Faulting in Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments at the Savannah River Site, SC: Interpretations from seismic reflection time maps

Conference · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1994 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:7059290

Domoracki, W J; Coruh, C; Costain, J K ^[1]; Stephenson, D E ^[2]

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1. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences
2. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)

Time-structure, isochron, and reflection amplitude maps were constructed from 270 km of reprocessed seismic reflection data recorded at the Savannah river Site (SRS), South Carolina. These maps indicate the presence of three major basement blocks bounded by northeast trending faults that penetrate upward from basement into the Atlantic coastal Plain sediments. Most of these faults appear to be Paleozoic and Mesozoic structures reactivated in compression. The northernmost fault block is bounded on the southeast by the Upper Tree Runs fault (UTRF), a high-angle southeast dipping reverse fault, which appears to be a reactivated splay from a major decollement (Augusta fault ) at 5 km depth. The Pen Branch fault (PBF) is the main throughgoing fault in a 3 km wide, 25 km long, fault zone consisting of subparallel fault segments that are commonly down-to-the-northwest north of PBF and down-to-the-southeast south of PBF. The offset of time horizons by PBF increases to the northeast and the shallowest resolvable time horizons appear to be deformed across its length. The Steel Creek fault, an antithetic fault to PBF, controls the drainage of Pen Branch, a tributary stream to the Savannah River. The third fault block is bounded by the Pen Branch fault on the northwest. The southeast boundary of this southernmost block is unknown, but could be defined by the Martin fault, a down-to-the-southeast fault located south of SRS that appears to be a major structure. Interpretation of isochron maps and analysis of trend surfaces fitted to reflection time horizons suggest that faulting was ongoing through the Late Cretaceous and was accompanied by tilting of the fault blocks, possibly associated with the transfer of strain from the UTRF to the PBF.

• OSTI ID: 7059290
• Report Number(s): CONF-9404221-; CODEN: GAAPBC
• Journal Information: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 26:4; Conference: 43. annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the Geological Society of America, Blacksburg, VA (United States), 7-8 Apr 1994; ISSN 0016-7592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
DATA ANALYSIS
SOUTH CAROLINA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
SURVEYS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
580000* - Geosciences
220501 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Environmental Aspects- Siting
540250 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (1990-)