Earthquake-induced deformation structures in glacial sediments—evidence on fault reactivation and instability at the Vaalajärvi fault in northern Fennoscandia

Late and postglacial reverse faults and seismically-induced landslides are characteristic features of deglaciated terrain in the northern Fennoscandia. The main focus of this study was to investigate the rupturing history of the reverse Vaalajärvi fault complex in Sodankylä, Finland, based on remote sensing, on-site geophysics and sedimentology in excavations trenched across the faulted terrain. In addition to the previously known NNW–SSE-trending Vaalajärvi segment, we discovered six new SW–NE-trending fault segments that probably belong to the same Vaalajärvi ‘postglacial’ fault complex. Our analysis indicate that the Vaalajärvi fault segment was triggered by stress change caused by ruptures on the surrounding SW–NE-trending reverse faults. In total, at least two to three slip events have taken place in different segments of the Vaalajärvi complex since the Early Weichselian with the most recent event(s) being postglacial in timing. By using the scaling laws of fault surface rupture length and offset and under different scenarios of which segments or systems ruptured in a single or separate event, we estimate that the Vaalajärvi complex potentially hosted an earthquake that ranged between M w ≈ 6.7–7.0. This magnitude is comparable to the landslide-inferred magnitudes in the Vaalajärvi area.