
Simon KueblerLudwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich | LMU · Faculty of Geosciences
Simon Kuebler
Dr. habil
About
44
Publications
20,434
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Introduction
My research focuses on analyzing the surface expression and landscape response of active faults in the continental regions of East Africa, Europe and North America. I am interested in understanding the physical constraints of dynamic landscapes, coseismic rupture processes and the interplay between tectonics, soil edaphics and human evolution. I combine conventional geological methods with high resolution terrain and optical satellite data and analysis of seismically deformed sediments.
Additional affiliations
June 2018 - May 2020
Education
October 2002 - March 2008
Publications
Publications (44)
Lake Naivasha, Kenya's second-largest freshwater body is a wetland of international ecological importance and currently subjected to unprecedented anthropogenic influence. The study aims to chronologically reconstruct the main human activities and background weathering reactions that govern metal mobilizations into the lake and their potentially ad...
The 6 February 2023, Mw 7.8 Pazarcık earthquake in the Turkey‐Syria border region raises the question of whether such a large earthquake could have been foreseen, as well as what is the maximum possible magnitude (Mmax) of earthquakes on the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) system and on continental transform faults in general. To answer such questions,...
The February 6, 2023, M 7.8 Pazarcık earthquake in the Turkey-Syria border region raises the question of whether such a large earthquake could have been foreseen, as well as what is the maximum possible magnitude (M) of earthquakes on the East Anatolian fault system and on continental transform faults in general. To answer such questions, knowledge...
The Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (EMPT) between 1200 and 700 ka represents a major global climate transition from dominantly 41,000- to 100,000-year glacial cycles. The forces and mechanisms behind this transition and the response of African environments are not well understood. The active volcanism and tectonics of the East African Rift Sys...
The February 6, 2023, M 7.8 Pazarcık earthquake in the Turkey-Syria border region raises the question of whether such a large earthquake could have been foreseen, as well as what is the maximum possible magnitude (M) of earthquakes on the East Anatolian fault system and on continental transform faults in general. To answer such questions, knowledge...
Tectonic activity impacts the environment; therefore, identifying the influence of active faulting on environmental factors, such as soil development and vegetation growth patterns, is valuable in better understanding ecosystem functions. Here, we illustrate how tectonic activity and the lithology of bedrock influence temporal and spatial patterns...
The February 6th, 2023, Mw 7.8 Pazarcık earthquake in the Turkey-Syria border region raises the question of whether such a large earthquake could have been foreseen, as well as what is the maximum possible magnitude (Mmax) of earthquakes on the East Anatolian fault system and on continental transform faults in general. To answer such questions, kno...
The environmental and living conditions of a region are shaped by its relief, geology and climate, and control factors like hydrology and soil formation. While long-term climatic fluctuations and associated changes in environmental conditions are commonly viewed as the dominant natural factor in human evolution, the role of geological and pedologic...
Tectonic activity impacts the environment and identifying the influence of active faulting on environmental factors, such as vegetation growth and soil formation patterns, is valuable in better understanding ecosystem functions. We applied remote sensing techniques to illustrate how tectonic activity and lithology of bedrock influence temporal and...
The Victoria microplate is generally assumed to be internally rigid, i.e. non-deforming. Here, we describe geomorphological evidence for active fragmentation of the microplate along the E-W to NE-SW striking Isuria-Utimbara fault system, Lake Victoria, in the Kenya-Tanzania transboundary region.
The Isuria-Utimbara fault system has received little...
The East African Rift System (EARS) is a key location for studying Plio-Pleistocene paleoclimate and hominin inhabitance. The region experienced profound reorganization during this interval as a response to volcanism, tectonics and climate change, and arguably detailed spatiotemporally coherent climate datasets could provide evidence of causal link...
Tectonic activity impacts the environment, therefore, identifying the influence of active faulting on environmental factors, such as soil development and vegetation growth patterns, is valuable in better understanding ecosystem functions. Here, we illustrate how tectonic activity and lithology of bedrock influence temporal and spatial patterns of v...
Tectonically active regions are characterized by complex landscapes comprising soils with heterogeneous physicochemical properties. Spatial variability of nutrient sources enhances landscape biodiversity and creates heterogeneous habitats potentially attractive for animals and humans. In this study, we analyze the role of geological processes in th...
Our aim in this chapter is to examine the reconstruction of physical landscapes in rift settings and their relevance to archaeological interpretation and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of such research, with particular reference to the Kenyan sector of the East African Rift. We focus on the mapping of physical landforms and how they...
Our aim in this chapter is to examine the reconstruction of physical landscapes in rift settings and their relevance to archaeological interpretation and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of such research, with particular reference to the Kenyan sector of the East African Rift. We focus on the mapping of physical landforms and how they...
The 2018 field season was carried out between 3 September and 29 September
with a team of seven to eight scientists and students from the University of Basel and
Jordan University.
Field seasons of the Jordan Valley revealed a rich Palaeolithic legacy along the
eastern foothills of the Jordan Valley dating from at least the Middle Pleistocene (i.e....
This chapter examines the relationship between the changing geomorphology of physical land forms in tectonically and volcanically active regions, topography, soil nutrients, movements of large mammals, and patterns of human subsistence and dispersal in the early stages of human evolution. We place particular emphasis on the ways in which minor topo...
This chapter examines the relationship between the changing geomorphology of physical land forms in tectonically and volcanically active regions, topography, soil nutrients, movements of large mammals, and patterns of human subsistence and dispersal in the early stages of human evolution. We place particular emphasis on the ways in which minor topo...
Intraplate earthquakes pose a significant seismic hazard in densely populated rift systems like the Lower Rhine Graben in Central Europe. While the locations of most faults in this region are well known, constraints on their seismogenic potential and earthquake recurrence are limited. In particular, the Holocene deformation history of active faults...
Animal movements in the tectonically active East African Rift Valley today are influenced by a combination of topography and soil nutrient distribution (soil edaphics). These patterns would have been the same in the past when hominins inhabited the area. Our study in the Kenya Rift shows that soil edaphics and active rift structures play a key role...
Palaeoseismic records and seismological data from continental interiors increasingly show that these areas of slow strain accumulation are more subject to seismic and associated natural hazards than previously thought. Moreover, some of our instincts developed for assessing hazards at plate boundaries might not apply here. Hence assessing hazards a...
In regions of low strain, long earthquake recurrence intervals (104–106 yrs) and erosive processes limit preservation of Quaternary markers suitable for distinguishing whether faults slip at uniform or secularly varying rates. The Lower Rhine graben in the border region of Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium provides a unique opportunity to explo...
Palaeoseismic records and instrumental data from
continental interiors increasingly show that these
areas of slow strain accumulation are more subject
to seismic and associated natural hazards than previously
thought (Tuttle & Schweig 1995; Johnston
1996; Johnston & Schweig 1996; Crone et al. 1997,
2003; Camelbeeck & Meghraoui 1998; Camelbeeck
et a...
Our aim in this paper is to create a large-scale palaeoenvironmental and spatio-temporal framework for interpreting human land use and exploitation of large mammals in the Central Kenya Rift over the past 2 million years, with particular reference to the Nakuru-Elmenteita-Naivasha basin and its adjacent rift flanks on the Kinangop Plateau and Mau e...
The Lower Rhine Graben (Central Europe) is a prime example of a seismically active low-strain rift zone characterized by pronounced anthropogenic and climatic overprint of structures, and long recurrence intervals of large earthquakes. These factors render the identification of active faults and surface ruptures difficult. We investigated two fault...
Low strain regions may be characterized by long periods of seismic quiescence, punctuated by periods of clustered earthquake activity. This type of non-periodic recurrence behavior challenges accurate seismic hazard analysis. The Lower Rhine Embayment in the German-Belgium-Netherland border region presents a unique opportunity to characterize the l...
The Lower Rhine Graben (Central Europe) is a prime example of a seismically active low-strain rift zone characterized by pronounced anthropogenic and climatic overprint of structures, and long recurrence intervals of large earthquakes. These factors render the identification of active faults and surface ruptures difficult. We investigated two fault...
Intraplate seismicity is often characterized by episodic, clustered and migrating earthquakes and extended after-shock sequences. Can these observations – primarily from North America, China and Australia – usefully be applied to seismic hazard assessment for intraplate Europe? Existing assessments are based on instrumental and historical seismicit...
Animal movements in the Kenya Rift Valley today are influenced by a combination of topography and trace nutrient distribution. These patterns would have been the same in the past when hominins inhabited the area. We use this approach to create a landscape reconstruction of Olorgesailie, a key site in the East African Rift with abundant evidence of...
Fossil remains are embedded in a continually evolving landscape. Earth scientists have the
methods and approaches to study the processes that shape the landscape at various
temporal and spatial scales. Some of these methods can generate insights that are of
potential use for researchers in other fields, such as archaeology and palaeoanthropology.
H...
The quality of soils (edaphics) and the associated vegetation strongly controls the health of grazing animals. Until now, this has hardly been appreciated by paleo-anthropologists who only take into account the availability of water and vegetation in landscape reconstruction attempts. A lack of understanding the importance of the edaphics of a regi...
Identification of active seismogenic faults in low-strain intraplate regions is a major challenge. The understanding of intraplate earthquakes is hampered by the spatiotemporal scattering of large earthquakes and by barely detectable strain accumulation. In populated humid regions, both hillslope and anthropogenic processes are important challenges...
The Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE) is one of the most seismically active regions in intraplate Europe. At least 21 M > 5 instrumental and historical earthquake events have been recorded and documented, respectively, for western Germany, eastern Belgium and southern Netherlands (Leydecker, 2002). The largest of these events was the 1756 earthquake near...
One of the most enigmatic problems in intraplate earthquake geology is the spatio-temporal recurrence pattern of large earthquakes. Intraplate regions such as the New Madrid seismic zone or the central European rift system are subject to considerable seismic hazards, because fault activity is highly disparate in space and time and our knowledge abo...
Intraplate earthquakes pose a significant hazard in populated regions like central Europe. While the locations of potentially active faults are well known, our data base about the recurrence of earthquakes on these faults is rudimentary. The current debate ranges from slip dominated by large seismogenic ruptures to slip dominated by aseismic creep....
Based on historical documents and instrumental data the Lower Rhine Embayment is currently one of the most seismically active regions in intraplate Europe. At least 21 M > 5 instrumental and historical earthquake events have been recorded and documented, respectively, for western Germany, eastern Belgium and southern Netherlands (Leydecker, 2002)....
Questions
Questions (5)
I am interested in animal movments and interactions in topographically complex landscapes for a case study in western North America. Large migratory animals e.g. elephants in East Africa are constrained in their seasonal movements by steep slopes and uneven terrain, which makes their migratory routes somewhat predicable using slope maps from digital elevation data. For the typical migratory species in North America such as mule deer, elk or pronghorn I haven't been able to find much information regarding their mobility in steep complex terrain. Does anyone know more about this or can point out studies dealing with this aspect? Many thanks! Simon
I would like to get age constraints on the deposition of fluvial sediments in a river deposit in the Kenya Rift. Age estimates are Mid to Late Pleistocene. The sources are mostly basaltic, trachytic and phonolitic lava flows. Quarz content is fairly low, so I'm guessing OSL won't be the method of choice. Any ideas?
I recently started to look for active faulting in the Kenyan Rift, particularly in the southern part around Lake Nakuru and south of it and I find oddly few publications on neotectonic and/or paleoseismic studies in the region. Can anyone help me with literature or personal experience?
Depending on the hypocentral depth and source fault geometry large and moderate earthquakes commonly rupture the surface. I would like to know if anyone knows the minimum magnitude of a coseismic event so far observed to have caused surface rupture and which factors presumably lead to surface rupture of such an event.
Does anyone know a reasonable stress value (MPa) at the tip of a propagating coseismic rupture?