Modern Seismicity and the Fault Responsible for the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake

Chapman, Martin C.; Beale, Jacob N.; Hardy, Anna C.; Wu, Qimin

doi:10.1785/0120150221

Cited by 31 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Despite its passive margin setting, the SEUS has been the site of several moderate to large earthquakes over the past two centuries. The two most notable within our study area were the M = 7 1886 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake (e.g., Tarr et al, 1981;Talwani, 1982;Cramer and Boyd, 2014;Chapman et al, 2016) and the Mw = 5.8 2011, Virginia event (e.g., Wolin et al, 2012;McNamara et al, 2014) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Significant Earthquakes and Variable Seismicity Patternsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…These large earthquakes are associated with localized regions of increased seismic activity. Seismicity in the immediate vicinity of the Charleston, South Carolina, event may represent a lingering aftershock sequence, given the locations and focal mechanisms of these events (Chapman et al, 2016). The Virginia earthquake occurred in an area that had previously been identified as a region of moderately increased seismicity known as the Central Virginia Seismic Zone (CVSZ) (e.g., Bollinger, 1973;Çoruh et al, 1988;Kim and Chapman, 2005).…”

Section: Significant Earthquakes and Variable Seismicity Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relative roles of inheritance and long-term passive margin lithospheric evolution on the modern structure and tectonic activity in the southeastern United States

et al. 2018

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We perform inversions for the shear-wave velocity structure of the southeastern United States (SEUS) using Rayleigh-wave phase and amplitude data from the broadband stations of the South Eastern Suture of the Appalachian Margin Experiment (SESAME) and EarthScope Transportable Array (TA). Our tomographic images of shear-wave velocities in the upper mantle beneath the SEUS provide new constraints on the evolution of mantle lithosphere, both from the inheritance of structures from repeated Wilson cycles and from processes that have occurred while at a passive margin setting. Our images also allow us to correlate these structures to evidence of Eocene to recent tectonism observed at the surface. We find evidence for both inherited structures and more recently evolved structures, both of which bear some correlation to observations of ongoing tectonism. Our results suggest that lithospheric mantle continues to evolve while in a passive margin setting and that even relatively "stable" continental mantle lithosphere is subject to episodes of delamination, foundering, and erosion due to processes that are still not well under stood. Our results provide structural constraints on the types of processes that may be ongoing and on possible explanations for the numerous observations of comparatively recent tectonic activity occurring along this passive margin setting. Tectonic History The geologic history of our study area begins with the formation of Rodinia, the supercontinent that juxtaposed the Granite Rhyolite Province of the Laurentian basement against cratons found in present-day South America, Africa, GEOSPHERE

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Section: Significant Earthquakes and Variable Seismicity Patternsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Significant Earthquakes and Variable Seismicity Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative roles of inheritance and long-term passive margin lithospheric evolution on the modern structure and tectonic activity in the southeastern United States

et al. 2018

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“…Modern seismicity is in the upper crust (0-13 km) in what has been interpreted as a relatively thick (∼4 km), west-dipping tabular zone (Chapman et al, 2016). An upper crustal epicenter in 1886 is indicated by the depths of the modern seismicity and by small foreshocks that sounded like cannon shots in Summerville but were not felt in Charleston (Dutton, 1889, p. 231;Durá-Gómez and Talwani, 2009).…”

Section: The 1886 Earthquake and Modern Seismicitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Shallow Faulting and Folding in the Epicentral Area of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake

Pratt

Shah

Counts

et al. 2022

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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The moment magnitude (Mw) ∼7 earthquake that struck Charleston, South Carolina, on 31 August 1886 is the largest historical earthquake in the United States east of the Appalachian Mountains. The fault(s) that ruptured during this earthquake has never been conclusively identified, and conflicting fault models have been proposed. Here we interpret reprocessed seismic reflection profiles, reprocessed legacy aeromagnetic data, and newly collected ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles to delineate faults deforming the Cretaceous and younger Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) strata in the epicentral area of the 1886 earthquake. The data show evidence for faults folding or vertically displacing ACP strata, including apparent displacements of near-surface strata (upper ∼20 m). Aeromagnetic data show several northeast (NE)-trending lineaments, two of which correlate with faults and folds with vertical displacements as great as 55 m on the seismic reflection and radar profiles. ACP strata show only minor thickness changes across these structures, indicating that much of the displacement postdates the shallowest well-imaged ACP strata of Eocene age. Faults imaged on the seismic reflection profiles appear on GPR profiles to displace the erosional surface at the top of the upper Eocene to Oligocene Cooper Group, including where railroad tracks were bent during the 1886 earthquake. Some faults coincide with changes in river trends, bifurcations of river channels, and unusual river meanders that could be related to recent fault motion. In contrast to our interpreted NE fault trends, earthquake locations and some focal mechanisms in the modern seismic zone have been interpreted as defining a nearly north-striking, west-dipping zone of aftershocks from the 1886 earthquake. The relationship between the modern seismicity and the faults we image is therefore enigmatic. However, multiple faults in the area clearly have been active since the Eocene and deform strata in the upper 20 m, providing potential targets for field-based geologic investigations.

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“…On the other hand, unexpected seismic events took place also in intraplate areas previously considered inactive. Such were the three earthquakes in New Madrid (1811-1812) (December 16, 1811 M W 7.2-7.3; January 23, 1812 M W 7.0; February 7, 1812 M W 7.4-7.5) (Hough et al, 2000) or the Charleston earthquake that occurred August 31st, 1886, with estimated magnitude M W 6.9-7.3 (Chapman et al, 2016). The two events which hit Kaliningrad (enclave of Russia) on the considered inactive Russian plate during September 21, 2004 (M W 5.0 and 5.2) were also unexpected (Rogozhin, 2011).…”

Section: Earthquakes In Areas Allegedly Inactivementioning

confidence: 99%

On the magnitude and possible return period of the historical earthquake in ancient Savaria, 455 AD (Szombathely, West Hungary)

Varga

2019

Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences

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In 455 AD a strong, presumably M ≥ 6.0, earthquake occurred in or near the ancient town Savaria, the present Szombathely, West Hungary. According to the certainly incomplete earthquake catalogue, since then no similar significant seismic event occurred during the last 1500 years in this area which is currently considered inactive. Conclusions of this study are: (1) According to contemporary written historical sources (Annales Ravennates and biographical information about the life of Saint Severinus), the earthquake that destroyed Savaria and occurred in 455 AD had a magnitude of M ≥ 6.0. (2) In order to support the aforementioned magnitude value calculations were necessary. As the historical seismicity of the area is not known sufficiently an independent geodynamical approach – in parallel to the Gutenberg-Richter relationship – was used to estimate the return interval of earthquakes M ≥ 6. It was found in both cases that in the Szombathely region the recurrence time of earthquakes M6 and M6.5 is 1000 and 3000 years. Consequently, the earthquake activity of the Szombathely region is significantly lower than that of the Pannonian Basin in general.

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Modern Seismicity and the Fault Responsible for the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

The relative roles of inheritance and long-term passive margin lithospheric evolution on the modern structure and tectonic activity in the southeastern United States

The relative roles of inheritance and long-term passive margin lithospheric evolution on the modern structure and tectonic activity in the southeastern United States

Shallow Faulting and Folding in the Epicentral Area of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake

On the magnitude and possible return period of the historical earthquake in ancient Savaria, 455 AD (Szombathely, West Hungary)

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