The New Madrid Seismic Zone is well known for its historical seismicity, most notably the 1811-12 New Madrid, MO earthquakes and to a lesser extent the 1895 Charlston, MO earthquake. It has been 124 years since an earthquake larger than M 5.1 occurred in the area. The debate of whether the New Madrid Seismic Zone is an active system or a system in decline has remained a contentious topic when interpreting the intricacies and challenges of an intraplate seismic system. This thesis focuses on an overlooked parameter in the already complex issue regarding the seismic hazard of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. In the early part of the 20th century the Little River Drainage District excavated 9.7 x 109 metric tons of overburden and drained approximately 5000 km2 from within the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Our model demonstrates that the Little River Drainage District resulted in a likely perturbation of the seismic system. The overburden removal, coupled with a reduction of the water column has moved the system away from failure when interpreted in the context of regional stress orientation in relation to the geographic orientation of the Little River Drainage District. This potentially explains the apparent lack of moderate to large events over the past century in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Thesis advisor: Mark D. Behn / On January 12, 2015, a magnitude 3.1 mainshock occurred in Plainfield, Connecticut near Wauregan Tilcon Quarry, causing modified Mercalli II-IV intensities. Shortly after the event, a team from Weston Observatory installed portable seismographs in the epicentral area. The portable array detected hundreds of small earthquakes from around the quarry, with 26 events that were accurately located. P-wave first motion directions obtained from readings of the mainshock suggest a thrusting focal mechanism on a NNE-SSW trending fault. In this research, we collected 113 gravity measurements in the proximity of the quarry to verify and correct local fault geometry proposed by historic aeromagnetic and geologic mapping. Interpretations of the computed simple Bouguer anomaly are consistent with historic mapping, with a few exceptions. The gravity survey constrains a NNE-SSW trending fault that dips west underneath the quarry, inferred to be the Lake Char-Honey Hill Fault, and reduces ambiguity in the position of an undefined ESE-WNW trending fault, which appears to be on strike to intersect the quarry. A 3D boundary element program (3D~Def) is used to simulate quarry-induced stress changes on these faults in order to analyze the possibility of inducing seismicity through crustal unloading in the region. Quarry operations resulted in the removal of mass from the crust, which decreased lithostatic load. In a setting confined by a maximum horizontal compressional stress, decreasing the lithostatic load, orminimum principal stress (σ3), shifts a Mohr-Coulomb diagram toward failure. The boundary element model shows that following the excavation of materials at the quarry, positive Coulomb failure stress changes occur on the west dipping Lake Char-Honey Hill Fault. In agreement with past studies, our results suggest that quarrying operations can trigger seismic activity in specific settings with stress regime, fault orientations, and rock characteristics such as those that exist in the northeastern U.S. In order to mitigate the risk for future earthquakes related to quarrying operations, these factors must be considered before operations begin. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-24T19:48:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HelenoCLN_TESE.pdf: 5085114 bytes, checksum: 8f73b093043e3323a8310182a887e244 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-16 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This thesis presents and discusses the results of the various seismic areas in the State of Pernambuco, with the aim of having a vision of regional seismicity and its causes. To the papers published in journals were added two new original works submitted to international journals, dealing with seismic areas located in the counties of S?o Caetano, Cupira, and Agrestina. All seismic areas mentioned in this thesis are located on the Pernambuco Lineament and its surroundings (both in branches or single faults within 40 km of it). The Pernambuco Lineament is a Neoproterozoic shear zone of continental-scale that deformed the Borborema Province, and presents as branches, shear zones with NE-SW direction. The new submitted papers are from the analysis of data collected by three local networks of stations that operated in the following areas: network SO07 (seismicity in the district of Santa Luzia - S?o Caetano, 2007), network BM10 (data from seismic areas of Serra Verde ( Cupira) and Barra do Chata (Agrestina), in 2010), network SO10 (seismicity near the urban center of S?o Caetano in 2010). These data were used for determining the hypocenters and focal mechanisms in order to discuss the relationship between the seismicity and geological features of the area. The new mechanisms obtained, as well as the previously published allowed the determination of the direction of the average stress in the region. The direction of stress in the region involving the various seismic areas, now or previously studied, is quite stable and approximate EW direction (SHmax). The correlation between seismicity and geological features is observed on the lineament and north of it. In the south (Cupira and Agrestina), in seismic areas nearby shear zones NE-SW, there is no correlation and seismogenic EW normal faults are active and its motion is compatible with regional stresses. It is probable that these active faults are more recent than the Neoproterozoic, probably of the Cretaceous period, when the last great movement of the Pernambuco Lineament occurred / Nesta tese s?o apresentados e discutidos os resultados do estudo de diversas ?reas s?smicas no Estado de Pernambuco com o objetivo de se ter uma vis?o regional da sismicidade e suas causas. Aos trabalhos j? publicados em revistas foram acrescentados dois novos trabalhos originais, submetidos a peri?dicos internacionais, abordando as ?reas s?smicas localizadas nos munic?pios de S?o Caetano, Cupira e Agrestina. Todas as ?reas s?smicas abordadas nesta tese est?o situadas sobre o Lineamento Pernambuco ou seu entorno (seja em ramifica??es ou falhas isoladas a menos de 40 km do mesmo). O Lineamento Pernambuco ? uma zona de cisalhamento Neoproteroz?ica de escala continental que deformou a Prov?ncia Borborema e que apresenta, como ramifica??es, zonas de cisalhamento com dire??o NE-SW. Os novos trabalhos submetidos s?o decorrentes da an?lise de dados coletados por tr?s redes de esta??es que operaram nas seguintes ?reas: rede SO07 (sismicidade no distrito de Santa Luzia - S?o Caetano, em 2007); rede BM10 (dados das ?reas s?smicas de Serra Verde (Cupira) e Barra do Chata (Agrestina), em 2010); rede SO10 (sismicidade pr?xima ao centro urbano de S?o Caetano, em 2010). Esses dados foram utilizados na determina??o dos hipocentros e mecanismos focais visando discutir a correla??o entre a sismicidade e as principais fei??es geol?gicas da regi?o. Os novos mecanismos obtidos, bem como os anteriormente publicados permitiram a determina??o da dire??o do esfor?o m?dio na regi?o. A dire??o dos esfor?os na regi?o envolvendo as diversas ?reas s?smicas, agora ou anteriormente estudadas, ? bastante est?vel e de dire??o aproximada EW (SHmax). A correla??o entre a sismicidade e fei??es geol?gicas ? observada sobre o lineamento e ao norte do mesmo. Ao sul (Cupira e Agrestina), em ?reas s?smicas pr?ximas a zonas de cisalhamento NE-SW, n?o h? correla??o e falhas sismog?nicas normais de dire??o EW est?o ativas e seu movimento ? compat?vel com os esfor?os regionais. ? prov?vel que essas falhas ativas sejam mais recentes que o Neoproteroz?ico, provavelmente do per?odo Cret?ceo, ?poca do ?ltimo grande movimento do Lineamento Pernambuco

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:08:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HelenoCLN.pdf: 2214181 bytes, checksum: 4b9d5dbc7db9006737b75bcf1a77385e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-06 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / In this dissertation we studied the seismic activity in the S?o Caetano county, Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil, located near the Pernambuco Lineament. The Pernambuco Lineament is a one of Neoproterozoic continental-scale shear zones that deforms the Borborema province. The seismicity estudied occurred in a NE trending branch of Pernambuco Lineament. The seismic activity in S?o Caetano started in 2006 and in May 20th, 2006 a 4,0 mb earthquake hit there. This was the largest earthquake ever reported in Pernambuco State. This dissertation is the result of a campaign done in the period from Februay 1th 2007 to July 31 th 2007. In this campaign up to nine three-component digital seismographic stations were deployed and the collected data was used to determine hypocenters and focal mechanism. A total of 214 earthquakes, recorded at least by three stations, were analyzed. To determine hypocenters and time origin the HYPO71 program was used assuming a half-space model with parameters : VP (P-wave velocity) equal to 5.90 km/s and the ratio VP/VS 1.70, where VS is the S-wave velocity. The earthquakes hypocentral distribution was approximately 4 km long and agrees with the NE-SW direction of the Pernambuco Lineamento branch. Hypocentres depth range from 2 to 8 km. The composed focal mechanism was made from a group of 14 selected earthquakes. We try firstly to find the fault plane solution matching the polarity distribution at stations, using the FPFIT program. The result was 43 deg ? 15 deg for strike, 59 deg ? 9 deg for dip and -142 deg ? 15 deg for rake. We also fitted a plane using the hypocentral distribution to obtain the dip and azimuth of the hypocentral distribution. The results obtained by this fit were 58 deg for the azimuth, 55 deg for the dip and -155 deg for rake. This result shows a mechanism of a strike-slip dextral fault with a normal component. This dissertation shows, once more, that there is a good correlation between the seismic activity and geological features in the region near the Pernambuco Lineament and its NE branches / Nesta disserta??o foi estudada a atividade s?smica no munic?pio de S?o Caetano, estado de Pernambuco, Nordeste brasileiro, localizado pr?ximo ao Lineamento Pernambuco. O Lineamento Pernambuco ? uma zona de cisalhamento Neoproteroz?ica de escala continental que deforma a prov?ncia Borborema. A sismicidade estudada ocorreu numa ramifica??o para nordeste do Lineamento Pernambuco. A atividade s?smica em S?o Caetano iniciou em 2006 e no dia 20/05/2007 ocorreu, neste munic?pio, um sismo de magnitude 4,0 mb. Este ? o sismo de maior magnitude que ocorreu no estado de Pernambuco. Este trabalho ? decorrente da an?lise de dados coletados durante o per?odo de monitoramento na regi?o que foi de 01/02/2007 at? 21/07/2007. Nesse monitoramento foi utilizado de seis at? nove esta??es sismogr?ficas digitais. Os dados coletados por essas esta??es foram analisados, objetivando a determina??o dos hipocentros e do mecanismo focal composto. Foram utilizados 214 sismos, registrados em pelo menos tr?s esta??es. Na determina??o hipocentral, foi utilizado o programa HYPO71, assumindo-se um modelo de semi-espa?o, com os par?metros: velocidade da onda P (VP) e raz?o VP/VS, respectivamente, 5,90 km/s e 1,70. Os hipocentros dos sismos ocorridos na regi?o deste estudo acompanham uma ramifica??o para nordeste do Lineamento Pernambuco e possui aproximadamente 4km de extens?o e profundidade variando entre 2 at? 8 km. O mecanismo focal composto foi feito para um conjunto de 14 sismos selecionados. N?s primeiramente tentamos encontrar a solu??o do plano de falha considerando apenas a distribui??o de polaridades utilizando o programa FPFIT. Os resultados foram: 43? ? 15? para o azimute, 59? ? 9? para o mergulho e -142? ? 15? para o rake. N?s tamb?m ajustamos o plano usando a distribui??o hipocentral. Os resultados obtidos foram: 58? para o azimute, 55? para o mergulho, O valor do rake foi fixado em -155?. Este resultado mostra um mecanismo de uma falha transcorrente dextral com uma componente normal. Esta disserta??o mostra, mais uma vez, que existe uma boa correla??o entre a sismicidade e falhas mapeadas na regi?o pr?xima ao Lineamento Pernambuco e suas ramifica??es para nordeste

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:08:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PauloHSO_DISSERT.pdf: 5075082 bytes, checksum: 87acfa3f71ca9cabf5ba6b9a46a86972 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-03 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The town of Sobral is located at the northwest part of the Cear? State, 250 km away from its capital, Fortaleza. In January 2008, an intense seismic activity began near Sobral with one event with magnitude 4,2mb on May 21. Since the start of its seismic activity, all events were recorded by the SBBR station (located on EMBRAPA Caprinos Farm), which operates in the region since August 2007. After this event, monitoring the seismic activity was carried out with the deployment of a local three component digital seismographic network, from June 5, 2008 until September 24. Initially, this network was composed of six seismographic stations. Later additional five stations were deployed until August 26 2008. This local network detected approximately 2,800 earthquakes. In this study we analyzed 581 earthquakes recorded by at least three stations for hypocentral and focal mechanism determination, and to contribute to a better explanation of the seismicity which in this region. To determine the hypocenters, we used a half-space model, with vP = 6,00 km/s and vP/vS = 1,71. From the hypocentral determination, it was revealed an active seismic zone with depth ranging between 1 and 8 km, 6 km long in E - W direction. The determination of fault planes and focal mechanism was obtained using the programs FPFIT and PLAN, which allowed comparison between their respective results in order to obtain more accurate results. A set of 24 earthquakes were selected to determine fault using PLAN planes and focal mechanisms using FPFIT. With the aid of detailed map of hypocenters this set, it was possible to identify three structures. Therefore, the set of 24 earthquakes were divided into three subsets. The type of mechanism was predominantly strike-slip with a dextral direction. Although the region has two tectonic structures near the site of the study area: the Caf?- Ipueiras Fault (normal fault) and the Sobral-Pedro II Lineament (dextral strike-slip fault) it was not possible to correlate the seismicity founded with those structures / A cidade de Sobral est? localizada na por??o Noroeste do estado do Cear?, a 250 km de sua capital, Fortaleza. No in?cio de 2008, uma intensa atividade s?smica iniciou-se nas proximidades de Sobral, ocorrendo no dia 21 de maio, o evento com a maior magnitude registrada na regi?o (4,2 mb). Todos os eventos, desde o in?cio, foram registrados pela esta??o SBBR, localizada na fazenda da EMBRAPA Caprinos, que opera na regi?o desde agosto de 2007. Ap?s o evento de maio de 2008, o monitoramento da sismicidade foi realizado com uma rede sismogr?fica local, com in?cio de opera??o no dia 5 de junho de 2008. Inicialmente, esta rede foi constitu?da de 6 esta??es sismogr?ficas digitais, sendo depois preenchida com mais 5, totalizando 11 esta??es digitais, cada uma com 3 componentes. A rede com at? 11 esta??es sismogr?ficas operou entre o dia 6 de junho e 24 de setembro de 2008, detectando cerca de 2820 sismos, em pelo menos uma esta??o. No presente trabalho foram analisados os 581 sismos registrados, no m?nimo, em tr?s esta??es, objetivando a determina??o de hipocentros, mecanismos focais e contribuir para uma melhor compreens?o da sismicidade ocorrida na regi?o Noroeste do Cear?. Para a determina??o hipocentral, a partir da an?lise dos 581 eventos registrados pela rede, foram obtidos como par?metros do modelo de velocidades, 1,71 para VP/VS e 6.00 km/s para VP, possibilitando encontrar uma zona s?smica ativa com profundidade variando de 1,1 km a 7,8 km e com 6 km de extens?o horizontal na dire??o aproximada E-W. A determina??o dos planos de falha e mecanismos focais foi obtida com o aux?lio dos programas PLAN e FPFIT, possibilitando a utiliza??o dos resultados do primeiro para ajudar a melhor definir o mecanismo focal, obtido com o programa FPFIT. Para obter os par?metros dos planos de falha e mecanismos focais, foi selecionado um conjunto de 24 sismos com melhor precis?o hipocentral. Com estes sismos, foi poss?vel construir um mapa detalhado dos seus hipocentros, visando obter aux?lio na identifica??o do tipo de mecanismo focal. Os mecanismos obtidos foram do tipo transcorrente, com movimento dextral. Apesar de a regi?o possuir duas importantes estruturas tect?nicas pr?ximas ao local da ?rea estudada: a falha Caf?-Ipueiras e o Lineamento Sobral-Pedro II, n?o foi poss?vel obter correla??o entre a sismicidade encontrada e qualquer uma dessas fei??es geol?gicas