Sedimentology, physical properties and age of mass transport deposits associated with the Marqués de Pombal Fault, Southwest Portuguese Margin

Abstract

The southwestern margin of the Iberian Peninsula hosts the present-day convergent boundary between the European and African Plates. Plate convergence is about 4 mm/yr and is accommodated over a wide and diffuse deformation zone (Sartori et al. 1994) characterized by significant and widespread seismic activity (e.g. Grimison & Chen 1986; Buforn et al. 1995; Stich et al. 2005), being the source of the largest events in Western Europe, such as the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake and Tsunami (estimated Moment Magnitude Mw 8.5) (Abe 1989; Johnston 1996; Baptista et al. 1998) and 1969 Horseshoe Earthquake (Mw 7.8) (Fukao 1973; Stich et al. 2005) (Fig. 1).