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Title: New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report

Abstract

The New Madrid Seismotectonic Program was a large-scale multidisciplinary effort that was designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the New Madrid area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. The tectonic model proposed to explain the New Madrid seismicity is the ''zone of weakness'' model, which suggests that an ancient rift complex formed a zone of weakness in the earth's crust along which regional stresses are relieved. The Reelfoot Rift portion of the proposed rift complex is currently seismically active, and it must be considered capable and likely to be exposed to large-magnitude earthquakes in the future. Earthquakes that occur in the Wabash Valley area are less abundant and generally have deeper hypocenters than earthquakes in the New Madrid area. The area of the Southern Indiana Arm must be considered to have seismic risk, although a lesser extent than the Reelfoot Rift. The east-west trending Rough Creek Graben is practically aseismic, probably in large part due to its orientation in the current stress field. The northwest-trending St. Louis Arm of the proposed rift complex includes a pattern of seismicity that extends from southern Illinois along the Mississippi River. This armmore » must be considered to have seismic risk, but because of the lack of development of a graben associated with the arm and the orientation of the arm in the current stress field, the risk appears to be less than in the Reelfoot Rift portion of the rift complex.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Saint Louis Univ., MO (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
5734692
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-4632
ON: TI86901521
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; ARKANSAS; RIFT ZONES; ILLINOIS; INDIANA; KENTUCKY; MISSOURI; SEISMICITY; TECTONICS; TENNESSEE; EARTHQUAKES; GEOLOGIC FAULTS; GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES; FEDERAL REGION IV; FEDERAL REGION V; FEDERAL REGION VI; FEDERAL REGION VII; GEOLOGIC FRACTURES; NORTH AMERICA; SEISMIC EVENTS; USA; 580201* - Geophysics- Seismology & Tectonics- (1980-1989); 220501 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Environmental Aspects- Siting

Citation Formats

Buschbach, T C. New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report. United States: N. p., 1986. Web.
Buschbach, T C. New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report. United States.
Buschbach, T C. 1986. "New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report". United States.
@article{osti_5734692,
title = {New Madrid Seismotectonic Program. Final report},
author = {Buschbach, T C},
abstractNote = {The New Madrid Seismotectonic Program was a large-scale multidisciplinary effort that was designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the New Madrid area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. The tectonic model proposed to explain the New Madrid seismicity is the ''zone of weakness'' model, which suggests that an ancient rift complex formed a zone of weakness in the earth's crust along which regional stresses are relieved. The Reelfoot Rift portion of the proposed rift complex is currently seismically active, and it must be considered capable and likely to be exposed to large-magnitude earthquakes in the future. Earthquakes that occur in the Wabash Valley area are less abundant and generally have deeper hypocenters than earthquakes in the New Madrid area. The area of the Southern Indiana Arm must be considered to have seismic risk, although a lesser extent than the Reelfoot Rift. The east-west trending Rough Creek Graben is practically aseismic, probably in large part due to its orientation in the current stress field. The northwest-trending St. Louis Arm of the proposed rift complex includes a pattern of seismicity that extends from southern Illinois along the Mississippi River. This arm must be considered to have seismic risk, but because of the lack of development of a graben associated with the arm and the orientation of the arm in the current stress field, the risk appears to be less than in the Reelfoot Rift portion of the rift complex.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5734692}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986},
month = {Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986}
}

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