Data used in the manuscript entitled: The Curious Case of Short Fault Scarp in the Podhale Basin (Western Carpathians): implications for Late Pleistocene geodynamics

Manuscript Abstract: Areas with low deformation rates, such as continental interiors or mature orogens like the Western Carpathians, may represent significant seismic hazard zones, albeit still insufficiently recognized. Relatively low-magnitude earthquakes occurring in such regions pose challenges for paleoseismology, despite occasional documented surface fault ruptures. However, all these ruptures fit the empirical displacement-length scaling relationships. This study focuses on a scarp located in the Podhale Basin (Central Western Carpathians) that deviates from these empirical laws. Despite its relatively short length of only 3 km, the scarp, measuring up to 8 m in height, presents several indications of its tectonic origin. Geophysical GPR and ERT surveys revealed a vertical discontinuity directly beneath the scarp. We identified distinct features interpreted as a fault zone in a trench across the scarp. Lacking material suitable for dating, we estimated the age of the fault scarp at 26.3 ± 14.5 ka using simple linear diffusion modeling. However, this result requires caution due to assumptions like scarp formation from a single event. Yet, the consistency of the estimated age with the superposition of the scarp relative to the morphology and weathered covers from the last glaciation is noteworthy. Furthermore, morphological and geological mapping suggests the dextral oblique kinematics of the studied fault. The prevailing trend of NE (NNE) compression across the Podhale and Orava basins and the Tatra Mountains aligns the dextral Brzegi fault with the broader Alpine-Carpathian geodynamic framework. The Brzegi fault, as part of the broader Białka fault zone, provides evidence of far-field effects, serving as an NNW-striking dextral antithetic fault to major sinistral NE-SW striking faults. The recognized pattern indicates the continued post-Miocene Alpine extrusion toward the Carpathians. In this dataset, we make available: iPhone13Pro LiDAR scan of the trench (texture_output) high-resolution orthophotomosaic (Brzegi_trench.tif) PDF file with methods and results of simple linear scarp diffusion modeling PDF file with methods and all geophysical profiles surveyed with electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), induced polarization tomography (IP), and ground-penetrating radar (GPR)