Natural and Induced Seismicity in the Lake Erie-Lake Ontario Region: Reactivation of Ancient Faults with Little Neotectonic Displacement

Seeber, Leonardo; Armbruster, John G.

doi:10.7202/032964ar

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…There were four earthquakes in Lake County and one earthquake in Ashtabula County during our 2010–2014 study time frame, which was interesting since these counties hosted seismic sequences that are thought to have been induced by deep wastewater disposal as far back as 1986 [ Nicholson et al , ; Seeber and Armbruster , ; Seeber et al , ; Gerrish and Nieto , ] (Figure ). We found that all five recent earthquake templates produced matching events, but the number of matches was small (2–4), and they appear to resemble more traditional foreshock/main shock/aftershock patterns.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

“…There were four earthquakes in Lake County and one earthquake in Ashtabula County during our 2010-2014 study time frame, which was interesting since these counties hosted seismic sequences that are thought to have been induced by deep wastewater disposal as far back as 1986 [Nicholson et al, 1988;Seeber and Armbruster, 1993; Figure 6. Magnitudes of earthquakes found through template matching in the Washington County region.…”

Section: Lake and Ashtabula Countiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been over 100 felt events since the early 1800s in this region, greater than any other area of Ohio [Hansen, 2012]. The seismicity correlates with the prominent Akron magnetic lineament, likely reflecting different lithologies in the Precambrian basement, and a first-order structural boundary interpreted from reflection data [Seeber and Armbruster, 1993]. It seems reasonable that this apparent deep fault zone could host several sets of similar small earthquakes that would explain the small number of matches we observed in this region.…”

Section: Lake and Ashtabula Countiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinguishing induced seismicity from natural seismicity in Ohio: Demonstrating the utility of waveform template matching

2015

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This study investigated the utility of multistation waveform cross correlation to help discern induced seismicity. Template matching was applied to all Ohio earthquakes cataloged since the arrival of nearby EarthScope TA stations in late 2010. Earthquakes that were within 5 km of fluid injection activities in regions that lacked previously documented seismicity were found to be swarmy. Moreover, the larger number of events produced by template matching for these swarmy sequences made it easier to establish more detailed temporal and spatial relationships between the seismicity and fluid injection activities, which is typically required for an earthquake to be considered induced. Study results detected three previously documented induced sequences (Youngstown, Poland Township, and Harrison County) and provided evidence that suggests two additional cases of induced seismicity (Belmont/Guernsey County and Washington County). Evidence for these cases suggested that unusual swarm‐like behaviors in regions that lack previously documented seismicity can be used to help distinguish induced seismicity, complementing the traditional identification of an anthropogenic source spatially and temporally correlated with the seismicity. In support of this finding, we identified 17 additional cataloged earthquakes in regions of previously documented seismicity and away from disposal wells or hydraulic fracturing that returned very few template matches. The lack of swarminess helps to indicate that these events are most likely naturally occurring.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Lake and Ashtabula Countiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lake and Ashtabula Countiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinguishing induced seismicity from natural seismicity in Ohio: Demonstrating the utility of waveform template matching

2015

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“…The January 26, 1986, m b =4.9 Leroy earthquake and aftershocks have been correlated with the AMB (Seeber and Armbruster, 1993). Epicentral alignments along the CMBBZ/NPLZ are also conspicuous on the Niagara Peninsula (Figs.…”

Section: Seismotectonic Relations and Suggested Source Zonesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Seismicity and Seismotectonics of the Western Lake Ontario Region

Mohajer¹

2007

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ABSTRACTThe western Lake Ontario region, a traditionally perceived area of low seismic risk, is densely populated and is home to, among other critical facilities, the nuclear reactors of Pickering and Darlington. These and other characteristics of the region call for improved estimates of seismic hazard. Due to a lack of understanding of the causative geological sources and recurrence characteristics of the reported seismic activity, there is considerable uncertainty regarding estimated ground motion parameters, a fundamental component of seismic hazard assessments. To attempt to improve the definition of the seismic source zones and, consequently, seismic hazard assessments, the hypocentres of about 30 local earthquakes were recomputed. A new data compilation, based on the revised locations or those with the least travel-time residuals, shows that local microearthquakes (ML"3.5) generally occur along, or at the intersection of, prominent aeromagnetic or gravity anomalies. A notable seismicity trend extends in a northeast-southwest direction between Toronto and Hamilton, and is bounded by magnetic lineaments. A major geological structure, the Central Metasedimentary Belt Boundary Zone (CMBBZ), coincides with a strong aeromagnetic anomaly which extends to the northeast into the Western Québec Seismic Zone. This magnetic lineament also extends to the south, across Lake Ontario, to join the Akron (Ohio) magnetic boundary that was associated with several historical earthquakes and with a mb=4.9 earthquake in 1986. Most of the seismic events recorded instrumentally in the 20th century have occurred within a depth range of 5 to 20 km. This observation supports the correlation of local earthquakes with deep geophysical and geological features, suggesting contemporary reactivation of basement structures. This may imply that a more conservative deterministic hazard estimate is needed to verify the probabilistic approach currently used to assess seismic hazard in southern Ontario.

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“…Dineva et al (2004) estimated that the overall magnitude threshold for the earthquake catalog in this area during 1990-2000 is about M n 2.0 based upon cumulative earthquake frequency versus magnitude relations during the period. Seismicity in the Erie-Ontario Lowlands region is clustered in two zones: western Lake Ontario-Niagara-Attica, New York seismic zone (LONASZ; Seeber and Armbruster, 1993) and Northeastern Ohio-Pennsylvania seismic zone (NEOPSZ; Dineva et al, 2004). Th e 4 August 2004 earthquake is the largest earthquake that occurred under Lake Ontario in LONASZ.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%