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Geophysical evidence of the Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (Czech Republic)

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Abstract

The western part of the Bohemian Massif hosts an intersection of two regional fault zones, the SW-NE trending Ohře/Eger Graben and the NNW-SSE trending Mariánské Lázně Fault, which has been reactivated several times in the geological history and controlled the formation of the Tertiary Cheb Basin. The broader area of the Cheb Basin is also related to permanent seismic activity of ML 3+ earthquake swarms. The Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (northern segment of the Mariánské Lázně Fault) separates the basin sediments and underlying granites in the SW from the Krušné Hory/Erzgebirge Mts. crystalline unit in the NE. We describe a detailed geophysical survey targeted to locating the Eastern Marginal Fault and determining its geometry in the depth. The survey was conducted at the Kopanina site near the Nový Kostel focal zone, which shows the strongest seismic activity of the whole Western Bohemia earthquake swarm region. Complex geophysical survey included gravimetry, electrical resistivity tomography, audiomagnetotellurics and seismic refraction. We found that the rocks within the Eastern Marginal Fault show low resistivity, low seismic velocity and density, which indicates their deep fracturing, weathering and higher water content. The dip of the fault in shallow depths is about 60° towards SW. At greater depths, the slope turns to subvertical with dip angle of about 80°. Results of geoelectrical methods show blocky fabric of the Cheb Basin and deep weathering of the granite bedrock, which is consistent with geologic models based on borehole surveys.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Vratislav Blecha, Tomáš Fischer, Petr Tábořík, Jan Vilhem, Radek Klanica & Jan Valenta

  2. Institute of Geophysics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II/1401, 141 31, Prague 4, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Fischer & Radek Klanica

  3. Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, V Holešovičkách 94/41, 182 09, Prague 8, Czech Republic

    Petr Tábořík, Jan Valenta & Petra Štěpančíková

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  1. Vratislav Blecha
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  2. Tomáš Fischer
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  4. Jan Vilhem
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  7. Petra Štěpančíková
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Correspondence to Vratislav Blecha.

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Blecha, V., Fischer, T., Tábořík, P. et al. Geophysical evidence of the Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (Czech Republic). Stud Geophys Geod 62, 660–680 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11200-017-0452-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11200-017-0452-9

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