Knickpoint series of gullies along the Luoyunshan Piedmont and its relation with fault activity since late Pleistocene

•The longitudinal profiles of 28 gullies and 133 knickpoints were surveyed.•The paleo-earthquake events from knickpoint and trench studies are consistent.•Six paleo-earthquake events happened on the Luoyunshan Piedmont fault from 28,000 YBP.•The vertical displacement is 2.4–3.0 m corresponding earthquake magnitude Ms 7.0–7.5.

The authors surveyed the longitudinal profiles of 28 gullies across the Luoyunshan Piedmont fault (LPF) by differential GPS and dating of sediments well preserved in the typical terraces and obtained 6-level knickpoint series of the gullies along the Luoyunshan Piedmont. The authors compared it with previous studies on the paleo-earthquakes of the LPF revealed by trenches and found that the paleo-earthquake events from knickpoint and trench studies are in good agreement in terms of the time of occurrence and vertical displacement of the fault. It shows studying the paleo-earthquake events of the fault by knickpoint series is feasible. At last, the authors established a more complete paleo-earthquake sequence of the LPF supported by geomorphologic and sedimentary evidence, i.e., six paleo-earthquake events happened on the LPF from about 28,000 years ago; the LPF has the characteristic of quasi-periodic recurrence and the average recurrence interval is 4585 years. The vertical displacement of the paleo-earthquake events is 2.4–3.0 m; according to the empirical equations between co-seismic displacement and earthquake magnitude the magnitude of these events is Ms 7.0–7.5. This study aims to complement and improve the traditional trenching method, provide theoretical and methodological support for the research of active tectonics, and contribute important information for the seismic hazard assessment of the densely populated Linfen area.

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