El geo-radar como herramienta para la definición de fallas activas: aplicación en el sector central de la falla de Boconó, estado Mérida, Venezuela

This paper presents the outcomes from a first calibration test on the application of the Ground-Penetrating Radar technique (GPR) for the preliminary identification and characterization of active fault traces done in Venezuela. This test was performed on the central sector of the Bocono fault (between Apartaderos and Santo Domingo). By using an existing paleoseismological trench dug in Morro de Los Hoyos locality, we have calibrated the GPR, in order to correlate and corroborate the geo-radar profiles directly with the subsurface. Later, several profiles acquired at Mesa del Caballo allowed us to make an interpretation of the structural style of the Bocono fault in this area, that in turn helped us to select a paleoseismic trench site. Finally, GPR was very useful in defining the active fault trace at different sites, where morphological expression of the fault is poor, subdued or concealed. In recent periglacial and interglacial alluvial sequences, GPR seems to reliably reveal the location of the active fault traces, as well as giving insights on the relative degree of recent activity.