Elements of infrastructure and seismic hazard in the central United States

Abstract

PLATES 1-3. Elements of infrastructure and seismic hazard in the Central United States-Plates showing: 1. Hypothetical isoseismals representing the estimated distribution of Modified Mercalli intensities that might be expected from a recurrence in the New Madrid seismic zone of an earthquake with surface-wave magnitude (Ms) of 7.6, the distribution of geologic units that are Mesozoic and younger in age, epicentral locations of damaging earthquakes, and major urban areas. 2. Hypothetical isoseismals representing the estimated distribution of Modified Mercalli intensities that might be expected from a recurrence in the New Madrid seismic zone of an earthquake with surface-wave magnitude (Ms) of 7.6, the distribution of geologic units that are Mesozoic and younger in age, major pipelines (crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products), transportation (limited-access highways and railroads), and major urban areas. 3. Hypothetical isoseismals representing the estimated distribution of Modified Mercalli intensities that might be expected from a recurrence in the New Madrid seismic zone of an earthquake with surface-wave magnitude (Ms) of 7.6, the distribution of geologic units that are Mesozoic and younger in age, critical structures (dams impounding more than 25,000 acre-ft, dams impounding less than 25,000 acre-ft, and nuclear facilities), and major urban areas.

Earthquake Risk of Gas Pipelines in the Conterminous United States and Its Sources of Uncertainty

“…Although earthquakes can unexpectedly cause large losses within a short timeframe (e.g., Lucas 1994;O'Rourke and Palmer 1996), careful planning and continual maintenance can enable lifelines to survive extreme earthquake hazards (e.g., Brandenberg et al 2019;Eidinger et al 2016;Eidinger and Yashinsky 2004) that will eventually occur. Planning at the national scale is essential, e.g., pipelines originating from Louisiana and traversing the Mississippi River Valley, are vulnerable to earthquakes from the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), in addition to other natural hazards (Nyman and Hall 1991;Seligson et al 1993;Wheeler et al 1994). While nationwide seismic risk assessments have been conducted for planning some types of infrastructure systems (Jaiswal et al 2017(Jaiswal et al , 2020, similar work has not been conducted for gas transmission pipelines.…”