A Tectonic Study of the Extension of the New Madrid Fault Zone Near Its Intersection with the 38th Parallel Lineament.

摘要

Gravity, magnetic, geologic, and seismicity data have been combined in a seismotectonic analysis of the New Madrid seismic zone. Previous studies have presented evidence for several rift zones in this area (Upper Mississippi embayment), including the Reelfoot rift, a late Precambrian-early Paleozoic failed arm which extends north-northeast from the ancient continental margin. It is suggested that the northern terminus of the Reelfoot rift forms a rift complex, with arms extending northeast into southwestern Indiana, northwest along the Mississippi River, and east into western Kentucky, which appears to correlate well with the seismicity in the area.