J. L. Giner-Robles

• Ph.D. Geodynamics
• Professor (Full) at Autonomous University of Madrid

Teotihuacan was one of the thriving cultures in the Mesoamerica pre-Hispanic times, located in the Central Valley of Mexico. The city-state was a dominant centre point during the Classic period and its influence affected other contemporaneous cultures. Around the year 550 CE, a continuous decrease in urban population and selective building destruct...

This study presents the characterization and chronology of the Quaternary terrace sequence developed in the confluence zone of the Júcar and Cabriel river valleys. The study area covers a radius of 10 km from the confluence of the two valleys near the locality of Cofrentes (Valencia). It is located in the northern zone of the Ayora-Cofrentes Graben...

Geologic gas storage is a sustainable strategy to store energy in underground reservoirs in order to be used under demand. Injection and withdrawal gas operations could trigger induced seismicity according to the tectonic constrains of the reservoir. The study of the active stress/strain fields shows the properties of the fault patterns that can be...

The “Caliphal City of Medina Azahara” was built in 936–937 CE or 940–941 CE (depending on the source) by the first Caliph of al-Andalus Abd al-Rahman III, being recently inscribed (2018) on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The abandonment and destruction of the city have been traditionally related to the civil war (“fitna”) that started between 1009...

The main uncertainty when studying the destruction horizon of an archaeological site or a heritage building is to know which trigger mechanism generated these deformations. This is the case of archaeoseismology, which needs to have a method to be able to discriminate whether the ruin of a given site was caused by simple abandonment or by an earthqu...

This work presents a macroseismic analysis of the AD 1755 Lisbon Earthquake-Tsunami event by means of the combination of intensity data derived from the EMS-98 scale and the ESI-07 scale (Environmental damage). About 600 records of secondary earthquake environmental effects (EEEs) for the whole Spain have been used to define intensities, focused on...

We report on the tsunami deposits burying the coastal Roman remains of the Baelo Claudia archeologic site and its environs up to ca. +8 m above the sea-level. New data on 2D ERT profiles (Electric Resistivity Tomography) of the lagoonal zone near the eastern necropolis adjacent to the city walls as well as new sedimentologic insights on the paleots...

In this work, two earthquakes are compared that occurred in the same area of Ademuz (Valencia): the Ademuz earthquake of June 7, 1656 (EMS VIII), and the earthquake of March 10, 2006 of magnitude Mw 4.3 (EMS V-VI). The geological effects of the 1656 earthquake have been evaluated applying the ESI-07 intensity scale, obtaining a maximum intensity of...

Resumen: el lugar donde se ubica la ciudad romana de Ategua tiene una ocupación continua desde al menos el Bronce Final, con un episodio de abandono en el s. II AD. Este abandono fue parcial pero importante, ya que se dejaron sin usar y en ruinas edificios públicos tan importantes como las termas, así como una panadería y dos grandes cisternas de a...

We have applied archaeoseismological techniques to evaluate the historical information about the earthquake/hurricane that occurred in Cordoba, on 21 st September 1589 (Southern Spain). We have estimated the Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) and the macroseimic earthquake environmental scale ESI07 to destruction patterns of buildings and chu...

This study deals with the morphometric characterization and quantification of earthquake damage in the ancient Roman city of Baelo Claudia in South Spain (Gibraltar Arc) by means of the use of 3D modelling from drone imagery. Baelo Claudia is a world-renowned archaeological site recording recurrent earthquake destruction during the first and third...

The spatial and geostatistical analysis of the building damage caused by earthquakes in archaeological sites provides significant information about ancient and historic seismic events such as earthquake directivity, seismic maximum intensity, and the spatial effect of seismic surface wave propagation. A comprehensive mapping of the building damage...

The third edition of the Chronostratigraphic Chart for the Quaternary of the Iberian Peninsula (v 3.0) substitutes the older 2007 and 2009 versions. The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), and more specifically the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS), has been working since 2009 both in the formal definition of the Quaternary...

Esquema del origen y evolución de las Islas Canarias

Esquema docente y divulgativo de la evolución del proceso volcánico en La Palma (España) (septiembre-octubre 2021)

The third edition of the Chronostratigraphic Chart for the Quatemary of the Iberian Peninsula (v 3.0) substitutes the older 2007 and 2009 versions (Silva et al., 2009). The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), and more specifically the Subcommission on Quatemary Stratigraphy (SQS), has been working since 2009 both in the formal definitio...

In this work, we propose a kinematic model based on the strain 3D spatial distribution from focal mechanism solutions of instrumental earthquakes located along the Middle American Trench, in the convergence zone of Rivera and Cocos plates with North-American and Caribbean tectonic plates. We have used more than 1300 focal mechanisms of earthquakes...

Las culturas mesoamericanas prehispánicas del altiplano mexicano, y en concreto los imperios P’urhepecha y Azteca (Periodo Posclásico tardío, 1300 – 1500 AD), experimentaron grandes terremotos destructivos que dejaron una impronta en su sociedad y determinó tanto sus ritos espirituales como su urbanismo. Este trabajo describe varios paleoterremotos...

We report on the tsunami deposits burying the coastal roman remains of the Baelo Claudia archeologic site and its environs until ca. +8 m above the sea-level. New data on 2D ERT profiles (Electric resistivity Tomography) and GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) the lagoonal zone near the eastern necropolis adjacent to the city walls as well as new sedime...

This work reviews the 1863 Huércal-Overa earthquake (VI-VII EMS) based on the environmental seismic intensity scale (ESI-07) and oriented archaeoseismological building damage. The performed analysis identifies 23 environmental effects (EEEs) and 11 archaeoseismological effects (EAEs), completing a total of 34 intensity data-points within the intens...

One of the concerns of underground CO2 onshore storage is the triggering of induced seismicity and fault reactivation by the pore pressure increasing. Hence, a comprehensive analysis of the tectonic parameters involved in the storage rock formation is mandatory for safety management operations. Unquestionably, active faults and seal faults depictin...

The fault gouge of the Alhama de Murcia fault (southeast Spain) shows a texture that resembles a mylonite, including a prominent foliation, S-C fabric, and isoclinal folds. It also embeds a large number of isolated pulverized quartz clasts (PQCs). Structural analysis indicates that the gouge fabric was mainly developed by slow frictional sliding al...

Abstract. One of the concerns of underground CO₂ onshore storage is the triggering of Induced Seismicity and fault reactivation. Hence, a comprehensive analysis of the tectonic parameters involved in the storage rock formation is mandatory for safety management operations. Unquestionably, active faults and seal faults depicting the stora...

This paper deals with the analysis of ancient and historical earthquakes in the Lower Segura Depression (SE Spain) at the northern end of the Eastern Betic Cordillera Shear Zone (EBSZ), which is defined within the area by the Lower Segura blind-thrust fault. The work summarizes and updates the existing information on the building and environmental...

The interaction between karst hypogenic processes and Late Pleistocene active faulting determines the present topography and shape of the Benís Cave within the Cieza Ranges in the eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain). This cave represents the explored deepest cave within the Murcia region, reaching the deepest point at -320 m, and showing “in situ”...

Dating earthquake geological effects associated with historical earthquakes gives us relevant information for estimating the seismic acceleration value experienced in the ground. Historical manuscripts describing earthquakes and its effects help to assign a seismic intensity about the ground motion. In this context, lichenometry represents a good s...

This paper summarizes the content and scope of the “Catalogue of Earthquake Geological Effects in Spain”. The catalogue has been published by the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) and constitutes the first official publication (in Spain) on seismic hazard containing geological information. The catalogue gathers the 51 stronger earthquakes that have...

Strategy for an Archaeoseismic analysis of the Antequera dolmens (Málaga, Spain)): Antequera is home to one of the most important megalithic sites in Europe. Previous work has suggested a possible connection between seismic events and megalith-building in the region, as well as a possible awareness of the seismic risks on the part of the megalith-b...

Abstract (Geological analysis of the 1829 Torrevieja Earthquake, Alicante, SE Spain). This work examines from a geological point of view the data on the 1829 Torrevieja Earthquake (IX-X Intensity) reported by Larramendi (1829) and De Prado (1863). The study evidences the dichotomy of the dominant geological processes occurred in the hanging-wall an...

Abstract (Pedological record of paleoenvironmental changes in Guadalentín Depression during the Holocene, Murcia, SE Spain): The Guadalentín Depression is the more outstanding landscape feature generated by strike-slip faulting within the central segment of the Eastern Betic Shear Zone (EBSZ). This depression evolved under lacustrine to palustrine...

Material de apoyo docente. Conceptos básicos sobre cortes topográficos. Este material forma parte de una serie de 10 documentos que tratan sobre conceptos básicos sobre los temas comúnmente desarrollados en prácticas de geología.

Material de apoyo docente. Conceptos básicos sobre mapas y cortes geológicos. Este material corresponde a una serie de 10 documentos que tratan sobre conceptos básicos sobre los temas comúnmente desarrollados en prácticas de geología.

Material de apoyo docente. Conceptos básicos sobre interpretación de cortes geológicos. Este material forma parte de una serie de 10 documentos que tratan sobre conceptos básicos sobre los temas comúnmente desarrollados en prácticas de geología. En la pestaña linked data podéis encontrar un archivo ppt con la evolución geológica simplificada del e...

Material de apoyo docente. Conceptos básicos sobre mapas geológicos. Este material corresponde a una serie de 10 documentos que tratan sobre conceptos básicos sobre los temas comúnmente desarrollados en prácticas de geología.

La idea del origen compresivo del Sistema Central (SC) se debe a Birot y Solé Sabarís (1954), antes del establecimiento del papel que la tectónica de placas juega en el desarrollo de las estructuras intraplaca. Sin embargo, sus observaciones de campo no fueron tenidas en cuenta y, durante mucho tiempo, el SC fue considerado como una estructura exte...

This study presents a multidisciplinary approach to the tectonic geomorphology and history of the Palomares strike-slip fault in the Eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain). Analysis combines geomorphological mapping of fan-surfaces, pedological studies of faulted sedimentary successions, geoelectrical prospection and typical paleoseismological routine...

Elucidating the internal structure of the Alhama de Murcia Fault (AMF) in SE Spain is essential to proper understanding its seismological behavior. To this end, a structural analysis from detailed mapping, trenches and a 174 m deep borehole, was performed in the Goñar-Lorca section of the AMF, where the fault zone is better exposed and the deformat...

Dating earthquake geological effects associated with historical earthquakes gives us relevant information for estimating the seismic acceleration value experienced in the ground. Historical manuscripts describing earthquakes and its effects help to assign a seismic intensity about the ground motion. In this context, lichenometry represents a good s...

The purpose of this book is to present the results obtained by the IdaVe Research Project. The main contribution is to provide new reflections concerning the landscape, urbanism and architecture of Idanha-a-Velha in the Roman, late antique and medieval periods based on the latest fieldwork data and the reinterpretation of previous works.

Los mapas de intensidad sísmica y de aceleración del terreno asociados a terremotos, permiten establecer las áreas afectadas por daño severo o destructivo, y localizar aquellas poblaciones más afectadas durante un gran terremoto. En el caso de utilizarlos para simulacros sísmicos, estos mapas ayudan a la planificación del ejercicio para la moviliza...

Archivo *.kmz del itinerario de la excursión

Archivo *.kmz (Google Earth TM) de los efectos geológicos y ambientales del terremoto de Estubeny (Valencia) del 23 de marzo de 1748. Este kmz se ha desarrollado como material adicional del Catálogo de los efectos geológicos de los terremotos en España (2014) (ISBN: 978-84-7840-938-9).

Archivo *.kmz (Google Earth TM) de los efectos geológicos y ambientales del terremoto de Tavernes de la Valldigna (Valencia) del 18 de diciembre de 1396. Este kmz se ha desarrollado como material adicional del Catálogo de los efectos geológicos de los terremotos en España (2014) (ISBN: 978-84-7840-938-9)

En este trabajo se presenta la caracterización mineralógica de la gouge del núcleo de la Falla de Alhama de Murcia (FAM; SE España) para ver qué papel podría ejercer sobre su comportamiento sismogénico. Para ello se realizaron ensayos friccionales de laboratorio sobre muestras experimentales sometidas a escalones crecientes de velocidad de deslizam...

Memoria de campo de la excursión de la III Reunión Ibérica sobre fallas activas y paleosismología (IBERFAULT 2018), realizada los días 14 y 15 de junio del 2018 en Valencia (España).

We analysed 682 earthquake focal mechanism solutions located in the Iberian Peninsula and nearby areas. We have obtained different parameters applying methods of determination of the strain tensor (Slip Model): (1) the fault plane between the nodal planes of the focal mechanism, (2) the orientation of the maximum horizontal shortening (ey), (3) the...

El yacimiento de gas de Poseidón constituye uno de los campos de extracción de gas el cual se localiza en el Golfo de Cádiz. Esta zona presenta fallas sismogénicas con capacidad de generar terremotos. Es por ello que un estudio exhaustivo de la potencial sismicidad inducida por operaciones de extracción de gas permitirá avanzar en el estudio de pot...

We have developed a ShakeMap (macroseismic intensity map and ground acceleration) for a SIMULATED earthquake, to be used into a large Emergency exercise of the highest level (Level III), and proposed by the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME), plus the Spanish Civil Protection and other local organisms. The SIMULATED earthquake is located within...

The cartography of seismogenic active faults in adjacent areas of underground gas storage helps in the management for Induced Seismicity related to deep fluid movement and injection/extraction manoeuvres. In this sense, the determination of the Active Stress field into the area allows the understanding of the 3D fracture patterns and their role in...

Durante las crisis inducidas es normal que durante unos días, e incluso meses, se superpongan terremotos disparados e incluso naturales. Cuando la sismicidad inducida se produce en zonas “off-shore”, depende mucho de los datos geológicos disponibles para asignar los enjambres disparados a fallas cartografiadas e identificar la fuente sísmica. En es...

This study presents micromorphological evidence on the record of an ancient seismic event of Roman age (2nd Century AD) in the Late Holocene palustrine deposits of the Guadalentín Depression (Murcia). The deformed layer is now buried by a fluvial terrace deposit (+5-6 m above the present river thalweg) of medieval age. The liquefied level (10-12 cm...

El terremoto de Arenas del Rey de 1884 ha sido el último gran terremoto catastrófico que ha sufrido España (EMS98=IX-X; Mw=6,5-6,7). Generó una ruptura superficial de falla normal de más de 20 km de longitud. Así mismo produjo una gran cantidad de efectos geológicos, tanto primarios como secundarios. Los efectos segundarios más comunes fueron desli...

La determinación de las fallas capaces de disparar terremotos en zonas adyacentes con formaciones geológicas aptas para el almacenamiento profundo de gas, es una tarea que mitiga la ocurrencia de sismicidad inducida por operaciones subterráneas y movimiento de fluidos. Para ello, la determinación del campo de esfuerzos/deformación tectónicos activo...

Se trata de un texto que recoge de manera sencilla y directa los temas relativos a la asignatura de Geología de 2º de Bachillerato, con el objetivo de convertirse —frente a otros manuales de la competencia con niveles poco adecuados para el público al que se destina—, en un instrumento válido para el docente. Como características más importantes d...

The analysis of the damage caused by seismic events in archaeological sites provides significant information about ancient and historic earthquakes that can improve seismic hazard analysis. In this paper a methodological analysis to quantify the deformation of structural damage recorded in archaeological sites is proposed. This methodology focuses...

Geodocente es una iniciativa creada para compartir materiales docentes de geología, inéditos y de acceso libre para su utilización en diferentes niveles educativos: ESO, bachillerato y primeros cursos de grado en los que se imparta la geología como asignatura básica de ciencias (www.researchgate.net/project/GEODOCENTE-Materiales-docentes-de-geologi...

This paper deals with the analysis of ancient and historical earthquakes in the Lower Segura Depression (SE Spain) at the northern end of the Eastern Betic Cordillera Shear Zone (EBSZ), which is defined within the area by the Lower Segura blind-thrust fault. The work summarizes and updates the existing information on the building and environmental...

The analysis of the seismic damage recorded in archaeological sites provides significant information about ancient and historic earthquakes that can improve seismic hazard analysis. This paper describes the methodological proposals developed by the Spanish Working Group of the IGCP-567 on the analysis and quantification of the structural damage rec...

This work presents a macroseismic analysis of the AD 1755 Lisbon Earthquake-Tsunami event by means of the combination of intensity data derived from the EMS-98 scale and the ESI-07 scale (Environmental damage). About 600 records of earthquake environmental effects for the whole Spain have been used to define intensities. The analyses indicate maxim...

The western zone of the Iberian Peninsula is of moderate seismicity, but there is important paleoseismic evidence that indicate the occurrence of active faults with stronger seismic potential. Until now, this evidence has not been quantified or summarized in a manner that provides meaningful and useful data for better understanding seismic hazard r...

The Sencelles fault constitutes the main extensional structure of the Mallorca Island tentatively linked to the AD 1851 Palma earthquake (VII EMS.) The SE termination of the fault is featured by a linear bedrock fault scarp of c. 1 km in length. This rocky scarp display a significant horizontal banding, with up to five bands differentially colonize...

The 1884 Arenas del Rey Earthquake has been the last big earthquake in Spain (EMS98=IX-X; Mw=6.5-6.7). This earthquake generated an important amount of geological effects, both primary and secondary. The coseismic normal surface faulting was more than 20 km in length. The most common secondary effects were landslides and rock falls. The application...

This work presents the preliminary results of 3D geophysical imaging of subsurface deformations linked to surface coseismic damage recorded in the Late Roman (4th Century AD) la Magdalena archaeological site (Henares Valley, Central Spain). Five Electrical Tomography Resistivity profiles (ERT) displays soft-sediment deformation structures in the cl...

This work shows the preliminary results of the analysis of the geological effects generated by the Ademuz earthquake (Valencia, Spain) of June 7th, 1656. This event is classified as intensity VIII (EMS) in publications of the Spanish Seismic Network (IGN), currently appears in the IGN seismic catalog with no assigned intensity due to the lack of in...

This work presents a macroseismic analysis of the AD 1755 Lisbon Earthquake-Tsunami event by means of the combination of intensity data derived from the EMS-98 scale (Building damage), the ESI-07 scale (Environmental damage) and the TEE-16 scale (tsunami damage). Almost 600 records of environmental damage were identified and catalogued from Martíne...

Material de apoyo docente. Conceptos básicos sobre mapas topográficos. Este material corresponde a una serie de 10 documentos que tratan sobre conceptos básicos sobre los temas comúnmente desarrollados en prácticas de geología.

Normally in paleoseismology, the study of the tectonic slip-rate is performed in trenches on the fault scarp, or by the estimation of fault movements from the geomorphic features. In this work, we have carried out a paleoseismic analysis of the Benis Fault, located in southeast Spain, combined with a geothermal analysis inside a deep cave related t...

La Arqueosismología es una técnica multidisciplinar enfocada al estudio de terremotos en el pasado histórico mediante yacimientos arqueológicos y patrimonio cultural. Los datos procedentes de la arqueología son fundamentales a la hora de poder realizar interpretaciones arqueosismológicas, esto hace que la colaboración interdisciplinar Arqueología-G...

This work presents high-resolution ShakeMaps for three earthquakes occurred in the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain): the 2011 CE Lorca event (VIII ESI-07), the 1863 CE Huercal-Overa event (VIII ESI-07) and the 1829 CE Torrevieja event (X ESI-07). Detailed field characterizations and mapping of their coseismic environmental effects (EEEs) are catalogued...

The Malaga basin contains an important geological record documenting the complex paleogeographic evolution of the Gibraltar Arc before, during and after the closure and desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea triggered by the “Messinian Salinity crisis” (MSC). Proxy paleo-elevation data, estimated from the stratigraphic and geomorphological records, a...

This study present sedimentological and micromorphological evidence on the occurrence of an ancient seismic event of Roman age (2nd Century AD) in the ancient palustrine environments of the Guadalentín Depression (Murcia). Sedimentological (outcrop-scale), textural and micromorphological (thin-section) analyses evidence clear signals of liquefactio...

This work offers ShakeMaps scenarios for two earthquakes occurred in the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain), the AD 2011 Lorca event (VIII ESI07; 5.2 Mw) and AD 1829 Torrevieja event (X ESI07; 6.9 Mw). The Lorca event presents instrumental measures, allowing the comparison with the modelled PGA values. For both events there are a detailed field characteri...

This work presents the results of the PR-2 core palynological record analysis in the geoarchaeological context of the Palos Columbian Bay (Palos de la Frontera). The observed vegetation communities respond to relatively dry Mediterranean climate conditions. Changes along the sequence point towards human intervention in this environment through: 1)...

The seismic activity related to the Ossa de Montiel earthquake (Mw 4.7; 23rd February 2015) gathered at 11- 12 km depth. We have combined the study of the crustal strength and the vertical distribution of this seismicity to find out the rheological characteristics of the crust that conditioned these hypocentral locations. The crust in Campo de Mont...

The Roman archaeological site of Mulva-Munigua (Sevilla, Spain) displays building damage features suggesting a seismic origin (Earthquake Archaeological Effects: EAEs). The proposed seismic event could be tentatively dated in the late 3rd century AD, coinciding with the beginning of the economic fall of the Roman Empire at Iberia. However, some of...

The Benis Cave is the deepest explored cave (-320m) affecting the Prebetic units of the Betic Cordillera, and it was related to an active fault. Evidence of Upper Pleistocene paleoseismic activity and the peculiar topography of the cave, hypogenic and fault-related halls, encouraged us to monitor the daily CO2 content in the air composition at dept...

The ancient Roman city of Complutum (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid) was founded in the first century AD and it was one of the most important cities of Hispania. Complutum was destroyed, abruptly abandoned, relocated in a new location and rebuilt in the fourth century AD. The destruction of the city and its new location is still a mystery to the archaeo...

The Sencelles fault constitutes the main extensional structure of the Mallorca Island tentatively linked to the AD 1851 Palma earthquake (VII EMS.) The SE termination of the fault (Sta. Eugenia Segment) is featured by a linear bedrock fault scarp of a maximum of 3.15 m height. The last 840 m of this rocky scarp display a significant horizontal band...

In this work we offer the parameters of the seismogenic sources for the AD 1936 Tavernes and AD 1748 Estubeny historical events. Comparing with the spatial distribution of ESI-07Intensities, ShakeMap models in terms of PGA with different features of the seismogenic source (epicentral location, Mw, orientation of the source) have been obtained. Afte...

The Benis cave represents the deepest cave explored within the Murcia region, reaching the deepest point-320m by the " Espeleo Club Resaltes " from Murcia. This cave is located in the External Prebetic unit from a geological point of view, affecting Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary carbonates. The topography and speleogenesis of this cave is constrain...

El presente trabajo ilustra el estado del conocimiento sobre arqueosismología en la antigua ciudad romana de Baelo Claudia (Tarifa, Cádiz) tras casi quince años de investigaciones. Esta antigua ciudad romana se vio afectada por dos importantes terremotos en los años 40–60 AD y 260–290 AD. El primero de ellos afectó en mayor grado a la parte baja (c...