical and spatially-distributed (e.g., pipelines) facilities. This will be a primary help to land managers in evaluating strategies and priorities for mitigating the risk in developed areas. Fiia Nurminen published our first results in a paper to Frontiers in Earth Science (2020).
We have submitted a new release of SURE (SURE 2.0) to Nature Scientific Data.
Completed
2016 - 2024 - Paleoseismology of the Southern Rhine Graben Faults. Funding: IRSN and University of Aachen (RWTH)
With the University of Aachan (Germany), IRSN started in 2016 a paleoseismological study of the potential active faults which are suspected to run along the eastern border of the Upper Rhine Graben. The last series of actions were led by Jochen Huertgen and Sara Pena (RWTH) under supervision of Prof. Klaus Reicherter and myself.
We have published a couple of papers (Pena-Castellnou et al., 2023 and 2024).
2016-2021 - Seismic Risk in Ecuador: Mitigation, Anticipation and knowledge of Earthquakes (REMAKE) ANR funded project AND Since 2012 - Laboratoire Mixte International "Séismes et Volcans des Andes du Nord" (LMI SVAN) - Funding: IRD
First in the framework of a French Research Funding Agency (ANR), I have been involved with colleagues from Grenoble University (Laurence Audin), Escuela Politecnica Nacional de Quito (Alexandra Alvarado) and many others in the study of Central Ecuador active tectonics. The main outcome from this cooperation was a paleoseismological study of the most active fault segment, the Pallatanga Fault (Baize et al., 2015), a segment of the Chingual-Cosanga-Pallatanga_Puna fault zone which accommodates the relative displacement between the North Andean Sliver and the South American Plate (rate 8 mm/y according to GPS).
Then, from 2012 to 2016, with my colleague Hervé Jomard from IRSN, we contributed to the Seismotectonic Group of the LMI-SVAN (Laboratoire Mixte International - Séismes et Volcans des Andes du Nord). IRSN hired a post-doc scientist (Johann Champenois): he performed -using InSAR techniques- a series of calculation of displacement fields around the Quito active fold, the Pallatanga and Pisayambo Active Faults, as well as on the Tungurahua volcano during its recent eruptive phases. At the same time, we continue our mapping of active faults and earthquake surface ruptures in the Pallatanga region (Igualata volcano, Pisayambo Laguna).
We already contributed to a new calculation of the seismic hazard at the national scale (Beauval et al., 2018) with existing geological data.
In 2018, we moved to the north of Quito to investigate the Billecocha fault, an enigmatic "normal" fault system in the transcurrent environment of the Ecuador Andes! Actually our trenches and field mapping (with IG EPN and IRD) strongly suggest that they are purely "normal" and due to isostatic rebound (Ego et al 1996) but rather oblique faults associated with other strike-slip and reverse segments interacting, probably, in a classic block tectonics model.
You can have an overview of the LMI SVAN activities, publications, staff, etc here: http://lmi.igepn.edu.ec/
Since 2000 - Seismotectonics of the Alps and surrounding areas
The Western Alps are, together with the Pyrenees, the most active areas in Metropolitan France in terms of current seismicity. Very few active active faults have been evidenced yet, and their key parameters in terms of seismic hazard are unknown or debated. Seismic hazard is therefore, in those areas, evaluated thanks seismotectonic zoning, which is based on static geological data and on regional dynamic criteria such as distribution of seismicity and related kinematics, and current deformation rates (that can be inferred from GNSS data). IRSN therefore contributes to the seismic and geodetic (GNSS) networks (as early as the 1990's). We are part of the scientific community involved in the RESIF network (https://www.resif.fr/).
I have personally worked on the GNSS topic, with J. M. Nocquet (IRD), A. Walpersdorf (U. Grenoble) or A. Rigo (ENS, Paris). Representing IRSN, I am part of the RENAG (http://webrenag.unice.fr/) group, and contributed (a few) to their publications on the Western Alps, the Jura Mountains and the Pyrenees.
With A. Walpersdorf, M.P. Doin (Grenoble) and C. Sue (U. Besançon), we co-supervise the PhD thesis of Marguerite Mathey (2017-2020) which deals with the "Quantification of the 3D deformation field in the Western Alps with spatial geodesy and seismology data: tectonic implications and contribution to seismic hazard assessment" (thesis co-funded by IRSN et LABEX Grenoble).
2016-2019 - Earthquake Surface Rupture Database (SURFACE)
Supported by INQUA and IRSN
The proposal submitted to and accepted by INQUA in 2015 is available on the INQUA TERPRO Commission website: http://www.earthquakegeology.com/
One part of the project is dedicated to building a Database of Earthquake Surface Rupture (SURE). This starting effort is also supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The database is published in Seismological Research Letters.
2017-2020 - Contribution to a technical document on PFDHA for the nuclear industry (IAEA)
The aim of the pending Technical Document is to provide a state-of-the-art of the methodology to estimate the Fault Displacement Hazard that can threaten the nuclear installations.
I am focused on the part dealing with the earthquake surface rupture phenomenon and the datasets used to derive empirical relationships to predict the probability of occurrence and the amount of displacement.
2019 - KIWIQUAKES
Funded by Fonds d'Amitié France-Nouvelle-Zélande
This project was an exchange with GNS Science (R. Langridge) with collaborative field work in New Zealand on the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake rupture and paleoseismology of the causative faults (Papatea fault). A trench on the Hope fault (Hinau site) was also performed.
2016-2019 - Earthquake geology of the 2016 earthquake sequence in Central Italy (Norcia) and paleoseismology of causative faults, with INGV Rome
With my colleagues of the Open EMERGEO group, we mapped the extensive surface rupture associated with the M6.5 shock (Norcia, 30 october 2016) (see papers by Villani et al. and Civico et al. published in 2018).
Then, with INGV colleagues, we trenched the principal fault that caused the earthquake and secondary faults that were also remobilized during the 2016 shock. The results are available in Cinti et al. (2019).
Funding: Gobierno de España
With colleagues from Universities of Barcelona and San Diego, IGME Madrid (among others), we study the paleoearthquake history of the Eastern Betics active faults (Carboneras Fault, Alhama de Murcia Fault).
Results on the Alhama de Murcia Fault are published in Ferrater et al. (2016) papers. Octavi Gomez and Roberto Lopez are the two PhD students who are in charge of the on-going studies (Alhama de Murcia and Carboneras faults, respectively).
2012-2013 - SHAKE Project - Paleoseismology of the Alhama de Murcia Fault (Spain)
Funded by the Spanish Ministry
2010-2013 - Active Fault Database of France (BDFA)
French Environment Ministry and IRSN-funded Project
The BDFA database is an IRSN effort to compile the existing neotectonic data in France. It defines a series of parameters of the faults running in a 50 km radius around the nuclear installations in the country. The database is available here.
2008 - 2012 - Andes du Nord-ADN (Ecuador)
ANR-funded project
2005-2008 - The Quaternary activity of Montagne du Vuache (France) fault
IRSN-funded Project
2005-2007 - SUBCHILE
ANR Funded project
Site effects in the Santiago de Chile Basin
1999-2002 - Catalog of neotectonic evidences in France
IRSN-funded project
The aim was to compile the existing dataset of neotectonic evidences (in literature). The origin (tectonic versus other phenomena) was discussed.
This catalog was built in the perspective of the French Nuclear Safety Guidelines (2001) which recommended to account for paleoseismological evidences.