Earthquake-induced landforms in the context of ice-sheet loading and unloading

Prominent earthquake-induced landforms have been found at several locations in northern Fennoscandia in areas formerly situated below the centre of the Pleistocene ice sheets, and more subtle examples have been recognized in regions far away from the former ice sheet centre. Stress changes in the subsurface created by loading and unloading of the ice sheets can result in reactivation of deep-seated faults. Glacially induced faulting can happen
during glaciation in a proglacial or subglacial setting, in a distal setting away from the ice margin, or in a postglacial setting after the ice sheet has melted away. Thus, the timing and location of the tectonic event is important for the resulting landform creation or landform change. Identification of earthquake-induced landforms can be used in interpretations of palaeoseismic events, for location of previously unrecognized fault zones and in evaluations of likelihood of future seismic events. Interpretations of earthquake-induced landforms in and around former glaciated areas can therefore add important information to
interpretations of both the Quaternary geology and the deep structural framework. In this chapter we present examples of earthquake-induced geomorphology ranging from readily visible surface expression to more subtle and complex landforms.