Repeated megaturbidite deposition in Lake Crescent, Washington, USA, triggered by Holocene ruptures of the Lake Creek-Boundary Creek fault system

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2039-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elana L. Leithold ◽  
Karl W. Wegmann ◽  
Delwayne R. Bohnenstiehl ◽  
Catelyn N. Joyner ◽  
Audrianna F. Pollen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Fault Scarp ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Olympic Peninsula ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Dextral Shear ◽  
Western Washington ◽  
Late Pleistocene To Holocene

Abstract Lake Crescent, a 180-m-deep, glacially carved lake located on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington, USA, overlies the Lake Creek-Boundary Creek fault zone, a system of structures with at least 56 km of late Pleistocene to Holocene surface rupture. Investigation of the lake’s sediment, including a reflection seismic survey and analysis of piston cores, reveals evidence that the fault beneath the lake has ruptured four times in the past ∼7200 years, producing unusually thick deposits termed megaturbidites. The earthquakes triggered rockslides that entered the lake and caused displacement waves (lake tsunamis) and seiches, most recently ca. 3.1 ka. Seismic reflection results from beneath the depth of core penetration reveal at least two older post-glacial ruptures that are likely to have similarly affected the lake. The stratigraphy of Lake Crescent provides insight into the behavior of a fault system that partially accommodates regional clockwise rotation and contraction of the northern Cascadia forearc through oblique dextral shear, and highlights the potential for disruption to critical infrastructure, transportation corridors, and industry on the North Olympic Peninsula during future surface-rupturing earthquakes. Our results illustrate the potential synergism between lacustrine paleoseismology and fault-scarp trench investigations. More precise dating of strong earthquake shaking afforded by continuous accumulation of lake sediment improves earthquake histories based on trenched fault scarp exposures, which are commonly poorly dated.

Slope failures within and upstream of Lake Quinault, Washington, as uneven responses to Holocene earthquakes along the Cascadia subduction zone

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elana L. Leithold ◽  
Karl W. Wegmann ◽  
Delwayne R. Bohnenstiehl ◽  
Stephen G. Smith ◽  
Anders Noren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Coastal Marsh ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Cascadia Subduction Zone ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Delta Front ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
Partial Channel ◽  
Western Washington

AbstractInvestigation of Lake Quinault in western Washington, including a reflection seismic survey, analysis of piston cores, and preliminary mapping in the steep, landslide-prone Quinault River catchment upstream of the lake, reveals evidence for three episodes of earthquake disturbance in the past 3000 yr. These earthquakes triggered failures on the lake’s underwater slopes and delta front, as well as subaerial landsliding, partial channel blockage, and forced fluvial sediment aggradation. The ages of the three Lake Quinault disturbance events overlap with those of coseismically subsided, coastal marsh soils nearby in southwest Washington that are interpreted to record ruptures of the Cascadia megathrust. Absent from Lake Quinault, however, are signals of obvious disturbance from five additional subduction earthquakes inferred to have occurred during the period of record. The lack of evidence for these events may reflect the limitations of the data set derived from the detrital, river-dominated lake stratigraphy but may also have bearing on debates about segmentation and the distribution of slip along the Cascadia subduction zone during prior earthquakes.

Constraints on Reelfoot Rift Evolution from a Reflection Seismic Profile in the Northern Rift

1992 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.B. Goldhaber ◽  
C.J. Potter ◽  
C.D. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profile ◽  
The South ◽  
Dome A ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Northwestern Margin

Abstract An 82.8 km segment of a northwest-southeast trending seismic-reflection profile across the northernmost part of the Reelfoot rift shows that the Cambrian rift geometry there is quite distinct from that of the main part of Reelfoot rift to the south, and that of the Rough Creek graben to the east. The profile is within the area of intersection of the Reelfoot rift and Rough Creek graben and shows a systematic southeastward thickening of the Cambrian synrift clastic sequence with as much as 1940 meters of section present against the Pennyrile fault system as compared to 970 meters near the Lusk Creek and Shawneetown fault systems, towards the northwestern margin of the rift. This contrasts with the more symmetric rift pattern in the seismically active zone to the south, where the maximum thickness of synrift sediments is along the rift axis, and with an opposite sense of rift asymmetry in the Rough Creek graben, where the synrift sequence thickens to the north against the Rough Creek - Shawneetown fault. Reflection patterns in the vicinity of Hicks dome, a “cryptovolcano”, are consistent with the hypothesis that the dome originated by explosive release of mantle-derived gases associated with alkali volcanism. The seismic data also reveal that the fluorine mineralization in the area is associated with faults that offset basement; this is further evidence that deeply-derived fluids are significant in the geologic evolution of the area.

scholarly journals Deep crustal structure of the North-West African margin from combined wide-angle and reflection seismic data (MIRROR seismic survey)

2015 ◽  
Vol 656 ◽  
pp. 154-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Biari ◽  
F. Klingelhoefer ◽  
M. Sahabi ◽  
D. Aslanian ◽  
P. Schnurle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
West African ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
North West ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Deep Crustal Structure

scholarly journals Revealing the deeper structure of the end-glacial Pärvie fault system in northern Sweden by seismic reflection profiling

Solid Earth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 621-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Ahmadi ◽  
C. Juhlin ◽  
M. Ask ◽  
B. Lund
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Fault Scarp ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Earthquake Activity ◽  
Northern Sweden ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Scientific Drilling ◽  
Main Fault

Abstract. A new seismic reflection survey for imaging deeper levels of the end-glacial Pärvie fault system in northern Sweden was acquired in June 2014. The Pärvie fault system hosts the largest fault scarp so far documented in northern Scandinavia, both in terms of its length and calculated magnitude of the earthquake that generated it. Present-day microearthquakes occur along the length of the fault scarp on the eastern side of the scarp, in general agreement with an east-dipping main fault. In the central section of the fault system, where there is a number of subsidiary faults east of the main Pärvie scarp, it has been unclear how the earthquakes relate to the structures mapped at the surface. A seismic profile across the Pärvie fault system acquired in 2007, with a mechanical hammer as a source, showed a good correlation between the surface mapped faults and moderate to steeply dipping reflections. The most pronounced reflectors could be mapped to about 3 km depth. In the new seismic survey, for deeper penetration an explosive source with a maximum charge size of 8.34 kg in 20 m deep shot holes was used. Reflectors can now be traced to deeper levels with the main 65° east-dipping fault interpreted as a weakly reflective structure. As in the previous profile, there is a strongly reflective 60° west-dipping structure present to the east of the main fault that can now be mapped to about 8 km depth. Extrapolations of the main and subsidiary faults converge at a depth of about 11.5 km, where current earthquake activity is concentrated, suggesting their intersection has created favorable conditions for seismic stress release. Based on the present and previous seismic reflection data, we propose potential locations for future boreholes for scientific drilling into the fault system. These boreholes will provide a better understanding of the reflective nature of the fault structures and stress fields along the faults at depth.

scholarly journals Plio-Pleistocene fault pattern of the Feldbiss fault system (southern border of the Roer Valley Graben, Belgium) based on high resolution reflection seismic data

2001 ◽  
Vol 80 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 79-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dusar ◽  
J. Rijpens ◽  
M. Sintubin ◽  
L. Wouters
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
Lower Pleistocene ◽  
Roer Valley Graben ◽  
Southern Border

AbstractA high-resolution reflection seismic survey was carried out in 1999 over the Feldbiss fault system, the southern border of the Roer Valley graben, in Belgium. Six profile-lines with total length of 13982 m provided information on the 40-600 m depth range, covering Lower Pleistocene to Miocene strata with special emphasis on the Plio-Pleistocene Kieseloolite formation. Data quality depends on near-surface conditions and on degree of deformation in some fault zones, with better results for seismic detonator sources compared to vibroseis sources. The new data confirm the segmented character of the fault system with occurrence of fault bends, relay ramps and branching of overlapping fault sequences, testifying of the strong tectonic activity during the lower Pleistocene. Antiform structures along the Bichterweerd scarp, relaying the Feldbiss to the Geleen fault in the Meuse valley, are presented as a model for the Tertiary evolution of the Bree Uplift.

Geoscience Australia seismic survey 310: revealing stratigraphy and structure of the outer northern Perth Basin margin

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
George Bernardel ◽  
Chris Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
The South ◽  
Potential Field Data ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Seismic Lines

Geoscience Australia acquired seismic survey GA 310 in 2008–09, across the southwest margin of Australia, as part of the Australian government’s Energy Security Program. Deep reflection seismic and potential field data were recorded across sparse 2D grids located on the Wallaby Plateau in the north, Mentelle Basin in the south, and the intervening Houtman and Zeewyck sub-basins of the northern Perth Basin. The offshore northern Perth Basin extends for about 700 km along the Western Australia margin, from the towns of Carnarvon in the north to Cervantes in the south. The largely Paleozoic-Mesozoic tectonostratigraphic framework is dominated by Permian and Early-Middle Jurassic rifting, followed by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting leading to Valanginian breakup between Australia and Greater India. Underlying Precambrian Pinjarra Orogen structuring, in conjunction with rifting, has resulted in the development of several complex depocentres and basement highs. A recent re-evaluation of the offshore northern Perth Basin well-based lithostratigraphy into a new chronostratigraphic sequence framework has been carried outboard, on the GA 310 seismic lines, into the margin bounding the Zeewyck and northern Houtman sub-basins. The main sequences hosting source rocks—Kockatea and Cattamarra—are widely present in the expansive northern Houtman Sub-basin, and are likely to be present in the deep Zeewyck Sub-basin. The mapping of a thick Late Jurassic Yarragadee Sequence in the Zeewyck Sub-basin indicates a major pre-breakup locus of relatively rapid deposition. The structural interpretation across the sub-basin highlights breakup-drift unconformities and strike-slip faulting and suggests a probable along-margin sheared crustal sliver; tectonic elements commensurate with an evolving rift-shear breakup margin.

scholarly journals Transboundary geophysical mapping of geological elements and salinity distribution critical for the assessment of future sea water intrusion in response to sea level rise

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1845-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Jørgensen ◽  
W. Scheer ◽  
S. Thomsen ◽  
T. O. Sonnenborg ◽  
K. Hinsby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Salinity Distribution ◽  
Geological Structures ◽  
The North

Abstract. Geophysical techniques are increasingly being used as tools for characterising the subsurface, and they are generally required to develop subsurface models that properly delineate the distribution of aquifers and aquitards, salt/freshwater interfaces, and geological structures that affect groundwater flow. In a study area covering 730 km2 across the border between Germany and Denmark, a combination of an airborne electromagnetic survey (performed with the SkyTEM system), a high-resolution seismic survey and borehole logging has been used in an integrated mapping of important geological, physical and chemical features of the subsurface. The spacing between flight lines is 200–250 m which gives a total of about 3200 line km. About 38 km of seismic lines have been collected. Faults bordering a graben structure, buried tunnel valleys, glaciotectonic thrust complexes, marine clay units, and sand aquifers are all examples of geological structures mapped by the geophysical data that control groundwater flow and to some extent hydrochemistry. Additionally, the data provide an excellent picture of the salinity distribution in the area and thus provide important information on the salt/freshwater boundary and the chemical status of groundwater. Although the westernmost part of the study area along the North Sea coast is saturated with saline water and the TEM data therefore are strongly influenced by the increased electrical conductivity there, buried valleys and other geological elements are still revealed. The mapped salinity distribution indicates preferential flow paths through and along specific geological structures within the area. The effects of a future sea level rise on the groundwater system and groundwater chemistry are discussed with special emphasis on the importance of knowing the existence, distribution and geometry of the mapped geological elements, and their control on the groundwater salinity distribution is assessed.

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