Abstract
Over periods of thousands of years, active faults tend to slip at constant rates. Pioneer studies of large Asian faults show that cosmogenic radionuclides (Be-10, Al-26) provide an unparalleled tool to date surface features, whose offsets yield the longest records of recent cumulative movement. The technique is thus uniquely suited to determine long-term (10-100 ka) slip rates. Such rates, combined with coseismic slip-amounts, can give access to recurrence times of earthquakes of similar sizes. Landform dating morphochronology - is therefore essential to understand fault-behaviour, evaluate seismic hazard, and build physical earthquake models. It is irreplaceable because long-term slip-rates on interacting faults need not coincide with GPS-derived, interseismic rates, and can be difficult to obtain from paleo-seismological trenching. (C) 2001 Academie des sciences Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.