A recently identified 30 km by 7.2 km subsurface stratigraphic uplift, called the Charleston uplift, exhibits 36 m offset of Paleogene-Quaternary unconformity based on shallow borehole data. Two seismic soundings demonstrated relief in Paleozoic and Cretaceous reflectors across the northern boundary of the uplift, suggesting a structural origin rather than an erosional origin. This study collected and analyzed 18 additional shallow seismic soundings to confirm Paleozoic and Cretaceous offset across the boundaries of the uplift, to better constrain the surface trace of the uplift, and to examine potential extension into western Kentucky. One ground penetrating radar profile was taken in western Kentucky to image recent deformation. Results confirm Paleozoic and Cretaceous offset along the boundaries of the uplift and indicate extension of the uplift into western Kentucky, although recent deformation was unconfirmed by the radar profile. These data support a structural origin. The N46°E trend of the uplift as well as its coincidence with contemporary microseismicity suggest that this feature may be related to the New Madrid seismic zone, specifically the New Madrid North fault, which may have implications for hazard assessment, as well as possible a reevaluation of the epicenters for the 23 January 1812 Mw ≥ 7.0 event.

The Mississippi River Valley, is hardly known as an earthquake zone, but may in fact be a natural disaster just waiting to happen. Historical records and paleoseismic investigations have shown that large magnitude earthquakes have occurred in the area and there are constantly microquakes all along the New Madrid Fault System. The inhabitants of the Midwest are living in a death trap so long society doesn’t preoperly prepare for earthquakes. The study presented here aims to prove that, as predicting earthquakes is difficult to the point of impossible, the only serious alternative is to reinforce existing buildings and infrastructure and make sure all new developments are seismically safe. The conclusion reached is, that although expensive, building earthquake safe and retrofitting existing buildings, is for the high risk areas by far cheaper than doing nothing when, not if, a new large magnitude earthquake occurs. For a city in the high risk area, the cost of retrofitting the current structures was 13 billion dollar to be compared with the 100 billion dollars in lost lives and properties of a worst case scenario.

[Truncated abstract] A number of controlled and natural seismic sources are utilised to model the Pwave velocity structure of the southwest of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. The Yilgarn Craton is one of the largest pieces of Archaean crust in the world and is known for its gold and nickel deposits in the east and intraplate seismicity in the west. The aim of the project is to link 2D and 3D models of variations in seismic velocity with the local seismicity and geology. A new set of seismic refraction data, acquired in 25 overlapping deployments between 2002 and 2005, has been processed, picked and analysed using forward modelling. The data comprise two perpendicular traverses of three-component recordings of various delay-fired blasts from local commercial quarries. The data were processed using a variety of techniques. Tests were carried out on a number of data enhancement and picking procedures in order to determine the best method for enhancement of delay-fired data. A new method for automatic phase recognition is presented, where the maximum of the derivative of the rectilinearity of a trace is taken as the first break. Complete shot gathers with first break picks for each seismic source are compiled from the overlapping deployments. ... The starting 3D model was based on the models produced by 2D forward modelling. 14 iterations were carried out and the best-fit 3D model was achieved at the 10th iteration. It is 35% better then the current model used to locate earthquakes in this region. The resultant velocity block model was used to iii construct a density block model. A relative gravity map of the southwest of Yilgarn Craton was made. The results of 2D forward modelling, 3D tomography and forward gravity modelling have been compared and it was found that the HVZ is present in all models. Such a zone has been previously seen on a single seismic refraction profile, but it is the first time, this zone has been mapped in 3D. The gravity high produced by the zone coincides with the gravity high observed in reality. There is strong evidence that suggests that the HVZ forms part of the Archaean terrane boundary within the Yilgarn Craton. The distribution of the local seismicity was then discussed in the framework of the new 3D velocity model. A hypothesis, that the primary control on the seismicity in the study area is rotation of the major horizontal stress orientation, is presented. It is also argued that the secondary control on seismicity in the SWSZ is accommodation of movements along major faults.

[Truncated abstract] The southwest of Western Australia is an intraplate area classified as a stable continental region. It comprises predominantly Archaean and Proterozoic geology and has generally subdued topography. The region currently experiences significant seismicity in the Southwest Seismic Zone (SWSZ), which is one of the most seismically active areas in Australia and is thought to represent the highest seismic hazard of the region. In recent years, numerous scarps, potentially related to large palaeoearthquakes have been recognised not only within the SWSZ, but also in a broader region of the southwest of Australia. Palaeoseismological investigations of two of these scarps, the Dumbleyung and the Lort River scarps, confirm their association with surface-rupturing palaeoearthquakes and indicate events with likely maximum magnitudes of ~Mw 7.0 on faults of low to medium slip rates. Two trenches across the Dumbleyung Fault scarp revealed a thrust fault in alluvial sediments with two associated earthquakes in the last ca 24-60 ka. A possible Holocene age was recognised for the last recorded earthquake event exposed in these trenches. Two trenches across the Lort River Scarp show that this feature results from thrust faulting in the weathered gneissic country rock. These trenches exposed evidence of two events in the last ca 35 ka, with a likely late Pleistocene age for the last earthquake. On both sites, the earthquakes are interpreted as associated with the last phase of fault activity, which was likely been preceded by a long period of quiescence. Assessment of the earthquake hazard associated with large earthquakes at the Dumbleyung and Lort River Faults resulted in calculated peak ground accelerations of up to 2 g in the near-fault fields. Such earthquakes would significantly affect nearby towns such as Dumbleyung, Wagin, Katanning, and Esperance, but they are unlikely to cause any significant damage in Perth. The palaeoseismological investigations show that the earthquake activity in the southwest of Western Australia is not only confined to the SWSZ, as it has been considered in previous assessments of the seismic hazard, but that there is also potential for strong earthquakes across much of the region. The seismicity in the southwest of Western Australia appears to be transient and migratory. This is suggested by the lack of local relief associated with places of current seismicity and fault scarps, the widespread distribution of the fault scarps across the region, the increase in seismicity in the SWSZ following strong recent events, and the apparent long periods of earthquake recurrence at fault sites. Accordingly, the current seismicity in the SWSZ is inferred to be transient and probably associated with stress changes produced by the recent earthquakes. '...' This uplift could be associated with dynamic topography effects resulting from processes along the plate margins. The uplift is probably enhanced by a flexural response of the lithosphere to local differential loads and density contrast along the southern margin, a mechanism that may also help explain the occurrence of some earthquake activity. The results from this study, complemented by additional palaeoseismological studies must be included in future probabilistic assessments of the seismic hazard of the southwest of Western Australia.