An experimental study of soil memory and preconsolidation adjacent to an active tectonic structure: the Meers fault, Oklahoma, USA

Special consolidation tests were run on undisturbed samples to study the ability of Quaternary soils adjacent to the Meers fault in southwestern Oklahoma to record and remember the maximum effective (preconsolidation) stresses they experienced during the faulting process. The results show that the soils record >60% of the applied total stresses as preconsolidation stresses in 2 s of loading time, indicating that these stresses could have been recorded during an earthquake faulting event. To record all of the applied total stresses as preconsolidation stresses (100% recording or memory), the loading needs to last at least 4–5 min.