Postglacial seismogenic deformations of an esker in the Northern Karelian Isthmus (South-East Fennoscandia)

The research area is located in the Northern part of the Karelian  Isthmus  between Lake Ladoga and the  Gulf  of Finland  of the  Baltic Sea. The  terrain  features  are closely related  to the  tectonic  structure of  the  crystalline  basement,   partially  covered  with  thin  deposition  layer  of  the  Last  Glaciation   and Holocene  mostly. Accumulative  forms are rarely but strongly correlated  with the tectonic  structure  also. Most expressive features of accumulative  topography  are esker ridges that  stretch  for tens of kilometers. Analysis of eskers spatial distribution shows their close connection with the structural plan of the crystalline basement. One of the ridges under study was described in three sections where a lot of deformations  in soft sediments,  accompanied by deformations  of the esker’s topography (in one case) were found. The nature and stratigraphic position of deformations  indicates their appearance  during the period of existence of the Baltic Ice Lake after the retreat of the ice sheet. Post-sedimentary deformations were accompanied by partial re-deposition of sedimentary  strata. Deformations are represented  by several types and generations.  The ensembles of faults and fold deformations  in the esker deposition kinematically connected  with each other and coinciding  along the strike with the structural  lineaments  demonstrate  the influence of the activated tectonic  structure  to the formation  of the sedimentary cover. The conjugation  of normal and thrust faults, the presence of several “event horizons”  with traces of liquefaction testify to the seismotectonic  genesis of deformations and several strong earthquakes that occurred at different stages of the existence of the Baltic Ice Lake in the period 13.0–11.6 thousand years BP.

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