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1.
This paper presents a summary of the seismicity and its relation to stress and geologic structures in the Eastern Great Lakes Basin (EGLB) and compares it with that of other regions in the central and eastern North America (CENA). The earthquakes scattered throughout the EGLB are occurring at a rate somewhat less than that of the Appalachians and along the Atlantic Seaboard. Paleoseismology studies suggest that the lower seismicity rate may be characteristic of the EGLB since the Late Wisconsin. North of the EGLB, earthquakes have primarily thrust mechanisms, while to the south of the EGLB, most earthquakes are strike-slip. Throughout the region, including the EGLB, the average P axes of the earthquakes are oriented NE–SW and are aligned with the direction of the current plate driving stress. On a regional basis, earthquakes are centered primarily in the Precambrian basement beneath the Paleozoic cover. Many of the earthquakes in the EGLB have occurred in areas of preexisting faults, at least some of which may have been active during past episodes of continental rifting. For individual faults that have been studied in some detail, however, it is not clear whether earthquakes represent reactivations of local preexisting structures or nucleation of new ruptures in or near the old fault zones.  相似文献   

2.
Lithoprobe and industry seismic profiles have furnished evidence of major zones of easterly dipping Grenville deformed crust extending southwest from exposed Grenville rocks north of Lake Ontario. Additional constraints on subsurface structure limited to the postulated Clarendon–Linden fault system south of Lake Ontario are provided by five east–west reflection lines recorded in 1976. Spatial correlations between seismic structure and magnetic anomalies are described from both Lake Ontario and the newly reprocessed New York lines.In the Paleozoic to Precambrian upper crust, the New York seismic sections show: (1) An easterly thickening wedge of subhorizontal Paleozoic strata unconformably overlying a Precambrian basement whose surface has an apparent regional easterly dip of 1–2°. Minor apparent normal offsets, possibly on the order of tens of meters, occur within the Paleozoic section. The generally poorly reflective unconformity may be locally characterized by topographic relief on the order of 100 m; (2) Apparent local displacement on the order of 90 m at the level of the Black River Group diminishes upward to little or no apparent offset of Queenston Shale; (3) Within the limited seismic sections, there appears to be no evidence that the complete upper crustal section is vertically or subvertically offset; (4) Dipping structure in the Paleozoic strata (15° to 35°) resembles some underlying Precambrian basement elements; (5) The surface continuity of inferred faults constituting the Clarendon–Linden system is not strongly supported by the seismic data.Beneath the Paleozoic strata, the seismic sections show both linear and arcuate reflector geometry with easterly apparent dips of 15° to 35° similar to the deep structures imaged on seismic lines from nearby Lake Ontario and on Lithoprobe lines to the north. The similarity supports an extension of easterly dipping Central Metasedimentary Belt structures of the Grenville orogen from southern Ontario to beneath western New York State.From a comparison of the magnetic and gravity fields with the New York seismic sections, we suggest: (1) The largely nonmagnetic Paleozoic strata appear to contribute negligibly to magnetic anomalies. Seismically imaged fractures in the New York Paleozoic strata appear to lie mainly west of a positive gravity anomaly. The relationship between magnetic and gravity anomalies and the changes in the geometry of interpreted Precambrian structures remains enigmatic; (2) North to northeast trending curvilinear magnetic and gravity anomalies parallel, but are not restricted to the principal trend of the postulated Clarendon–Linden fault system. Paleozoic fractures of the Clarendon–Linden system may partly overlie a southward extension of the Composite Arc Belt boundary zone.  相似文献   

3.
Basement fault reactivation is now recognized as an important control on sedimentation and fault propagation in intracratonic basins. In southern Ontario, the basement consists of complexly structured mid-Proterozoic (ca. 1.2 Ga) crystalline rocks and metasedimentary rocks that are overlain by up to 1500 m of Paleozoic sedimentary strata. Reactivation of basement structures is suspected to control the location of Paleozoic fault and fracture systems, but evaluation has been hindered by a limited understanding of the regional structural characteristics of the buried basement. New aeromagnetic- and gravimetric-lineament mapping presented in this paper better resolves the location of basement discontinuities and provides further evidence for basement controls on the distribution of Paleozoic fault and fracture systems. Lineament mapping was facilitated by reprocessing and digital image enhancement (micro-levelling, regional residual separation, derivative filtering) of existing regional gravity and aeromagnetic datasets. Reprocessed images identify new details of the structural fabric of the basement below southern Ontario and delineate several previously unrecognized aeromagnetic and gravity lineaments and linear zones. Linear zones parallel the projected trends of mid-Proterozoic terrane boundaries identified by field mapping on the exposed shield to the north of the study area, and are interpreted as zones of shearing and basement faulting. Mapped aeromagnetic and gravity lineaments show similar trends to Paleozoic faults and fracture networks and broad zones of seismicity in southern Ontario. These new data support an ‘inheritance model’ for Paleozoic faulting, involving repeated reactivation and upward propagation of basement faults and fractures into overlying cover strata.  相似文献   

4.
A statistical analysis was carried out to investigate spatial associations between natural seismicity and faults in southeastern Ontario and north-central New York State (between 73°18′ and 77°00′W and 43°30′ and 45°18′N). The study area is situated to the west of the seismically active St. Lawrence fault zone, and to the east of the Lake Ontario basin where recently documented geological and geophysical evidence points to possible neotectonic faulting. The weights of evidence method was used to judge the spatial associations between seismic events and populations of faults in eight arbitrarily defined orientation groups. Spatial analysis of data sets for seismic events in the periods 1930–1970 and post-1970 suggest stronger spatial associations between earthquake epicentres and faults with strikes that lie in the NW–SE quadrants, and weaker spatial associations of epicentres with faults that have strikes in the NE–SW quadrants. The strongest spatial associations were determined for groups of faults with strikes between 101° and 146°. The results suggest that faults striking broadly NW–SE, at high angles to the regional maximum horizontal compressive stress, are statistically more likely to be spatially associated with seismic events than faults striking broadly NE–SW. If the positive spatial associations can be interpreted as indicating genetic relationships between earthquakes and mapped faults, then the results may suggest that, as a population, NW–SE trending faults are more likely to be seismically active than NE–SW striking faults. Detailed geological studies of faults in the study area would be required to determine possible neotectonic displacements and the kinematics of the displacements.  相似文献   

5.
Many stable continental regions have subregions with poorly defined earthquake hazards. Analysis of minor structures (folds and faults) in these subregions can improve our understanding of the tectonics and earthquake hazards. Detailed structural mapping in Pottawatomie County has revealed a suite consisting of two uplifted blocks aligned along a northeast trend and surrounded by faults. The first uplift is located southwest of the second. The northwest and southeast sides of these uplifts are bounded by northeast-trending right-lateral faults. To the east, both uplifts are bounded by north-trending reverse faults, and the first uplift is bounded by a north-trending high-angle fault to the west. The structural suite occurs above a basement fault that is part of a series of north–northeast-trending faults that delineate the Humboldt Fault Zone of eastern Kansas, an integral part of the Midcontinent Rift System. The favored kinematic model is a contractional stepover (push-up) between echelon strike-slip faults. Mechanical modeling using the boundary element method supports the interpretation of the uplifts as contractional stepovers and indicates that an approximately east–northeast maximum compressive stress trajectory is responsible for the formation of the structural suite. This stress trajectory suggests potential activity during the Laramide Orogeny, which agrees with the age of kimberlite emplacement in adjacent Riley County. The current stress field in Kansas has a N85°W maximum compressive stress trajectory that could potentially produce earthquakes along the basement faults. Several epicenters of seismic events (<M2.0) are located within 10 km of the structural suite. One epicenter is coincident with the northwest boundary of the uplift. This structural suite, a contractional stepover between echelon northeast-trending right-lateral faults, is similar to that mapped in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and both areas currently feature roughly east–west maximum compressive stress trajectory. Based on these similarities, the faults in Pottawatomie County have the potential for seismicity. The results demonstrate that mechanical analysis of minor structural features can improve our knowledge of local earthquake hazards.  相似文献   

6.
During late May and early June of 1993, we conducted two shallow, high-resolution seismic reflection surveys (Mini-Sosie method) across the southern escarpment of the Benton Hills segment of Crowleys Ridge. The reflection profiles imaged numerous post-late Cretaceous faults and folds. We believe these faults may represent a significant earthquake source zone.

The stratigraphy of the Benton Hills consists of a thin, less than about 130 m, sequence of mostly unconsolidated Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary sediments which uncomfortably overlie a much thicker section of Paleozoic carbonate rocks. The survey did not resolve reflectors within the upper 75–100 ms of two-way travel time (about 60–100 m), which would include all of the Tertiary and Quaternary and most of the Cretaceous. However, the Paleozoic-Cretaceous unconformity (Pz) produced an excellent reflection, and locally a shallower reflector within the Cretaceous (K) was resolved. No coherent reflections below about 200 ms of two-way travel time were identified.

Numerous faults and folds, which clearly offset the Paleozoic-Cretaceous unconformity reflector, were imaged on both seismic reflection profiles. Many structures imaged by the reflection data are coincident with the surface mapped locations of faults within the Cretaceous and Tertiary succession. Two locations show important structures that are clearly complex fault zones. The English Hill fault zone, striking N30°–35°E, is present along Line 1 and is important because earlier workers indicated it has Pleistocene Loess faulted against Eocene sands. The Commerce fault zone striking N50°E, overlies a major regional basement geophysical lineament, and is present on both seismic lines at the southern margin of the escarpment.

The fault zones imaged by these surveys are 30 km from the area of intense microseismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ). If these are northeast and north-northeast oriented fault zones like those at Thebes Gap they are favorably oriented in the modern stress field to be reactivated as right-lateral strike slip faults. Currently, earthquake hazards assessments are most dependent upon historical seismicity, and there are little geological data available to evaluate the earthquake potential of fault zones outside of the NMSZ. We anticipate that future studies will provide evidence that seismicity has migrated between fault zones well beyond the middle Mississippi Valley. The potential earthquake hazards represented by faults outside the NMSZ may be significant.  相似文献   


7.
Questions persist concerning the earthquake potential of the populous and industrial Lake Ontario (Canada–USA) area. Pertinent to those questions is whether the major fault zone that extends along the St. Lawrence River valley, herein named the St. Lawrence fault zone, continues upstream along the St. Lawrence River valley at least as far as Lake Ontario or terminates near Cornwall (Ontario, Canada)–Massena (NY, USA). New geological studies uncovered paleotectonic bedrock faults that are parallel to, and lie within, the projection of that northeast-oriented fault zone between Cornwall and northeastern Lake Ontario, suggesting that the fault zone continues into Lake Ontario. The aforementioned bedrock faults range from meters to tens of kilometers in length and display kinematically incompatible displacements, implying that the fault zone was periodically reactivated in the study area. Beneath Lake Ontario the Hamilton–Presqu'ile fault lines up with the St. Lawrence fault zone and projects to the southwest where it coincides with the Dundas Valley (Ontario, Canada). The Dundas Valley extends landward from beneath the western end of the lake and is marked by a vertical stratigraphic displacement across its width. The alignment of the Hamilton–Presqu'ile fault with the St. Lawrence fault zone strongly suggests that the latter crosses the entire length of Lake Ontario and continues along the Dundas Valley.The Rochester Basin, an east–northeast-trending linear trough in the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario, lies along the southern part of the St. Lawrence fault zone. Submarine dives in May 1997 revealed inclined layers of glaciolacustrine clay along two different scarps within the basin. The inclined layers strike parallel to the long dimension of the basin, and dip about 20° to the north–northwest suggesting that they are the result of rigid-body rotation consequent upon post-glacial faulting. Those post-glacial faults are growth faults as demonstrated by the consistently greater thickness, unit-by-unit, of unconsolidated sediments on the downthrown (northwest) side of the faults relative to their counterparts on the upthrown (southeast) side. Underneath the western part of Lake Ontario is a monoclinal warp that displaces the glacial and post-glacial sediments, and the underlying bedrock–sediment interface. Because of the post-glacial growth faults and the monoclinal warp the St. Lawrence fault zone is inferred to be tectonically active beneath Lake Ontario. Furthermore, within the lake it crosses at least five major faults and fault zones and coexists with other neotectonic structures. Those attributes, combined with the large earthquakes associated with the St. Lawrence fault zone well to the northeast of Lake Ontario, suggest that the seismic risk in the area surrounding and including Lake Ontario is likely much greater than previously believed.  相似文献   

8.
Three long, strike-parallel, seismic-refraction profiles were made on the continental shelf edge, slope and upper rise off New Jersey during 1975. The shelf edge line lies along the axis of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA), while the continental rise line lies 80 km seaward of the shelf edge. Below the unconsolidated sediments (1.7–3.6 km/sec), high-velocity sedimentary rocks (4.2–6.2 km/sec) were found at depths of 2.6–8.2 km and are inferred to be cemented carbonates. Although multichannel seismic-reflection profiles and magnetic depth-to-source data predicted the top of oceanic basement at 6–8 km beneath the shelf edge and 10–11 km beneath the rise, no refracted events occurred as first arrivals from either oceanic basement (layer 2, approximately 5.5 km/ sec) or the upper oceanic crust (layer 3A, approximately 6.8 km/sec). Second arrivals from 10.5 km depth beneath the shelf edge are interpreted as events from a 5.9 km/sec refractor within igneous basement. Other refracted events from either layers 2 or 3A could not be resolved within the complex second arrivals. A well-defined crustal layer with a compressional velocity of 7.1–7.2 km/sec, which can be interpreted as oceanic layer 3B, occurred at 15.8 km depth beneath the shelf and 12.9 km beneath the upper rise. A well-reversed mantle velocity of 8.3 km/sec was measured at 18–22 km depth beneath the upper continental rise. Comparison with other deep-crustal profiles along the continental edge of the Atlantic margin off the United States, specifically in the inner magnetically quiet zone, indicates that the compressional wave velocities and layer depths determined on the U.S.G.S. profiles are very similar to those of nearby profiles. This suggests that the layers are continuous and that the interpretation of the oceanic layer 3B under the shelf edge east of New Jersey implies progradation of the shelf outward over the oceanic crust in that area. This agrees with magnetic anomaly evidence which shows the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly landward of the shelf edge off New Jersey and with previous seismic reflection data which reveal extensive outbuilding of the shelf edge during the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, probably by carbonate bank-margin accretion.  相似文献   

9.
We relocate the 1990–1991 Potenza (Southern Apennines belt, Italy) sequences and calculate focal mechanisms. This seismicity clusters along an E–W, dextral strike–slip structure. Second-order clusters are also present and reflect the activation of minor shears. The depth distribution of earthquakes evidences a peak between 14 and 20 km, within the basement of the subducting Apulian plate. The analysed seismicity does not mirror that of Southern Apennines, which include NW–SE striking normal faults and earthquakes concentrated within the first 15 km of the crust. We suggest that the E–W faults affecting the foreland region of Apennine propagate up to 25 km of depth. The Potenza earthquakes reflect the reactivation of a deep, preexisting fault system. We conclude that the seismotectonic setting of Apennines is characterized by NW–SE normal faults affecting the upper 15 km of the crust, and by E–W deeper strike–slip faults cutting the crystalline basement of the chain.  相似文献   

10.
The catastrophic earthquakes that recently (September 4th, 2010 and February 22nd, 2011) hit Christchurch, New Zealand, show that active faults, capable of generating large-magnitude earthquakes, can be hidden beneath the Earth’s surface. In this article we combine near-surface paleoseismic data with deep (<5 km) onshore seismic-reflection lines to explore the growth of normal faults over short (<27 kyr) and long (>1 Ma) timescales in the Taranaki Rift, New Zealand. Our analysis shows that the integration of different timescale datasets provides a basis for identifying active faults not observed at the ground surface, estimating maximum fault-rupture lengths, inferring maximum short-term displacement rates and improving earthquake hazard assessment. We find that fault displacement rates become increasingly irregular (both faster and slower) on shorter timescales, leading to incomplete sampling of the active-fault population. Surface traces have been recognised for <50% of the active faults and along ≤50% of their lengths. The similarity of along-strike displacement profiles for short and long time intervals suggests that fault lengths and maximum single-event displacements have not changed over the last 3.6 Ma. Therefore, rate changes are likely to reflect temporal adjustments in earthquake recurrence intervals due to fault interactions and associated migration of earthquake activity within the rift.  相似文献   

11.
Seismic hazard assessment of slow active fault zones is challenging as usually only a few decades of sparse instrumental seismic monitoring is available to characterize seismic activity. Tectonic features linked to the observed seismicity can be mapped by seismic imaging techniques and/or geomorphological and structural evidences. In this study, we investigate a seismic lineament located in the Swiss Alpine foreland, which was discussed in previous work as being related to crustal structures carrying in size the potential of a magnitude M 6 earthquake. New, low-magnitude (?2.0 ≤ ML ≤ 2.5) earthquake data are used to image the spatial and temporal distribution of seismogenic features in the target area. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are applied to the waveform dataset to better constrain earthquakes distribution and source processes. Potential tectonic features responsible for the observed seismicity are modelled based on new reinterpretations of oil industry seismic profiles and recent field data in the study area. The earthquake and tectonic datasets are then integrated in a 3D model. Spatially, the seismicity correlates over 10–15 km with a N–S oriented sub-vertical fault zone imaged in seismic profiles in the Mesozoic cover units above a major decollement on top of the mechanically more rigid basement and seen in outcrops of Tertiary series east of the city of Fribourg. Observed earthquakes cluster at shallow depth (<4 km) in the sedimentary cover. Given the spatial extend of the observed seismicity, we infer the potential of a moderate size earthquake to be generated on the lineament. However, since the existence of along strike structures in the basement cannot be excluded, a maximum M 6 earthquake cannot be ruled out. Thus, the Fribourg Lineament constitutes a non-negligible source of seismic hazard in the Swiss Alpine foreland.  相似文献   

12.
Although the Southwest Seismic Zone (SWSZ), located about 150 km to the east of Perth in southwestern Australia, is one of the most seismically active areas in Australia, there is little understanding as to why the earthquakes are occurring.An analysis of geophysical, geological and geodetic data from the area suggests that the SWSZ coincides with a Precambrian terrane boundary. Seismic data show that the terrane boundary zone dips at a shallow angle in a northeasterly direction. Reactivation of this ‘zone of weakness’ in the contemporary stress field (east–west maximum horizontal stress) is interpreted to be the first-order control on seismicity in the region.Gravity data show that the terrane boundary is offset by near-orthogonal structures, which are interpreted as faults. At least one of these trends corresponds with a linear zone of epicentres. The temporal and spatial distributions of epicentres associated with the 1968 Meckering earthquake (ML 6.9) suggest that the second-order distribution of seismicity in the SWSZ can be explained by the ‘intersection model’, whereby stresses are amplified by space problems associated with displacements on crosscutting faults.It is speculated that a zone of high density and high seismic velocity in the lower crust may also be a second-order control on the local seismicity. However, confirmation awaits better delineation of the extent of this zone.  相似文献   

13.
We present the results of the joint relocation of events recorded during 1989–1992 by the PANDA network in the central New Madrid seismic zone. The near-surface material in the study area is a gently-dipping layer of poorly consolidated sediments with low P-wave velocity and high Vp/Vs (estimated values: 1.8 km s−1 and 3). The sediments are underlain by high-velocity Paleozoic rocks. Under the network the difference in sediment thickness is only 0.6 km, but because of the low velocities the location of the events using layered models is affected by errors. Application of the joint hypocentral determination (JHD) technique to a subset of 580 events shows that the single-event locations may be in error by as much as 1 km in depth, depending on where the events are located. Analysis of synthetic data generated for a realistic 3-D velocity model supports the JHD results. The analysis of synthetic data also suggests that a Vp/Vs≤ 2.3 is more appropriate for the post-Paleozoic Mississippi embayment sediments. Based on the JHD locations we present a new interpretation of the seismicity, with two en-echelon SW-dipping thrust faults connected by a west-dipping thrust fault. These faults appear associated with the Reelfoot scarp and its northern extension, the Kentucky bend scarp.  相似文献   

14.
We test the Bowman and King [Bowman, D.D., King, G.C.P., 2001a, Accelerating seismicity and stress accumulation before large earthquakes. Geophys. Res. Lett., 28 (21), 4039–4042, Bowman, D.D., King, G.C.P., 2001b. Stress transfer and seismicity changes before large earthquakes. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 333, 591–599] Stress Accumulation model by examining the evolution of seismicity rates prior to the 1992 Landers, California earthquake. The Stress Accumulation (SA) model was developed to explain observations of accelerating seismicity preceding large earthquakes. The model proposes that accelerating seismicity sequences result from the tectonic loading of large fault structures through aseismic slip in the elasto-plastic lower crust. This loading progressively increases the stress on smaller faults within a critical region around the main structure, thereby causing the observed acceleration of precursory activity. A secondary prediction of the SA model is that the precursory seismicity rates should increase first at the edges of the critical region, with the rates gradually rising over time at closer distances to the main fault. We test this prediction by examining year-long seismicity rates between 1960 and 2004, as a function of distance from the Landers rupture. To quantify the significance of trends in the seismicity rates, we auto-correlate the data, using a range of spatial and temporal lags. We find weak evidence for increased seismicity rates propagating towards the Landers rupture, but cannot conclusively distinguish these results from those obtained for a random earthquake catalog. However, we find a strong indication of periodicity in the rate fluctuations, as well as high correlation between activity 130–170 km from Landers and seismicity rates within 50 km of the Landers rupture temporally offset 1.5–2 years. The implications of this spatio–temporal correlation will be addressed in future studies.  相似文献   

15.
The Gulf of Corinth is a natural laboratory for the study of seismicity and crustal deformation during continental extension. Seismic profiling along its axis provides a 24-fold normal-incidence seismic reflection profile and wide-angle reflection–refraction profiles recorded by sea-bottom seismometers (OBS) and land seismometers. At wide-angle incidence, the land receivers document the Moho at 40-km depth under the western end of the Gulf north of Aigion, rising to 32-km depth under the northern coast in the east of the Gulf. Both refraction and normal-incidence reflection sections image the basement under the deep marine basin that has formed by recent extension. The depth to the base of the sedimentary basin beneath the Gulf, constrained by both methods, is no more than 2.7 km, with 1 km of water underlain by no more than 1.7 km of sediment, less than what was expected from past modeling of uplift of the south coast in the East of the Gulf. Unlike the flat sea-bottom, the basement and sedimentary interfaces show topography along this axial line. Several deeps are identified as depocenters, which suggest that this axial line is not a strike line to the basin. It appears instead to be controlled by several faults, oblique to the S60°E overall trend of the south coast of the Gulf, their more easterly strikes being consistent with the instantaneous direction of extension measured by earthquake slip vectors and by GPS.  相似文献   

16.
The Betic-Rif Cordilleras, formed by the interaction of NW–SE convergence between the Eurasian and African plates and the westward motion of their Internal Zones, provide a good example of an active tectonic arc. The Campo de Dalías and Campo de Níjar constitute outcropping sectors of Neogene and Quaternary rocks located in the southeastern border of the Betic Cordilleras and allow us to study the recent deformations developed in the internal border of this tectonic arc.The main active faults with related seismicity, representing a moderate seismic hazard, associated to the southeastern Betic Cordilleras boundary, include high-angle NW–SE-oriented normal faults that affect, at least, the upper part of the crust, a main detachment located at 10 km depth, and probably another detachment at 20 km as well. Seismite structures, recent fault scarps with associated colluvial wedges that deform the drainage network and the alignment of the coastline, indicate that the high-angle faults have been active at least since the Quaternary.Paleostresses determined from microfault analysis in Quaternary deposits generally show an ENE–WSW trend of extension. Present-day earthquake focal mechanisms include normal, strike-slip and reverse faulting. Normal and strike-slip focal mechanisms generally indicate ENE–WSW extension, and strike-slip and reverse focal mechanisms are related to NNW–SSE compression.The maximum horizontal compression has a consistently NNW–SSE trend. The deep activity of detachments and reverse faults determines the NNW–SSE crustal shortening related to the Eurasian–African plate convergence. At surface, however, the predominance of normal faults is probably produced by the increase in the relative weight of the vertical stress axis, which in turn may be related to relief uplift and subsequent horizontal spreading. The internal mountain front boundary of the Betic Cordilleras developed through the activity of a set of structures that is more complex than a typical external mountain front, probably as a consequence of a vertical variable stress field that acted on previously deformed rocks belonging to the Internal Zone of the cordilleras.  相似文献   

17.
First observations of geologically young rock faults and folds in New York in the late nineteenth century were shortly followed by others in Ontario. Remapping of the Paleozoic rocks began in the 1930s, and Quaternary geology mapping became organized in the 1950s, leading to further discoveries of faults and folds in the bedrock. Engineering works in the Niagara and Hamilton areas from the 1890s to the 1970s encountered repeated problems of rock squeeze. The separate geological and engineering experiences were linked in the 1970s, and with heightened awareness, discoveries of rock disturbances (mainly popups) greatly increased in the 1970s and 1980s. Understanding centered on high horizontal stress in the bedrock, which became quantified through rock testing and modeling. The creation of the Multi-Agency Group for Neotectonics in Eastern Canada (MAGNEC) in 1986 brought together a diverse group interested in all aspects of neotectonics, including the distribution and causes of rock stress and the potential implications for seismic risk. The existence of nuclear power plants sensitive to variations in the stress environment and high population densities near the Great Lakes provided motivation for further attention, and Prince Edward County was designated for special study. Recent suggestions of reduced seismic activity under ice sheets and increased activity associated with isostatic uplift during their retreat lead to the question whether seismic risk is slowly decreasing as uplift rates decline.  相似文献   

18.
We propose to explain the origin of the double trend in seismicity of the Macas swarm in the Subandean Cordillera of Cutucú (Ecuador) and characterize the corresponding active deformation of that region. For that purpose, seismological and geological data have been used, with the deployment of a temporary seismological array, with geological field observations and image processing. We found that some earthquakes are aligned on a well known NNE–SSW trend corresponding to the orientation of the nodal planes of the reverse focal mechanism of the Mw=7.0 1995 Macas earthquake as for its aftershocks. Nevertheless, many smaller events are aligned on an unexpected NNW–SSE trend inside the Cutucú Cordillera. We interpret these two orientations of the Macas swarm as linked to Subandean basement thrusts inherited from the inversion tectonics of a NNE–SSW trending Triassic–Jurassic rift, which has been uplifted and partly extruded in the Cutucú Cordillera. The present partitioning of this part of the Subandean deformation is controlled by pre-existing NNE–SSW to NNW–SSE Triassic–Jurassic normal faults that have been subsequently compressed–transpressed and reactivated into reverse faults. Major boundary faults of the rift were NNE–SSW oriented and correspond now to some main Subandean thrusts as confirms the focal mechanism of the 1995 main shock located on the eastern border (Morona frontal thrust) and the orientation of its aftershocks. In the Cutucú Cordillera, the double orientation of present swarm can be interpreted as the result of accommodation of deformation along NNW–SSE pre-existing faults inside the inverted rift system, linked to the motion of the Morona frontal NNE–SSW thrust.  相似文献   

19.
Using a 3-D structural model, we performed a basin-scale analysis of the tectonically inverted Mid-Polish Swell, which developed above the NW–SE-oriented Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone. The later separates the Paleozoic West European Platform from the Precambrian East European Craton. The model permits a comparison between the present depths and sedimentary thicknesses of five layers within the Permian–Mesozoic and Cenozoic successions. The inversion of the NW–SE-trending Mid-Polish Trough during the Late Cretaceous–Paleogene resulted in uplift of a central horst, the Mid-Polish Swell, bounded by two lateral troughs. These structural features are induced by squeezing of a weak crust along the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone. The swell is characterized by an inherited segmentation which is due to NE–SW transversal faults having crustal roots. From NW to SE, we distinguish the Pomeranian, Kujavian, and Ma opolska segments, that are separated by two transversal faults. During the inversion, the Zechstein salt occurring in the Pomeranian and Kujavian segments in the NW acted as decoupling level between the basement and the post-salt cover, leading to disharmonic deformation. Conversely, because no salt occurs in the SE, both basement and cover were jointly deformed. The vertical tectonic uplift at the surface is estimated to amount to 3 km in the Ma opolska segment. The structural inheritance of the basement is expressed by the heterogeneous geometry of the swell and tectonic instability during Mesozoic sedimentation. The reasons for the inheritance are seen in the mosaic-type Paleozoic basement SW of the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone, contrasting the Precambrian East European Craton which acted as a stable buttress in the NE. The horst and trough geometry of Cenozoic sediments blanketing the Mid-Polish swell reveals the ongoing intracontinental compressional stress in Poland.  相似文献   

20.
The present kinematic and dynamic analysis of large-scale strike-slip faults, which enabled the formation of a collage of Altai terranes as a result of two collisional events. The Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous collision of the Gondwana-derived Altai-Mongolian terrane and the Siberian continent resulted in the formation of the Charysh–Terekta system of dextral strike-slip faults and later the Kurai and Kuznetsk–Teletsk–Bashkauss sinistral strike-slip faults. The Late Carboniferous–Permian collision of the Siberian and Kazakhstan continents resulted in the formation of the Chara, Irtysh and North-East sinistral strike-slip zones. The age of deformation of both collisional events becomes younger toward the inner areas of the Siberian continent. In the same direction the amount of displacement of strike-slip faulting decreases from several thousand to several hundred kilometers. The width of the Late Paleozoic zone of deformation reaches 1500 km. These events deformed the accretion-collision continental margins and their primary paleogeographic pattern.  相似文献   

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