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Space geodetic evidence for rapid strain rates in the New Madrid seismic zone of central USA

Nature volume 435, pages 1088–1090 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

In the winter of 1811–1812, near the town of New Madrid in the central United States and more than 2,000 km from the nearest plate boundary, three earthquakes within three months shook the entire eastern half of the country and liquefied the ground over distances far greater than any historic earthquake in North America1,2. The origin and modern significance of these earthquakes, however, is highly contentious3. Geological evidence demonstrates that liquefaction due to strong ground shaking, similar in scale to that generated by the New Madrid earthquakes, has occurred at least three and possibly four times in the past 2,000 years (refs 4–6), consistent with recurrence statistics derived from regional seismicity7. Here we show direct evidence for rapid strain rates in the area determined from a continuously operated global positioning system (GPS) network. Rates of strain are of the order of 10-7 per year, comparable in magnitude to those across active plate boundaries, and are consistent with known active faults within the region. These results have significant implications for the definition of seismic hazard and for processes that drive intraplate seismicity.

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Figure 1: Velocities and associated uncertainties of GAMA sites in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ).
Figure 2: Velocities of two GAMA sites, RLAP and NWCC, that straddle the active Reelfoot thrust fault.
Figure 3: An oblique view of high-resolution (10 m) digital topography associated with the Reelfoot thrust-fault.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the NSF Mid-America Earthquake Center and the US Geological Survey for supporting this work. We thank colleagues, particularly A. Johnston, at CERI and E. Schweig at the USGS for discussions.Author Contributions R.S. and M.A.E. jointly wrote the paper and designed, constructed, and maintained the GAMA network. J.P. performed the GPS data analysis, and R.B.V.A. contributed to the interpretations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Earthquake Research and Information,

    R. Smalley Jr, M. A. Ellis & J. Paul

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, 38152, USA

    R. Smalley Jr, M. A. Ellis & R. B. Van Arsdale

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  1. R. Smalley Jr
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  2. M. A. Ellis
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  4. R. B. Van Arsdale
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Correspondence to M. A. Ellis.

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Smalley, R., Ellis, M., Paul, J. et al. Space geodetic evidence for rapid strain rates in the New Madrid seismic zone of central USA. Nature 435, 1088–1090 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03642

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