To what extent is the present seismicity of Norway driven by post-glacial rebound?

• Published in: Journal of the Geological Society Vol. 167; no. 2; pp. 373 - 384
• Main Authors: Bungum, H, Olesen, O, Pascal, C, Gibbons, S, Lindholm, C, Vestol, O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, UK Geological Society of London 01.03.2010; The Geological Society of London; Geological Society Publishing House
• Subjects: deformation; Earthquakes; erosion; Europe; faults; flexure; geodesy; Geology; glacial rebound; isostatic rebound; neotectonics; normal faults; Norway; Plate tectonics; Scandinavia; sedimentation; seismicity; Seismology; seismotectonics; Structural geology; Studies; swarms; tectonics; uplifts; Western Europe
• ISSN: 0016-7649; 2041-479X
• DOI: 10.1144/0016-76492009-009

The seismicity of Scandinavia is low to intermediate in intensity and with magnitudes that rarely exceed 5.5. Even so, the seismicity is characterized by a great diversity in space and time, related to the fact that its driving forces, or sources of stress, are multiple and also diverse in nature. The dominant driving forces range from plate-related (such as ridge push) through regional to local ones (such as topography); all, however, are somehow related to lateral inhomogeneities in lithospheric structure. Whereas it was earlier assumed that the post-glacial uplift was the main cause for the seismicity of Scandinavia, we now conclude that the uplift may at most be playing a minor role. Along the coastal stretch of northern Norway there are still some indications that the seismicity, which is often shallow, normal faulting and swarm related, may be related to the still remaining glacial-isostatic adjustment. The flexuring that is needed to explain such behaviour could, however, also be related to erosion and sedimentation processes. It will take more work to separate these potential driving forces.