Stress Field Constraints on Intraplate Seismicity in Eastern North America

Focal mechanisms of 32 North American midplate earthquakes (mb = 3.8-6.5) were evaluated to determine if slip is compatible with a broad-scale regional stress field derived from plate-driving forces and, if so, under what conditions (stress regime, pore pressure, and frictional coefficient). Using independent information on in situ stress orientations from well bore breakout and hydraulic fracturing data and assuming that the regional principal stresses are in approximately horizontal and vertical planes ( ± 10 °), the constraint that the slip vector represents the direction of maximum resolved shear stress on the fault plane was used to calculate relative stress magnitudes defined by the parameter Φ = (S2-S3)/(S1-S3) from the fault/stress geometry. As long as the focal mechanism has a component of oblique slip (i.e., the B axis does not coincide with the intermediate principal stress direction), this calculation identifies which of the two nodal planes is a geometrically possible slip plane (Gephart, 1985). Slip in a majority of the earthquakes (25 of 32) was found to be geometrically compatible with reactivation of favorably oriented preexisting fault planes in response to the broad-scale uniform regional stress field. Slip in five events was clearly inconsistent with the regional stress field and appears to require a localized stress anomaly to explain the seismicity. Significantly, all five of these events occurred prior to 1970 (when many regional networks were installed), and their focal mechanisms are inconsistent with more recent solutions of nearby smaller events. The frictional likelihood of the geometrically possible slip on the selected fault planes was evaluated in the context of conventional frictional faulting theory. The ratio of shear to normal stress on the fault planes at hypocentral depth was calculated relative to an assumed regional stress field. Regional stress magnitudes were determined from (1) S1/S3 ratios based on the frictional strength of optimally oriented faults (the basis for the linear brittle portion of lithospheric strength profiles), (2) the computed relative stress magnitude ( Φ) values, and (3) a vertical principal stress assumed equal to the lithostat. Two end-member possibilities were examined to explain the observed slip in these less than optimally oriented fault planes. First, the frictional coefficient was held constant on all faults, hydrostatic pore pressure was assumed regionally, and the fault zone pore pressure was determined. Since pore pressure is a measurable quantity with real limits in the crust (P0 \u3c S3), this end-member case was used to determine which of the geometrically possible slip planes were frictionally likely slip planes. Alternately, pore pressure was fixed at hydrostatic everywhere, and the required relative lowered frictional coefficient of the fault zone was computed. Slip in 23 of the 25 geometrically compatible earthquakes was determined to also be frictionally likely in response to an approximately horizontal and vertical regional stress field derived from plate-driving forces whose magnitudes are constrained by the frictional strength of optimally oriented faults (assuming hydrostatic pore pressure regionally). The conditions for slip on these 23 relatively well-oriented earthquake faults were determined relative to this regional crustal strength model and require only moderate increases in pore pressure (between about 0.4-0.8 of lithostatic, hydrostatic is about 0.37 of lithostatic) or, alternately, moderate lowering (\u3c50%) of the frictional coefficient on the faults which slipped. Superlithostatic pore pressures are not required. Focal mechanisms for the two other earthquakes with slip vectors geometrically consistent with the regional stress field, however, did require pore pressures far exceeding the least principal stress (or extremely low coefficients of friction). These events may reflect either local stress rotations undetected with current sampling or poorly constrained focal mechanisms. The analysis also confirmed a roughly north to south contrast in stress regime between the central eastern United States and southeastern Canada previously inferred from a contrast in focal mechanisms between the two areas: most central eastern United States earthquakes occur in response to a strike-slip stress regime, whereas the southeastern Canadian events require a thrust faulting stress regime. This contrast in stress regime, with a constant maximum horizontal stress orientation determined by far-field plate-driving forces, requires a systematic lateral variation in relative stress magnitudes. Superposition of stresses due to simple flexural models of glacial rebound stresses are of the correct sense to explain the observed lateral variation, but maximum computed rebound-related stress magnitude changes are quite small (about 10 MPa) and do not appear large enough to account for the stress regime change if commonly assumed stress magnitudes determined from frictional strength apply to the crust at seismogenic depths

Stress Field Constraints on Intraplate Seismicity in Eastern North America

Focal mechanisms of 32 North American midplate earthquakes (mb = 3.8-6.5) were evaluated to determine if slip is compatible with a broad-scale regional stress field derived from plate-driving forces and, if so, under what conditions (stress regime, pore pressure, and frictional coefficient). Using independent information on in situ stress orientations from well bore breakout and hydraulic fracturing data and assuming that the regional principal stresses are in approximately horizontal and vertical planes ( ± 10 °), the constraint that the slip vector represents the direction of maximum resolved shear stress on the fault plane was used to calculate relative stress magnitudes defined by the parameter Φ = (S2-S3)/(S1-S3) from the fault/stress geometry. As long as the focal mechanism has a component of oblique slip (i.e., the B axis does not coincide with the intermediate principal stress direction), this calculation identifies which of the two nodal planes is a geometrically possible slip plane (Gephart, 1985). Slip in a majority of the earthquakes (25 of 32) was found to be geometrically compatible with reactivation of favorably oriented preexisting fault planes in response to the broad-scale uniform regional stress field. Slip in five events was clearly inconsistent with the regional stress field and appears to require a localized stress anomaly to explain the seismicity. Significantly, all five of these events occurred prior to 1970 (when many regional networks were installed), and their focal mechanisms are inconsistent with more recent solutions of nearby smaller events. The frictional likelihood of the geometrically possible slip on the selected fault planes was evaluated in the context of conventional frictional faulting theory. The ratio of shear to normal stress on the fault planes at hypocentral depth was calculated relative to an assumed regional stress field. Regional stress magnitudes were determined from (1) S1/S3 ratios based on the frictional strength of optimally oriented faults (the basis for the linear brittle portion of lithospheric strength profiles), (2) the computed relative stress magnitude ( Φ) values, and (3) a vertical principal stress assumed equal to the lithostat. Two end-member possibilities were examined to explain the observed slip in these less than optimally oriented fault planes. First, the frictional coefficient was held constant on all faults, hydrostatic pore pressure was assumed regionally, and the fault zone pore pressure was determined. Since pore pressure is a measurable quantity with real limits in the crust (P0 \u3c S3), this end-member case was used to determine which of the geometrically possible slip planes were frictionally likely slip planes. Alternately, pore pressure was fixed at hydrostatic everywhere, and the required relative lowered frictional coefficient of the fault zone was computed. Slip in 23 of the 25 geometrically compatible earthquakes was determined to also be frictionally likely in response to an approximately horizontal and vertical regional stress field derived from plate-driving forces whose magnitudes are constrained by the frictional strength of optimally oriented faults (assuming hydrostatic pore pressure regionally). The conditions for slip on these 23 relatively well-oriented earthquake faults were determined relative to this regional crustal strength model and require only moderate increases in pore pressure (between about 0.4-0.8 of lithostatic, hydrostatic is about 0.37 of lithostatic) or, alternately, moderate lowering (\u3c50%) of the frictional coefficient on the faults which slipped. Superlithostatic pore pressures are not required. Focal mechanisms for the two other earthquakes with slip vectors geometrically consistent with the regional stress field, however, did require pore pressures far exceeding the least principal stress (or extremely low coefficients of friction). These events may reflect either local stress rotations undetected with current sampling or poorly constrained focal mechanisms. The analysis also confirmed a roughly north to south contrast in stress regime between the central eastern United States and southeastern Canada previously inferred from a contrast in focal mechanisms between the two areas: most central eastern United States earthquakes occur in response to a strike-slip stress regime, whereas the southeastern Canadian events require a thrust faulting stress regime. This contrast in stress regime, with a constant maximum horizontal stress orientation determined by far-field plate-driving forces, requires a systematic lateral variation in relative stress magnitudes. Superposition of stresses due to simple flexural models of glacial rebound stresses are of the correct sense to explain the observed lateral variation, but maximum computed rebound-related stress magnitude changes are quite small (about 10 MPa) and do not appear large enough to account for the stress regime change if commonly assumed stress magnitudes determined from frictional strength apply to the crust at seismogenic depths

First- and Second-Order Patterns of Stress in the Lithosphere: The World Stress Map Project

To date, more than 7300 in situ stress orientations have been compiled as part of the World Stress Map project. Of these, over 4400 are considered reliable tectonic stress indicators, recording horizontal stress orientations to within \u3c ±25 °. Remarkably good correlation is observed between stress orientations deduced from in situ stress measurements and geologic observations made in the upper 1-2 km, well bore breakouts extending to 4-5 km depth and earthquake focal mechanisms to depths of-20 km. Regionally uniform stress orientations and relative magnitudes permit definition of broad-scale regional stress patterns often extending 20-200 times the approximately 20-25 km thickness of the upper brittle lithosphere. The first-order midplate stress fields are believed to be largely the result of compressional forces applied at plate boundaries, primarily ridge push and continental collision. The orientation of the intraplate stress field is thus largely controlled by the geometry of the plate boundaries. There is no evidence of large lateral stress gradients (as evidenced by lateral variations in stress regime) which would be expected across large plates if simple resistive or driving basal drag tractions (parallel or antiparallel to absolute motion) controlled the intraplate stress field. Intraplate areas of active extension are generally associated with regions of high topography: western U.S. Cordillera, high Andes, Tibetan plateau, western Indian Ocean plateau. Buoyancy stresses related to crustal thickening and/or lithospheric thinning in these regions dominate the intraplate compressional stress field due to plate-driving forces. These buoyancy forces are just one of several categories of second-order stresses, or local perturbations, that can be identified once the first-order stress patterns are recognized. These second-order stress fields can often be associated with specific geologic or tectonic features, for example, lithospheric flexure, lateral strength contrasts, as well as the lateral density contrasts which give rise to buoyancy forces. These second-order stress patterns typically have wavelengths ranging from 5 to 10+ times the thickness of the brittle upper lithosphere. A two-dimensional analysis of the amount of rotation of regional horizontal stress orientations due to a superimposed local stress constrains the ratio of the magnitude of the horizontal regional stress differences to the local uniaxial stress. For a detectable rotation of 15 °, the local horizontal uniaxial stress must be at least twice the magnitude of the regional horizontal stress differences. Examples of local rotations of SHmax orientations include a 750-85 ° rotation on thenortheastern Canadian continental shelf possibly related to margin-normal extension derived from sediment-loading flexural stresses, a 50 °-60 ° rotation within the East African rift relative to western Africa due to extensional buoyancy forces caused by lithospheric thinning, and an approximately 90 ° rotation along the northern margin of the Paleozoic Amazonas rift in central Brazil. In this final example, this rotation is hypothesized as being due to deviatoric compression oriented normal to the rift axis resulting from local lithospheric support of a dense mass in the lower crust beneath the rift ( rift pillow ). Estimates of the magnitudes of first-order (plate boundary force derived) regional stress differences computed from modeling the source of observed local stress rotations magnitudes can be compared with regional stress differences based on the frictional strength of the crust (i.e., Byedee\u27 s law ) assuming hydrostatic pore pressure. The examples given here are too few to provide a definitive evaluation of the direct applicability of Byerlee\u27s law to the upper brittle part of the lithosphere, particularly in view of uncertainties such as pore pressure and relative magnitude of the intermediate principal stresses. Nonetheless, the observed rotations all indicate that the magnitude of the local horizontal uniaxial stresses must be 1-2.5+ times the magnitude of the regional first-order horizontal stress differences and suggest that careful evaluation of such local rotations may be a powerful technique for constraining the in situ magnitude stress differences in the upper, brittle partof the lithosphere

Faulting Patterns in North-Central Nevada and Strength of the Crust

NNE normal fault trends characterize much of the northern Basin and Range province. These faults make sharp bends to NNW and ENE trends in north- central Nevada in the vicinity of a mid-Miocene rift characterized by a zone of diabase dike swarms, graben-filling flows, and a coinciding aeromagnetic anomaly. Despite a roughly 45 ° change in the least principal stress direction since mid-Miocene time, pre-existing NNW- and ENE-trending faults in the vicinity of the rift accommodated the extension whereas regionally, major crustal blocks were faulted along a NNE trend, approximately perpendicular to the modern least principal stress direction. An assumed uniform regional stress field (derived from geologic and geophysical indicators of the modem principal stress field) and the observed oblique slip on the pre-existing faults were combined in an analysis utilizing an empirically derived frictional sliding law and the Coulomb failure criterion. This analysis constrained the ratio of the least principal stress to the greatest principal stress(S3/S1 as well as the inherent shear strength of intact crustal rocks, τc. While both parameters S3/S1 and ,τc, are functions of unknowns including pore pressure and the cohesion (frictional strength) of the pre-existing faults, reasonable assumptions about these parameters lead to ,τc estimates that agree well with values obtained from laboratory experiments simulating crustal conditions. At a depth of 10 km, the analysis indicates that the minimum inherent shear strength of intact crustal rocks must range between 150--450 bars for zero pore pressure and 150-350 bars for hydrostatic pore pressure, whereas the corresponding maximum shear stresses at 10-km depth are 970-1200 bars for zero pore pressure and 640-770 bars for hydrostatic pore pressure

Stress perturbation associated with the Amazonas and other ancient continental rifts

The state of stress in the vicinity of old continental rifts is examined toinvestigate the possibility that crustal structure associated with ancient rifts (specifically a dense rift pillow in the lower crust) may modify substantially the regional stress field. Both shallow (2.0-2.6 km depth) breakout data and deep (20-45 km depth) crustal earthquake focal mechanisms indicate a N to NNE maximum horizontal compression in the vicinity of the Paleozoic Amazonas rift in central Brazil. This compressive stress direction is nearly perpendicular to the rift structure and represents a ~75 ° rotation relative to a regional E-W compressive stress direction in the South American plate. Elastic two-dimensional finite element models of the density structure associated with the Amazonas rift (as inferred from independent gravity modeling) indicate that elastic support of this dense feature would generate horizontal rift-normal compressional stresses between 60 and 120 MPa, with values of 80-100 MPa probably most representative of the overall structure. The observed ~75 ° stress rotation constrains the ratio of the regional horizontal stress difference to the rift-normal compressive stress to be between 0.25 and 1.0, suggesting that this rift-normal stress maybe from 1 to 4 times larger than the regional horizontal stress difference. A general expression for the modification of the normalized local horizontal shear stress (relative to the regional horizontal shear stress) shows that the same ratio of the rift-normal compression relative to the regional horizontal stress difference, which controls the amount of stress rotation, also determines whether the superposed stress increases or decreases the local maximum horizontal shear stress. The potential for fault reactivation of ancient continental rifts in general is analyzed considering both the local stress rotation and modification of horizontal shear stress for both thrust and strike-slip stress regimes. In the Amazonas rift case, because the observed stress rotation only weakly constrains the ratio of the regional horizontal stress difference to the rift-normal compression to be between 0.25 and 1.0, our analysis is inconclusive because the resultant normalized horizontal shear stress may be reduced (for ratios \u3e 0.5) or enhanced (for ratios \u3c 0 .5). Additional information is needed on all three stress magnitudes to predict how a change in horizontal shear stress directly influences the likelihood of faulting in the thrust-faulting stress regime in the vicinity of the Amazonas rift. A rift-normal stress associated with the seismically active New Madrid ancient rift may be sufficient to rotate the horizontal stress field consistent with strike-slip faults parallel to the axis of the rift, although this results in a 20-40% reduction in the local horizontal shear stress within the seismic zone. Sparse stress data in the vicinity of the seismically quiescent Midcontinent rift of the central United State suggest a stress state similar to that of New Madrid, with the local horizontal shear stress potentially reduced by as much as 60%. Thus the markedly different levels of seismic activity associated with these two subparallel ancient rifts is probably due to other factors than stress perturbations due to dense rift pillows. The modeling and analysis here demonstrate that rift-normal compressive stresses are a significant source of stress acting on the lithosphere and that in some cases may be a contributing factor to the association of intraplate seismicity with old zones of continental extension

North America 1991

"Plots modern maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) orientations for North America inferred from a variety of geophysical and geologic data."; Relief shown by contours. Depths shown by isolines.; "A publication of the Decade of North American Geology Project, which is funded, in part, by the G.S.A. Foundation."; From envelope: Continent-scale map-005.; Includes bibliographical references.Sheet 1. Southwest -- Sheet 2. Northwest -- Sheet 3. Northeast -- Sheet 4. Southeast.Color1:5,000,00