Jena. – The Alps are still deforming today, albeit slowly and unevenly. As the University of Jena has announced, a current comprehensive study by an international research team under its leadership, published in the journal ‘Tectonics’, provides evidence for this.
- Topic: Current tectonic deformation of the Alps
- Institution: University of Jena (research team)
- Publication: Journal ‘Tectonics’
- Causes: Isostatic adjustment movements since the last ice age
For their investigation, the scientists combined numerous data sets from the fields of seismology, geodesy, and historical earthquake records. The goal was to trace the tectonic development and deformation of the past approximately one million years in detail.
Regional differences in tectonics
The evaluation of the geodata shows a differentiated picture of the alpine regions:
- Southern Alps: A significant portion of active deformation is concentrated here. In the past, severe earthquakes have occurred at the edge of this region, such as in Friuli in 1976.
- Eastern Alps: In the interior of this region, rock material is slowly shifting eastward, with measured values between 0.5 and 1.0 millimeters per year.
- Dolomites: According to the study, this region shows barely measurable deformation.
It is also interesting to note that the current deformation is not directly controlled by deep geological processes. The detached remnants of the European plate beneath the mountain range are therefore not the primary driver. Instead, isostatic adjustment movements play a decisive role: since the end of the last ice age, melting glaciers have reduced the pressure on the Earth’s crust, causing it to gradually rise.
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Hiking map Saaletal and Jena
Detailed hiking map for the Jena region and the Saaletal for personal nature explorations.
Background: Significance for earthquake research
The new scientific findings from the University of Jena are of great importance for assessing natural hazards such as earthquakes in the Alps more realistically in the future. Through an improved understanding of local movement patterns and crustal processes, risk areas can be identified more precisely and protective measures can be better adapted.
Source:
Jena research team analyzes deformation of the Alps
Transparency note: This article was created automatically, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.