Correlation between Coulomb Stress Changes Imparted by Historic Earthquakes and Current Seismicity in Charlevoix Seismic Zone, Eastern Canada

Fereidoni, Azadeh; Atkinson, Gail M.

doi:10.1785/0220140134

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A similar conclusion was reached by Page and Hough (2014) in their consideration of the seismicity of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (central United States). Although the contemporary seismicity in Charlevoix does not represent aftershock activity, this does not eliminate the possibility that seismicity in Charlevoix might be still influenced to some extent by the changes in stress imparted by past large earthquakes in the region (Fereidoni and Atkinson, 2013). We examine this hypothesis in a separate study (in preparation).…”

Section: Aftershock Rate From the 1663 Charlevoix Earthquakementioning

confidence: 98%

Aftershock Statistics for Earthquakes in the St. Lawrence Valley

Fereidoni

Atkinson

2014

Seismological Research Letters

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Understanding the behavior of aftershock sequences is important to obtain a reliable evaluation of seismic hazard. It has been hypothesized that in continental intraplate regions, such as eastern Canada, aftershock sequences may persist for hundreds of years following a strong mainshock. In this study, we statistically characterize the behavior of aftershocks in the St. Lawrence valley, the most seismically active region in eastern Canada. The observed aftershocks of moderate recent earthquakes in the region are used to calibrate the parameters of the Reasenberg and Jones aftershock decay model. The average values obtained for the region fall in the range of the corresponding values of the parameters for earthquakes in California; however, the aftershock sequences in eastern Canada are less energetic on average, and one event (the 1982 Miramichi earthquake) had a longer-than-average aftershock sequence. We use aftershock models for the region, considering the range of parameters obtained from the moderate events, as well as the corresponding parameters for a generic California model, to compute the expected activity rates in the area of the 1663 Charlevoix earthquake, to gain insight into how much of the contemporary activity might be considered part of a prolonged aftershock sequence. We conclude it is very unlikely that contemporary seismicity in Charlevoix represents aftershocks from the 1663 earthquake.

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Section: Aftershock Rate From the 1663 Charlevoix Earthquakementioning

confidence: 98%

Aftershock Statistics for Earthquakes in the St. Lawrence Valley

Fereidoni

Atkinson

2014

Seismological Research Letters

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“…), and while this method has been previously applied in the nearby Charlevoix Seismic Zone in Quebec (Fereidoni and Atkinson, 2015), it was done in the context of relating modern seismicity to a large historic earthquake in the 1600s and not with the goal of identifying possible future rupture zones. In this study, we analyze the Coulomb stress changes caused by seismicity in the past 100 years to nearby faults in the WQSZ with a focus on faults that exhibit a relatively high slip tendency (Rimando and Peace, 2021).…”

Section: Mohammadi Et Al 2019mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coseismic Coulomb Stress Changes on Intraplate Faults in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone, Canada: Implications for Seismic Hazards

Rimando¹,

Peace²,

Goda³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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There is currently no active fault map for the intraplate western Quebec seismic zone (WQSZ) in eastern Canada, and consequently, no detailed finite-fault source models which are critical for seismic hazard assessments in this region with a rapidly growing population. While previous numerical stress modelling studies have shown that mostly NNW-SSE to NW-SE-striking faults exhibit the highest potential for reactivation under the present-day tectonic stress field, such modelling is unable to take into account the interaction of faults and earthquakes. This study attempts to identify possible future rupture zones using Coulomb stress analysis. We explore the static stress transfer caused by select earthquakes (MW > 4.5) in the past century to proximal ‘receiver’ faults in the WQSZ, with a focus on those that exhibit a relatively high reactivation potential, to identify faults that have been promoted to failure. The significance of Coulomb stress changes (ΔCFS) observed on the nearby ‘receiver’ faults varied widely. Among the events analyzed in this study, only the 1935 MW 6.1 Témiscaming earthquake caused extensive positive Coulomb stress change (≥ 0.1 Bar) on its receiver fault. The modelled fault rupture extents suggest a range of earthquake magnitudes of MW 6-7. This work is the first attempt to provide a physical basis for seismic hazard assessment input parameters in the WQSZ based on the results of numerical stress modelling.

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“…Also, Fereidoni and Atkinson (2014) use Coulomb stress theory to investigate stress change in the CSZ caused by the 1,663 earthquake (moment magnitude M of 7) and conclude that the rift faults are strong with 𝜇 of 0.8. Fereidoni and Atkinson (2014) showed that decreasing the apparent coefficient of friction reduces the spatial correlation of the regions with enhanced stress and observed seismicity. Specifically, 𝜇 values of 0.2 and 0.4 give 66% and 75% spatial correlation, respectively.…”

Section: Frictional Strengths Of the Rift Faultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our models could not explain some earthquakes in the SW part of the impact structure especially in the upper 10-km depth (Figure 6c). We did not account for stress changes due to a large historic earthquake in the CSZ and the postglacial rebound as modeled by Fereidoni and Atkinson (2014) and Mazzotti et al (2005), respectively.…”

Section: Frictional Strengths Of the Rift Faultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fault parameters in our study are not compatible with the analysis of Hurd & Zoback (2012a, 2012b who suggest normal values of 𝜇 (0.6-0.8) for the rift faults and hydrostatic pore pressure. Also, Fereidoni and Atkinson (2014) use Coulomb stress theory to investigate stress change in the CSZ caused by the 1,663 earthquake (moment magnitude M of 7) and conclude that the rift faults are strong with 𝜇 of 0.8. Fereidoni and Atkinson (2014) showed that decreasing the apparent coefficient of friction reduces the spatial correlation of the regions with enhanced stress and observed seismicity.…”

Section: Frictional Strengths Of the Rift Faultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Preexisting Structures on the Seismicity of the Charlevoix Seismic Zone

2019

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The Charlevoix Seismic Zone (CSZ) is located along the early Paleozoic St. Lawrence rift zone in southeastern Quebec at the location of a major Devonian impact structure. The impact structure superimposed major, steeply dipping basement faults trending approximately N35 • E. Approximately 250 earthquakes are recorded each year and are concentrated within and beneath the impact structure. Most M4+ earthquakes associated with the rift faults occurred outside the impact structure. Apart from the unique distribution of earthquakes, stress inversion of focal mechanisms shows stress rotations within the CSZ, and in the CSZ relative to the stress orientation determined from borehole breakouts. The primary goal of this research is to investigate the combined effects of the preexisting structures and regional stresses on earthquake activity and stress rotations in the CSZ. We approach this using PyLith, a finite-element code for simulations of crustal deformation. Adopting the results from recent hypocenter relocation and 3-D tomography studies, we modify the locations and dips of the rift faults and assess the effect of the new fault geometries on stress distributions. We also discuss the effects of resolved velocity anomalies. We find that the observed stress rotation is due to the combined effect of the rift faults and the impact structure. One-dimensional velocity models of the CSZ with an embedded impact structure and a combination of 65 • -40 • -40 • and constant 70 • fault dip models with a very low friction coefficient of 0.3 and cohesion of 0 MPa can explain the observed seismicity and more than 50% of the stress rotations. Key Points:• The CSZ seismicity and stress orientations are the combined effects of the rift faults and the impact structure • Planar faults we considered can explain the observed seismicity but only 50% of the stress rotation • An impact structure 4 times less elastically stiff than the surrounding crust can explain the seismicity in the CSZ Supporting Information:• Supporting Information S1 Figure 2. (a) Model domain with the impact structure (gray) and crust (red). The three rift faults (black lines), dimensions, boundary conditions and the total amount of displacement are annotated. The outer 10-km-thick layer of crust (green) is added to contain fault edges within the domain, a requirement by PyLith. (b) The orientation of the model domain (red dotted box) and the associated coordinate axes (red arrows) relative to the geographic reference frame. The red dotted box is not the actual model domain but just a box that shows its "orientation." Cyan circles on the geographic map show the inner and outer impact structure boundaries and black solid lines trace rift faults (see Figure 1).for the region. We then try to correlate modeled stress distributions with the recently-relocated hypocenters (Powell & Lamontagne, 2017) and discuss implications for the nonuniform stress orientation around the impact structure that was previously recognized.

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Correlation between Coulomb Stress Changes Imparted by Historic Earthquakes and Current Seismicity in Charlevoix Seismic Zone, Eastern Canada

Cited by 8 publications

References 45 publications

Aftershock Statistics for Earthquakes in the St. Lawrence Valley

Aftershock Statistics for Earthquakes in the St. Lawrence Valley

Coseismic Coulomb Stress Changes on Intraplate Faults in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone, Canada: Implications for Seismic Hazards

Effects of Preexisting Structures on the Seismicity of the Charlevoix Seismic Zone

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