Abstract

Liquefaction, a seismic threat to critical infrastructure, demonstrated its impact in the 2023 Türkiye events and the one occurred in 2021 Damasi, Greece. In both cases, extensive liquefaction phenomena were triggered in the floodplain, and particularly in point bars and abandoned channels. Confirming that the identification of the paleoenvironmental features is a crucial step to assess the liquefaction susceptibility of an area, this research aims to statistically investigate the spatial distribution of liquefaction within point bars. Using historical and contemporary data, we were able to reconstruct the evolution of meandering fluvial systems in both cases and preliminary delineate the different types of lithofacies encountered in point bars; sand and mud prone. Afterwards, we compared the location of liquefaction related phenomena, ejecta and lateral spreading, with the predominant type of soil material within the point bars. As an outcome, it was concluded that most of liquefaction phenomena, triggered by these two earthquake cases, reported on the upstream flow direction of point bars which is characterized as sandy like zone.