Constraints on the Location of the Late Quaternary Reelfoot and New Madrid North Faults in the Northern New Madrid Seismic Zone, Central United States

Baldwin, John N.; Harris, James B.; Arsdale, Roy B. Van; Givler, R.; Kelson, Keith I.; Sexton, John L.; Lake, M.

doi:10.1785/gssrl.76.6.772

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This interpretation is supported by the basin in the Western Lowlands that is bound by the Axial and Western Margin faults and downto-the-southeast displacement on the Western Rift Margin fault near Jonesboro, Arkansas (Van Arsdale et al, 1995) and near New Madrid, Missouri (Baldwin et al, 2005). The New Madrid seismic zone has been explained as being caused by right-lateral shear along the Axial fault and the Western Margin fault north of New Madrid, Missouri, with a left-stepping compressional stepover being the Reelfoot fault.…”

Section: Reelfoot Rift Faults Projected To the Pliocene-pleistocene Umentioning

confidence: 95%

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

et al. 2008

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Geophysical and drill-hole data within the Reelfoot rift of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky, USA, were integrated to create a structure contour map and threedimensional computer model of the top of the Precambrian crystalline basement. The basement map and model clearly defi ne the northeast-trending Cambrian Reelfoot rift, which is crosscut by southeast-trending basement faults. The Reelfoot rift consists of two major basins, separated by an intrarift uplift, that are further subdivided into eight subbasins bound by northeast-and southeast-striking rift faults. The rift is bound to the south by the White River fault zone and to the north by the Reelfoot normal fault. The modern Reelfoot thrust fault, responsible for most of the New Madrid seismic zone earthquakes, is interpreted as an inverted basement normal fault. Geologic interpretation of 5077 shallow borings in the central Mississippi River valley enabled the construction of a structure contour map of the Pliocene-Pleistocene unconformity (top of the Eocene-base of Mississippi River alluvium) that overlies most of the Reelfoot rift. This map reveals both river erosion and tectonic deformation.Deformation of the Pliocene-Pleistocene unconformity appears to be controlled by the northeast-and southeast-trending basement faults. The northeast-trending rift faults have undergone and continue to undergo Quaternary dextral transpression. This has resulted in displacement of two major rift blocks and formation of the Lake County uplift, Joiner ridge, and the southern half of Crowley's Ridge as compressional stepover zones that appear to have originated above basement fault intersections. The Lake County uplift has been tectonically active over the past ~2400 yr and corresponds with a major segment of the New Madrid seismic zone. The aseismic Joiner ridge and the southern portion of Crowley's Ridge may refl ect earlier uplift, thus indicating Quaternary strain migration within the Reelfoot rift.

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Section: Reelfoot Rift Faults Projected To the Pliocene-pleistocene Umentioning

confidence: 95%

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

et al. 2008

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“…In the Mississippi Embayment, SH-wave methods have been tested at numerous sites, mostly in support of earthquake hazard investigations (Cox et al, 2006(Cox et al, , 2001(Cox et al, , 2000Harris and Sorrells, 2006;Baldwin et al, 2005Baldwin et al, , 2002Woolery et al, 1999Woolery et al, , 1996Woolery et al, , 1993Harris et al, 1998). Figure 2 shows representative field data (from Memphis, Tennessee and Paducah, Kentucky) exhibiting the range of depths (<10 m to >100 m) imaged by hammer-impact, SH-wave reflection methods in the Mississippi Embayment.…”

Section: Basis For Use Of Sh-wave Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although P-wave (compressional wave) reflection methods have been used for 30 years for imaging faults in the Paleozoic through Tertiary deposits of the Mississippi Embayment (e.g., Stephenson et al, 1999;Williams et al, 1995;Schweig et al, 1992;Sexton and Jones, 1986;Zoback, 1979), only in the last two decades has detailed seismic investigation of deformed Quaternary sediments, primarily using S-wave (shear wave) methods, been undertaken (e.g., Cox et al, 2006Cox et al, , 2001Cox et al, , 2000Harris and Sorrells, 2006;Baldwin et al, 2005Baldwin et al, , 2002Woolery et al, 1999Woolery et al, , 1996Woolery et al, , 1993Harris et al, 1998). One of the principal justifications for using S-waves is the potential for increased seismic resolution (compared with conventional Pwave methods) in the water-saturated, shallow sediments of the Mississippi Embayment-an important consideration in light of the modest surface deformation in the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hammer-impact SH-wave seismic reflection methods in neotectonic investigations: General observations and case histories from the Mississippi Embayment, U.S.A.

Harris

2009

J. Earth Sci.

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Shallow shear-wave seismic reflection imaging, using a sledgehammer and mass energy source and standard processing, has become increasingly common in mapping near-surface geologic features, especially in water-saturated, unconsolidated sediments. Tests of the method in the Mississippi Embayment region of the central United States show interpretable reflection arrivals in the depth range of <10 m to >100 m with the potential for increased resolution when compared with compressional-wave data. Shear-wave reflection profiles were used to help interpret the significance of neotectonic surface deformation at five sites in the Mississippi Embayment. The interpreted profiles show a range of shallow structural styles that include reverse faulting, fault propagation folding, and reactivated normal faulting, and provide crucial subsurface evidence in support of paleoseismologic trenching and shallow drilling.

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“…Common methods used to investigate shallow subsurface deformation in the NMSZ include paleoseismologic trenching, shallow coring, and seismic reflection (e.g., Baldwin et al, 2005)-most recently using S-waves (Harris, 2009). …”

Section: Figure 1 S-wave Field Record (Walkaway Test) From the Lowermentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of shallow shear-wave seismic reflection methods in earthquake hazards studies

Harris

2010

The Leading Edge

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In engineering geophysics, the use of shear-wave seismic methods for earthquake hazards analysis has primarily been limited to site-specific downhole, crosshole, and refraction studies for velocities to model site response to earthquake shaking and/or liquefaction potential. This paper demonstrates the utility of S-wave reflection methods in earthquake hazards studies, focusing on areas where collection of high-quality compressional-wave reflection data is problematic. Specific examples will show how S-wave reflection data help interpret the age, style, and extent of near-surface deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States, and in mapping the Holocene-Pleistocene surface beneath the Fraser River delta in southwestern British Columbia (Canada).

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Constraints on the Location of the Late Quaternary Reelfoot and New Madrid North Faults in the Northern New Madrid Seismic Zone, Central United States

Cited by 22 publications

References 48 publications

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

Hammer-impact SH-wave seismic reflection methods in neotectonic investigations: General observations and case histories from the Mississippi Embayment, U.S.A.

Application of shallow shear-wave seismic reflection methods in earthquake hazards studies

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