Neotectonics of the upper Mississippi embayment

Although the upper Mississippi embayment is an area of low relief, the region has been subjected to tectonic influence throughout its history and continues to be so today. Tectonic activity can be recognized through seismicity patterns and geological indicators of activity, either those as a direct result of earthquakes, or longer term geomorphic, structural, and sedimentological signatures. The rate of seismic activity in the upper Mississippi embayment is generally lower than at the margins of tectonic plates; the embayment, however, is the most seismically active region east of the Rocky Mountains, with activity concentrated in the New Madrid seismic zone. This zone produced the very large New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812.

Geological and geophysical evidence of neotectonic activity in the upper Mississippi embayment includes faulting in the Benton Hills and Thebes Gap in Missouri, paleoliquefaction in the Western Lowlands of Missouri, subsurface faulting beneath and tilting of Crowley's Ridge in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri, subsurface faulting along the Crittenden County fault zone near Memphis, Tennessee, faulting along the east flank of the Tiptonville dome, and numerous indicators of historic and prehistoric large earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone.

Paleoearthquake studies in the New Madrid seismic zone have used trenching, seismic reflection, shallow coring, pedology, geomorphology, archaeology, and dendrochronology to identify and date faulting, deposits of liquefied sand, and areas of uplift and subsidence. The cause of today's relatively high rate of tectonic activity in the Mississippi embayment remains elusive. It is also not clear whether this activity rate is a short term phenomenon or has been constant over millions of years. Ongoing geodetic and geological studies should provide more insight as to the precise manner in which crustal strain is accumulating, and perhaps allow improved regional neotectonic models.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene paleoseismology of an intraplate seismic zone in a large alluvial valley, the New Madrid seismic zone, Central USA

The New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) is an intraplate right-lateral strike-slip and thrust fault system contained mostly within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The most recent earthquake sequence in the zone occurred in 1811–1812 and had estimated moment magnitudes of 7–8 (e.g., [Johnston, A.C., 1996. Seismic moment assessment of stable continental earthquakes, Part 3: 1811–1812 New Madrid, 1886 Charleston, and 1755 Lisbon. Geophysical Journal International 126, 314–344; Johnston, A.C., Schweig III, E.S, 1996. The enigma of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24, 339–384; Hough, S.E., Armbruster, J.G., Seeber, L., Hough, J.F., 2000. On the modified Mercalli intensities and magnitudes of the New Madrid earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research 105 (B10), 23,839–23,864; Tuttle, M.P., 2001. The use of liquefaction features in paleoseismology: Lessons learned in the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States. Journal of Seismology 5, 361–380]). Four earlier prehistoric earthquakes or earthquake sequences have been dated A.D. 1450 ± 150, 900 ± 100, 300 ± 200, and 2350 B.C. ± 200 years using paleoliquefaction features, particularly those associated with native American artifacts, and in some cases surface deformation ([Craven, J. A. 1995. Paleoseismology study in the New Madrid seismic zone using geological and archeological features to constrain ages of liquefaction deposits. M.S thesis, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.; Tuttle, M.P., Lafferty III, R.H., Guccione, M.J., Schweig III, E.S., Lopinot, N., Cande, R., Dyer-Williams, K., Haynes, M., 1996. Use of archaeology to date liquefaction features and seismic events in the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States. Geoarchaeology 11, 451–480; Guccione, M.J., Mueller, K., Champion, J., Shepherd, S., Odhiambo, B., 2002b. Stream response to repeated co-seismic folding, Tiptonville dome, western Tennessee. Geomorphology 43(2002), 313–349; Tuttle, M.P., Schweig, E.S., Sims, J.D., Lafferty, R.H., Wolf, L.W., Haynes, M.L., 2002. The earthquake potential of the New Madrid seismic zone, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v 92, n. 6, p. 2080–2089; Tuttle, M.P., Schweig III, E.S., Campbell, J., Thomas, P.M., Sims, J.D., Lafferty III, R.H., 2005. Evidence for New Madrid earthquakes in A.D. 300 and 2350 B.C. Seismological Research Letters 76, 489–501]). The two most recent prehistoric and the 2350 B.C. events were probably also earthquake sequences with approximately the same magnitude as the historic sequence.Surface deformation (faulting and folding) in an alluvial setting provides many examples of stream response to gradient changes that can also be used to date past earthquake events. Stream responses include changes in channel morphology, deviations in the channel path from the regional gradient, changes in the direction of flow, anomalous longitudinal profiles, and aggradation or incision of the channel ([Merritts, D., Hesterberg, T, 1994. Stream networks and long-term surface uplift in the New Madrid seismic zone. Science 265, 1081–1084.; Guccione, M.J., Mueller, K., Champion, J., Shepherd, S., Odhiambo, B., 2002b. Stream response to repeated co-seismic folding, Tiptonville dome, western Tennessee. Geomorphology 43 (2002), 313–349]). Uplift or depression of the floodplain affects the frequency of flooding and thus the thickness and style of vertical accretion or drowning of a meander scar to form a lake. Vegetation may experience trauma, mortality, and in some cases growth enhancement due to ground failure during the earthquake and hydrologic changes after the earthquake ([VanArdale, R.B., Stahle, D.W., Cleaveland, M.K., Guccione, M.J., 1998. Earthquake signals in tree-ring data from the New Madrid seismic zone and implications for paleoseismicity. Geology 26, 515–518]). Identification and dating these physical and biologic responses allows source areas to be identified and seismic events to be dated.Seven fault segments are recognized by microseismicity and geomorphology. Surface faulting has been recognized at three of these segments, Reelfoot fault, New Madrid North fault, and Bootheel fault. The Reelfoot fault is a compressive stepover along the strike-slip fault and has up to 11 m of surface relief ([Carlson, S.D., 2000. Formation and geomorphic history of Reelfoot Lake: insight into the New Madrid seismic zone. M.S. Thesis, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A]) deforming abandoned and active Mississippi River channels ([Guccione, M.J., Mueller, K., Champion, J., Shepherd, S., Odhiambo, B., 2002b. Stream response to repeated co-seismic folding, Tiptonville dome, western Tennessee. Geomorphology 43 (2002), 313–349]). The New Madrid North fault apparently has only strike-slip motion and is recognized by modern microseismicity, geomorphic anomalies, and sand cataclasis ([Baldwin, J.N., Barron A.D., Kelson, K.I., Harris, J.B., Cashman, S., 2002. Preliminary paleoseismic and geophysical investigation of the North Farrenburg lineament: primary tectonic deformation associated with the New Madrid North Fault?. Seismological Research Letters 73, 393–413]). The Bootheel fault, which is not identified by the modern microseismicity, is associated with extensive liquefaction and offset channels ([Guccione, M.J., Marple, R., Autin, W.J., 2005, Evidence for Holocene displacements on the Bootheel fault (lineament) in southeastern Missouri: Seismotectonic implications for the New Madrid region. Geological Society of America Bulletin 117, 319–333]). The fault has dominantly strike-slip motion but also has a vertical component of slip. Other recognized surface deformation includes relatively low-relief folding at Big Lake/Manila high ([Guccione, M.J., VanArdale, R.B., Hehr, L.H., 2000. Origin and age of the Manila high and associated Big Lake “Sunklands”, New Madrid seismic zone, northeastern Arkansas. Geological Society of America Bulletin 112, 579–590]) and Lake St. Francis/Marked Tree high ([Guccione, M.J., VanArsdale, R.B., 1995. Origin and age of the St. Francis Sunklands using drainage patterns and sedimentology. Final report submitted to the U. S. Geological Survey, Award Number 1434-93-G-2354, Washington D.C.]), both along the subsurface Blytheville arch. Deformation at each of the fault segments does not occur during each earthquake event, indicating that earthquake sources have varied throughout the Holocene.     

Andean earthquakes triggered by the 2010 Maule,Chile (Mw 8.8) earthquake: Comparisons of geodetic,seismic and geologic constraints

The Maule, Chile, (M_w 8.8) earthquake on 27 February 2010 triggered deformation events over a broad area, allowing investigation of stress redistribution within the upper crust following a mega-thrust subduction event. We explore the role that the Maule earthquake may have played in triggering shallow earthquakes in northwestern Argentina and Chile. We investigate observed ground deformation associated with the M_w 6.2 (GCMT) Salta (1450 km from the Maule hypocenter, 9 h after the Maule earthquake), M_w 5.8 Catamarca (1400 km; nine days), M_w 5.1 Mendoza (350 km; between one to five days) earthquakes, as well as eight additional earthquakes without an observed geodetic signal. We use seismic and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations to characterize earthquake location, magnitude and focal mechanism, and characterize how the non-stationary, spatially correlated noise present in the geodetic imagery affects the accuracy of our parameter estimates. The focal mechanisms for the far-field Salta and Catamarca earthquakes are broadly consistent with regional late Cenozoic fault kinematics. We infer that dynamic stresses due to the passage of seismic waves associated with the Maule earthquake likely brought the Salta and Catamarca regions closer to failure but that the involved faults may have already been at a relatively advanced stage of their seismic cycle. The near-field Mendoza earthquake geometry is consistent with triggering related to positive static Coulomb stress changes due to the Maule earthquake but is also aligned with the South America-Nazca shortening direction. None of the earthquakes considered in this study require that the Maule earthquake reactivated faults in a sense that is inconsistent with their long-term behavior.     

Source geometry and mechanism of 1978 Tabas, Iran, earthquake from well located aftershocks

Aftershocks of the September 16, 1978 Tabas earthquake located from close-in observations made during a four-week fielding of temporary stations have been analyzed for the purpose of delineating detailed source geometry of the 1978 earthquake. Spatial distribution of aftershocks and their composite focal mechanism suggest that the geometry of faulting is far from planar. Aftershocks define two prominent alignment. The southern alignment strikes E-W to WNW-ESE, whereas the northern alignment strikes in a N-S to NNW-SSE direction with an abrupt change of nearly 55–60 degrees near 33.4°N latitude. Both field observations of surface faulting pattern and systematic variation of principal directions of stress axes computed from aftershock focal mechanisms are consistent with the upthrusting and imbrication of a wedge shaped crustal block with the wedge angle of about 120 degrees. Both geological and seismological evidence suggest that the deformed zone is truncated at the southern edge by preexisting E-W fault structures. New observations may provide a partial answer to the unexplained farfield asymmetry of the long period Rayleigh wave radiation pattern recently observed for the mainshock across IDA network.     

新疆伽师及邻区地震与控震构造分析

1996年3月-1997年4月间,新疆伽师西部相继发生6.9级强震与由7次6-6.6级子震所构成的强震群。历史上伽师及邻区曾发生多次强烈地震,导致伽师及邻区包括塔里木盆地周缘地震强烈活动的原因,是印度岩石圈块体快速北向运动造成的SN向强烈挤压与欧亚岩石圈块体缓慢向西运动所引起的左旋走滑的联合作用及其相关的现今不同方向、不同性质的断裂活动。区域性EW向盆缘活动断裂控制盆缘大型地震活动带的空间展布,盆缘EW向主干活动断裂与其他方向次级活动断裂的交叉复合部位是强烈地震发震的有利部位。伽师强震群子震震中分布受塔里木盆地西缘近SN-NNW向隐伏深断裂及其与EW向盆缘活动断裂的复合所控制。伽师强震群发生之后,在原强震群震中处发生7级以上更大地震的可能性很小;但由于塔里木盆地及其周缘,自1996年起已进入一个新的地震活跃期,在伽师附近及其南侧或东侧,近年内发生6-7级以上强烈地震的可能性较大。      

Seismicity of the Baikal rift system from regional network observations

In the paper we report the state-of-the-art of seismicity study in the Baikal rift system and the general results obtained. At present, the regional earthquake catalog for fifty years of the permanent instrumental observations consists of over 185,000 events. The spatial distribution of the epicenters, which either gather along well-delineated belts or in discrete swarms is considered in detail for different areas of the rift system. At the same time, the hypocenters are poorly constrained making it difficult to identify the fault geometry. Clustered events like aftershock sequences or earthquake swarms are typical patterns in the region; moreover, aftershocks of M ⩾ 4.7 earthquakes make up a quarter of the whole catalog. The maximum magnitude of earthquakes recorded instrumentally is M_LH7.6 for a strike-slip event in the NE part of the Baikal rift system and M_LH6.8 for a normal fault earthquake in the central part of the rift system (Lake Baikal basin). Predominant movement type is normal faulting on NE striking faults with a left lateral strike-slip component on W–E planes. In conclusion, some shortcomings of the seismic network and data processing are pointed out.     

Fine structure of seismotectonics in western Shillong massif,north east India

The epicentral tract of the great Assam earthquake of 1897 of magnitude 8·7 was monitored for about 6 months using an array of portable seismographs. The observed seismicity pattern shows several diversely-oriented linear trends, some of which either encompass or parallel known geological faults. A vast majority of the recorded micro-earthquakes had estimated focal depths between 8–14 km. The maximum estimated depth was 45 km. On the basis of a seismic velocity model for the region reported recently and these depth estimates we suggest that the rupture zone of the great 1897 earthquake had a depth of 11–12 km under the western half of the Shillong massif. Four composite fault plane solutions define the nature of dislocation in three of the seismic zones. Three of them show oblique thrusting while one shows pure dip slip reverse faulting. The fault plane solutions fit into a regional pattern of a belt of earthquakes extending in NW-SE direction across the north eastern corner of the Bengal basin. The maximum principle stress axis is approximately NS for all the solutions in conformity with the inferred direction of the Indian-EuroAsian plate convergence in the eastern Himalaya.     

Source parameters of March 10 and September 13, 2007, United Arab Emirates earthquakes

On March 10 and September 13, 2007 two earthquakes with moment magnitudes 3.66 and 3.94, respectively, occurred in the eastern part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two events were widely felt in the northern Emirates and Oman and were accompanied by a few aftershocks. Ground motions from these events were well recorded by the broadband stations of Dubai (UAE) and Oman seismological networks and provide an excellent opportunity to study the tectonic process and present day stress field acting in this area. In this study, we report the focal mechanisms of the two main shocks by two methods: first motion polarities and regional waveform moment tensor inversion. Our results indicate nearly pure normal faulting mechanisms with a slight strike slip component. We associated the fault plane trending NNE–SSW with a suggested fault along the extension of the faults bounded Bani Hamid area. The seismicity distribution between two earthquake sequences reveals a noticeable gap that may be a site of a future event. The source parameters (seismic moment, moment magnitude, fault radius, stress drop and displacement across the fault) were also estimated from displacement spectra. The moment magnitudes were very consistent with waveform inversion. The recent deployment of seismic networks in Dubai and Oman reveals tectonic activity in the northern Oman Mountains that was previously unknown. Continued observation and analysis will allow for characterization of seismicity and assessment of seismic hazard in the region.     

地震研究进展与趋势——全球地震科学钻探研究综述

近年来大地震频繁发生,造成了巨大的人员伤亡和财产损失,认识地震和地震发生机制已成为地质学家和地球物理学家共同的奋斗目标。科学钻探是获取地下深部物质、了解深部信息的最直接、最有效、最可靠的方法,因此,科学钻探是认识和揭示地震断裂作用的最佳手段。本文介绍了目前世界上主要的地震科学钻探计划,包括位于环太平洋地震带的日本野岛(Nojima)断层科学钻探计划、台湾车笼埔断裂钻探计划(TCDP)、圣安德烈斯断裂深部观测钻探计划(SAFOD)、新西兰深部断层钻探计划(DFDP)、日本南海海槽发震带试验钻探计划(NanTroSEIZE)、日本海沟地震快速钻探计划(JFAST)和大陆内部地震的汶川地震断裂带科学钻探计划(WFSD),简要概括了这些科学钻探计划所取得的有关地震研究的重要进展与贡献,并且通过这些成果探讨了未来地震研究趋势。     

Analysis of the Wenchuan Ms8.0 Earthquake’s Co-seismic Stress and Displacement Change by Using the Finite Element Method

The variation of in situ stress before and after earthquakes is an issue studied by geologists. In this paper, on the basis of the fault slip dislocation model of Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake, the changes of co-seismic displacement and the distribution functions of stress tensor around the Longmen Shan fault zone are calculated. The results show that the co-seismic maximum surface displacement is 4.9 m in the horizontal direction and 6.5 m in the vertical direction, which is almost consistent with the on-site survey and GPS observations. The co-seismic maximum horizontal stress in the hanging wall and footwall decreased sharply as the distance from the Longmen Shan fault zone increased. However, the vertical stress and minimum horizontal stress increased in the footwall and in some areas of the hanging wall. The study of the co-seismic displacement and stress was mainly focused on the long and narrow region along the Longmen Shan fault zone, which coincides with the distribution of the earthquake aftershocks. Therefore, the co-seismic stress only affects the aftershocks, and does not affect distant faults and seismic activities. The results are almost consistent with in situ stress measurements at the two sites before and after Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake. Along the fault plane, the co-seismic shear stress in the dip direction is larger than that in the strike direction, which indicates that the faulting mechanism of the Longmen Shan fault zone is a dominant thrust with minor strike-slipping. The results can be used as a reference value for future studies of earthquake mechanisms.     

The October 6, 2008 Mw 6.3 magnitude Damxung earthquake,Yadong-Gulu rift,Tibet, and implications for present-day crustal deformation within Tibet

A Mw 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on October 6, 2008 in southern Damxung County within the N–S trending Yangyi graben, which forms the northern section of the Yadong-Gulu rift of south-central Tibet. The earthquake had a maximum intensity of IX at the village of Yangyi (also Yangying) (29°43.3′N; 90°23.6′E) and resulted in 10 deaths and 60 injured in this sparsely populated region. Field observations and focal mechanism solutions show normal fault movement occurred along the NNE-trending western boundary fault of the Yangyi graben, in agreement with the felt epicenter, pattern of the isoseismal contours, and distribution of aftershocks. The earthquake and its tectonic relations were studied in detail to provide data on the seismic hazard to the nearby city of Lhasa.The Damxung earthquake is one of the prominent events along normal and strike-slip faults that occurred widely about Tibet before and after the 2008 Mw 7.9 magnitude Wenchuan earthquake. Analysis of these recent M ? 5.0 earthquake sequences demonstrate a kinematic relation between the normal, strike-slip, and reverse causative fault movements across the region. These earthquakes are found to be linked and the result of eastward extrusion of two large structural blocks of central Tibet. The reverse and oblique-slip surface faulting along the Longmenshan thrust belt at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau causing the Wenchuan earthquake, was the result of eastward directed compression and crustal shortening due to the extrusion. Prior to it, east–west extensional deformation indicated by normal and strike-slip faulting events across central Tibet, had led to a build up of the compression to the east. The subsequent renewal of extensional deformational events in central Tibet appears related to some drag effect due to the crustal shortening of the Wenchuan event. Unraveling the kinematical relation between these earthquake swarms is a very helpful approach for understanding the migration of strong earthquakes across Tibet.     

Use of archaeology to date liquefaction features and seismic events in the New Madrid seismic zone,Central United States

Prehistoric earthquake-induced liquefaction features occur in association with Native American occupation horizons in the New Madrid seismic zone. Age control of these liquefaction features, including sand-blow deposits, sand-blow craters, and sand dikes, can be accomplished by extensive sampling and flotation processing of datable materials as well as archaeobotanical analysis of associated archaeological horizons and pits. This approach increases both the amount of carbon for radiocarbon dating and the precision dating of artifact assemblages. Using this approach, we dated liquefaction features at four sites northwest of Blytheville, Arkansas, and found that at least one significant earthquake occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone between A.D. 1180 and 1400, probably about A.D. 1300 ± 100 yr. In addition, we found three buried sand blows that formed between 3340 B.C. and A.D. 780. In this region where very large to great earthquakes appear to be closely timed, archaeology is helping to develop a paleoearthquake chronology for the New Madrid seismic zone. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Compressive Tectonics around Tibetan Plateau Edges

Various earthquake fault types, mechanism solutions, stress field, and other geophysical data were analyzed for study on the crust movement in the Tibetan plateau and its tectonic implications. The results show that numbers of thrust fault and strike-slip fault type earthquakes with strong compressive stress near NNE-SSW direction occurred in the edges around the plateau except the eastern boundary. Some normal faulting type earthquakes concentrate in the Central Tibetan plateau. The strikes of fault planes of thrust and strike-slip faulting earthquakes are almost in the E-W direction based on the analyses of the Wulff stereonet diagrams of fault plane solutions. This implies that the dislocation slip vectors of the thrust and strike-slip faulting type events have quite great components in the N-S direction. The compression motion mainly probably plays the tectonic active regime around the plateau edges. The compressive stress in N-S or NE-SW directions predominates earthquake occurrence in the thrust and strike-slip faulting event region around the plateau. The compressive motion around the Tibetan plateau edge is attributable to the northward motion of the Indian subcontinent plate. The northward motion of the Tibetan plateau shortened in the N-S direction encounters probably strong obstructions at the western and northern margins.     

青藏高原昆仑—汶川地震系列与巴颜喀喇断块的最新活动

青藏高原是中国最主要的地震活动区之一。最近十多年来,在青藏高原中部连续发生了1997年西藏玛尼Ms7.5级地震、2001年青海昆仑山Ms8.1级地震、2008年3月新疆于田Ms7.3级地震和5月四川汶川Ms8.0级地震及2010年青海玉树Ms7.1级地震,它们相继发生于青藏断块区巴颜喀喇断块四周边界活动断裂带上,是该断块最新活动的结果。发生于断块南北边界断裂上的3次地震都是走滑断裂错动的结果,发生在断块东南端的汶川地震则是挤压逆冲断裂的产物,而西北端的于田地震则呈现出张性特征,它们共同反映青藏断块区巴颜喀喇条状断块向东南方向滑动的最新活动。自1900年以来,青藏断块区和巴颜喀喇断块的强震活动表现出多期活动和区域性转移的特征,20世纪早期Ms7.0级以上强地震活动的主体地区在青藏断块区北部边界构造带,中期转移到高原南部喜马拉雅板块边界构造带和断块区南部断块,最近十多年来则在巴颜喀喇断块及周缘边界断裂上活动。青藏高原这种块体活动和地震活动与澳大利亚-印度板块对亚洲大陆的推挤作用相关,因而,青藏高原和巴颜喀喇断块的强震活动与澳-印板块边界苏门答腊强震活动相对应。目前苏门答腊地区强震活动仍在继续,因此,近期对巴颜喀喇断块及青藏高原南部地区的强震活动和强震危险性仍需加以注意。     

Do static stress changes of a moderate‐magnitude earthquake significantly modify the regional seismic hazard? Hints from the L'Aquila 2009 normal‐faulting earthquake (Mw 6.3, central Italy)

We investigated the Coulomb stress changes in the active faults surrounding a moderate‐magnitude normal‐faulting earthquake (2009 L'Aquila, Mw 6.3) and the associated variations in the expected ground motion on regional probabilistic seismic hazard maps. We show that the static stress variations can locally increase the seismic hazard by modifying the expected mean recurrence time on neighbouring faults by up to ~290 years, with associated variations in the probability of occurrence of the maximum expected earthquake of up to ~2%. Our findings suggest that the increase in seismic hazard on neighbouring faults following moderate‐magnitude earthquakes is probably not sufficient to necessitate systematic upgrades of regional probabilistic seismic hazard maps, but must be considered to better address and schedule strategies for local‐scale mitigation of seismic risk.     

Site effects at a vertical accelerometer array near Paducah, Kentucky

The downhole vertical accelerometer array VSAP near Paducah, KY, consists of three-component accelerometers at the surface, the top of the McNairy Formation (−41 m), and the top of the Paleozoic bedrock (—99 m). The array is at the northern end of the Mississippi Embayment, and it was installed to verify the ground-motion modeling for the site, assuming a significant earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Accelerograms from 4.2 and 2.0 m_b earthquakes were used to check aspects of the modeling pertaining to linear behavior of the soil column, and to review the soil column models derived by drilling and geotechnical methods and through the use of high-resolution P- and SH-wave seismic refraction in reflection techniques. Results of the study indicate that for the linear case the soil column models derived by the two techniques are equivalent, and that the most important boundary in the soil column, with respect to amplification of the ground motions, is the interface between the limestone bedrock and soil.     

East Canning Basin earthquake,March 1970

On 24 March 1970 an earthquake of magnitude ML 6.7 took place in the eastern Canning Basin. The earthquake was unusual because it occurred in a region where no previous earthquake had been reported and where there was no evidence of recent tectonic activity. First motion results indicate a thrusting type focal mechanism with the pressure axis approximately northeast‐southwest and dipping about 24° to the southwest. The main shock was followed, over the next two years, by many earthquakes in a zone covering 140 km by 20 km. The longitudinal axis of this zone is approximately parallel to the north‐northwest striking nodal plane determined from the first motion results, and to the trend of intrabasin faulting.

It is suggested that continental crust may be sensitive to small changes in stress pattern and consequently seismic activity may be interrelated over large distances.     

Use of tsunami waveforms for earthquake source study

Tsunami waveforms recorded on tide gauges, like seismic waves recorded on seismograms, can be used to study earthquake source processes. The tsunami propagation can be accurately evaluated, since bathymetry is much better known than seismic velocity structure in the Earth. Using waveform inversion techniques, we can estimate the spatial distribution of coseismic slip on the fault plane from tsunami waveforms. This method has been applied to several earthquakes around Japan. Two recent earthquakes, the 1968 Tokachi-oki and 1983 Japan Sea earthquakes, are examined for calibration purposes. Both events show nonuniform slip distributions very similar to those obtained from seismic wave analyses. The use of tsunami waveforms is more useful for the study of unusual or old earthquakes. The 1984 Torishima earthquake caused unusually large tsunamis for its earthquake size. Waveform modeling of this event shows that part of the abnormal size of this tsunami is due to the propagation effect along the shallow ridge system. For old earthquakes, many tide gauge records exist with quality comparable to modern records, while there are only a few good quality seismic records. The 1944 Tonankai and 1946 Nankaido earthquakes are examined as examples of old events, and slip distributions are obtained. Such estimates are possible only using tsunami records. Since tide-gauge records are available as far back as the 1850s, use of them will provide unique and important information on long-term global seismicity.