Deciphering the Stress State of Seismogenic Faults in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas Based on an Improved Stress Map

Qin, Yan; Chen, Xiaowei; Walter, Jacob I.; Haffener, Jackson; Trugman, Daniel T.; Carpenter, Brett M.; Weingarten, Matthew; Kolawole, Folarin

doi:10.1029/2019JB018377

Title: Deciphering the Stress State of Seismogenic Faults in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas Based on an Improved Stress Map

Journal Article · 23 November 2019 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB018377 · OSTI ID:1581273

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Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
San Diego State Univ., CA (United States)

Fault location and geometry are prime considerations in the reactivation of preexisting faults. Here, we combine relocated earthquake catalogs and focal mechanisms to delineate seismogenic faults in Oklahoma and southern Kansas and analyze their stress state. Initially, we identify and map seismogenic faults based on earthquake clustering. We then obtain an improved stress map using 2,047 high-quality focal mechanisms. The regional stress map shows a gradual transition from oblique normal faulting in western Oklahoma to strike-slip faulting in central and eastern Oklahoma. Stress amplitude ratio shows a strong correlation with pore pressure from hydrogeologic models, suggesting that pore pressure exhibits a measurable influence on stress patterns. Finally, we assess fault stress state via 3-D Mohr circles; a parameter understress is used to quantify the level of fault criticality (with 0 meaning critically stressed faults and 1 meaning faults with no applied shear stress). Our findings suggest that most active faults have near vertical planes (planarity >0.8 and dip >70°), and there is a strong correlation between fault length and maximum magnitude on each fault. The fault trends show prominent conjugate sets that strike [55–75°] and [105–125°]. A comparison with mapped sedimentary faults and basement fractures reveals common tectonic control. Based on 3-D Mohr circles, we find that 78% of the faults are critically stressed (understress ≤0.2), while several seismogenic faults are misoriented with high understress (>0.4). Fault geometry and local stress fields may be used to evaluate potential seismic hazard, as the largest earthquakes tend to occur on long, critically stressed faults.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1581273

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-18-27043; TRN: US2100716

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth, Vol. 124, Issue 12; ISSN 2169-9313

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 22 works

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induced seismicity
stress field
stress state of fault
pore pressure
sequence evolution
earthquake hazard

Title: Deciphering the Stress State of Seismogenic Faults in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas Based on an Improved Stress Map

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