Studies of seismic risk in the Netherlands, a low seismicity area, are based on earthquake statistics for a period of a few hundred years at most. Strong earthquakes that are characterized by a return period of more than this observation period may be missing in the data base. If there have been strong events along active faults in the region, they should have left their marks in the geological history. Paleo-seismological research provides tools to assess evidence for strong events. A first experiment was carried out in 1999/2000, in collaboration with NITG and paleo-seismological experts within the EC project PALEOSIS, by digging a trench along the Peel boundary fault. The PBF is an active fault, forming the north-eastern boundary of the Roer Valley Graben. The 1992 Roermond earthquake (ML = 5.8; MW = 5.4), the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the Netherlands, did take place on the PBF.

References:

• Geophysical investigation across the Peel boundary fault (The Netherlands) for a paleoseismological study
  D. Demanet, L.G. Evers, H.Teerlynck, B. Dost and D. Jongmans, Netherlands Journal of Geosciences / Geologie en Mijnbouw 80 (3-4): 119-127 (2001).
• Paleoseismic investigations along the Peel Boundary Fault: geological setting, site selection and trenching results
  M. van den Berg, K. Vanneste, B. Dost, A. Lokhorst, M. van Eijk and K. Verbeeck, Netherlands Journal of Geosciences / Geologie en Mijnbouw 81 (1):39-60 (2002).