USGS-OFR-91-367, "Seismicity and Focal Mechanisms for the Southern Great Basin of Nevada and California in 1990."
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bf/w4E? P~? USGS-OFR-91-367 USGS-OFR-91-367 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SEISMICITY AND FOCAL MECHANISMS FOR THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA IN 1990 by S. C. Harmsen Open-File Report 91-367 Prepared In cooperation with the Nevada Operations Office U.S. Department of Energy (Interagency Agreement DE-AI08-78ET44802) This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Company names are for descriptive purposes only and do not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. Denver, Colorado 1991 USGS-OFR-91-367 USGS-OFR-91-367 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Denver, Colorado SEISMICITY AND FOCAL MECHANISMS FOR THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA IN 1990 - Stephen C. Harmsen Open-File Report 91-367 Copies of this Open-File Report may be purchased from Books and Open-File Reports Section Branch of Distribution U.S. Geological Survey Box 25425, Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225 PREPAYMENT IS REQUIRED Price information will be published in the monthly listing 'New Publications of the Geological Survey" FOR ADDITIONAL ORDERING INFORMATION CALL: Commercial: (303) 236-5456 FTS: 776-5456 CONTENTS Page Abstract----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction------------------------------------------------------------- I Acknowledgements--------------------------------------------------------- 1 Calibrations of instruments---------------------------------------------- 3 Overview of seismicity in the SGB for 1990------------------------------- 3 Notable southern NTS seismicity, 1990------------------------------------ 7 Silent Canyon, northwest NTS, seismicity, in 1990------------------------ 11 Death Valley and vicinity seismicity in 1990----------------------------- 11 Northwestern SGB seismicity, 1990---------------------------------------- 15 Sarcobatus Flat, Oasis Valley, and caldera seismicity, 1990-------------- 15 Yucca Mountain seismicity, 1990------------------------------------------ 19 b-values----------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Some comments on regional stresses and SGBSN focal mechanisms------------ 22 Summary and conclusions-------------------------------------------------- 27 References cited--------------------------------------------------------- 28 Appendix A. SGB earthquake locations for the year 1990, and quadrangle names------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 Appendix B. Chemical explosion locations for the year 1990-------------- 59 Appendix C. Nuclear device tests and low-frequency shallow seismicity in the NTS, 1990-------------------------------------------- 71 Appendix D. Earthquake focal mechanisms for 1990------------------------ 77 Appendix E. Station codes, locations, and instrumentation--------------- 96 Appendix F. Input parameters to HYPO71---------------------------------- 101 FIGURES Page Figure 1.--SGBSN station locations and physiographic features of the southern Great Basin-------------------------------------- 2 2.--Seismicity in the southern Great Basin, 1990---------------- 4 3.--Scattergrams of standard error of depth versus nearest station distance and versus azimuthal gap----------------- 6 4.--Seismicity and focal mechanism in vicinity of Cane Spring fault, southern NTS, in 1990------------------------------ 8 5.--Epicentral scatter and RMS travel time residual graphs for three Cane Spring hypocenters of January, 1990-------- 9 6.--Seismicity in the vicinity of Cane Spring fault, southern NTS, 1978 through 1990------------------------------------ 10 7.--Seismicity in vicinity of Silent Canyon caldera during 1990 -12 8.--Earthquakes in vicinity of Death Valley, California, (a) in 1990, and (b) in 1978-1989----------------------------- 14 9.--Seismicity in the northwestern SGB during 1990-------------- 16 10.--Seismicity in the northwestern SGB, 1978 through 1989------- 17 11.--Focal mechanisms in eastern Sarcobatus Flat and western NTS for 1990---------------------------------------------- 18 12.--Seismicity in eastern Sarcobatus Flat and western NTS, 1978 through 1990----------------------------------------- 20 13.--Seismicity in vicinity of Yucca Mountain, 1990-------------- 21 14.--Individual and average P and T axes for 1990 focal mechanisms---------------------------------------------- 25 iii Page Figure 15.--Intersected P quadrants and intersected T quadrants for 1990 focal mechanisms------------------------------------- 26 A1-A4. Quadrangle names in: Al.--northeast quarter of the southern Great Basin-------- 31 A2.--southeast quarter of the southern Great Basin-------- 32 A3.--northwest quarter of the southern Great Basin-------- 33 A4.--southwest quarter of the southern Great Basin-------- 34 Bl.--Epicenters for detected chemical explosions in the southern Great Basin for 1990----------------------------- 60 C1.--Epicenters for announced NTS nuclear device tests and some preliminary induced earthquake epicenters----------------- 72 C2.--Seismograms from four SGBSN stations for an aftershock of the test Tenabo------------------------------------------- 73 D1-D17. Focal mechanism for: D1.--Skull Mtn. (Cane Spring, Nevada quadrangle) earthquake 1990-01-26------------------------------ 79 D2.--Scrugham Peak, northern NTS, earthquake 1990-02-15--- 80 D3.--Scrugham Peak, northern NTS, earthquake 1990-02-27--- 81 D4.--Bonnie Claire SE, Nevada, earthquake 1990-04-21------ 82 D5.--Bonnie Claire SE, Nevada, earthquake 1990-05-13------ 83 D6.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-06-04------------ 84 D7.--Oasis Valley, Nevada (Black Mountain SW quadrangle) earthquake 1990-06-25------------------------------ 85 D8.--Jackass Flats, NTS, earthquake 1990-07-22------------ 86 D9.--Tucki Mtn. (Stovepipe Wells, Calif. quadrangle) earthquake 1990-07-25------------------------------ 87 D1O.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-08-02------------ 88 DlI.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-08-03------------ 89 D12.--Stonewall Pass, Nevada, earthquake 1990-08-21-------- 90 D13.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-09-05------------ 91 D14.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-09-06------------ 92 D15.--Springdale, Nevada, earthquake 1990-10-29------------ 93 D16.--Mellan, Nevada, earthquake 1990-11-01---------------- 94 D17.--Gold Point, Nevada, earthquake 1990-12-13------------ 95 F1.--The two P and S velocity models used for preliminary hypocenter determination in the SGB----------------------- 103 TABLES Page Table 1.--Selected statistical properties of SGBSN catalog for 1990------ 5 2.--Focal mechanism parameters for SGB earthquakes of 1990--------- 24 C1.--Announced NTS nuclear device test hypocenter parameters for 1990 71 E1.--Seismographic systems in use in SGBSN in 1990------------------ 96 iv Seismicity and Focal Mechanisms for the Southern Great Basin of Nevada and California In 1990 Abstract For the calendar year 1990, the Southern Great Basin seismic network (SGBSN) recorded about 1050 earthquakes in the SGB, as compared to 1190 in 1989. Local magnitudes, ML, ranged from 0.0 for various earthquakes to 3.2 for an earthquake on April 3,1990 5:47:58 UTC, 37.3680 North, 117.358° West, Mud Lake, Nevada quadrangle. 95% of those earthquakes have the property, ML < 2.4. Within a 10 km radius of the center of Yucca Mountain, the site of a potential national, high-level nuclear waste repository, one earthquake with ML = 0.6 was recorded at 40-Mile Wash. The estimated depth of focus of this earthquake is 3.8 km below sea level. Other, smaller events may have also occurred in the immediate vicinity of Yucca Mountain, but would have been below the detection threshold (ML 0.0 at Yucca Mountain). Focal mechanisms are computed for seventeen earthquakes in the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and in the SGB west of the NTS for the year 1990. Solutions are mostly strike-slip, although normal slip is observed for a hypocenter at Stonewall Flat, Nevada, and reverse slip is observed for a hypocenter at Tucki Mountain, California. The average direction of the focal mechanism P-axes is North 470 East, with nearly horizontal inclination, and the average direction of the T-axes is North 420 West, with nearly horizontal inclination, consistent with a regional tectonic model of active northwest extension during the Holocene epoch. Introduction The SGBSN has operated continuously since August, 1978, with the current complement of 54 stations in place by mid-1981. Horizontal-component seismographs were added in 1984, and a vertical-component seismograph south of Boulder City, Nevada, was added in August, 1988. Figure 1 shows the current station locations, along with some of the major physiologic features. Stations CPX and EPN were moved to less noisy sites in August and September, 1990, and renamed CPY and EPM, respectively. The primary purpose of the network is to investigate the seismotectonic environment in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the potential site of a high-level, national nuclear waste repository. Also, the network provides information on seismically active regions within about 160 km radial distance of Yucca Mountain. Seismic signals from the network are continuously teleme- tered to the USGS data processing center in Golden, Colorado, where preliminary hypocenter determination is performed, along with research on focal mechanisms and faulting, on fluid- induced seismicity, on attenuation of seismic waves, on velocity structure,