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Journal of the Geological Society; 1997; v. 154; issue.6; p. 1001-1007;
DOI: 10.1144/gsjgs.154.6.1001
© 1997 Geological Society of London

Article

Neotectonic fault activity in Hong Kong: evidence from seismic events and thermoluminescence dating of fault gouge

Y. Z. DING1 & K. W. LAI2

1 Seismological Bureau of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510070, China
2 Hong Kong Geological Survey, Geotechnical Engineering Office, 11/F Civil Engineering Building, 101 Princess Margaret Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong lies within a major NE-trending fault zone that has been reactivated during several tectonic episodes since the Palaeozoic. Three main faults sets are recognized in Hong Kong: a dominant NE-trending set, an ENE- varying to E-trending set and a subordinate NW-trending set. Over the last 1000 years, within a distance of 350 km of Hong Kong, there have been about 40 earthquakes with magnitudes of over 4.75, and of these 11 had magnitudes of over 6.0. Microseismic events in the last ten years are diffuse but may be associated with a major NE-trending fault and a fault intersection. Thermoluminescence (TL) dates of fault gouge suggest that there have been three episodes of recent fault activity in Hong Kong; these occurred at approximately at 100 000, 190 000 and 270 000 years BP. TL dating of alluvial sediments also indicates fault activity in the Late Pleistocene.


Keywords: Hong Kong, faults, thermoluminescence, earthquakes, microseisms.