The Database of the Active Faults of Eurasia (AFEAD): Ontology and Design behind the Continental-Scale Dataset

Abstract. Active faults are those faults on which movement is possible in the future. It draws particular attention to active faults in geodynamic studies and seismic hazard assessment. Here we present a high-detail continental-scale geodatabase: The Active Faults of Eurasia Database (AFEAD). It comprises 46,775 objects stored in the shapefile format with spatial detail sufficient for a map of scale 1:1M. Fault sense, a rank of confidence in activity, a rank of slip rate, and a reference to source publications are provided for each database entry. Where possible, it is supplemented with a fault name, fault zone name, abbreviated fault parameters (e.g., slip rate, age of the last motion, total offset), and text information from the sources. The database was collected from 612 sources, including regional maps, databases, and research papers. AFEAD facilitates a spatial search for local studies. It provides sufficient detail for planning a study of a particular fault system and guides deeper bibliographical investigations if needed. This scenario is particularly significant for vast Central and North Asia areas, where most studies are available only in Russian and hardcopy. Moreover, the database model provides the basis for GIS-based regional and continental-scale integrative studies. The database is available at https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10333.74726 and via web map at http://neotec.ginras.ru/index/mapbox/database_map.html (last access: July 30, 2021). Some database representations with supplementary data are hosted at http://neotec.ginras.ru/index/english/database_eng.html.