| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NEW YORK STATE SCIENCE SERVICE, ALBANY, NEW YORK 12224
LAMONT-DOHERTY GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, PALISADES, NEW YORK 10964
LAMONT-DOHERTY GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, PALISADES, NEW YORK 10964
Abstract
On June 7, 1974, at 19:45:37 GMT, an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 (mb, Nuttli) occurred at Wappingers Falls, New York (41°37.75'N, 73°56.5'W). The maximum intensity was Modified Mercalli V, with a radius of perceptibility of 10 km. This high intensity and rapid fall-off of intensity with distance are presumably associated with a shallow focal depth. Within 10 hr of the event, a portable array of microearthquake recording instruments was installed in the epicentral area. During the following 6-day period, over 100 aftershocks were recorded. Accurate locations could be made for 42. The aftershocks occurred within or beneath an allochthonous block of dolomitic limestone (Wappinger Group) which has been extensively quarried. Focal depths varied from zero to 
km. A composite fault-plane solution for the main shock and the well-located aftershocks indicates a thrusting mechanism with nodal planes striking N40°W and dipping 60° to the SW and 30° to the NE. This mechanism supports the north-northeast-trending maximum compressive stress in eastern North America hypothesized by Sbar and Sykes (1973). The available evidence, including previous seismic history, locations, and the composite fault-plane solution indicate that this earthquake sequence and possibly past earthquakes in the same area may have been triggered by crustal unloading associated with quarrying operations in the presence of high horizontal compressive stress.
Footnotes
* Published by permission of the Director, New York State Science, Journal Series No. 189.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. R. Sykes, J. G. Armbruster, W.-Y. Kim, and L. Seeber Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City-Philadelphia Area Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2008; 98(4): 1696 - 1719. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. D. Klose and L. Seeber Shallow Seismicity in Stable Continental Regions Seismological Research Letters, September 1, 2007; 78(5): 554 - 562. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Van Arsdale, R. Bresnahan, N. McCallister, and B. Waldron Upland Complex of the central Mississippi River valley: Its origin, denudation, and possible role in reactivation of the New Madrid seismic zone Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2007; 425(0): 177 - 192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Seeber, J. G. Armbruster, and W.-Y. Kim A Fluid-Injection-Triggered Earthquake Sequence in Ashtabula, Ohio: Implications for Seismogenesis in Stable Continental Regions Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2004; 94(1): 76 - 87. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. MCGARR On a possible connection between three major earthquakes in California and oil production Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1991; 81(3): 948 - 970. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. G. ARMBRUSTER and L. SEEBER The 23 April 1984 Martic earthquake and the Lancaster seismic zone in eastern Pennsylvania Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1987; 77(3): 877 - 890. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. G. ANDERSON Seismic strain rates in the Central and Eastern United States Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1986; 76(1): 273 - 290. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. D. SEBOROWSKI, G. WILLIAMS, J. A. KELLEHER, and C. T. STATTON Tectonic implications of recent earthquakes near Annsville, New York Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1982; 72(5): 1601 - 1609. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
