Looking for Earthquake Sources in the Lisbon Area

The Lisbon and surrounding areas have suffered the effect of historical earthquakes that caused important damages and loss of lives. Some of these earthquake sources are local but they are still poorly known. The knowledge of these sources is important for seismic hazard studies. The use of geophysical methods in the area is required due to the difficulty in finding geological outcrops, together with low-slip rates and erosion/sedimentation processes that erase surface ruptures. Furthermore, most of earthquake occurs at great depth, emphasizing the need for the application of the latter methods. In this paper we present a revised structural interpretation of the area using newly reprocessed and reinterpreted seismic reflection and potential-field data, relocated epicentres, geological outcrop and well data. This interpretation differs in some aspects from previous ones. Well known active faults zones like the Azambuja fault and the Pinhal Novo-Setúbal fault have new interpretations, while other previously unknown structures, like the Ota-V. F. de Xira-Lisbon-Sesimbra fault zone, for example, have been interpreted. These studies, together with shallow geophysical data, which has been and will be acquired over selected targets from this work, will constitute an improvement to the seismic hazard evaluation of the area.