Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dunn, M. M. Articles by Chapman, M. C. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Fault Orientation in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone: A Study Using the Double-Difference Earthquake Location Algorithm

We use the double-difference earthquake location algorithm to relocate approximately 1,000 earthquakes in the eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ). We examine the earthquake hypocenter relocations in an effort to resolve fault orientations and thereby gain insights into the tectonics of the seismic zone. The analysis involves visual comparison of three-dimensional perspective plots of the hypocenter relocations oriented according to focal mechanism nodal planes derived from events within several clusters of earthquakes.

Relocations in the central, most seismically active, portion of the ETSZ indicate a diffuse west-striking, north-dipping zone of hypocenters. The orientation of this zone of hypocenters is consistent with structure imaged by a previous seismic reflection profile that shows a reflective mid-to-upper crust with apparent dips of approximately 35° to the north. Relocation of a smaller cluster of earthquakes near the Tennessee-North Carolina border suggests a steeply dipping northwest trending fault in that area.