geosciences Review Surface-Rupturing Historical Earthquakes in Australia and Their Environmental Effects: New Insights from Re-Analyses of Observational Data Tamarah R. King 1,* , Mark Quigley 1 and Dan Clark 2 1 School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia;
[email protected] 2 Geoscience Australia, Canberra 2609, Australia;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 2 August 2019; Accepted: 16 September 2019; Published: 20 September 2019 Abstract: We digitize surface rupture maps and compile observational data from 67 publications on ten of eleven historical, surface-rupturing earthquakes in Australia in order to analyze the prevailing characteristics of surface ruptures and other environmental effects in this crystalline basement-dominated intraplate environment. The studied earthquakes occurred between 1968 and 2018, and range in moment magnitude (Mw) from 4.7 to 6.6. All earthquakes involved co-seismic reverse faulting (with varying amounts of strike-slip) on single or multiple (1–6) discrete faults of 1 km length that are distinguished by orientation and kinematic criteria. Nine of ten earthquakes ≥ have surface-rupturing fault orientations that align with prevailing linear anomalies in geophysical (gravity and magnetic) data and bedrock structure (foliations and/or quartz veins and/or intrusive boundaries and/or pre-existing faults), indicating strong control of inherited crustal structure on contemporary faulting. Rupture kinematics are consistent with horizontal shortening driven by regional trajectories of horizontal compressive stress. The lack of precision in seismological data prohibits the assessment of whether surface ruptures project to hypocentral locations via contiguous, planar principal slip zones or whether rupture segmentation occurs between seismogenic depths and the surface.