Paleoseismic Sand Blows in North Louisiana and South Arkansas

Cox, Randel Tom; Gordon, Joshua Seth; Forman, Steven L.; Brezina, Thomas; Negrau, Mircea; Hill, Arleen; Gardner, Christopher B.; Machin, Sarah

doi:10.1785/gssrl.81.6.1032

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Geologic map of study area showing previously reported sand blow sites (Cox et al, 2004(Cox et al, , 2007(Cox et al, , 2010 and the 25 labeled field sites in this study ( Table 1). A "Site O" designation was intentionally not used to avoid confusion with Holocene liquefaction sites.…”

Section: Figure 2 | (A)mentioning

confidence: 74%

“…The mapped distribution of large-scale liquefaction features (sand blows) in southeast Arkansas is largely confined to Holocene alluvium of the former courses of the Arkansas River and tributaries where the blows are readily visible in agricultural fields (Figure 2A). Our previous trenching of these sand blows provide age constraints and show cross-cutting relationships that show a minimum of six earthquakes that triggered sand venting in the last 8000 years (Cox et al, 2004(Cox et al, , 2007(Cox et al, , 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Although the region is characterized by meager historical seismicity, instrumentally-recorded and/or felt earthquakes (<M 4.5) in the region are aligned and clustered along southeast flowing rivers, and trenching of sand blows indicates there were larger late Holocene earthquakes in the area (Cox et al, 2000(Cox et al, , 2007(Cox et al, , 2010(Cox et al, , 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distance from an epicenter to the farthest liquefaction caused by an earthquake is proportional to the earthquake magnitude and this relationship can be used to estimate the magnitude of paleo-earthquakes (Ambraseys, 1988). There are abundant sand blows and other liquefaction features in southeast Arkansas that are large enough to be readily visible on remote imagery (Cox et al, 2004(Cox et al, , 2007(Cox et al, , 2010. Several "fields" of largescale liquefaction features (sand blows) are defined primarily by the areal extent of light tonal anomalies (characteristic of sand blows on over-bank clay deposits) observed on aerial photography (e.g., Figure 1 photo inset).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of small-scale liquefaction features to assess paleoseismicity: an example from the Saline River fault zone, Southeast Arkansas, USA

et al. 2014

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Large-scale liquefaction features (e.g., sand blows, lateral-spread fissure vents) that can be recognized on remote-sensing imagery and photography have been of great utility in developing chronologies of paleo-earthquakes. In areas where large-scale features are obscured on imagery by forest cover and Holocene exposure is lacking, small-scale liquefaction features (e.g., convoluted bedding, clastic intrusions, foundered and suspended blocks, water-escape structures) offer an alternative data source that can be investigated in meter-scale excavations. In order to assess the geographic extent of Holocene sand blow fields in southeast Arkansas that were previously mapped on river terraces and flood plains using aerial photography, we investigated the distribution of small-scale liquefaction features in alluvium along streams within a forested region between the sand blow fields. Our results suggest that the fields are not continuous and do not reflect a single large liquefaction field related to paleo-earthquakes >M 6.5 Features at one of our sites suggests the Desha County sand blow field may be larger than presently mapped, and that the distance from the center of the field to the farthest liquefaction may be ∼30 km. The empirical relationship of magnitude and distance to farthest liquefaction suggests a field of this size could have been produced by a M 6.3 earthquake. We also found Holocene liquefaction features that we interpret as resulting from ground shaking near previously documented Pleistocene and Holocene surface ruptures of the Saline River fault zone. Liquefaction during a paleo-earthquake (∼M 5.5 may have coincided with movement on that fault zone ∼AD 1700.. )

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Section: Figure 2 | (A)mentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Use of small-scale liquefaction features to assess paleoseismicity: an example from the Saline River fault zone, Southeast Arkansas, USA

et al. 2014

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“…Elsewhere in the CEUS, sparse seismicity suggests that large earthquakes may have recurrence intervals longer than the historical record, which is generally two to four centuries long. Wherever sufficient paleoseismic work has been done in the CEUS outside the New Madrid, Charleston, and Charlevoix zones, findings document occurrences of prehistoric earthquakes larger than any in the historical record that occurred at intervals longer than the historical record (Madole 1988;Crone and Luza 1990;Crone, Machette, and Bowman 1997;Crone, Machette, Bradley et al 1997;Obermeier 1998;McNulty and Obermeier 1999;Tuttle et al 2006;Cox et al 2010). If recurrence intervals are that long, then earthquakes larger than any observed historically are possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Reassessment of Stable Continental Regions of Southeast Asia

Wheeler

2011

Seismological Research Letters

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Long-lived deformation in the southern Mississippi Embayment revealed by high-resolution seismic reflection and sub-bottom profiler data

2015

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Three high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and two sub-bottom profiler sections acquired along the Mississippi River in southern-Central U.S. image deformation in post-Paleozoic sediments. The northernmost profile images two faults offsetting Cretaceous through at least Eocene Cane River reflectors, interpreted to strike northwest and to be part of the Arkansas River fault zone. The central profile shows a down-to-the-north fault, displacing Cretaceous and Paleocene Midway Group reflectors by~210 m and~160 m, respectively. The fault is interpreted as the northern edge fault of the Monroe Uplift, a Late Cretaceous uplift associated with igneous intrusions. The southernmost profile displays a down-to-the-south fault, offsetting Cretaceous and Paleocene-Eocene Wilcox Group reflectors by~125 m and~32 m, respectively. Tilted reflectors in the first 80 m indicate Eocene-Oligocene activity of the fault, although Quaternary activity cannot be ruled out. Quaternary tectonic activity is proposed for a series of faults that offset shallow (<40 m depth) Eocene sequences and the base of the Quaternary alluvium as imaged on two sub-bottom profiler sections. These shallow faults are imaged in the vicinity of Holocene earthquake-induced liquefaction fields, corroborating the evidence for recent tectonic activity in the area. The spatial coincidence of the imaged faults with the inferred location of the Alabama-Oklahoma transform strongly argues toward a long-lived influence of this Precambrian continental margin in focusing tectonic activity in the southern U.S. by controlling the reactivation of Triassic-Jurassic syn-rift basement structures and guiding the emplacement of Late Cretaceous igneous intrusions and the location of Cenozoic deformation.

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Paleoseismic Sand Blows in North Louisiana and South Arkansas

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

Use of small-scale liquefaction features to assess paleoseismicity: an example from the Saline River fault zone, Southeast Arkansas, USA

Use of small-scale liquefaction features to assess paleoseismicity: an example from the Saline River fault zone, Southeast Arkansas, USA

Reassessment of Stable Continental Regions of Southeast Asia

Long-lived deformation in the southern Mississippi Embayment revealed by high-resolution seismic reflection and sub-bottom profiler data

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